Catholic News

Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz, Germany, who chairs the pastoral commission of the German Bishops' Conference, said the Vatican's reasoning on the ban on lay preaching is, in his view, "not entirely consistent" on some points.

The Vatican — specifically Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments — rejected a request from the German bishops in June arising from the Synodal Way for permission to let a commissioned layperson preach in place of the homily at Mass in exceptional cases.

Kohlgraf said the Diocese of Mainz observes the ban but that lay preaching has become customary in some of its parishes and that he will neither authorize it nor move to stop it.

"The letter from the liturgy prefect says that the only one who preaches at Mass is the priest who celebrates it," Kohlgraf told the official news portal of the German bishops' media arm, katholisch.de. "But a priest who concelebrates, or a deacon who takes part, would then logically also not be permitted to preach at that Mass."

"In any case, in the Diocese of Mainz we abide by the Church's directive that laypeople do not preach a homily at Mass," the bishop said, before qualifying: "In practice, though, it has become established that this happens from time to time nonetheless. I am not going to change that there."

Pressed on the point, Kohlgraf made clear that a woman employed by the diocese as a personnel officer, for example, could not preach "according to the Roman requirements." Nor could he as bishop "issue such a permission": "Canon law does not allow it, and that remains our basis."

"Nevertheless, it is the case that in some parishes here it is customary for laypeople to preach," he added. "When I learn of it, I will not intervene disciplinarily or sanction it under canon law. But I do not promote it either, and I cannot permit it. I simply take note that in some parishes such a practice has become established."

Concern about 'denunciation'

"I do argue, though, for using all the other forms of proclamation that canon law makes possible," Kohlgraf said. "Perhaps one would have to collect all these possibilities of proclamation for laypeople in the liturgy since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). In the Diocese of Mainz, the liturgical commission published a set of guidelines on this last year, compiling the many possibilities of the preaching ministry."

For the Diocese of Mainz, the bishop summarized, the Roman letter changes "nothing in concrete pastoral practice." He was more troubled, he said, "that the ban on lay preaching from Rome is now encouraging denunciation," because there are "people who report liturgical violations to the bishop immediately and write directly to me."

"That existed before as well, that individual people complained to me, but now they demand that I must intervene. Some even write to the nuncio or directly to Rome," he said.

He reacts to such reports in a friendly and unruffled way, Kohlgraf said: "I take note of it and pass it on, usually to the respective pastor or pastoral leader of the parish concerned."

In principle, the bishop of Mainz underlined, permission for lay preaching at Mass would be welcome to him, and he regards it as an enrichment for the Church where pastoral workers are theologically qualified to preach. "But I can still only choose the forms that canon law permits," he said.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The Lilly Endowment has given the University of Notre Dame a $5 million grant to support the Department of Theology's Master of Arts and Master of Divinity programs.

"This grant connects Notre Dame's world-class Department of Theology with leading partners where the Catholic Church is growing and in need of well-formed, dynamic Church leaders," Father Kevin Grove, CSC, an associate professor of theology at Notre Dame, said in a July 27 press release. "Together, we will work to recruit, form, educate, support and place these future ministers. We are exceptionally grateful to the Lilly Endowment for providing us the chance to reimagine how lay church leaders are raised up, formed and placed."

The grant will serve the university's New Horizons program, which provides full tuition support for M.A. students and stipends for M.Div. students as well as postgraduate job placement assistance. 

California Catholic school replaces pride flags with rainbow symbol

Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, has opted to take down its pride and progress flags for the upcoming school year, replacing them with a custom rainbow "Inclusive O" symbol.

"Many of you know that over the last few years, questions about Pride and Progress flags have become part of a much larger conversation taking place throughout the Catholic Church in the United States. Across the country, Catholic schools have been working to navigate these tensions while remaining united as communities, caring for students, and living their Catholic values," Bishop O'Dowd President Kim Walsh said in a statement posted to the school's website.

Bishop O'Dowd High School is a diocesan school that operates under the Diocese of Oakland and superintendent of Catholic schools.

Local news outlet KQED reported that the new symbol came after the diocese asked the school to take down its pride flag after someone informed Bishop Michael Barber about it. Barber spoke out about sex and gender issues in a joint letter with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco in 2023, calling on Catholics to respond to gender ideology with "truth and charity."

