Catholic News

Church leaders in Pakistan have welcomed the passage of a bill by the Punjab Assembly that classifies underage marriage as a non-bailable offense, while cautioning that enforcement challenges and systemic gaps could limit its impact on girls from minority communities.

The Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026, passed on April 27, sets 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage for both boys and girls. Previously, the minimum age stood at 18 for males and 16 for females in Punjab, home to Pakistan's largest Christian community.

The House also adopted an amendment directing courts not to treat the mere statement or purported consent of a child to reside with or accompany an adult contracting party as determinative in custody, residence, or protective orders.

Agreement on child protection

Moved by Ijaz Masih, a Christian member of the Punjab Assembly and former provincial minister for human rights and minority affairs, and co-sponsored by 13 members across party lines, the amendment was described as a rare instance of consensus on child protection.

Church representatives linked the law to ongoing concerns over how consent is assessed in cases involving alleged forced conversion and marriage of minority girls.

"In Pakistan's forced conversion cases of Christian and Hindu families, the statement recorded before a magistrate is often crucial because it provides a girl's testimony under judicial oversight," Masih told EWTN News, adding that proposals to annul such marriages remain under consideration.

The bill was passed amid renewed concern in Christian circles after the Federal Constitutional Court on March 25 upheld the marriage of a 13-year-old Christian girl, Maria Bibi, to a 30-year-old Muslim man.

Speaking at an April 30 Bible study session organized by the Ecumenical Commission for Human Development at St. Francis Catholic Church in Kamalpur village in the Faisalabad Diocese, Father Obaid Matthais, dean of studies at St. Thomas the Apostle Minor Seminary, questioned the effectiveness of the reform.

"How can the new law prevent forced conversion when the Muslim nikah [marriage] remains valid?" he said, warning that minority girls studying or working away from home remain at risk.

He added that such rulings "hang like a sword" over vulnerable Christian girls, particularly domestic workers and students in urban centers.

Christian leaders, including Archbishop Khalid Rehmat of Lahore, have also expressed concern that court decisions in such cases risk legitimizing disputed marriages involving minors allegedly abducted and forcibly converted, especially in the absence of updated personal laws governing Christian marriage and family life.

The proposed reform of the Christian Marriage Act of 1872 seeks to raise the minimum marriage age for Christian boys and girls to 18 and require both parties to be Christian for a marriage to be solemnized under the law, replacing current provisions that allow interfaith marriages.

Rehmat has announced the formation of a church committee to draft amendments following an ecumenical consultation held in Lahore on April 24–25.

Qamar Iqbal, assistant professor of political science, described the Child Marriage Restraint Bill as a "protective mechanism," saying it could strengthen legal safeguards if implemented effectively.

In a joint statement issued on April 29, Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference and chairperson of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), together with Father Bernard Emmanuel, NCJP national director, and Naeem Yousaf Gill, NCJP executive director, described the legislation as a "defining move" to safeguard childhood and uphold human dignity.

While welcoming the law, they stressed that legislation alone is not sufficient to end child marriage and called for strict enforcement. "Union councils, nikah registrars, and police must be held accountable, and courts must enforce the law without exception," the statement said.

They urged institutions and families not to bypass the law under the guise of custom or tradition.

"The problem remains due to dual legal systems [constitutional and Sharia]. Judges are often influenced in cases involving minorities," Gill told EWTN News, adding that equal and consistent implementation could turn the law into a "cornerstone for lasting change."

Report findings

The NCJP's position aligns with findings from its April 11 report, "Captive Souls: The Untold Story of Pakistan's Minority Girls," which documented multiple cases of alleged forced conversion and highlighted recurring issues such as social exclusion, abuse, financial exploitation, and weak legal documentation.

The report recommends a state-regulated conversion process overseen by magistrates, a ban on clerics and madrassas issuing independent conversion certificates, and strict enforcement of a minimum age of 18 for both marriage and religious conversion.

It notes that Pakistan currently has no legal minimum age for religious conversion, leaving a critical protection gap.

Matthais, however, remains skeptical about prospects for reform. "It's tough. The majority will resist such changes," he said, arguing that proposed safeguards for religious minorities often face ideological opposition.

Iqbal said work on regulating conversion practices must continue, though progress remains slow due to "sensitive majority sentiments" that require careful engagement and dialogue.

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The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to a nearly $1 billion settlement for victims of clergy abuse, one of the largest abuse settlements in U.S. Church history that comes after more than half a decade of litigation.

