Catholic News

Sept. 4 marks the 10-year anniversary of the canonization of Mother Teresa, a saint whom Pope John Paul II called "an icon of the Good Samaritan" who lived her life "as a total gift to the poor."

The nun was world famous for having established a network of houses in some of the most destitute regions in the world, including her "home for the dying" in Kalighat, Calcutta.

That hospice center, which is still operating today, cares for those who have nowhere else to go, including many dying individuals, with the religious sisters there working to serve Jesus "hidden under the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor," as John Paul II put it.

Yet though Mother Teresa was hailed for her lifetime of sacrifice and her relentless commitment to caring for the poor, she has periodically come under fire by some critics who allege that she did not effectively minister to impoverished people, including by allegedly denying painkillers to those suffering greatly while dying in her care.

Those allegations were espoused most famously by Christopher Hitchens, the outspoken British atheist who visited the Kalighat house and later wrote critically about the standard of care provided there — including the claim that the sisters refused to provide anesthetics to suffering patients.

'On the front line of alleviating pain and suffering'

Jim Towey, an American attorney who first met Mother Teresa in 1985 and who would go on to serve as legal counsel for her and the Missionaries of Charity for years, strongly disputed the claim that the nun was "indifferent to the pain of people."

Towey, who detailed his years of service to Mother Teresa in his acclaimed 2022 book "To Love and Be Loved," told EWTN News that she was "constantly on the front line of alleviating pain and suffering" across the world.

Hitchens' widely-repeated criticism, Towey argued, was based off of accounts of a few ex-Missionaries of Charity as well as a visit Hitchens himself paid to the Kalighat facility in the early 1980s, which he wrote about years later.

Critics of the Kalighat home, Towey said, "have no idea what it was like on the streets [of Calcutta], where people were literally dying outside Mother Teresa's doors."

"She would bring them in and clean them and make them comfortable," he said. "Half of them would die, half would eventually recover and leave."

He said regional circumstances in eastern India in the early 1980s made strong painkillers almost impossible to get.

"There was no available morphine in Calcutta, even in the hospitals," Towey said. "You couldn't get anesthesia. The supply routes in and out of West Bengal, even into the 21st century, were terrible. They denied Western investment and trade was nonexistent." Regional Soviet politics also constrained the exchange of goods, he said.

"There was no reliable stream of medical supplies," Towey said. Yet "if [Mother Teresa] had them, she used them."

The standards of care at the Kalighat facility have greatly improved in the decades since Hitchens visited, Towey pointed out. He said he most recently visited the home in May. "It's changed dramatically. The quality of care, the medical care they provide, the pain relief they give to people [have all improved]."

Still, he cautioned against applying hospital standards to what is effectively a hospice home. "Mother was not running a hospital," he said. Yet she was committed to alleviating the suffering of her charges to the greatest extent she could, he said. She herself regularly took medicine to manage instances of chronic back pain and numerous broken bones including a broken shoulder.

"This was a person whose life was immersed in suffering," Towey said. "But when it became terrible she took pain medicine. She understood redemptive suffering, but she also knew the Church encourages people to manage pain."

Towey, who did the first reading at Mother Teresa's canonization Mass at the Vatican in 2016, said Mother Teresa "did what she could" and "used what she had" in order to alleviate the suffering of those in her care. And beyond that she worked to ensure that those suffering or dying in her facilities were loved and cared for.

"She tried to help people make sense of the pain if it wasn't something she could alleviate," he said.

And ultimately "she let people know they were loved, that they had God-given dignity, and that their suffering would not diminish that dignity."

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On Sept. 3, Pope Leo XIV received at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace a group of seminarians from two Italian seminaries, thanking them on behalf of the Church for "the 'yes' you have spoken and continue to speak each day."

"It is neither easy nor a given in today's world, and the Church knows this well," he stated during the audience granted to delegations from the Pius XI Pontifical Apulian Regional Seminary in Molfetta and the Interdiocesan Seminary of Aversa.

Both seminaries are celebrating significant anniversaries this year. Molfetta is commemorating the centenary of its new premises — commissioned by Pope Pius XI, after whom the seminary is named — while Aversa is celebrating the tercentenary of the opening of its current facility.