Walsh said this conversation "became a lightning rod within our own community," which prompted the school to develop the new symbol, a rainbow-colored O in the style of the school's branding. "Our Inclusive O now appears in lieu of the Pride and Progress flags that had previously been displayed in some classrooms, and is now displayed campus-wide," she said.

Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, house of formation to become seminary

The Diocese of Wichita in Kansas has announced that its St. Joseph House of Formation will be transformed into St. Philip Neri Seminary.

"The Most Reverend Carl A. Kemme will formally establish a new seminary for priestly formation on Aug. 26, 2026, marking an historic milestone in the life of the diocese, and fulfilling a vision first explored more than two decades ago," the diocese said in an Aug. 6 announcement.

"Effective August 26, the institution will be known as St. Philip Neri Seminary, honoring the 16th-century saint renowned for his joyful spirit, deep holiness, and dedication to forming priests and evangelizing through authentic friendship," Kemme said.

"For the last nine years, we have been able to form our men during their college years here with such success that we now think it's important to officially recognize the house of formation as a true canonical seminary," he said in a Q&A posted on the diocese's website.

"It was a seminary, but it was called the St. Joseph House of Formation," he continued. "Now it is going to be established officially as a seminary, a place of formation for the priests of our diocese."

Milwaukee debuts first new Catholic school buildings in 60 years

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee celebrated the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 11 for the first newly constructed Catholic school buildings in nearly 60 years.

The ceremony comes two years after Seton Catholic Schools announced the two buildings would be constructed by early 2026. St. Rafael the Archangel and Prince of Peace School will officially open at the start of the school year on Aug. 24.

"St. Rafael and Prince of Peace have been integral to Milwaukee's educational landscape for years," Seton said in the press release. "These new buildings will offer modern, student-centered environments designed to foster learning, creativity, and spiritual growth. These will be more than just schools — they will be vibrant hubs for student engagement, community gatherings and faith development."

"As one of the first new Catholic school buildings in Milwaukee in nearly 60 years, this investment reflects our deep commitment to our students, families, and the future of our community," a statement posted on both of the schools' websites reads. 

Raleigh, North Carolina, Catholic school students top national, state benchmarks

Students in Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, Catholic schools surpassed national and state benchmarks in both math and reading.

"The data reveals that 47% of Diocese students are performing at or above grade level in math, compared to 32% nationally and 32% across North Carolina," the diocese revealed in an Aug. 10 statement. "The gap is even more pronounced in reading, where 59% of Diocese students are scoring at or above grade level, well ahead of the 38% national norm and 35% state average."

The data comes from spring 2026 i-Ready diagnostic results, the diocese said.

"These results reflect what happens when dedicated teachers, engaged families, and a strong academic foundation come together," Michael Mastrocinque, director of instruction for diocesan Catholic schools in Raleigh, said. "Our students aren't just meeting expectations — they're exceeding them at a level that puts them well ahead of their peers across the state and the country. This is a direct result of the hard work happening in our classrooms every single day, and it reaffirms our commitment to academic excellence rooted in the Catholic tradition."

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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling for "compassion, simplicity, and access to care" to be reflected in the final rule that enforces work requirements for people who receive Medicaid benefits.

The USCCB — along with the Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities USA — sent a joint letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 31 to highlight their shared concerns about the final rule before it is fully implemented on Jan. 1, 2027.

The bishops warned the Medicaid work-requirement rule could strip coverage from medically frail patients, add burdensome documentation standards, and create an unrealistic timeline that states and providers cannot meet.

Although the rule has already been adopted, the USCCB is urging CMS delay implementation and make changes that broaden the medical frailty and short-term hardship exceptions, ease verification requirements for patients, and better educate patients on rules to prevent any losses in coverage for eligible people.

"We are profoundly concerned that [the] requirements … will result in coverage loss for eligible individuals who rely on Medicaid to address their health care needs and to achieve their highest possible degree of self-sufficiency," the joint letter states.

The rule requires at least 80 hours of work per month for nonexempt people or another type of community engagement, such as volunteering, job training, or education. Recipients can combine different forms of work and community engagement to reach the 80-hour requirement.

Proposed delay and changes

States must implement the work requirements by Jan. 1, 2027, and the joint letter urges a delay because the rule forces states to "implement significant new operational processes," which the letter warns could lead to mistakes "within a compressed implementation timeframe."