The New York-based law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates said in a press release on May 1 that the archdiocese had agreed with an abuse victims' committee to recommend a settlement of $800 million, which would be paid "into a trust for approximately 1,300 survivors who have brought sexual abuse claims" under the state's Child Victims Act.

The proposal will still be subject to "full survivor agreement" before it can be finalized, the law firm said.

The firm said the amount, if confirmed, would be paid in two installments of $615 million and $185 million within 15 months.

The archdiocese, meanwhile, will be required "to maintain their list of credibly accused clergy on their website and continue to update it with any new, substantiated abuse claims."

The agreement also would result in a "temporary stoppage" of litigation against the diocese regarding alleged abuse.

Attorney Jeff Anderson described the proposal as "a transcendent triumph of courage by the survivors who have endured so much for so long."

"It is far from full accountability, but it is a measure of responsibility and required transparency by the archdiocese that also requires the release of documents pertaining to sexual offenders," he said.

In a statement on May 1, meanwhile, New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the proposal.

"It cannot be denied that this has been a painful process — most significantly so for the victim-survivors and their families and loved ones who have suffered, in most cases, for decades," the prelate said.

"I pray that all of us, as the family of God, will come together to support and affirm these individuals and take these next steps to bring about some healing and peace," he added.

The nearly $1 billion payout would be among the largest in U.S. Church history. In October 2024 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to a slightly larger $880 million settlement.

The New York proposal, meanwhile, is considerably larger than an earlier reported proposed settlement of $300 million the diocese was said to be considering in December 2025.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan said at the time that the archdiocese had made "a series of very difficult financial decisions" to help fund the settlement, including staff layoffs and a 10% reduction in the archdiocese's operating budget.

The New York Archdiocese also has been engaged in a bitter dispute with its longtime insurer Chubb over payouts to victims. In February of this year, the archdiocese accused Chubb of running a "shadow campaign" against it by posing as a victims' rights group.

The archdiocese in 2024 launched a lawsuit against Chubb, claiming the insurer was "attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation" to pay out claims to abuse victims.

On May 1 lawyers for abuse victims said the proposed settlement also would allow victims "an opportunity to pursue recoveries from the Archdiocese of New York's insurance companies."

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St. Joseph, the beloved spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and earthly father of Jesus, is celebrated twice by the Catholic Church every year — first on March 19 for the feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, and again on May 1 for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

While the saint's March feast dates back to the 10th century, his May feast wasn't instituted until 1955. What was behind it?

May Day

Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1, 1955, so that it would coincide with International Workers Day, also known as May Day — a secular celebration of labor and workers' rights.

During this time, the Soviet Union proclaimed itself as "the defender of workers" and utilized May Day as an opportunity to exalt communism and parade its military prowess. Pope Pius XII chose the date specifically to ensure that workers did not lose the Christian understanding of work.

In his address to the Catholic Association of Italian Workers on that day in 1955, Pius XII said: "There could not be a better protector to help you penetrate the spirit of the Gospel into your life … From the heart of the Man-God, savior of the world, this spirit flows into you and into all men; but it is certain that no worker has ever been as perfectly and deeply penetrated by it as the putative father of Jesus, who lived with him in the closest intimacy and commonality of family and work."

He added: "So, if you want to be close to Christ, we also today repeat to you 'Ite ad Ioseph' — Go to Joseph!"

The Catholic Church has long placed an importance on the dignity of human work. By working, we fulfill the commands found in the Book of Genesis to care for the earth and be productive in our labors.

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II wrote that "the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society."

St. Joseph is considered a role model of this as he worked tirelessly to protect and provide for his family as he strove to listen to and obey God.

Even before the institution of this feast, many popes were beginning to spread a devotion to St. Joseph the Worker. One of these was Pope Leo XIII, who wrote on the subject in his encyclical Quamquam Pluries in 1889.

He wrote: "Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch's jealousy, and found for him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus."

In addition to being the patron of the universal Church and workers in general, St. Joseph is also the patron saint of several professions including craftsmen, carpenters, accountants, attorneys, bursars, cabinetmakers, cemetery workers, civil engineers, confectioners, educators, furniture makers, wheelwrights, and lawyers.

This story was first published on May 1, 2024, and has been updated.

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The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God and spiritual mother of all.

In the plan of salvation, the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place. By virtue of her role to be the mother of the Son of God by divine election, she was conceived immaculately — i.e., without the stain of original sin — and by fidelity to her son has been crowned queen of heaven and earth.