Leo XIV also expressed his gratitude to the families present. "A vocation never arises without a suitable context; it often requires a home, and parents who pray and know how to let their children go. My gratitude, and that of the entire Church, goes out to you, dear families," he noted.

The pope also highlighted God's freedom, from which every vocation springs. "There is no competition, no ranking, nor is it written that he chose the best: He chose those he willed. In a world so intent on celebrating personal self-fulfillment, it is important to remember that none of you, nor any of us, is here because we earned it, but solely through a free choice by God the Father, a sign and guarantee of a gratuitous love that always precedes us and never disappoints," he emphasized.

"The Lord continues to call, in every age of history and in every place."

Pope Leo XIV

He also affirmed that the mere presence of these individuals with a priestly vocation in the seminary constitutes a sign of hope for the entire Church, a hope that, as he explained, stems not from "vague optimism," but from the "certainty that the Lord continues to call, in every age of history and in every place."

The pope also emphasized that the effort to live the spiritual life is sustained by "the beauty of fraternity and shared mission."

"Jesus does not call just one man, but twelve, with personalities that are very different and by our standards, sometimes unexpected. The Lord gathers them and keeps them together so that they may learn that the Church is lived in communion: it belongs to none of us, and we are all called to love and serve it as one body," he explained.

Addressing the formators, he asked them to be the "first teachers of that care and fraternity which are manifested in authentic, personal, and communal relationships, grounded in truth and charity."

The pope made it clear that the mission of future priests will be to bring the Gospel to the people of their communities, that is, "to families struggling to get by; to young people who, barely twenty years old, pack their bags to look for work; to the elderly living in solitude; to the marginalized; to those who have lost a sense of purpose in life."

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 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is commemorating Labor Day as a time to "celebrate workers and honor the dignity of work" in a statement published in advance of the holiday.

"Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of participation in God's creation," Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in the statement.

The archbishop's' statement focuses on concerns about labor, such as stagnant wages, not enough opportunities for young people, affordability and other economic issues, and the ongoing growth of artificial intelligence (AI), which has sparked fears about job security.

"This year, we focus on young people and vulnerable communities who face uncertainty in today's economy," Fabre said. "Traditional economic indicators tell us the economy is growing, but hiring has slowed, especially for unemployed workers, and unemployment remains high for Black workers."

The statement indicates that about one-fourth of workers make $35,000 annually or less, and nearly three-fourths of low-wage workers lack stable and secure jobs. It also cites data from a 2025 poll that showed that 70% of Americans  believed it was unaffordable to have children, 13 points higher than the previous year.

On AI, Fabre said, "there is widespread concern [it] will lead to higher unemployment and to fewer jobs that can support a family." He said young people are "the most impacted so far and also experience the most anxiety" about AI.

"We must listen to the experiences of workers, families, young people, and communities of color as they struggle to find stability," he said.

The archbishop referenced Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses AI concerns at length. The Holy Father warns humanity against creating "a new Tower of Babel" and pleads for society to instead "build the city in which God and humanity dwell together."

The pope "notes that although AI presents new opportunities, it also risks normalizing a vision that is anti-human," Fabre said.

"AI systems can imitate but never replace human intelligence," he said. "AI cannot feel, love, discern, or receive God's grace and wisdom. It is not morally neutral and risks creating 'new forms of exclusion.' AI must be carefully developed to ensure it serves the common good and humanity itself."

Echoing the pontiff, Fabre warns against "de-skilling, surveillance, rigid and repetitive tasks, reduced agency and creativity, unemployment, job insecurity, concentrated power, and increased inequalities."

"Furthermore, AI relies on low-wage workers, who are often hidden and who endure harsh conditions, caught in an exploitative supply chain," he said. "Pope Leo calls us to work together to 'design systems centered on the human person and not solely on performance' and foster an economy that values the God given dignity of each person. Dignified work is not merely about productivity, but also participation in God's creation. A just economy is not judged on profit alone, but on inclusive growth and protection for the most vulnerable."

