Catholic News

A new three-part documentary series is set to explore the reality of evil, exorcism, demonic oppression, and the spiritual battle for the human soul.

"In Jesus' Name" takes viewers into the world of what an exorcist does and why exorcisms were established, and offers guidance on things that the faithful should consider staying away from in order to keep themselves safe.

The docuseries features prominent exorcists, theologians, and survivors of demonic oppression and examines how evil operates, how it enters human lives, and how it can be overcome. Through personal testimonies and expert insight, the docuseries explores the tension between good and evil, biblical teaching on exorcism, the reality of spiritual warfare, and, above all, the hope and power of Jesus Christ.

The creators of "In Jesus' Name" seek to take exorcisms out of the sensational and instead provide an accurate view of how they are conducted and how people have found deliverance.

"With 'In Jesus' Name,' we wanted to demystify the rite of exorcism and invite audiences to see how the Church responds to the presence of evil in an authoritative but compassionate and deeply human way," Peter Gagnon, president of EWTN Studios, said in a press release.

"By giving viewers rare access to experienced exorcists, theologians and those who have confronted profound spiritual darkness firsthand, the series reveals not only the reality of spiritual warfare but the truth at its heart: the battle is real, but God's love and grace is greater," Gagnon said.

Father Dan Reehil, pastor at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Columbia, Tennessee, and an appointed exorcist for the Diocese of Nashville, is one of the authoritative figures in the docuseries, alongside Father Vincent Lampert, who served for nearly 20 years as the designated exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, as well as Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee, a theological expert on the history of the Catholic rite of exorcism.

In an interview with "EWTN News Nightly," Reehil emphasized that "the devil is real" and that while "there's a lot of banter on social media and also the internet about the devil," the faithful should focus their time "on God, particularly on Jesus Christ, who is the one who crushes Satan."

He explained that when Lucifer rejected God's plan and one-third of the angels followed Lucifer, those angels became the demons that were cast down to earth.

"They're cast down to earth, and now they roam the earth, and their No. 1 enemy, according to Revelation Chapter 12, is they're making war against those who keep God's commands and bear witness to Jesus Christ," he said. "So if that's you, you should at least be aware there's a target on your back, [but] not to be afraid of it. It's actually a badge of honor because you're in this great elect group of people that he hates because of who we are."

Reehil shared that "the best thing you can do is have a very robust prayer life, have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ as a true disciple. And we use the same weapons. We use obedience to God, we use humility, we use purity, all the aspects of Our Lady would be the weapons we use in this battle."

Created by EWTN Studios and Cumberland Creative, "In Jesus' Name" is available for streaming on EWTN+ and EWTN.com as of Oct. 28. The first episode will also be available on the EWTN YouTube channel.

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A priest presented Pope Leo XIV with a book documenting the pilgrimage of the Divine Child of the Miracle ("Divino Niño del Milagro") in Lima and Callao in Peru, a devotion encouraged by the pope himself, which was inspired by Peru's only Eucharistic miracle, dating back to 1649.

Father Edwin Limas Falcón, an Oblate of St. Joseph, presented the Spanish-language book titled "Itinerary of Faith: The Child of Eten Arrives in Lima and Callao" to the Holy Father.

The book summarizes the work of the lay group Eucharistic Miracle Peru 1649, led by researcher Jesús León Ángeles. The presentation took place during an audience held to mark the 150th anniversary of the Canon Law Department of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The book documents a pilgrimage through 21 parishes in Lima and Callao including the cathedrals of Lima, Carabayllo, and St. Peter in Lurín as well as the parishes of St. John Mary Vianney and St. Luke, among others.

"We have witnessed the grace of God expressed through the piety of thousands of families who come to adore the Lord in the Eucharist. We know well that Pope Leo XIV deeply values ??each of these steps, for he himself taught us in Chiclayo that Jesus continues to become alive and present among us in every Eucharistic celebration," Ángeles told EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

When he was bishop of Chiclayo, Pope Leo encouraged the recognition of Ciudad Eten, the site of a Eucharistic miracle, as a "Eucharistic City." He personally secured an 11-hectare plot of land (about 27 acres) for the construction of Peru's first Eucharistic shrine.