Everything Mary said and did leads to Christ. Who knows a child better than a mother? And what good and loving child does not know his or her mother and love her with all of his or her heart?

Mary knew and loved Jesus like no one else on earth — and she loves each of her children, human beings, with similar affection and tenderness.

The Church, in its wisdom, asks its children to be especially devoted to Mother Mary during the month of May and to be particularly grateful for all of her care.

A model for every Christian

Mary, the most humble of all women, is a model for everyone, today, in the here and now. She is a model in a particular way for every woman, as expressed by Pope Francis.

"There is only one model for you, Mary: the woman of fidelity, the one who did not understand what was happening to her but obeyed. The one who, as soon as she knew what her cousin needed took off [to help her], the Virgin of Promptness. The one who escaped as a refugee in a foreign country to save the life of her son," Pope Francis said during an April 2014 message to 20,000 young people gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a regional youth day.

The first disciple

Years later, during an Aug. 24, 2021, catechesis, Pope Francis called Mary "the first disciple of Jesus" and reminded us that "Mary is there, praying for us, praying for those who do not pray. Why? Because she is our mother."

The Virgin, through Jesus, has brought heaven closer to us and her life is the best proof that it is possible to reach it. Pope Francis said it best: "She shows us that heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, we praise God with humility, and we serve others with generosity" (Pope Francis, Angelus address on the solemnity of the Assumption, Aug. 15, 2022).

A version of 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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NAIROBI, Kenya — Before Sabastian Sawe traveled to London for the Sunday, April 26, marathon in which he would emerge the winner, the young athlete attended Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church, an outstation of St. Josephine Bakhita Lower Moiben Parish in Kenya's Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.

Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, after Sawe's record London Marathon win, Julius Kemei, chairperson of Holy Family Catholic Church, remembered the athlete asking for prayers at the end of Mass.

In the interview with ACI Africa on April 29, Kemei spoke about the marathon winner's strong Catholic roots, his active participation in Church activities, and his generosity to Church projects.

"Sabastian never misses any church service. The last time he was here, he told us that he was traveling the same day to London for a competition and asked us to pray for him," Kemei said, emphasizing: "He never misses Mass. He comes with his entire family to church. Whenever he is not around, his wife and children come."

In London, the 31-year-old Kenyan crossed the line to win in a record time of 1:59:30 — more than one minute faster than the previous 2:00:35 record set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.

Kemei, who taught Sawe at Cheukta Primary School, where the youngster's star began to shine through interschool and zonal competitions, said that with the sustained success in athletics, the Catholic Church in Moiben has a role model, a mentor, and a big supporter of the Church's development projects.

"He may be young, but he has already entered the ranks of an elder of our church," Kemei said, adding that Sawe has always been ready to donate toward Church projects.

"There is a marathon he won before this London one… and he came and gave the church Ksh 100,000 [100,000 Kenyan shillings, about $775]. There are times he offers to complete projects by himself, saying that God has already blessed him so much," Kemei said.

The church official recounted the young athlete's strong Catholic upbringing, with his entire family being the pillar of the newly established parish.

"Four families are pillars of our new parish — Sabastian's is one of them," Kemei said. "When Bishop Dominic Kimengich made us a parish before he was appointed archbishop of Mombasa, we were worried about resources. But each member of Sabastian's family donated something to our church."

Sawe's most recent donation to Holy Family Catholic Church was a large flock of sheep, which is helping to fund the construction of a new church to accommodate the parish's growing numbers.

Sabastian's grandmother also donated a cow toward the church before she died in 2022 while her grandchild found his way in the world of athletics in Spain.

Kemei agreed with media reports that Sawe has promised to complete the construction of his church back home after winning big in London.

"After he is done with the national reception in Nairobi, I know he will want to head straight to his home, and the church is one of the first places he will want to be. And he will want to know how he can support the completion its construction."

While at Cheukta Primary School, Kemei said Sawe never struck him as an extraordinary child until upper primary school when he started participating in cross-country competitions and zonal competitions, where he performed really well.

"I remember him as a very shy student. I saw his talent and nurtured it," Kemei said. "But it was after he transitioned to high school that his star started to shine brighter."

He said that Sawe comes from a family of athletes. "His paternal grandfather was a marathoner. His uncle also participated in athletics up to Uganda. And his mother was also a sprinter for those who saw her at Kasarani stadium," he said.

Sawe shows young people that everything is possible with commitment and a firm trust in God, Kemei explained. "Many youths in our parish have started going to him for mentorship. He is a great resource to our church."

