Catholic News

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily paused a lower court order requiring in-person dispensation of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, ruled on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current policy undermined Louisiana state law. The court reinstated in-person dispensation for abortion pills, a restoration of FDA requirements revoked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two mifepristone manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, asked the Supreme Court to pause the lower court ruling, calling it "unprecedented" in their emergency request over the weekend.

In response, Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, putting the lower court order on hold, and temporarily restoring mail-order abortion drugs while the justices consider the companies' request. The temporary stay will expire May 11 at 5 p.m. ET.

Alito instructed the FDA and Louisiana to respond by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 7.

Chemical abortions, which rely on mifepristone and misoprostol, accounted for 63% of U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The number of actual abortions might be higher due to underreporting, according to the organization, which was affiliated with Planned Parenthood until 2007.

In 2024, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to mifepristone's availability, declining to rule on the legality of relaxed regulations under the Obama and Biden administrations.

Activists, lawmakers, and state attorneys general have been calling on the FDA to do a safety review of the drug, citing severe risks to women's health.

A recent study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) found that the removal of in-person visit requirements led to an increase in adverse effects for women having chemical abortions. This study is one among several pointing to a higher rate of serious problems.

Multiple other studies have shown high rates of hospitalizations for women taking the abortion pill. Chemical abortion has a complication rate four times that of surgical abortion, according to one study. Another report found that abortion pill complications are often underreported or misclassified.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who celebrated the initial ruling pausing abortion drug shipments, called the current situation a "five-alarm crisis for the pro-life movement and for the GOP."

"The 'states-only' strategy, promoted out of fear after Dobbs, is an abject failure in the face of blue states brazenly violating state sovereignty and nullifying hard-won pro-life gains," Dannenfelser said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

"The GOP cannot win without its base and simply will not get the enthusiasm that drives turnout without leadership from the top," Dannenfelser said. "With one-third of the most engaged primary voters sidelined and unheard, the Trump administration's inaction puts lives and voter morale at risk every day it goes on."

Dannenfelser also called for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to be "fired immediately," citing recent comments he made about mifepristone.

"Abortions are up, not down after Dobbs, with at least 1.1 million deaths a year," Dannenfelser said. "More than 90,000 abortions occur each year just in states that protect babies in the law throughout all nine months of pregnancy — a direct result of Biden's COVID-era mail-order abortion drug rule, which the Trump administration inexplicably allows to continue."

"Without basic in-person medical supervision, male buyers have a frighteningly easy tool to abuse women, like abortion drug coercion survivor Rosalie Markezich, and their children," Dannenfelser continued. "The Supreme Court will now decide whether this injustice ends here or whether it raises its ugly head over and over again."

Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins called the situation "moral insanity."

"The tragedy of chemical abortion pill distribution is that preborn babies die while we argue about how the abortion lobby and Big Pharma might be hurt," she said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

"Enforcement of the Comstock Act is Step 1 for Trump administration's Department of Justice, but we certainly hope they will fight more fiercely as Trump's Food and Drug Administration has slow-walked a real review of deadly chemical abortion pills," Hawkins said.

The American Association of Pro Life OB-GYNs (AAPLOG) expressed concerns for the safety of women and unborn children.

"Just when women and preborn children were about to receive bare minimum safety regulations, abortion manufacturers jumped in to save their bottom line," the organization said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

"Women deserve real medicine, not a mail-order workaround that benefits only the abortion industry," AAPLOG continued. "'Telehealth distribution' of mifepristone would actually provide medical oversight — instead there is none. No exam, no ultrasound, no screening for coercion and no doctor accountable when patients are harmed."

"This is a transaction, it's not a medical interaction. Women and their preborn children deserve better," AAPLOG stated. "The Supreme Court must allow the 5th Circuit's ruling to stand."

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While Christians represent barely 2% of the total population of the Holy Land, Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel said he is hopeful that the situation can be reversed despite the downward trend, which is worsening over time.

The abbot said the Christian faithful in the region, particularly in the heart of Jerusalem, have been severely affected by war, economic crisis, and all manner of hardships.

"If you think this is an Eldorado [utopia] of Christianity, the reality is different," he said. "All Christians together are less than 2%. For us, dreaming of reaching 5% or 6% would already be a lot," Schnabel noted in an interview with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

"If you think of the most secularized regions in Europe like the Czech Republic or the former East Germany, even there Christians are many times more numerous than here," he remarked.