"Launching these requirements before states are fully prepared increases the risk that eligible patients will lose Medicaid coverage because of administrative barriers rather than because they are no longer eligible," the letter states.

The three organizations are also concerned that the medical frailty exclusion — which exempts people with certain disabilities and health conditions from work requirements — is "too narrow."

To qualify for the exclusion, a person must verify that he or she has the condition and that the condition "significantly impairs their ability to comply with the work and community engagement requirements," the letter notes. The three Catholic organizations encouraged CMS to exempt people based on the condition alone rather than requiring they demonstrate that the impairment prevents them from work.

The letter also expressed concerns about the language that enforces the short-term hardship exception, warning that a person would need to demonstrate that hardship in the month before the exception can be applied.

"We recommend … [ensuring] that a short-term hardship exception may satisfy an individual's work and community engagement requirement obligation for the month of the hardship event, including where that month is the month of application or renewal, without requiring a separate showing of compliance during a prior review period," the letter adds.

They also caution that the verification and documentation requirements shift too much of the burden to patients and providers.

"Experience from prior work and community engagement requirement demonstrations in several states shows that administrative friction, rather than ineligibility, causes many otherwise eligible individuals to lose coverage," the letter states.

"Each additional document request, third-party verification requirement, or delay in obtaining records increases the risk that eligible individuals will lose Medicaid coverage for procedural reasons," it adds.

The letter also encourages CMS to ensure states "have adequate time to develop, test, and validate" their communications with patients, ensuring they understand the new rules before implementation.

"States should not disenroll beneficiaries until they have demonstrated that notices are effective in helping eligible individuals understand and successfully navigate the new requirements," the letter adds.

In the letter, the three organizations said they are "committed to supporting the implementation of work and community engagement requirements in a manner that is legally compliant, operationally sound, and protective of the patients that the exclusion and exception framework are designed to serve."

CMS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it has implemented a final rule that formally bans using funds for "sex-rejecting procedures" for minors, which are drugs and surgeries used to facilitate "gender transitions."

According to a CMS news release, this includes puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations. It states these medical procedures cause irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other physiological effects.

The move formalizes a policy of President Donald Trump's administration to prevent minors from accessing these drugs and surgeries. In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order that instructed agencies to adopt rules to "end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children."

The final rule includes a tapering-off period of up to six months for children who are receiving cross-sex hormones, which allows them to be gradually weaned off the medicine. It does not affect mental health services.

"Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions that pose serious risks and convey no proven benefits," CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement.

"By cutting off federal funds for these sex-rejecting procedures, we're following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish," he said.

Rachel N. Morrison, director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center's Administrative State Accountability Project, told EWTN News that government funding should never support "harmful, sterilizing, and often irreversible sex-rejecting procedures."

"I am grateful to CMS and the Trump administration for their efforts to combat gender ideology, protect children from the harms [of] sex-rejecting procedures, and advance policies that reflect a true understanding of the nature of the human person," she said.

The Church's position

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) referred EWTN News to a Feb. 17 letter to CMS, which said the proposed ban on federal funding "aligns with Catholic teaching on the nature of the human person" and "reflects true distinctions between the sexes."

"Rejection of our God-given bodies, such as by modifying them to appear as the opposite sex, is a grave matter, and when done with full knowledge and complete consent, is a grave sin," the letter states.

In November 2025, the USCCB published a new edition of its "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services" guidelines, which prohibit Catholic institutions from providing treatments that "aim not to restore but rather to alter the fundamental order of the human body in its form or function" such as "interventions that aim to transform sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex (or to nullify sexual characteristics…)."

Joseph Meaney, past president and senior ethicist for the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), told EWTN News CMS "should be applauded for putting an end to federal taxpayer funding of transgender procedures on children."

"There is substantial agreement between U.S. government policy and Catholic teaching in this area of healthcare policy," he said.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, an NCBC senior ethicist, told EWTN News that the implementation of the rule "is very sensible and long overdue."

"Countless youth have already been railroaded along this path, placing themselves at great risk and damaging their bodies as they struggle with this confusion," Pacholczyk said. "Once a young person steps onto that train, they often become 'regular business customers,' with a lifelong dependence on the continued prescribing of hormones and additional cycles of expensive surgeries."