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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Catholic bishops from the United States and Japan cautioned that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is at risk of collapse and urged world leaders to renew commitments to disarmament.

"May you all help lead this suffering world to the promised land of a world free of nuclear weapons," wrote five bishops whose dioceses were shaped by nuclear weapons, either as the birthplace of the bomb, a deployment hub, or the site of atomic devastation. The bishops issued the statement April 27 on the convening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's 11th review conference.

"For 56 years the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has acted as the cornerstone of nuclear weapons nonproliferation," said Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle; Archbishop Peter Michiaki Nakamura of Nagasaki, Japan; Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki, Japan; Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima, Japan.

The bishops represent the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, an international Catholic coalition formed in 2023 by the bishops of Seattle, Santa Fe, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki to promote nuclear disarmament and protect life from all nuclear harm. It was established on the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. 

The bishops described the NPT as "now badly frayed, perhaps even in danger of collapsing," citing "the never-ending refusal of the nuclear weapons states to enter into serious negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament." They further noted that the past two NPT review conferences "have utterly failed to outline any concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament."

"Clearly the nuclear threats are escalating," they said. "The brutal practice of might makes right is ascendant, arms control treaties are gone, and we are sliding backwards with massive modernization programs to keep nuclear weapons forever."

We fervently hope and pray for a favorable outcome that genuinely leads to nuclear disarmament. However, if past is prologue, that outcome is unlikely."

American and Japanese bishops

Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons

The bishops said nuclear states that have failed to disarm on the basis of deterrence are guilty of "deflect[ing] the blame from their own possession of immoral, genocidal weapons."

"One must ask, why is it that Russia and the United States have always rejected the minimal deterrence of just a few hundred nuclear warheads in order to keep thousands of warheads for nuclear war-fighting?" the bishops said. "Why is it that all nine nuclear weapons powers are now spending enormous sums on so-called 'modernization' programs to keep nuclear weapons forever?"

The NPT calls for a review of the treaty's operation every five years, a provision in place since 2000. The ongoing April 27 to May 22 conference was scheduled for 2026 following COVID-19-related delays to the review cycle, according to the conference's website.

"We wish all of you at this Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference the very best of luck," the bishops said. "We fervently hope and pray for a favorable outcome that genuinely leads to nuclear disarmament. However, if past is prologue, that outcome is unlikely."

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The Diocese of Oakland, California, will shutter 13 churches across the East Bay as part of a restructuring effort driven by shrinking congregations, a severe priest shortage, and mounting financial pressures.

Bishop Michael Barber described the move as a necessary next step in an April 28 letter describing the diocese's Mission Alignment Process (MAP), an initiative begun in 2021 "to address a growing gap between the mission of the Church and the operational realities" of mounting challenges.

"The status quo is not sustainable nor is it serving God's people," Barber stated. "We must focus on the activities that foster prayerful celebrations of the Mass, prioritize works of mercy, and form missionary disciples."

He pointed to long-term trends that include falling Mass attendance, reduced sacramental participation, and declining Catholic school enrollment.

These challenges are compounded by the diocese's record-low number of priests serving its roughly 80 parishes, along with an aging clergy and persistent budget shortfalls at churches and diocesan schools.

The parishes slated for closure include Mary Help of Christians in Oakland, Our Lady of Guadalupe at Blacow Road in Fremont, Our Lady of Lourdes in Oakland, Sacred Heart in Oakland, St. Albert the Great in Alameda, St. Andrew Kim Korean Pastoral Center in Oakland, St. Augustine in Oakland, St. Barnabas in Alameda, St. Paschal Baylon in Oakland, St. Patrick in Oakland, St. Rose of Lima in Crockett, St. Stephen in Walnut Creek, and Transfiguration in Castro Valley.

Barber acknowledged the emotional toll of the decision, saying: "I deeply understand the sacrifice this will require. We cannot allow nostalgia and sentimentality to hold back the message of the Gospel. While we love our local church building, the church has never been solely a building. The church has always been a people called by God and united in faith. The faith of our people will continue, just in a different place and with new people."

The bishop said that as he has "full responsibility for the pastoral care of every Catholic in our diocese," he is making it a "priority to ensure all affected parishioners are welcomed at a nearby parish."

"I make a heartfelt plea to the 'receiving' parishes to open your hearts wide to your fellow Catholics who will be joining you," he said. "Love them, make room for them not only in the pew alongside you but in the activities of your parish. Welcome them as your own, for we are all one as Christ's body."