"My fear is that the Holy Land could become a kind of 'Christian Disneyland,'" he warned. "The holy places will remain, with monks and priests. But there may be no Christian families, no young Christians, no ordinary Christian life," Schnabel warned.

In 1948, the year the state of Israel was created, Christians constituted 20% of the local population of the Holy Land.

The reality of the Latin Church

The abbot addressed the reality of the Latin-rite Church, which is composed of Arabic-speaking Palestinian Catholics, Hebrew-speaking Catholics, and migrants and asylum-seekers.

The first group includes those Catholics "who live in Israel with citizenship" as well as those without political rights in addition to Christians in the West Bank and the small community of believers in Gaza. This group of Catholics lives under oppression, subjected to the violence of war and the Hamas regime, a situation that Schnabel characterizes as a "double occupation."

The second group is "a small but growing community, composed of mixed (for example Catholic-Orthodox or Catholic-Jewish) families and integrated into Israeli society." This reality — being both Israeli and Catholic — is "a new phenomenon," the monk noted.

Schnabel explained that the migrant group is the largest, comprising "more than 100,000 Catholics" hailing from countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Americas. "They are, in many ways, the most vulnerable," he noted, due to the precarious working conditions to which they are subjected. "They often have the feeling that it doesn't matter whether they are there or not."

The economic survival of Christians

He noted that improving housing and employment opportunities would be an important step toward helping these Christian families remain in the region.

"Around 60% of Arabic-speaking Christians depend on tourism. And the last good year was 2019. This is the biggest challenge," he explained. "People leave because they don't see a future."

"Pray that there is a future for Christians here," he urged.

The abbot emphasized that the Church is "neither pro-Israel nor pro-Palestine, but pro-human." The Church is present "on all sides," he said.

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 released a letter May 4 but dated November 2024 in which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) categorically rejected a proposal from the German episcopate to introduce ritualized blessings for couples in same-sex unions and irregular situations, warning that such blessings could be interpreted as the legitimization of unions incompatible with Church doctrine.

The letter is signed by the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and addressed to Stephan Ackermann, bishop of Trier, and through him to the entire German episcopate.

In the letter, dated Nov. 18, 2024, Rome issued a categorical rejection of a text proposing the implementation of blessings with a prescribed ritual form.

The DDF in the letter responds to a "vademecum" (an authoritative handbook or reference guide) drafted by the German episcopate in October 2024 as a guide for priests. Written in German and Italian, it was intended to serve as a practical aid for "Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other" and was presented as an application of the declaration Fiducia Supplicans to the "pastoral reality" in Germany.

The background: Fiducia Supplicans

In 2023, the DDF published the document Fiducia Supplicans, which opened the possibility of blessing couples "in irregular situations" or of the same sex, without equating them to marriage. The text specified that such blessings could not be performed with a precise ritual nor with signs characteristic of a wedding.

The Church in Africa subsequently expressed its unanimous rejection of the document and requested clarifications from Pope Francis. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said the document did not apply to the Eastern Catholic Churches.

In the November 2024 letter, which it has published on its website, the DDF recalled that Fiducia Supplicans clearly establishes that the "Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when this, in any way, might offer a form of moral legitimation to a union that purports to be a marriage or to an extramarital sexual practice," nor to those who claim "the legitimation of their own status."

In light of this, Fernández's letter notes that the German "vademecum" "speaks of a union and of an 'official regulation' on the part of pastors of couples who love one another outside of marriage" and even of an "acclamation," a "gesture normally prescribed in the marriage rite." In this regard, the Vatican states that such an act legitimizes "the status of such couples, in a manner contrary to what was affirmed by Fiducia Supplicans."

Why the Vatican is publishing it now

The November 2024 letter began circulating widely on the internet this week, causing confusion as it was presented as if it were a recent pronouncement.

"The Holy Father stated on the return flight from Africa that the Holy See had already sent a response regarding this matter to the German bishops, and many were asking where that response was or what it said. For that reason, we decided to make it public," Fernández explained in a statement to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

The Holy See 'does not agree'

During his return flight to Rome following an 11-day tour of Africa, Pope Leo XIV stated to journalists on April 23 that the Holy See "does not agree with the formal blessing of homosexual couples."