Although Fabre acknowledged that it "may seem daunting" to align AI development with the interests of workers, "we have been here before." He referenced the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, authored by Pope Leo XIII amid the Industrial Revolution.

"The Church has brought the sacredness of the human person to the questions of work and labor for these last 135 years," Fabre said. "We recognize that as we observe the 40th anniversary of Economic Justice for All, the U.S. bishops' landmark document on the economy, much of the teaching of this document remains relevant for our shared project in the United States."

The archbishop said everyone — including the Church, the government, labor unions, civil society groups, and corporations — have a shared responsibility "to protect the human person and the dignity of work."

"As new technology reshapes our economy and our work, let us be 'builders of communion,' ensuring that innovation and development is for the benefit of all, not just a few, and that each person can contribute to the Kingdom of God through their work," Fabre said.

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Nicaragua's National Assembly, controlled by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president, Rosario Murillo, "unanimously" approved a constitutional reform barring "traitors to the homeland" (the term the regime uses for its political opposition) from participating in elections. The measure has sparked widespread domestic and international condemnation.

The reform was "unanimously approved in general terms," ??Assembly President Gustavo Porras stated on Sept. 1 during a special session held in the city of León, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.

The reform amends the constitution, which extends the presidential term, as well as those of other high-ranking officials, from six to seven years, with the possibility of renewal.

Ortega has governed Nicaragua for about 30 years: since 2007, and previously, from 1979 to 1990. On July 19, he stated that there would be no further elections in Nicaragua, and on July 31, he proposed the reform — set to take effect in 2027 — that excludes "coup plotters" and "terrorists,", terms he uses to refer to the political opposition, from participating in elections.

Reforms are a 'formalization of the usurpation of power'

Ruta del Cambio (Pathway for Change), an organization which defends human rights and the rule of law, declared in a Sept. 2 statement that it "categorically rejects and and gives no legal recognition to the partial reform to the Political Constitution [of the Republic of Nicaragua] approved during the first legislative session on Sept. 1, 2026, by a National Assembly stripped of all independence and reduced to a mere rubber stamp for the will of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo."

Ruta del Cambio counts among its leaders Félix Maradiaga, a former presidential candidate and former political prisoner now living in exile.

"What has been approved is not a constitutional reform. It is the formalization of the usurpation of power through a text drafted in secret, approved without opposition, and voted for with unanimous obedience by those who owe their positions, privileges, and impunity to the couple that has hijacked the state," Ruta del Cambio charged.

"Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have turned the constitution into a family's title deed. They have transformed the state into personal property, the law into an instrument of vengeance, and the republic's [law enforcement apparatus] into tools of terror against the very people they swore to serve," the organization emphasized.

Ruta del Cambio called for "rejecting the legal validity of this reform and of any act, mandate, extension, or appointment derived from it, and formally declaring it without force under international law."

Elections 'without legitimacy'

"What we are seeing in Nicaragua right now is a reform attempting to hold elections without competition, without legitimacy, and without any possibility of change. In other words, Ortega controls the judges and the playing field, and seeks to firmly establish his authoritarian model without any competition," stated Arturo Mcfields Yescas, Nicaragua's former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), in a Sept. 3 interview with EWTN Noticias, the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News.

"This further undermines not only civil and political freedoms but also another fundamental freedom: religious freedom," he pointed out.

McFields explained that when the regime speaks of "traitors to the homeland," it is referring to those who dissent from its rule. "People who questioned Ortega's authority immediately became traitors to the homeland," as did those who "simply thought differently" or called for "international mediation."

"This means," he charged, "that anyone who does not applaud Ortega becomes a traitor to the homeland."

U.S. reaction

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on X that "the Murillo-Ortega's National Assembly gutted what remained of Nicaragua's democracy in the second constitutional rewrite in two years. The U.S. will implement measures at the next @OAS_official [meeting of foreign ministers] to ensure that our hemisphere stops business as usual with this dictatorship."

Regarding the United States' call for countries to sever diplomatic and commercial ties with Nicaragua, McFields called it "an extraordinary start."

"For the first time, Ortega is facing pressure of this nature. For the first time, the OAS has approved a resolution on Nicaragua almost unanimously," by convening a meeting of foreign ministers to address the situation, McFields said.