The restructuring occurs as the diocese faces significant legal and financial difficulties. In response to hundreds of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by clergy members, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2023 to manage claims through a unified court process and reach settlements.

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Catholic bishops are asking lawmakers to reject legislation that would mandate insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF), a fertility treatment that violates Catholic teachings on life and human reproduction.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sent a letter to Congress on April 29 laying out concerns with the bill (H.R. 8119), which its sponsor, Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, named Helping to Optimize Patients' Experience (HOPE) with Fertility Services Act.

Under the bill, which has support from 18 Republicans and Democrats, insurance companies would face civil penalties of $100 per day if they offer plans that exclude coverage of IVF. The text does not clearly show any exemptions for religious employers, even though IVF is opposed by both the USCCB and the Southern Baptist Convention.

In the letter, the bishops express concern about the loss of embryonic human life integral to the IVF process, stating that, as practiced in the U.S., it "represents a relatively unregulated industry that creates hundreds of thousands or even millions of preborn children who will be interminably frozen, expended in attempts to place them within a mother, or discarded and killed (often in a selective, eugenic manner)."

"In addition to such mass death, IVF poses health risks to both women and the children who are born as a result of it," the letter states. "IVF also commodifies human beings, including children and, in many cases, donors or surrogates. This, furthermore, disregards the right of children to be conceived naturally, free from technological manipulation, by their own married mother and father."

The bishops in their letter also expressed religious freedom concerns. They note that supporters claim that putting the mandate in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) would prevent it from impacting religious employers.

"The fact is many religious employers that are otherwise exempt from ERISA, however, choose to provide their employees' health insurance under ERISA anyway precisely because ERISA's preemption of state law allows them to avoid having their consciences violated by state-level insurance requirements (including for IVF)," the bishops state.

"A mandate within ERISA would therefore place these employers in a new bind between its requirements and those of problematic state laws," they said. "At the same time, certain other religious employers' plans, such as those of independent religious schools, may not qualify as 'church plans' exempt from ERISA in the first place."

The bishops showed concern that an insurance mandate could lead to a problem similar to "the well-known legal saga of the Little Sisters of the Poor in fending off the 'contraceptive mandate.'"

"Any new health coverage mandate is very likely to ignite years of painful litigation for both charitable, faith-based employer organizations as well as private, for-profit employers who are people of faith," they warn.

In the letter, the bishops express grief for "the growing number of families suffering infertility" but advocate for "life-affirming" fertility treatments that seek to address the root cause of infertility as opposed to creating human embryos in a lab. These treatments are often called restorative reproductive medicine.

"The profound desire of couples to have children is both good and natural," they said. "When this is frustrated by an experience of infertility, holistic and individualized restorative approaches to fertility care exist that can often help identify and successfully address the root causes."

"As pastors, we see the suffering that infertility can cause and the deep desire of couples to grow their family," the bishops said. "We strongly encourage licit means of easing this suffering, both medically and emotionally."

The letter is signed by Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, chair of the USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty; Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; and Bishop Edward J. Burns, chair of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.

"Infertility impacts millions of families and it doesn't discriminate. It can affect anyone who wants to start or grow a family," bill cosponsor Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, said in a statement. "I know firsthand. Thanks to IVF, my husband and I conceived our twins, now both healthy young adults. But after enduring that struggle, I've fought to expand insurance coverage for the prohibitively costly fertility treatments that can make this only accessible to the very few who can afford it."

Bill sponsor Nunn and cosponsors did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the bishops' concerns.

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An international team of scholars led by Professor Garrick V. Allen of the University of Glasgow in Scotland has successfully recovered 42 lost pages of one of the most important New Testament manuscripts, known as Codex H.

The university's College of Arts and Humanities announced April 24 that the codex, a sixth-century copy of St. Paul's epistles, had been partially lost after being disassembled in the 13th century at the Great Lavra Monastery, located on Mount Athos in northern Greece.

Its pages were repurposed as binding material and flyleaves in other books, causing fragments of the manuscript to become scattered across libraries in various European countries.

"The breakthrough came from an important starting point: We knew that at one point, the manuscript was re-inked. The chemicals in the new ink caused 'offset' damage to facing pages, essentially creating a mirror image of the text on the opposite leaf, sometimes leaving traces several pages deep barely visible to the naked eye but very clear with latest imaging techniques," explained Allen, as quoted by the University of Glasgow.