In 2024, as Ángeles recalled, during the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, he received a call from Monsignor Edgar Rimaycuna, personal secretary to the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, who encouraged them to "seek every possible opportunity to make the miracle known."

The Eucharistic miracle of Eten

On June 2, 1649, in the town of Santa Magdalena de Eten, during the Mass on the eve of the solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Divine Child appeared within the consecrated host.

The miracle occurred again on July 22 of the same year during the Mass celebrated in honor of the town's patroness, St. Mary Magdalene. Two apparitions took place that day: first, the Child appeared once more, and in second, three intertwined hearts appeared, symbolizing the Most Holy Trinity.

Although the hosts in which the Divine Child of the Miracle appeared have not been preserved, the then-bishop of Chiclayo told ACI Prensa in 2019 that "the history, the data, and the devotion spanning these 370 years are quite well documented …. It was never submitted to the Vatican for formal Church approval, and we are working on that now."

Formal approval of the Eucharistic miracle by the Vatican now rests with Pope Leo XIV.

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

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EWTN News is set to provide expanded coverage of the 2026 midterm elections in the United States, elections that will not only determine which political party controls a majority in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives but also decide other issues of keen interest to Catholic voters across the country.

The award-winning team at the global Catholic network's flagship nightly newscast, "EWTN News Nightly," will kick off election night coverage at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with an hourlong, scene-setting special.

Anchors Veronica Dudo and Erik Rosales will be joined by EWTN News Vice President and Editorial Director Matthew Bunson, along with correspondents Owen Jensen, Roselle Reyes, Paola Flynn, "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly" host Abi Galván, and other colleagues on election night.

At 9 p.m. ET on election night, the network will return to the air with a half-hour special as early results come in.

The programming will include coverage of referendums on abortion in Virginia, Nevada, Idaho, and Missouri; key House, Senate, and gubernatorial races; and several other referendum questions Catholics are following closely.

Joining the team for analysis of the elections and the issues surrounding it will be Josh Altic of Ballotpedia, political analyst Tim Rosales, Kelsey Pritchard of SBA Pro-Life America, Alejandro Ramos of Ramos Research Institute, and Kristi Hamrick of Students for Life of America, among others.

"EWTN News offers vital and timely coverage and analysis of the midterm elections from the Catholic perspective," Bunson said of the coverage.

"We provide reporting and commentary across multiple platforms and multiple languages, but above all we deliver professional award-winning journalism that is faithful to Catholic teaching and that touches on all of the issues that are of concern to Catholics," he said.

"EWTN News is uniquely positioned to be the go-to news outlet for a proper understanding of the results of the vote and their implications for Catholics in the United States and around the world," Bunson added.

To Bunson's point, on Nov. 4, the network will also offer an expanded one-hour edition of "EWTN News Nightly" recapping all of the major results.

The coverage will be accessible on multiple platforms, including cable television, YouTube, EWTN.com, Roku, Amazon Fire, and the EWTN app, which is free in the Google Play and Apple stores.

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EWTN Global Catholic Network (EWTN) will cease the operation of its long-running shortwave radio service this month, EWTN Chairman of the Board and CEO Michael Warsaw announced on Oct. 30.

The shortwave service, which has operated under the call sign WEWN since its launch in 1992, will shut down on Oct. 31. EWTN's board of governors recently confirmed the decision.

Warsaw pointed to the decline of shortwave radio consumption as one of the driving factors leading to the station's closure. A widely used media source in the 20th century, shortwave's popularity has decreased in the 21st century amid the rapid global uptake in streaming and digital platforms.

Operating costs at the WEWN network have been high relative to the declining number of shortwave listeners, Warsaw said, and the aging facility was in need of significant and expensive repairs, which he said would not be a "prudent stewardship of our resources."

"As we shift the use of shortwave to newer and more far-reaching distribution channels, we remain grateful for the co-workers and benefactors who sustained the service for so long," he said.

Among them, Warsaw recalled the late Dutch Catholic entrepreneur Piet Derkson and his wife, Trudy, whose $26 million gift made the construction of WEWN possible and helped Mother Angelica, EWTN's foundress, advance the network's mission of sharing the truth of the Gospel around the world.