Likewise, neighboring Costa Rica expressed its "deep concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of democracy in Nicaragua, exacerbated by the recent constitutional reform that further limits political and electoral participation," and stated that it "will support a firm and coordinated response" with the OAS.

The government of Peru, led by President Keiko Fujimori, also rejected the approval of the constitutional reform. In a Sept. 2 statement, it declared that it "will stand with the Nicaraguan people, their political prisoners, their exiles, and all those who are currently persecuted for dreaming of free elections."

Persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

McFields questioned the stance of countries like Brazil and Mexico, which did not support the resolution against Nicaragua, stating that "it's surprising, painful, and something that ought to change. There should be empathy for the suffering of the Nicaraguan people, for persecuted politicians, for priests who have been imprisoned, exiled, or banished, and for the churches that have, at times, been burned down. It is truly grotesque, yet ideology seems to be prevailing over democracy."

Since 2018, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship has waged a fierce campaign of persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. Its latest known victim is the bishop emeritus of Estelí, Abelardo Mata (80), who suffers from diabetes, a heart condition, and vision problems. His condition remains uncertain, despite the regime's claim that he is at home.

In mid-August, the regime released a video of an interview with the prelate, who recently celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest, without specifying when the footage was recorded.

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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Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron and "The Chosen" star Jonathan Roumie will be among the headliners at the first annual "Sheen Awards" taking place this month in Archbishop Fulton Sheen's home diocese of Peoria.

On Sept. 3 the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation and Peoria Bishop Lou Tylka announced the list of speakers for the gala event, which will be held Sept. 25th at the Peoria Civic Center, the day after Sheen himself is beatified in St. Louis.

"We're thrilled to bring the inaugural Sheen Awards to Peoria as we celebrate the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen," said Peoria diocese COO Royce Hood. He said the goal is to make the event an annual production "celebrating Sheen's legacy and recognizing people who are using their platforms to promote the faith."

Hailed during and after his life for his use of mass media to promote and explain the Catholic faith, Sheen has long been celebrated for his pioneering work in Catholic radio and television.

Barron, founder of the Word on Fire ministry and host of the popular documentary series "Catholicism," is widely viewed as a leading successor to Sheen's legacy; his evangelistic work led the Wall Street Journal to dub him the "bishop of Catholic social media."

Roumie, meanwhile, has found global fame portraying Jesus Christ in the spectacularly successful series "The Chosen."

In a press release Bishop Tylka expressed admiration for Roumie's "deep Catholic faith" which the actor "practices each day and which influences his acting in bringing Jesus to life through the Chosen."

Roumie told the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation that when he first began learning about Sheen, he immediately recognized how he could relate to the archbishop given Roumie's own acting work.

"When you watch him, it's no wonder he had such a gift for being evangelistically present on television, serving the people he was trying to reach," Roumie said. "It continues to be an inspiration to me as to just how much work there is for me to do to try to aspire to the reach and impact he had on culture."

Tylka also announced the participation of the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Caccia, at the awards ceremony. The nuncio's presence "shows the importance of the beatification of Fulton Sheen for the Church in the United States and around the world," the bishop said.

Other special guests include actor, producer and director David Henrie, host of the EWTN series "Seeking Beauty;" Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States Director Monsignor Roger Landry; Hallow CEO Alex Jones and Catholic author and media personality Katie Prejean McGrady.

Launching the same week that Archbishop Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24,  the Sheen Awards are meant to "recognize individuals whose work in media, evangelization, mission, and liturgy continues his mission of bringing Christ to the world with creativity, conviction, and joy," the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation emphasized.

The Foundation added that more details and ticket information can be found at sheenawards.com. Tickets are still available, but space is limited.

The event is scheduled to air on EWTN on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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The Vatican is hosting its annual formation course for newly appointed bishops from Sept. 2-10, bringing together 147 prelates from five continents to strengthen ecclesial communion and provide practical tools for the exercise of episcopal ministry.

The program has been a fixture of the Church calendar since 2000, when it was launched by St. John Paul II. Described by Vatican media as a condensed "master's program" for new bishops, it is designed to foster the exchange of experiences among pastors from widely differing cultural, social, and ecclesial contexts while offering practical guidance for governing local churches.