The pontiff was responding to a question from a journalist regarding a directive issued by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, who had urged priests and pastoral workers to offer blessings in a uniform manner to same-sex couples or to divorced and remarried individuals within his archdiocese.

Before responding directly, Leo XIV emphasized that "the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters" and lamented the tendency to reduce Christian morality solely to that area. "In reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues, such as justice, the equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue," he stated.

Nevertheless, the pope noted that "the Holy See has already addressed the German bishops and has made it clear that it does not agree with the formal blessing of same-sex couples."

"When a priest gives the blessing at the end of Mass, or when the pope gives a blessing at the end of a great celebration, like the one we had today, there are blessings for all people," he noted, recalling the famous expression of his predecessor, Francis: "Tutti, tutti, tutti" ("everyone, everyone, everyone").

Going beyond this, Leo XIV warned, "can cause more disunity than unity." "Everyone is invited to follow Jesus, and everyone is invited to seek conversion in their own lives," he explained.

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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More than 300 faith leaders from at least 17 faith traditions, including Catholics, sent a letter to members of the Ohio General Assembly urging lawmakers to bring an end to the death penalty in their state.

"As people of faith, we are committed to policies rooted in justice and grounded in the promise of redemption," the May 4 letter said.

"While we come from varied backgrounds and political stances, we stand together against state-sanctioned murder," it said. "Instead, we are motivated by the restorative power of empathy and investments in transformation."

The letter, led by the single-issue organization Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE), comes as Ohioans await a statement on the death penalty by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. Last month, the governor said he would issue a statement in the week after the primary election, which is May 5.

DeWine, a Catholic, has delayed several executions as Ohio has had difficulty in obtaining the drugs needed to administer lethal injection.

In the letter, the faith leaders state that "now is the time for Ohio to rid itself of its outdated and immoral death penalty."

"As people who are motivated by faith and sparked by profound love for the common good, we are calling on you to endorse the bipartisan, multi-faith effort to abolish the death penalty in Ohio," they said.

The faith leaders affirmed they "hold deep care and respect for victims and co-victims of crime, and we most certainly are not opposed to accountability for rightfully convicted persons," however: "We believe that the death penalty serves no moral purpose."

"Instead, it is a hollow instrument of death that offers no redemption, no closure, and no transformation for anyone involved," the letter said. "The death penalty monopolizes human and financial resources that would be better spent if applied to the co-victims whose glaring list of needs often goes unmet."

The signatories included parish priests, Protestant pastors, and Catholic religious sisters. It also includes non-Christians, such as rabbis, Muslims, Zoroastrian, and unitarian universalists.

Marsha Forson, associate director of Social Concerns at the Catholic Conference of Ohio, spoke during a news conference to announce the letter, noting the continued celebration of the Easter season.

"What does this mystery grant us but the hope of life — life eternal," she said. "Hope that one day all things will be placed in proper order by justice and peaceful reign and every tear will be wiped from our eyes."

Forson said "each person's fundamental identity and value is renewed not in the good or evil [that the person] has done but in the invaluable self-sacrificing love of one." She said "there is no longer any value that can be placed on a human life other than the inestimable price of Christ's sacrifice."

The bishops did not sign onto the OTSE letter but instead sent their own separate letter in late March, which also urged Ohio lawmakers to abolish the death penalty.

Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said in a statement to EWTN News that lawmakers have "the unique opportunity" with House Bill 72, under consideration in a House committee.

That bill, he explained, would "end state-sanctioned death in Ohio by abolishing the death penalty while also ensuring state funds will not pay for abortion or assisted suicide."

"We are actively meeting with Ohio legislators and urging them to stand against the culture of death and defend the sanctity of life in all stages and circumstances, as Pope Leo XIV continues to urge Catholics and all people of goodwill to do," he said.

On April 24, Leo provided a message to activists at DePaul University celebrating the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois, in which the Holy Father offered his "support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world."

"I pray that your efforts will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the dignity of every person and will inspire others to work for the same just cause," Leo said.

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On Monday, the Holy See Press Office confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 7.