Thanks to a technique called multispectral imaging, researchers were able to recover texts that no longer physically exist.

This allowed them "to retrieve multiple pages of information from every single physical page," the expert added. To ensure historical accuracy, the team also turned to radiocarbon dating analyses conducted in Paris, confirming the parchment's origin in the sixth century.

Although the recovered texts contain passages already known from the Pauline epistles, the discovery offers new clues regarding how the New Testament was transmitted and understood in antiquity. In Allen's words: "Given that Codex H is such an important witness to our understanding of Christian Scripture, to have discovered any new evidence, let alone this quantity, of what it originally looked like is nothing short of monumental."

Among the key findings are ancient lists of chapters considered the oldest known for St. Paul's epistles, which differ notably from the current division of these texts. Furthermore, the fragments reveal how sixth-century scribes corrected and annotated sacred texts, as well as the medieval practice of reusing and repurposing manuscripts once they fell into disrepair.

The project was made possible thanks to funding from the Templeton Religion Trust and the U.K.'s Arts and Humanities Research Council in collaboration with the Great Lavra Monastery.

A printed edition of Codex H will be published shortly, while a digital version is already available to the public for the first time in centuries.

As highlighted by the University of Glasgow, this discovery not only recovers a portion of an ancient manuscript but also provides a better understanding of the living history of the transmission of the Bible throughout the centuries.

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. Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit involving what one Catholic claims is the Church's misleading representation of an ancient papal offering.

In January, lawyers for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asked the Supreme Court to consider the case, which was originally brought by Rhode Island resident David O'Connell against the bishops over the Peter's Pence offering.

Peter's Pence, variants of which date back centuries to around at least the early Middle Ages, is an annual donation the USCCB describes as "a gesture of solidarity" with the pope's charitable undertakings.

The donation is geared toward "humanitarian initiatives and social promotion projects, as well [as] the support of the Holy See," according to the bishops.

O'Connell filed a class action suit against the bishops in January 2020, alleging that the prelates had misled Catholics about the nature of the donation. He claimed he had been led to believe that the offering was strictly for emergency assistance to victims of war and poverty but that he subsequently found out it was used in part to "defray Vatican administrative expenses."

The U.S. bishops argued in court that the suit should be dismissed on the grounds of the "church autonomy doctrine," a long-standing principle in U.S. case law that bars the government from exercising control over internal church decisions.

Yet a district court and an appeals court both ruled against the bishops, leading lawyers with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who represent the bishops, to appeal to the Supreme Court in January over the matter.

Daniel Blomberg, the vice president of Becket and a senior attorney there, told EWTN News on April 30 that popes have been using the Peter's Pence fund for centuries to "carry out the ministry of the Church in a variety of different ways."

The plaintiff in the suit, however, contends that he "heard something during Mass" that "made him think that his offering to Peter's Pence would only go to one purpose and no others," Blomberg said.

"He not only wants his own offering back, but he also wants the offerings returned for millions of other Catholics around the country," he said.

Blomberg said both of the lower courts ruled against the bishops on the grounds that the case could be decided under "neutral principles of law" that do not implicate the First Amendment. But he described the demands sought by the lawsuit as "wildly unconstitutional."

The plaintiff "wants the courts to tell the Catholic Church how to talk about Peter's Pence and how to preach about Peter's Pence," he said.

Multiple religious advocates have come out in favor of the bishops in the dispute. A coalition of organizations including the Thomas More Society, the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, and several other groups filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in January arguing that their respective religious beliefs involve "matters of internal governance that must be protected from government entwinement."

In another amicus filing to the Supreme Court in March, John Garvey, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, said the lawsuit "requires courts to resolve inherently religious questions about church polity, doctrine, and governance."

The suit would force the court to "decide for itself who within the Church controls (or who can control) the contents of homilies, whether a particular homily is inconsistent with Catholic teaching about Peter's Pence, what a reasonable parishioner should believe about Catholic doctrine, and — most importantly — how donated funds should be administered by the pope," Garvey argued.

The suit "effectively invites a civil court to second guess the pope — the successor of St. Peter — on directing Peter's Pence toward keeping the lights on in St. Peter's itself," Garvey wrote.

Blomberg, meanwhile, said the bishops expect to hear from the Supreme Court in the next month or so.

"We're in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to ask them to put the First Amendment first, not last, and to treat it as the threshold of the case," he said.

"We want the court to not force the Church to go through years of litigation just to determine that the First Amendment applies here," he added.

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