This year's participants come from countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Central African Republic, Senegal, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand.

Most of the world's bishops fall under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Bishops, which oversees the creation of dioceses, episcopal appointments, and matters related to episcopal governance in the Latin Church. Bishops serving in missionary territories, however, are under the Dicastery for Evangelization, specifically its Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches.

Of the 147 participants, 98 are following the program organized by the Dicastery for Bishops under the theme, "In Christ, Guardians of the Magnifica Humanitas in Times of Transformation." The remaining 49 are participating in a course sponsored by the Dicastery for Evangelization titled, "Servants of Communion in the Church."

Both tracks combine lectures, liturgical celebrations, fraternal gatherings, and working sessions led by cardinals, archbishops, and senior officials of the Roman Curia.

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Liturgy, mission, and safeguarding against abuse

The program addresses key issues facing the Church, including liturgy, evangelization, child protection, financial administration, transparency, priestly formation, synodality, interreligious dialogue, the growth of new sects, and the handling of clergy-related crises.

The course organized by the Dicastery for Bishops includes presentations by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, who will reflect on episcopal ministry, and Archbishop Vittorio Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who will discuss liturgical matters.

On Sept. 4, Archbishop Luis Javier Argüello García, president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, will offer reflections on the bishop's mission within the family and society.

That afternoon, attention will turn to safeguarding minors, promoting a culture of prevention, and handling abuse cases, with a presentation by Archbishop Thibault Verny, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The day will conclude with a lecture by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, on the Holy See's role in a globalized world and its efforts to promote peace.

On Sept. 5, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will examine the cultural changes reshaping the contemporary world.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, as head of the Church tribunal responsible for matters of conscience, will provide a detailed explanation of the norms, theology, and limits of the Church's absolute seal of secrecy, particularly regarding sacramental confession.

Tribalism, sects, and missionary challenges

The program for bishops from territories under the Dicastery for Evangelization is being held at the Pontifical Missionary College of St. Peter the Apostle.

Formal activities began Sept. 3 with a session focused on missionary work and the services provided by the dicastery to churches in mission territories.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is serving as host, while Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu will address issues such as tribalism, caste discrimination, racism, and exclusionary regionalism in the contemporary Church.

Topics scheduled for the opening days also include clergy discipline, consecrated life, administration of Church property, associations of the faithful, and other pastoral challenges unique to missionary churches.

The Sept. 4 session will focus on faith and inculturation. Speakers include Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, who will reflect on interreligious dialogue in the current context, and Archbishop Aurelio García Macías, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, who will discuss liturgical continuity and developments in territories of first evangelization.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, will close the day with a presentation on sects and new religious movements.

Episcopal governance and canon law

On Sept. 5, participants will delve into legal aspects of episcopal governance. Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, will discuss diocesan structures of communion and collaboration, as well as the operation of ecclesiastical tribunals.

Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy, secretary of the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will provide guidance on handling cases involving delicta graviora, the most serious crimes prosecuted within the Catholic Church.

The day will also include reflections on pastoral accompaniment and the formation of lay faithful, led by Archbishop Dario Gervasi and Dr. Gabriella Gambino, secretary and undersecretary, respectively, of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Pilgrimage to Assisi and joint sessions

Participants will have a free day on Sunday, with the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Assisi during the Jubilee Year marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis.

Activities will resume Sept. 7 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University with joint sessions bringing together participants from both programs. For the third consecutive year, this format is intended to foster fraternity and the exchange of experiences among bishops from very different pastoral realities.

Among the topics to be discussed is Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which will be presented by Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin, will offer reflections on synodal ecclesiology.

On Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the newly appointed bishops will participate in a Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, celebrated by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar of the Diocese of Rome.

During the final days of the course, sessions will focus on priestly formation, the relationship between local churches and the Holy See, and the Church's responsibility to protect minors and vulnerable adults.

Experts from the Institute of Anthropology at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, including Archbishop Peter Beer and Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, one of the Church's leading international voices on safeguarding, will participate in these discussions.