"We are also mindful that it was Shortwave which inspired and allowed the growth of EWTN Radio," he noted. Since its launch, EWTN Radio has grown to currently broadcast over 600 AM/FM stations worldwide, in addition to airing on satellite and digital platforms.

In 2008, EWTN had previously ceased direct shortwave broadcasts to North America. Since then, its English-language shortwave service had reached audiences primarily in Africa and the Middle East. The Spanish-language shortwave coverage was directed to Latin America.

EWTN Radio's content continues to reach these audiences through its digital platforms, online streaming services, mobile applications, podcasts, satellite distribution, and its extensive network of AM/FM affiliates.

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Cardinal Luis Cabrera, archbishop of Guayaquil in Ecuador, has announced a safety plan aimed at preventing accidents such as the one that claimed the life of Father Patricio Sánchez Molinari, who was killed when a large crucifix broke loose from the sanctuary wall behind him and struck him on the head as he said Mass.

The cardinal expressed his gratitude to those who "showed their solidarity through prayers and expressions of affection and appreciation for the community" of the Redemptorist priest, the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, who passed away on Oct. 17.

"As a security measure, and in coordination with the fire department and other state institutions, we will proceed with a technical inspection of the structures of churches and parish buildings, as well as the mountings of religious objects that could potentially cause similar injuries," Cabrera explained during an Oct. 28 press conference held in anticipation of the Mass marking the 100th anniversary of the feast of Christ the King, which he will celebrate on Saturday, Oct. 31.

"Accidents are not planned; they are chance occurrences … Some can be logically foreseen, and appropriate precautions can be taken to avoid them," he added, noting that "there are 161 parishes, and each parish must ensure that its structures are in good condition."

On Thursday, EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, was told that the archdiocesan technical department, in collaboration with the fire department and other experts, will review the structural, electrical, water flow, and technical aspects of each parish.

This will be done, the archdiocese explained, according to the availability of the parish priests who will be present for the inspection, taking into account that with Advent approaching, there is an increase in church activities.

What will happen to the cross that fell on Sánchez?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish told EWTN News Español that the cross that fell on Sánchez has not been put back up. "What the media are saying is false," the parish noted, referring to some reports stating that the crucifix had been returned to the wall where it had previously hung.

Father Pedro Calle, a Redemptorist priest who was in Guayaquil to participate in the novena for Sánchez, told EWTN News Español on Oct. 29 that whether or not the crucifix is ??put back up "depends on the new parish priest who will be assigned. It is a matter of time and internal organization."

El Niño phenomenon

At the press conference, Cabrera also addressed the El Niño weather phenomenon that is wreaking havoc in Guayaquil with heavy rains. According to the National Secretariat for Risk Management, it is estimated that 32,000 people have been affected by the rains.

The cardinal stated that each parish has "a team of volunteers ready to assist those in need. Furthermore, in each of the seven episcopal vicariates, locations have been designated for the collection of food and other supplies."

A collection taken up at the Mass on Saturday, Oct. 31, will assist those affected.

The 100th anniversary of the feast of Christ the King

On Oct. 31, Cabrera will celebrate the Mass to commemorate the feast of Christ the King, established 100 years ago by Pope Pius XI, which left a lasting mark on life in Guayaquil and led to the custom of the faithful adorning their balconies with an image of the Lord and the flag of Ecuador.

In Ecuador, this feast is celebrated with the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom the country was consecrated on March 25, 1874, a consecration that was renewed this June. Ecuador was the first country in the world to be officially consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the conclusion of yesterday's press conference, Cabrera blessed the image that will be displayed during Saturday's Eucharist.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, 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 emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) can never replace the human person and that AI regulation must continue.

"Machines are tools, not persons," Leo said in his address.

The pontiff held a private audience on Friday with participants in a meeting on "The Future of AI: A Dialogue Between the Vatican and the Scientific World on the Development and Applications of Intelligent Technologies" at the Vatican. The Pontifical Academy for Life and the Future of Life Institute organized the one-day conference.

AI cannot be given human rights or personhood

During the meeting, members of the Vatican Commission on Artificial Intelligence and scholars discussed ongoing concerns as AI continues to develop.