He said tax money should not pay for "a hysterectomy on a girl who wants to live as a boy, nor to provide breast implants into a boy who thinks he is a girl." He said children "deserve far better from the world of medicine and psychiatry."

"They are entitled to solid psychotherapy as a means of assisting them to reintegrate their subjective gender identity with their objective lifelong biology so they can recognize and embrace the beautiful gift of the biological sex they have been endowed with from the beginning," Pacholczyk said.

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Two hospitals in Texas have been ordered to provide lifesaving care for a soon-to-be-born baby at the center of an interstate surrogacy dispute.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton's office announced in an Aug. 11 press release that UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center of Dallas were legally obligated to care for Gabriel, a baby due to be born on Sept. 2 to surrogate mother McKenna West. A Texas district court had earlier ruled that the hospitals would be required to care for the baby.

In an earlier letter to the hospitals on Aug. 10, Paxton said Gabriel had been diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and that his "intended parents" said they would seek to "refuse consent" to an operation.

The parents, identified in court documents as Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, "may seek to move the child to California so that treatment can be withheld there," the letter said.

West reportedly traveled to Texas from Alaska after Gilkar and Ahmed urged her to seek an abortion after the diagnosis of the syndrome, according to news reports. She allegedly offered to take full responsibility of the baby, though the baby's biological parents reportedly refused.

In an emergency order dated Aug. 11, the Dallas district court ordered that upon birth the baby would be provided with "medically indicated stabilizing and life-sustaining care" at either of the hospitals.

The court also barred the child's removal from either the hospitals or the state of Texas except as necessary for his medical care.

Paxton hailed the court's order as "the right decision."

"My office utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel's well-being," the prosecutor said. "Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that's exactly what I'll fight for." 

'A problem for the 13th Amendment'

Anthony Sirven, a Catholic Florida-based attorney who has published on the subject of surrogacy, told EWTN News that this case and others like it portend "whether we're going to decide custody based on a contract."

"The [surrogacy] contract is about a human life," he said. "So the question is: How do you enforce a contract over a human life? The answer should be 'you can't' because of the 13th and 14th Amendments." The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery in the United States while the 14th Amendment enshrined  equal protection and due process in the U.S. Constitution.

Early litigation surrounding in vitro fertilization and surrogacy had to walk a careful line, Sirven said, as Roe v. Wade had asserted that unborn children are not human persons, putting their legal status into uncertainty. Courts ultimately settled around the idea that embryos are "a special kind of property," he said, allowing courts to enforce contract-based rights over them.

But the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision "overturned Roe and, arguably, every case that relied on Roe to recognize a property interest in human life," he said, throwing years of precedent into uncertainty.

On the Texas case, "we'll see what happens," Sirven said. "If this child is born and given lifesaving care, the next question will become 'Who's going to take custody of him?' If the 'intended parents' seek custody or other rights under a contract, and the court rules in their favor on the basis of a contract, then that's a problem under both the 13th and 14th Amendments."

Stefano Gennarini, the vice president for legal studies at the New York-based Center for Family and Human Rights, told EWTN News that "most lawyers" would agree it is "hard to predict a case like this."

Gennarini said he was not an expert in either Texas or Alaskan family law, but he said international legal conventions — specifically the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — affirms "the human right of mothers and their children to receive special protections during pregnancy and after birth."

"Allowing a third party to contractually decide what kind of treatment a surrogate mother can seek eviscerates these international protections," he said. "Overall, this case illustrates how dangerous any form of surrogacy is."

The practice of surrogacy, he said, "legally deconstructs the natural family as recognized in international law," leading to what he described as "inhuman scenarios" such as that in Texas.

The order handed down in Texas takes effect on the event of Gabriel's birth and "remains in effect until further order," the court said.

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Bishop Joseph Gontrand Décoste of Jérémie, Haiti, detailed the ongoing violence in the nation and warned that the Church has become a target for gangs.

The Church is "the last remaining bulkhead — moral, ethical, spiritual, and prophetic," he said. "That is why they want to eliminate us."

Décoste told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), an international Catholic pastoral aid organization, that despite the widespread violence in the Caribbean nation, the Church remains hopeful.

"We keep praying, singing, and dancing. In Haiti we say: 'As long as they haven't cut off our head, we still have hope of wearing a hat.' That is why we never lose hope," he said.

The bishop thanked organizations working to offer aid to the nation. He said: "Your prayers sustain us enormously; without them we could not carry on. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart."