The program will conclude Sept. 10 with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, followed by an audience with Pope Leo XIV. The papal meeting will bring to a close several days of formation, prayer, and fraternity in the Italian capital.

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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A panel of three appellate judges in Hong Kong this week upheld convictions for retired Cardinal Joseph Zen and four other pro-democracy advocates who operated a legal defense and medical fund that supported people engaged in widespread protests in 2019 and 2020.

In a Sept. 3 decision, the judges dismissed the appeals filed by Zen, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Hui Po-keung, Cyd Ho Sau-lan, and Denise Ho Wan-see. They were found guilty of failing to legally register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund as a "society" under the Societies Ordinance, which carries monetary fines. It's unclear whether they will face additional charges.

Zen and his co-defendants created the fund to support Hong Kong protesters who opposed the 2019 extradition bill, which would have streamlined the process of extraditing people from Hong Kong to mainland China for prosecution. Protesters opposed subjecting people to prosecutions under the Chinese Communist Party.

Lawmakers ultimately withdrew the bill, but more than 10,000 protesters were arrested and nearly 3,000 people faced charges.

Zen and the co-defendants argued they did not believe the fund qualified as a "society" when they established it to help the protesters, and that they did not believe they had to register it under the Societies Ordinance. This ordinance provides civil authorities broad discretion to control, monitor, or dismantle private associations.

In its decision, the court ruled that a "society" under the ordinance has "an expansive definition" and cited the text, which includes "any club, company, partnership or association of 10 or more persons, whatever its nature or object." It notes some exemptions, such as charities, religious organizations, and social clubs, but that organizers must apply for an exemption.

The judges rejected objections to the registration scheme on a constitutional basis, asserting the law maintains a "reasonable balance" between freedom of association and public safety, public order, and national security.

"Self-evidently, the societal benefits arising from the aim are enormous," they ruled. "Nothing in the evidence suggests that any individual including the appellants would be subject to an unacceptably harsh burden by the restrictions imposed by the registration scheme on their exercise of the right to freedom of association."

"We are satisfied that the prosecution has proved the charge against each of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt," the judges decided unanimously.

Penalty and legal fights

The convictions under the Societies Ordinance carries fines for each person equivalent to about $500. However, Zen and the other defendants were initially arrested on suspicion of violating a 2020 national security law, which could have carried penalties of up to life in prison.

Although all five defendants were arrested on that suspicion, none faced charges. Those initial arrests were based on the allegation they colluded with foreign forces when they set up a fund to help the protesters.

Officials defended the 2020 law on the basis of national security, but critics allege it is primarily used to punish political dissidents, such as Jimmy Lai — a Catholic pro-democracy activist who was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the age of 78 on claims he colluded with foreign forces.

Lai operated the newspaper Apple Daily, where he openly criticized the Chinese Communist Party. Hong Kong shut down the organization based on authority under the national security law. The government also used the national security law to justify its investigation of the fund operated by Zen and the other pro-democracy advocates.

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A coalition of religious sisters has joined Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich in suing the state of Illinois to prevent enforcement of its assisted suicide law.

The law, which was signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in December 2025, allows doctors in the state to prescribe lethal doses of medication to patients in order to help them end their own lives. Among other rules, patients must have a terminal illness in order to qualify for receiving help to kill themselves.

The rule has received strong criticism from Catholic bishops in the state.

On Sept. 3, meanwhile, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that Cupich and two orders of religious sisters had filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to halt enforcement of the law against the Catholic plaintiffs.

The suit, filed in U.S. district court, argues that the sisters — who belong to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and the Little Sisters of the Poor — will be forced to either "abandon their religious beliefs regarding the sanctity of life or face significant fines and penalties" if they refuse to participate in the suicide regime.

The suit notes that by Sept. 12, healthcare providers in Illinois, including the sisters through their care homes, will have to proactively discuss the "option" to commit suicide with those in their care. Caregivers will also "have to allow patients to commit suicide in their facilities," the suit says.

The suit argues that the First Amendment prohibits the state from requiring the Catholic caregivers to violate their faith by participating in the suicide regime.