Noting this concern in his address, the pope warned against efforts to grant AI technologies rights and legal status comparable to those of human beings.

"Today, some propose granting these systems rights, or even legal personhood," Leo said. "Such an approach risks obscuring human responsibility and leaving those who suffer harm to confront a faceless entity."

Drawing on his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Leo explained that the future of AI technologies depends on the choices made today, choices he hopes will promote the dignity of the human person.

"As a technology developed by human beings, its future depends on the choices we make," Leo said.

"A reliable system that serves the human person is of greater value than one that is exceptionally powerful but whose consequences cannot be adequately foreseen or controlled."

Earlier in October, Leo explained the difference between classical art and AI-made art, saying there is an "ontological difference" that exists "even before an aesthetic one."

Vatican AI leadership and calls to stop super-development

Several conference participants, according to an Oct. 30 press release, expressed hope in the Vatican's leadership on AI ethical issues. One of those was Max Tegmark, a physicist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"With strong moral leadership, the Vatican can help steer AI development onto a better pro-human path," Tegmark said.

Others called for an end to the super-development of AI amid fears that AI is making humans obsolete.

"We must turn aside from this trajectory before it is too late and pursue other trajectories," said Stuart Russell, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, adding that if AI developers succeed in super-development, "there's a good chance that every human being will die."

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DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — The chairman of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) has urged Tanzanians to uphold the truth and examine the country's electoral framework to prevent further election-related violence.

In his homily during Mass on Oct. 29, Bishop Wolfgang Pisa of the Lindi Diocese appealed for forgiveness for those held in connection with the October 2025 election violence, adding that acknowledging difficult realities should guide the country's response to the violence that followed the disputed elections.

He was speaking at St. Andrew Kaggwa Cathedral in his Diocese of Lindi on the day TEC dedicated national prayers for victims a year after the Oct. 29, 2025, polls.

"If we say that the current electoral law and the present constitution cannot deliver elections that are fair, truthful, peaceful, and secure, then that is the truth that should guide us," Pisa said.

He added: "We must defend the truth, not protect wrongdoing. Let us do what is good and seek it at all times, so that we may avoid evil and abandon it completely."

Drawing on the account of John the Baptist in Mark 6:17–29, the TEC chairman called on Tanzanians to acknowledge and defend the truth, even at personal cost.

"John the Baptist acknowledged the truth, even though doing so came at a great personal sacrifice. He was prepared to acknowledge and defend the truth," he said.

Pisa urged the people of God to allow themselves to "be possessed by the truth and guided by it."

"Let us not attempt to distort the truth, because it will remain what it is," the member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) said.

Turning to the responsibility of those in positions of influence, Pisa recalled how Queen Esther intervened when Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. He urged Tanzanians serving in public institutions and other sectors of society to use their positions to prevent further violence.

"The first form of influence is the influence of prayer: fasting and praying. The second is to make use of people who have the ability to influence decisions. They must exercise genuine influence to ensure that such events do not happen again," he said.

"In all this, we must always seek what is good. But this is not the time merely to complain. It is time to call upon other people like Esther in every institution to do their part: to exercise influence and wisdom."

The TEC chairman also called for repentance, inviting Tanzanians to examine both acts of wrongdoing and failures to act when others were in danger.

"Through my failure to act, my failure to speak, or my failure to give direction, perhaps killings occurred, people were injured, people went missing, or people were unable to bury their relatives," he said.

Invoking the biblical account of Cain and Abel, Pisa urged Tanzanians to reflect on their responsibility toward those who suffered during the violence.

"Like Cain, we continue to be asked: 'Where is your brother Abel?'" the bishop said.

He also appealed for forgiveness for people held, tortured, or arrested for political reasons and in connection with the previous year's elections.

"If there are others who might also have made mistakes and are being held, tortured, or have been arrested for political reasons and in connection with the previous election, fundamentally, they should not be killed," he said.

The bishop warned that killing them would not resolve the problem.

"That will not solve the problem; it will bring more hatred and greater division," he said. "Therefore, just as we ask God to forgive our sins, they too should be granted forgiveness."