The meeting follows a period of tension between the Holy See and U.S. President Donald Trump. In April, Trump publicly attacked the pontiff on social media, calling him "weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy" in response to the pontiff's appeals for peace amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

Rubio "will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere," State Department spokesman Thomas "Tommy" Pigott said in a May 4 statement. Rubio's meetings with Italian counterparts May 6–8 will be focused on security interests and strategic alignment, the statement said.

Leo XIV has called repeatedly for a peaceful resolution to the armed conflict in the Middle East. In April, he described Trump's threats against Iranian civilization as "not acceptable."

Trump criticized Leo, stating that he did not "want a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon." Leo responded that he had "no fear of the Trump administration" but a few days later said he had no interest in debating the president.

As originally reported by Vatican News, Rubio will meet the pope at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 7. It will be their second meeting, following their previous meeting after the pope's Mass of installation on May 18, 2025. U.S. Vice President JD Vance was also in attendance at that meeting.

Also on the morning of May 7, Leo will meet with the prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, at 9 a.m.

This story was updated at 2:25 p.m. ET on May 4, 2026, to include a statement from the U.S. State Department.

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A priest from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, recovering from a hip fracture at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) said he was twice offered assisted death by healthcare staff who knew he was a priest and opposed to euthanasia — a practice critics say is growing as medical professionals are increasingly encouraged to initiate such conversations.

"There are some things you just don't talk about to some people," said Father Larry Holland, who has completed studies in healthcare chaplaincy in addition to serving at numerous parishes in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

He described his reaction when a doctor brought up the option of medical aid in dying (MAID) should his condition deteriorate. "I think I was very shocked," he said. "It is such a sensitive subject."

Holland, 79, is currently convalescing at VGH after suffering a hip fracture from a fall in his bathroom on Christmas Day. He spoke to The B.C. Catholic about the offers of MAID from two healthcare professionals, despite their knowing he was a Catholic priest.

Holland said he wasn't dying then or now and that the doctor's mention of MAID left him "kind of silent" for a moment. The doctor then raised the subject again, saying it's "something they have to discuss with someone who's been given a terminal diagnosis."

Holland recalled telling the doctor he was morally opposed to euthanasia. The doctor explained that "he just wanted to make sure that, if a [terminal] diagnosis came up or not ... I knew of the different services I had access to."

Weeks later, a second offer of MAID came from a nurse who the priest said seemed uncomfortable raising the topic and was likely doing so out of compassion because of the pain he was enduring.

"It's a false compassion, really," he said.

A spokesman for Vancouver Coastal Health, which operates VGH, told The B.C. Catholic in an email that "staff may consider bringing up MAID based on their clinical judgment, provided they possess the necessary knowledge and skills to do so."

Staff are also "responsible for answering questions when patients bring up the topic of MAID," the spokesman said.

The two incidents arise as Canada approaches 100,000 assisted dying deaths.

Father Larry Lynn, the archdiocese's pro-life chaplain, said he was shocked to hear about Holland's case.

"This must surely be among the most appalling examples of Canada's coercive and insensitive euthanasia regime," Lynn said in an interview.

He said it's disturbing that a healthcare provider suggests euthanasia with any patient, and particularly when the patient is a consecrated religious known to be morally opposed. "It places the medical practitioner into the role of the devil, tempting a vulnerable person into mortal sin."

He's equally troubled that Canadian euthanasia providers aren't ruling out initiating discussions with Roman Catholics about MAID. In a document titled "Bringing up Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) as a Clinical Care Option," the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers recommends against assuming patients oppose MAID because of their faith.

The document says: "Healthcare professionals may draw incorrect assumptions about a person's views on MAID; e.g., they may assume that a patient objects to MAID because she is a Roman Catholic nun, and yet Roman Catholic nuns and others dedicated to a faith-based way of life have requested MAID." The booklet does not provide a source for the information.

An updated version published in March removes the Catholic reference but gives the same advice regarding people of a "faith community" and even those of "strong faith."

Lynn called it "diabolical" to use a nun as an example for overcoming a patient's moral objections.

The booklet reflects a recent trend of encouraging healthcare personnel to initiate MAID discussions with patients. In November 2025, The B.C. Catholic reported on a little-known 2023 Health Canada document urging health authorities and professional bodies to adopt "practice standards" requiring doctors and nurse practitioners to raise MAID with certain patients.