Gang violence in the nation continues to rise with armed gangs controlling between 70% and 90% of the capital.

Amid the violence, in Port-au-Prince, 40 parishes have had to close, according to ACN. Schools and religious houses have also been attacked, burned, and seized.

Sister Paesie, a Catholic sister who operates an organization to aid children in Cité Soleil, Haiti, also highlighted the increasing violence.

The sister and her team at the Kizito Family, which runs homes, schools, and catechism programs, recently took in dozens more children following numerous recent attacks.

Sister Paesie told EWTN News that last week gangs attacked an area in Port-au-Prince where the organization operates one of its schools. Most of the population fled besides a few elderly people who were unable to, and most were killed.

"The parents began bringing children to us for shelter," she told EWTN News. On Aug. 9, "we took in about 20" and "others came yesterday, and about 50 today."

"The Missionaries of Charity accepted to take in the girls" and "we have the boys," she said.

"Among them were four brothers [who] were alone when the attack took place. The parents had gone to work, and a cousin grabbed them and fled. When the father returned home, he was not aware of the attack. He was killed and burned. The mother did not show up … where the people took refuge," she said.

Sister Paesie also detailed how the attacks and destruction have left organizations, many of them run by religious orders, unable to operate and provide aid to those in need.

She specifically noted a Missionaries of Charity convent that was attacked and burned down two years ago.

It remains "completely empty and the buildings destroyed," she said. "It used to receive more than 2,000 patients every year."

U.S. bishops urge protection for Haitian nationals on TPS

U.S. bishops have continuously warned of the unsafe conditions in Haiti, urging lawmakers to extend temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian nationals living in the United States.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami has previously said that ending temporary residency protections for Haitians would be "sending people into a burning building."

He said Haiti "remains a country on the brink," noting the "widespread gang violence and kidnapping, a rampant cholera epidemic, and spreading food insecurity."

"The lack of functioning state institutions has resulted in a general breakdown of security, with attacks on women and children becoming commonplace," he said. "It would be an act of abject cruelty for the United States to send families back to such dangerous and unsafe conditions."

Other Florida bishops, and many Ohio bishops, have also addressed the matter, calling for a more permanent solution to care for the refugees.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation in April, and the Senate has not acted on that measure or on a bill (S. 4814), which would require the Homeland Security secretary to designate Haiti for TPS through early 2029, giving eligible Haitian nationals in the United States protection from deportation and authorization to work while conditions in Haiti remain unsafe.

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Pope Leo XIV's upcoming visit to Peru is not only building anticipation among the faithful but is also opening up the possibility of establishing permanent pilgrimage routes and showcasing the country's rich spiritual heritage, which could boost local economies, according to national and international tourism experts.

That was one of the key points presented at the First Specialized Conference on Religious Tourism held Aug. 3 and organized by the National Chamber of Tourism of Peru (CANATUR, by its Spanish acronym) and the World Religious Tourism Network, where experts agreed that the Holy Father's apostolic journey, scheduled for Nov. 11–17, could serve as a starting point.

Speaking to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Adrián Lomello, the World Religious Tourism Network's director for the Americas, stated that "Peru's potential is limitless."

"The country's resources are enormous, and it also possesses something no one else has: the blend of Catholicism and Andean cultures. That syncretism is unique in Latin America, and here it occurs quite naturally," he stated.

For Lomello, the challenge now lies in looking beyond the pope's upcoming visit and establishing Peru as a regular destination for pilgrimages.

During the event, a proposal was made to strengthen the "Paths of Pope Leo XIV" tourist route, which encompasses cities such as Chiclayo, Piura, Trujillo, and Callao, where the Holy Father carried out a significant part of his pastoral ministry.

"The idea is for these destinations to outlast the time of the visit and become a permanent offering" to pilgrims, he explained.

Religious tourism benefits the entire community

Lomello highlighted that religious tourism does not benefit only shrines or churches but also stimulates the economies of the cities that welcome pilgrims.

"Religious tourism has a direct impact on the community because the pilgrim arrives, spends money locally, buys handicrafts, stays overnight, perhaps extending their visit by a day, and visits a museum," he explained to ACI Prensa.

"We have demonstrated that the financial investment yields a sixfold return. The state invests 1 sol [Peru's unit of currency] and gets 6 back, a 600% return," he emphasized.