Pisa concluded by calling on the faithful to continue praying for Tanzania and its leaders.

"Let us continue to ask for God's mercy and pray for our nation. Let us pray for all government leaders, asking God, Our Lord, to guide their minds and hearts according to his will, so that all people may enjoy peace, justice, freedom, and truth," he said.

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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Santiago Schnell, a Catholic scholar and emerging leader in the push to reform U.S. higher education, has resigned as provost of Dartmouth College following an investigation into his use of artificial intelligence (AI) in published articles.

In an email to students that was reported on by the student-led publication at the college, The Dartmouth, on Wednesday, university president Sian Leah Beilock said Schnell had resigned and was "leaving the university" after an independent, faculty-led committee determined that Schnell may have violated university policies when he used AI in select academic works and popular articles without proper disclosure to the publications he was writing for. Dartmouth will have an interim provost through 2028, Beilock said. 

Several fellow Catholic scholars, including some who have criticized Schnell's apparent use of AI in writing, expressed surprise at the news, which underscores the thorny questions surrounding the rapidly growing adoption of AI tools in professional writing, particularly in higher education.

"Obviously, I am against AI writing. And yet I feel whiplash here," said Jennifer Frey, a Catholic philosopher at the University of Virginia, on social media. "Who can hang a man in the wild, wild west, which is an accurate description of AI in higher ed right now? Especially at Dartmouth, which has so strongly encouraged [AI] use in the name of 'not being left behind'!"

A native of Venezuela, Schnell, a mathematical biologist, was named chief academic officer of the vaunted Ivy League school at the start of the 2025-26 academic year. His appointment generated positive attention among some Catholics in higher education, who expressed appreciation for Schnell's push for a more classical vision of university life centered on formation in beauty, truth, and friendship.

"His promotion was such a ray of hope in higher education, especially at elite universities," said Jeremy Tate, the founder and CEO of the Classical Learning Test (CLT), an alternative to the SAT and ACT designed around classical education.

Beyond the secular higher education world, Schnell, who formerly served as a dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, was also a leading voice of reform at Catholic universities.

In June, Schnell addressed members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at the the group's plenary assembly in Orlando, Florida, telling the bishops that they "could be more vocal" and "more pushy" when it comes to making sure that Catholic universities are faithful to their unique mission of forming saints.

Controversial AI usage

But controversy began to swirl following a September article by The Dartmouth, which reported that several of Schnell's public writings since 2022, including academic papers and op-eds for various newspapers, had been flagged by Pangram, a leading AI-detection tool, as overwhelmingly "AI-written."

The Dartmouth's report was prompted by a prior investigative piece by the publication Semafor, which in a broader investigation of AI-generated writing in major newspapers had flagged one of Schnell's op-eds — a piece for The Washington Post about combating AI-facilitated cheating in schools — as being "100%" AI-generated.

In response to The Dartmouth's September investigative report, Schnell said in an emailed statement that he uses AI for "language refinement, copyediting, improving clarity and organization and making writing processes more efficient," but "review[s] the final text and take[s] responsibility for its content."

"I develop ideas and arguments, conduct the research, evaluate the evidence and sources, determine the structure, prepare drafts and decide what appears in the final text," Schnell wrote to The Dartmouth. "I regard these technologies as assistive tools. They do not identify the problem, design the research project, guarantee the validity of research results, interpretations, citations, conclusions or substitute for my research, intellectual judgment or authorship."

He also added that AI detectors are "known to be unreliable."

"There's evidence that they're biased against nonnative English speakers, such as myself," Schnell wrote.

Schnell wrote three op-eds for the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, this year, two of which were on the theme of AI use and its effects on education. All three were flagged in The Dartmouth story on the provost's AI usage. Schnell did not comment when asked Thursday if he used AI tools in drafting his commentaries for the Register. He referred questions about the Dartmouth College investigation and his resignation to his lawyers, who did not respond to an inquiry before publication.

In his public writings and in interviews, including with the Register, Schnell often addressed the current and future effects of AI on education, saying that he sees the rise of AI as an opportunity for classrooms to return to more low-tech, personalized modes of learning.

At the same time, Schnell has also written that he believes educators can make positive usage of large language model (LLM) AI tools.