The MAID assessors and providers document similarly says physicians and nurse practitioners involved in care planning and consent processes "have a professional obligation to initiate a discussion about MAID if a patient might be eligible for MAID." However, Health Canada does not have the authority to require provinces or health authorities to adopt such guidelines and The B.C. Catholic found no evidence of any public agency or professional body in British Columbia doing so.

Amanda Achtman, creator of the anti-euthanasia project Dying to Meet You and ethics director of Canadian Physicians for Life, said initiating MAID discussions in a medical setting is a form of coercion that attacks patients' deepest convictions when they're vulnerable. To "torment" someone who has deeply held beliefs with an offer of MAID is "an attack on their identity," Achtman said.

Holland admitted he was in so much pain that he could "feel the temptation" to accept MAID. "It's a human reaction. We always look for the easy way out."

Conservative member of Parliament Garnett Genuis has introduced Bill C-260, An Act to Prevent Coercion of Persons Not Seeking Medical Assistance in Dying, which would prohibit federal employees from proactively offering or recommending MAID. The bill resulted from incidents of bureaucrats such as veterans counselors trying to steer vulnerable people toward assisted dying.

The Alberta government introduced legislation in March that would restrict regulated health professionals from providing information about MAID to their patients unless the patient brings it up. The Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act would also restrict the public display of MAID information, such as posters, within healthcare facilities.

The bill is worth supporting, said Achtman, who lives in Calgary. "Simply being offered euthanasia already kills the person, because it defeats and deflates their sense of self-worth and value."

The unwanted initiation of MAID discussions in Canada made international headlines in March after Achtman shared the story of an 84-year-old woman, Miriam Lancaster, who went to VGH last year for severe back pain. She said the first doctor she spoke with in the emergency room raised MAID before any diagnostic work had been done. Lancaster's daughter was present and confirmed the incident, adding her mother eventually responded to rehabilitation and rest.

The Catholic chaplain at VGH, Father Ronald Sequeira, said it's a constant struggle to help suffering patients not lose hope. He said he tries to offer them "some kind of encouragement and comfort," but many give up.

"The moment you lose hope, the devil comes in, in different personalities, and says, 'Do you want MAID? I don't want people to suffer.'"

Patients often don't realize that suffering is redemptive, he said. "God makes us more pure, more strong, through the suffering when we offer it up," Sequeira said. "So we give hope — help them not to lose hope."

Holland said turning down an offer of death opens one to new experiences. Even enduring pain "can encourage growth," he said. "It can motivate you, it can open up new worlds, new vistas, new opportunities," including enriched relationships.

He said he is sharing his story in the hope it will help others. "I went through it; you can go through it, too."

This story was first published in The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission and adaptations.

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MAPUTO, Mozambique — The bishop of Mozambique's Catholic Diocese of Pemba has expressed sorrow following a terrorist attack that destroyed the historic St. Louis de Montfort Parish in Cabo Delgado province, saying the local community "remains in shock" after the assault.

In a message sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, a Catholic charity foundation that supports the suffering Church all over the world, on May 1, Bishop António Juliasse Ferreira Sandramo said the parish in Meza, northern Mozambique, was completely burned down during an attack carried out by insurgents on April 30.

"The terrorists arrived around 4 p.m. and entered the parish of St. Louis of Montfort, a symbol, since 1946, of the Catholic presence in the region," the bishop said.

He added: "The parish was attacked and completely burned down by the insurgents. The scene was one of terror: Houses and infrastructure destroyed, the historic parish reduced to rubble."

According to Sandramo, civilians were captured during the attack and forced to listen to hate speeches delivered by the assailants.

The Cameroonian missionaries serving the parish were not present at the time of the attack and are safe.

"The missionaries are safe, but the community remains in shock," the bishop said.

The Catholic Church leader appealed for international solidarity with the victims of violence in Cabo Delgado, where Islamist insurgency has persisted for nearly nine years.

"We ask for attention and solidarity with the victims of Meza. For almost nine years now, chapels and churches have been burned in the Diocese of Pemba," the bishop said.

Despite the destruction, he expressed hope and resilience among the Christian faithful.

"But the faith of this people of God will never be burned; it is rebuilt daily!" he emphasized.

According to ACN, the church building, which dates back to colonial times, was vandalized and reduced to ashes. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults attributed to militants linked to the Islamic State in Mozambique.