He noted that cities must prepare to offer experiences that complement the pilgrimage, including "excellent cuisine, engaging activities, museums, and events."

He noted that Peru possesses numerous destinations with great potential beyond those that are already well established.

"Cusco no longer needs further promotion. It even faces limitations in accommodating more visitors, and that's fine. However, there are other destinations that offer the same impact and need to be developed," he pointed out.

Waldin Durán, one of the speakers at the event and a specialist in innovation and digital transformation for tourism, told ACI Prensa that Leo XIV's visit should be understood not just as a one-time event but "the precedent and the beginning," positioning Peru as an international destination for religious tourism.

Durán noted that religious tourism represents about 20% of world tourism, and according to data from the World Tourism Organization, a pilgrim can generate up to 10% more income than a conventional tourist. He said the challenge will be to take advantage of Leo XIV's upcoming itinerary to attract visitors on an ongoing basis.

The event organized by CANATUR also provided an update on the progress of preparations for the papal visit.

CANATUR general manager Carlos Loayza said the tourism sector is already working to engage hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, guides, restaurants, transportation providers, artisans, and local authorities.

A country shaped by faith

Lomello also encouraged Peruvian authorities to promote religious tourism as a matter of state policy.

"We would be delighted to see the government commit to this and make religious tourism a flagship initiative. I believe some steps have already been taken, and a commission has been established that strikes me as very promising," he noted, referring to the alliance formed between the World Religious Tourism Network, CANATUR, and the Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Exports and Tourism, which are making initial preparations for the apostolic journey.

At the same time, he acknowledged that "the political transition Peru is undergoing," with the election of Keiko Fujimori as the new president, "calls for a bit of patience" while the new government gets itself established.

'Leo XIV is Peruvian'

For Lomello, one of the elements that will make the papal visit historic is the deep bond Leo XIV shares with the country.

"He is of U.S. origin, but his mindset is Peruvian. His spiritual formation is Peruvian. His tastes are Peruvian," he noted.

In his view, that bond will give the visit a special significance. "The benefits in terms of Peruvian identity will be immense. The benefits regarding spiritual conversion will be enormous," he added.

"Let's have the finest banquet prepared," he said. "Peru is beginning to experience a celebration. And when there is a celebration, the people rejoice; everyone's heart is full of joy."

"May no one be left out. That is the great challenge: making this a celebration for everyone," he added.

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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Pope Leo XIV is a pope of several firsts: the first American pope, the first to be an Augustinian, and the first in modern times to have done overseas missionary work.

He is also the first pontiff in nearly 50 years to have studied and worked as a canon lawyer, holding a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome.

During his papacy, canon law has featured in some of the most important events of his reign. From the excommunication of four bishops consecrated for the SSPX to his recent appointments as Vatican judges, to the Marko Rupnik trial to his curial appointments, canon law has become a key aspect of understanding Leo's pontificate.

However, for many Catholics, canon law is more than merely a feature of Vatican administration. It is important to Catholics' relationship with the Church, especially in upholding justice — the very purpose of canon law.

Marriages, eligibility to receive the sacraments, and the allocation of Church property are among the most basic, often overlooked, uses of canon law.

Here are some important things to know about canon law and how it applies to Catholics.

What is canon law?

Canon law is the collection of all the laws that regulate the life of the Church. The word canon itself comes from the Greek word "kanon," which means to measure. Unlike civil law, however, canon law exists to uphold spiritual discipline, maintain relationships between the laity and the Church hierarchy, and protect rights. Ultimately, as stated in the 1983 code, the purpose of all Church laws is the salvation of souls.

Among the oldest legal systems

The Catholic Church's canon law system is the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the West. The Church's earliest laws were issued as decrees, or canons, by ecumenical councils, regulating the Church's daily life. After Christianity became more established in the Roman Empire, the popes also issued decrees influenced by Roman legal theory and traditions. By the 12th century, it had developed into a fully functioning legal system and has governed the Church ever since.

How does canon law affect Catholics?

Primarily, canon law contains rules about who can receive the sacraments. For example, the requirement to say "I baptize you" instead of "We baptize you" during baptism, the prohibition against using grape juice for holy Communion, and the seal of confession are all regulated by canon law.

Marriage annulments — the determination of whether a marriage is valid — are among its most common applications.