"Used with discipline, [LLMs] can be genuinely useful," he wrote, in part, for the Register in one of his op-eds. "A professor may use them to prepare discussion questions. A researcher may use them to survey literature more quickly. An administrator may use them to accelerate routine writing. It would be foolish to deny their utility."

Catholic reaction

In the full investigative report into Schnell's use of AI, published by Dartmouth, fellow faculty determined that Schnell had used AI to "meaningfully alter his writing in violation of at least one publication's AI use and/or disclosure requirement, failed to disclose his use of AI in clear violation of a national newspaper's stated policy, was not forthcoming about his AI use, and fell short of the standards set forth by" various academic codes of conduct. 

Some higher-ed reform advocates, however, have questioned whether the outspoken Catholic scholar was treated fairly in the process.

"Was he treated with extra scrutiny because of his disposition?" asked Tate, who suggested that AI usage is widespread among university administrators. "I think there's a conversation to be had."

"I'm not saying he didn't make a mistake, but this is a huge loss," Tate added. "I think everybody loses here."

Frey told the Register that she found Dartmouth's decision shocking, in part because the university appears to have "suddenly drawn very clear and sharp lines with the provost's own use of AI" when the acceptable norms of AI use in higher education remain largely undefined.

Additionally, she noted that Dartmouth itself has actively promoted the use of LLMs to "augment" traditional methods of education. According to The New York Times, the Ivy League school even entered into an agreement last year with Anthropic and Amazon Web Services to provide its faculty and students access to AI tech.

"Perhaps a better outcome, for Dartmouth and for us all, would have been to use the revelation of Schnell's AI use to start a serious and transparent conversation on our campuses about what we think the lines [about AI use] are and why people and institutions draw them where they do," she said.

"I am inclined to the view that there is a lot more for us to figure out before we begin to discipline and punish," she added.

Tate said that he hopes Schnell has additional opportunities to "have a big impact somewhere in higher ed," noting that "he's got a lot he can give."

He also said that others must work to carry forward the vision of higher-education reform that Schnell helped reintroduce into the national discourse, including conversations about the fundamental purpose of a university education.

"He was entering into that in a way that was really beautiful, with really timeless wisdom," Tate said. "So let's hold on to this mission. It may be the only mission that can save higher ed right now."

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

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ANN ARBOR, Michigan — In the closing days of a hotly contested U.S. Senate race, Michigan Democratic candidate Abdulrahman "Abdul" El-Sayed released an ad on "Prayer" in which he says that as a Muslim he prays every day.

Commenting on the ad, Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of the advocacy organization CatholicVote, said: "I take him at his word that he is a man of prayer and he, as an American Muslim, deserves the same religious liberty we Catholics have fought to protect for two centuries."

"What I question is something else," Reinhardt continued. "El-Sayed has repeatedly answered fair questions with false equivalences, and he has put Catholics and our Church at the center of them."

Reinhardt was referring to El-Sayed's repeated equation of Catholic canon law with sharia. Addressing concerns about his Islamic faith and fears over the imposition of sharia, in a video shared on social media El-Sayed emphasized that if elected to the Senate, "I'm going to swear an oath to that U.S. Constitution."

In the video, El-Sayed told a town hall questioner in Michigan, who identified himself as a Christian, that "because of the U.S. Constitution you have the right to live according to canon law and also because of the U.S. Constitution you don't get to enforce canon law on anyone else."

Reinhardt squarely accuses El-Sayed of drawing a "false equivalence" between the two systems. "The Code of Canon Law is the internal legal order of the Catholic Church. It governs how the Church administers sacraments, organizes dioceses, and disciplines its own clergy. It makes no claim over the criminal code of any nation," she explained.

"Classical sharia is a different kind of thing. Many American Muslims understand it as a matter of personal devotion, and that is their right," she continued. "In its historic jurisprudence, though, sharia is a comprehensive legal order. It reaches into family law, criminal punishment, and the governance of the state. That is why it is written into the constitutions of several nations, and canon law is written into none," Reinhardt pointed out.

"One can respect both traditions and still see that they are not the same. A Senate candidate should know the difference," she said.