In a statement announcing the filing, Cupich said the Catholic Church "oppose[s] efforts to undermine human dignity by pushing our brothers and sisters toward suicide."

"We pray that the courts will protect our freedom to continue advocating and caring for the sick and dying as our faith demands," he said.

Mother Mary Rose Heery, O. Carm., prioress general of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, said patients in their care "come to us at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives" and that the sisters have a vocation "to give witness to them, through everything we do, that their lives remain precious and that they will never be abandoned."

"Illinois cannot ask us to replace that promise with help ending their lives," she said.

Becket President Mark Rienzi described the suicide law's provisions as "awful."

"The state should stop trying to make Catholic nuns help patients kill themselves," he said, arguing that sick patients "deserve the freedom to seek healing, hope, and accompaniment without the government forcing suicide into the conversation."

This is not the first lawsuit filed against a state assisted suicide measure, nor the first in Illinois.

In August, Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki joined a Lutheran nursing home and a group of doctors to sue the state over the assisted suicide law, with the coalition arguing that the state's suicide regime abandons "nearly two millennia of medical practice" while requiring objectors to participate in it.

The state agreed to a temporary block of the law later in the month, though the block only applied to the plaintiffs in that suit.

In July, meanwhile, Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres joined several communities of New York religious sisters in suing the state over its own assisted suicide law. Those plaintiffs also won a temporary block of the state's suicide law.

Separately, groups of disability advocates have filed lawsuits against the suicide laws in New York and Illinois, as well as in Colorado and Delaware, alleging that those laws discriminate against people with disabilities.

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A Maine father will be allowed to prevent his daughter from attending a local Christian church with her mother, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court said in a ruling this week.

The decision from the high court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Matthew Bradeen that found it was "psychologically unsafe" for Emily Bickford to take their daughter to Calvary Chapel in the Portland region.

The young girl reportedly suffered from panic attacks and psychological distress after attending the church; she reportedly became fixated on the rapture (an end-times belief held by some Christians) as well.

The Maine high court said in its ruling that at one point the church's pastor openly prayed about the dispute between Bickford and Bradeen, including referencing both the parents and the child "by name almost 30 times."

The court dismissed Bickford's constitutional claims in the dispute. The father "is better suited to determine whether certain religious activities are in the child's best interest," it held.

In a press release, the legal group Liberty Counsel, which represented Bickford in the dispute, said it would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. Mat Staver, the group's chair, said the ruling "rejects the First Amendment right" of Bickford and goes against U.S. court precedent.

"Depriving one parent their right to instill their religious views into their child and granting sole authority to the other parent fails to give proper protection to parental rights and religious freedom under the First Amendment," Staver argued.

He claimed that the ruling "pose[s] a serious threat to religious freedom" in the U.S.

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VATICAN CITY — "Ecology is the result of how the equation of the interaction between cosmology and anthropology is resolved. Therefore, an ecological approach that seeks to get to the root of the issues cannot avoid addressing both of these dimensions."

That is the premise of the lengthy and complex text by the International Theological Commission, "Caring for Our Common Home – A Responsible and Fraternal Response to the Triune God."

Released Sept. 2 during the Season of Creation, the document examines "a Trinitarian vision of the creation of the cosmos, highlighting the resulting Trinitarian imprint on creation and its repercussions."

The book also addresses "the foundation and scope of the role of the human being in the Common Home" as well as "a series of guidelines and guiding principles for care of the Common Home and ecological conversion."

The full text is currently available from the Vatican only in Italian, with the official Vatican News outlet providing an English-language summary.

The text is complex, but summaries at the end of each chapter offer guidance emphasizing the theological meaning of creation. "The ultimate purpose of creation is not exhausted by the usefulness it may have for the human being and for the development of human life," one summary notes.

Humans "cannot claim the right to indiscriminately subject creation to [their] own purposes, reducing its meaning and value to the merely instrumental usefulness it can provide: This is the temptation of absolute anthropocentrism," the document says.

The human being is a servant and steward of creation, and "this role of the human being among the other creatures and the fulfillment of God's plan finds its deepest inspiration in the celebration of the Eucharist: The human being offers creation to God in Christ and, in return, implores God's blessing in Christ for all things."

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

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