The 1983 code — a Catholic 'Bill of Rights'

Before the 20th century, the Church did not have a single legal code governing all Catholics. That changed when St. Pius X ordered a compilation of all Church laws into a single code, completed in 1917 by Pope Benedict XV. In 1983, St. John Paul II revised the code to incorporate the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. The 1983 Code of Canon Law — the current code in use — heavily emphasizes the rights and duties of laity and clergy, stating that "there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality regarding dignity and action."

'Civil law punishes; canon law heals'

The quote "Civil law punishes; canon law heals" from 12th-century Byzantine canonist Theodore Balsamon highlights the distinct purposes of civil and canon law. Whereas civil law exists to maintain social order, canon law exists to facilitate salvation.

Officials are elected to uphold society's rules, while the pope — as the Church's supreme legislator — appoints bishops to dioceses to not only uphold Church law but also to teach, govern, and sanctify, as stated in paragraph 21 of Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church.

Moreover, a diocesan bishop, according to canon 391 of the 1983 code, has "legislative, executive, and judicial power" over his diocese, meaning he can establish diocesan laws. Daily judicial matters of the diocese are usually handled by its tribunal, especially cases involving marriage, parish property, and abusive clergy.

The Church sometimes defers to civil law in nonreligious matters, such as contracts, labor laws, and certain criminal cases. For cases of clerical sexual abuse, however, the Church may conduct a separate internal canonical investigation, which could lead to restrictions on ministry or even dismissal from the clerical state.

How to become a canon lawyer

Clergy and laity worldwide study each year to practice canon law in the Church. To become a canon lawyer, usually one must first earn a licentiate of canon law (JCL). Before 1979, canonical studies were largely limited to clergy. Now, with adequate philosophical and theological education, any priest or layperson can be admitted to the licentiate program. Some of the most renowned schools for canon law are The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, both in Rome.

The role of the Vatican

The Holy See supervises all Church tribunals primarily through the Apostolic Signatura — the Church's highest court. Every diocese has a tribunal (court), and the Signatura oversees them on behalf of the pope, who is the Church's supreme judge. There are two other Vatican courts: the Roman Rota, which mainly handles appeals in marriage cases, and the Apostolic Penitentiary, which deals with indulgences and certain absolutions from sin reserved to the Holy See.

The Eastern churches have their own code

A separate code of canon law governs the more than 20 Eastern Churches in communion with Rome, including the Maronite, Ukrainian Greek Catholic, and Chaldean Catholic Churches. The Second Vatican Council affirmed the right of the Eastern churches to preserve their own traditions, including their legal traditions. St. John Paul II issued a code for those churches in 1990, reflecting the diversity of the Church's legal customs. Its full title is the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

Leo's experience as a canon lawyer

Before becoming pope, Leo spent more than a decade studying and practicing as a canon lawyer. The then-Father Robert Prevost studied canon law at the Angelicum in Rome, earning a license in 1984 and a doctorate in 1987. During his missionary work in Peru, he taught canon law at the seminary level and served as a judge. His experience would serve him during his leadership of the Augustinians and as the head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops.

During his papacy so far, Leo has chosen some of his collaborators within the Roman Curia for their legal experience, highlighting the importance of canon law for protecting the rights of the faithful and assisting them toward salvation.

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St. Eugene Catholic Church in Oklahoma City is challenging parishes across the country to follow its example after helping abolish more than $6.5 million in medical debt through a partnership with a nonprofit organization.

Father Jim Goins read about the "scourge of medical debt in the country" and decided to do something. About 20 million people — nearly 1 in 12 adults — owe medical debt, and federal data shows Americans owe at least $220?billion in unpaid medical bills, according to the ?Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, an independent project of the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF that analyzes U.S. healthcare spending.

"It haunts people, haunts their credit reports," Goins told EWTN News. "So I was also praying about that biblical concept of the year of favor, the year of favor from the Lord, how that debts were to be forgiven. Those who were in debt bondage were to be redeemed in that year of favor. Christ, of course, is the year of favor for us. But I wanted to do something on the parish level to address the problem."

Goins discussed the matter with his parish administrator, Sharon Blakely, who located the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt, which uses donated dollars to purchase bundles of unpaid medical debt at a fraction of the price from hospitals, health systems, and debt collectors.