The issue first came to the forefront during an Aug. 24 interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, when El-Sayed asked, "Do you know what canon law is, Jesse? ... canon law is the name for Christian law … Nobody is trying to push sharia law on anyone else. Just like I hope nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion."

Following that exchange, Catholic Answers' Todd Aglialoro also pointed out the problematic comparison and why the issue is a relevant one.

"Sharia is a broad term for codes of Muslim conduct," Aglialoro explained. "In many countries that are predominantly Muslim, Sharia is deeply embedded into civil and criminal law, with its prescriptions, judgments, and punishments serving a governing function."

In the West, Aglialoro continued, sharia has become a flashpoint of controversy in places "where Muslim-dense locales experience conflict between local law enforcement, based on liberal Western values, and neighborhood Muslim councils dispensing gray-market Sharia judgments that often contradict those values."

"The majority of these hot spots are in Europe, but as Islam grows in certain regions of the United States, there has been talk of measures to prevent that kind of 'parallel justice' from taking root here," he noted.

Gabriel Said Reynolds, who serves on the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue with Muslims and is a professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame, told EWTN News that for Muslims, "God's will for humanity is sharia."

Sharia includes explicit implications for non-Muslims. For example, Islamic law allows for a head tax known as "jizya" on Jews and Christians. At different times Christians in the Islamic world have suffered from abduction, enslavement, subjugation, and forced conversion.

In contrast, the Code of Canon Law is neither "Christian law" nor a civil code for all Christians, but orders the life of the Catholic Church. Unlike sharia, as Aglialoro points out, "Catholic canon law is not about superimposing a full spectrum of doctrinal and moral teaching onto the everyday life of religious adherents. It is more like a thick binder of organizational bylaws." 

Professor David Long, who teaches canon law at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that comparing canon law and sharia may help illustrate believers' "freedom to observe religious obligations" but "does not establish that canon law and sharia share the same sources of authority or jurisdiction."

Long said of El-Sayed's comparison: "As an appeal to the religious freedom protected by the Constitution, the analogy makes a useful point: Catholics and Muslims alike may seek freedom to observe their religious obligations without thereby claiming authority to impose those obligations on their fellow citizens. That constitutional argument does not depend on the two legal traditions being equivalent."

"Islamic jurisprudence also provides rules for civil government, including those affecting non-Muslims. The distinction is substantial, but it must be stated without reducing canon law to administrative rules or treating every Muslim's religious observance as a proposal for state enforcement," Long added.

For Christians, Long contends, the central issue concerning sharia is the distinction between religious freedom and coercive state authority.

At the time of publication, El-Sayed's campaign staff had not responded to an EWTN News request for the candidate to clarify his position on the matter.

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Pro-life advocates in Massachusetts say they have collected enough signatures to both suspend a far-reaching abortion law there and put the question before voters in the next presidential election cycle.

The state earlier this year became the latest in the U.S. to officially remove all limits on abortion. Lawmakers passed a law that permits abortion at any point in pregnancy for any reason; Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed the bill on Aug. 10.

Opponents of abortion subsequently launched an effort to suspend and potentially repeal the law, seeking enough signatures to enact a "veto referendum" that would put the law up for a statewide vote in 2028.

The advocates needed to collect about 37,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot; collecting just under 50,000 signatures, meanwhile, would suspend the law prior to that election.

Myrna Maloney Flynn, the president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, told EWTN News on Oct. 30 that the initiative had collected more than 100,000 signatures toward the effort.

The pro-life coalition will deliver the signatures to the Massachusetts secretary of state, she said. "Then we'll wait for his office to formally confirm the results."

"We do not know how long his office will take to verify," she said.

She said the governor could enact an "emergency preamble" that would nullify the presumptive suspension of the law, though Healey "has not indicated her intentions" in that regard. The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the initiative.

Upon its passage, the state abortion measure drew rebuke from the state's Catholic bishops, who described it as "a radical measure which is gravely immoral."

The advocacy group CatholicVote, meanwhile, called for Healey — who identifies as Catholic — to be excommunicated.

"Healey is a Catholic in a state of grave sin. She has publicly and now legislatively cooperated in the destruction of innocent human life," CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt said at the time.

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