During a December 2025 visit to Mozambique by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Sandramo shared the extent of the devastation caused by the insurgency in Cabo Delgado.

"More than 300 Catholics were killed, most by decapitation," the bishop said at the time, referring to catechists, parish animators, and ordinary faithful.

He also reported that since the insurgency began in October 2017, at least 117 churches and chapels had been destroyed in the Pemba Diocese, including 23 in 2025 alone. The destruction of St. Louis de Montfort Parish adds to that toll.

Parolin visited Cabo Delgado during his Dec. 5–10 trip to Mozambique, where he met victims and heard testimonies from communities affected by the violence.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The faithful curious about who Pope Leo XIV was before his election to the papacy now have a new window into the Augustinian spirituality that shaped him.

The Order of St. Augustine and the Vatican Publishing House have published a book by Pope Leo XIV titled "Free Under Grace: Writings and Meditations 2001–2013," a collection of texts written during his years as prior general of the Augustinian order.

The volume includes for the first time speeches, homilies, letters, messages, and meditations written during the more than 10 years in which Robert Francis Prevost led the Order of St. Augustine. According to a statement, the book offers readers a "closer look at his spirituality," deeply marked by the Augustinian tradition.

The first copy of the Italian edition, which arrived in bookstores Monday — four days before the first anniversary of Leo XIV's pontificate — was presented to Pope Leo XIV by Father Joseph Lawrence Farrell, OSA, the current prior general of the Order of St. Augustine and promoter of the publication.

Also taking part in the presentation were Father Rocco Ronzani, OSA, prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive and one of the book's editors, and Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Vatican Publishing House.

In addition to Ronzani, the book was edited by Augustinian Fathers Miguel Ángel Martín Juárez and Michael Di Gregorio. The official presentation of the volume took place last October during the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, though its commercial distribution in Italy began Monday.

The Vatican Publishing House confirmed to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the text will be published in the coming months in several languages, including Spanish and English, and is currently being translated in nearly 30 countries.

"The book, which compiles many of the communications of then-Prior General Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, offers an overview of some of the important themes developed during his years at the head of the Order of St. Augustine," Farrell said.

The pages include spiritual reflections, meditations, and homilies that anticipate central aspects of the thought and spirituality of the man who is now Pope Leo XIV.

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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Auxiliary Bishop Keith Chylinski of Philadelphia called for the rejection of stigma around mental health, emphasizing that God "wants us to be healthy mind, body, and soul."

"Sometimes when we think about mental health, and there could be a stigma, there could be fear, there could be shame in addressing wounds that we have, illnesses that we have," Chylinski said in an April 30 video message on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to mark Mental Health Awareness Month, observed in May.

"But it's so important that God loves the whole person," Chylinski said. "He loves us body and soul. And so, it's so important for us as members of the Church to reach out to those who are suffering, who are struggling, and to know that there is a great hope in the Lord."

Know that no matter what you're going through, no matter what you're suffering, that in Christ there is always hope. You are never alone."

Auxiliary Bishop Keith Chylinski

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Chylinski, who studied clinical psychology as a priest, praised advances in medical science and psychotherapy over the past 50 years. He also encouraged those struggling with mental health challenges to seek resources offered by the Church.

"There is no shame in asking for help," he said. "Because the Lord wants us to be healthy, mind, body, and soul, and the way that we live our spiritual lives affects us physically and vice versa, the way that we take care of our bodies, of our minds, affects us spiritually."

"Know that no matter what you're going through, no matter what you're suffering, that in Christ there is always hope," he concluded. "You are never alone."

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Catholic mental health professionals have welcomed the federal government's move toward potential approval of psychedelic drugs for clinical treatments, describing it as a hopeful response to the nation's growing mental health crisis while urging caution.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April directing federal agencies to accelerate research, regulatory review, and limited patient access to psychedelic drugs as potential treatments for serious mental illnesses, including depression, PTSD, and other treatment-resistant conditions.

Titled "Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness," the executive order defines serious mental illness as "having a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder that substantially interferes with a person's life and ability to function."

"Despite massive federal investment into researching potential advancements in mental health care and treatment, our medical research system has yet to produce approved therapies that promote enduring improvements in the mental health condition" of the most complex patients, the order says.