Daniel Lempert, Undue's vice president of communications, told EWTN News: "We purchase these debts for pennies on the dollar. We're able to buy these debts so cheaply because they belong to those who are least able to pay — a sign of how broken our healthcare system is."

"My target, my goal, was $10,000 from my parish. I asked them for $10,000. We did 10-bucks Sundays," Goins said. "Everyone throw in 10 bucks, and we'll try to raise this money. It caught fire and they gave us $25,000. So when all was said and done, we were instrumental in abolishing over $6.5 million in medical debt here in central Oklahoma in four counties."

Lempert said: "The amount we pay reflects their value on the existing debt market. The difference is that we flip that market on its head for good and never collect a single penny."

"On average, $1 donated abolishes about $100 of medical debt. That's what allowed St. Eugene's $25,000 gift to erase over $6.5 million," Lempert said about the partnership first reported by local outlet KFOR News.

Blakely said the parish organized the fundraiser around the Fourth of July holiday, calling it "250 years of America, let's do a freedom from medical debt fundraising thing for the Fourth of July."

She said parishioners responded fervently to the idea, sending in donations well after the deadline set at the end of June. "We've had so many parishioners reach out to us telling us how there have been times in their lives where this could have like, totally, like saved them."

"We want to challenge anybody, like anyone, to beat us," Blakely said, calling for parishes across the country to make abolishing medical debt "a friendly competition."

"Beat us, and then when we do it again next summer, we'll try to beat you and let's just try to get rid of medical debt," she said. "When we all help each other, it's really easy to get along in this world when we're all together."

Goins echoed Blakely, adding that if parishes around the country would partner with nonprofits like Undue, the amount of debt that could be abolished would be "staggering."

"I told our crowds, you know, that we're all just one ER visit away from a medical debt. It could happen to any one of us. Any one of us could be bankrupted by medical debt," he said. "It has nothing to do with your character, it has nothing to do whether you're a hard worker or not, whether you're industrious, whether you save or not. It just happens and it ruins people's lives. So that struck a chord."

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Father Benedict Chao, the world's oldest Trappist monk and the last survivor of the community that suffered communist persecution in China, died at the age of 108 on July 31 in Lantau, Hong Kong.

The Order of Cistercians of Strict Observance reported that Chao was born in 1918 in Chengting, Hebei Province, China. He entered the monastery in Hebei in 1941, made his solemn profession in 1947, and was ordained a priest in 1949.

He lived as a monk for 79 years and as a priest for 77. His funeral is scheduled for Aug. 14.

According to AsiaNews, Chao also served for more than 20 years as superior of the Trappist community on Lantau.

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Persecuted by communists

In 1941, at the age of 23, Chau entered the Abbey of Our Lady of Joy, also known by its French name, "Liesse," meaning "jubilation."

According to AsiaNews, the monastery was occupied by Japanese troops in 1937 and several monks were imprisoned and killed.

However, the worst was yet to come when the Chinese dictator Mao Zedong took control of the region.

In 1947, the same year Chao made his solemn vows, the Abbey of Our Lady of Consolation in Yangjiaping was attacked. The monks were tortured and forced to leave the monastery.

A year later, six monks were executed by firing squad following a people's trial. Among them was 29-year-old Father Chrysostom Chang, the community's sub-prior.

Those who were killed during the persecution are commemorated as the 33 martyrs of Yangjiaping, comprising 30 Chinese monks and three foreign religious, according to AsiaNews.

Exile and new monastery in Hong Kong

The Liesse community, where the young Chao was living, also came under attack, leaving the monks no choice but to seek refuge in another city.

As the persecution intensified, some monks were sent out of China. Among them was Chao, who arrived at the monastery of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies in Manitoba, Canada.

In 1951, the Xindu community also had to close due to communist persecution. The monks who had managed to leave China then began preparing to rebuild their community in Hong Kong.

With the support of the then-bishop of Hong Kong, Enrico Valtorta, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, the monks were granted a plot of land in the highlands of Lantau Island.

There, eight monks built the new monastery, which was inaugurated in 1956.

In 1999, the Cistercian order recognized the Lantau community as an autonomous abbey, and in January 2000, it reclaimed the name Abbey of Our Lady of Joy, the same name the community had in Hebei.

With Chao's passing, the abbey bids farewell to the last survivor of that generation of Trappist monks who were persecuted by Mao but managed to reestablish a monastery in Hong Kong.

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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