"Innovative methods are needed to find long-term solutions for these Americans beyond existing prescription medications."

The order promotes research into psychedelics such as ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid derived primarily from the root bark of an African shrub. It has shown promise in treating opioid addiction (by reducing withdrawal and cravings), as well as PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injury in treatment-resistant cases.

In addition to ibogaine, most classic psychedelics — including psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD, DMT, and mescaline — remain illegal at the federal level. They are classified as Schedule I substances, meaning they have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use according to the Controlled Substances Act.

However, psychedelics are not known to produce the physical dependence, compulsive drug-seeking behavior or withdrawal syndromes seen with drugs like opioids, alcohol, stimulants, or nicotine. The potential for abuse comes from the recreational use of the drugs for their psychoactive effects.

Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin work mainly by activating certain serotonin receptors in the brain's cortex, which can create chaotic, highly connected brain activity — producing vivid altered states, emotional breakthroughs, and ego dissolution. The experience is followed by days of heightened neuroplasticity that can rewire thinking patterns.

Ibogaine works through multiple brain systems at once. It affects glutamate, opioid, serotonin, and dopamine pathways while promoting brain repair in reward centers. This produces long dreamlike visions and a profound neurological "reset" that can dramatically reduce addiction cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

The Catholic response

Greg Bottaro, a psychologist and founder of the CatholicPsych Institute and creator of the CatholicPsych Model of Applied Personalism, told EWTN News he is "glad" the Trump administration is "bringing the conversation to the table."

Bottaro has researched psychedelic drugs for a decade, has four years of professional training with psychedelics, and has a natural medicine license in Colorado, which along with Oregon is one of two states where some of the drugs are legal. He said he believes the therapeutic use of the drugs could make "real healing possible for people with deep suffering."

Bottaro said he has seen "things are getting worse in many ways for some mental illnesses."

The executive order notes that more than 14 million American adults now suffer from serious mental illness, a large rise from a decade ago, and suicide rates have rebounded after declining during Trump's first term. Veterans are disproportionately affected, with a suicide rate more than double that of non-veteran adults.

Bottaro acknowledged, however, that new interventions such as psychedelics can be "dangerous if mishandled."

"The world of the subconscious and interior life and psyche is uncharted territory," he said. "Psychedelic drugs can activate neural pathways that give unqualified 'certainty' about a spiritual insight that isn't measured against a person's actual worldview."

"You don't want someone being treated to realize 'love is all that matters' and then leave his wife," Bottaro said.

"A lot of protective factors need to be in place" to ensure "a Catholic anthropology" guides those treating patients.

Trump's executive order instructs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue priority funding to psychedelic drugs that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation, speeding up reviews that could otherwise take months. The order says the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration must create a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelics under the Right to Try Act once basic safety requirements are met.

If any psychedelic drug completes Phase 3 trials and wins FDA approval, the attorney general must promptly review it for possible rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act.

Justin Hendricks, a Catholic psychiatrist, told EWTN News that while he thinks Catholics can use drugs to treat serious mental illness, more research and time is needed regarding psychedelics. "Haste is not the best idea," he said regarding pushing through FDA approvals. He said rushing to treat patients without more and thorough testing would be like "playing with fire."

These drugs can "rewire" neural pathways affected by trauma, he said. "How do you standardize that? It's tricky. We have to be careful. What are we 'rewiring' the brain to do?"

Terry Braciszewski, the president-elect of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, agreed, telling EWTN News he supports the careful use of psychedelics but cautions against speeding up reviews or clinical trials.

"If a neurochemical substance can help a person, I'm all for it," he said. "But slowing things down so we can establish appropriate safety measures and controls is important."

Ibogaine can cause serious side effects, including cardiac arrhythmias (heart rhythm problems), which have led to fatalities in unsupervised settings.

Still, he sees potential in the use of psychedelics such as ibogaine, citing a 2024 Stanford study showing a reduction in symptoms from traumatic brain injuries in veterans, which he called "very promising."

"When we think of being created in the image and likeness of God, it is remarkable that everything is produced by neurochemistry," he said.

"We know from Catholic theology, whatever we can do to maintain the temple of our body is an act of stewardship over our life, our health, involvement with loved ones, and our contribution to the greater body of the Church," he said.

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