World

Amnesty International UK has pulled a report from its website that described Christian and pro-life groups as “anti-rights” and expressed regret in a formal statement.

“We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established internal review processes that are in place to ensure consistency, accuracy, and alignment with Amnesty International UKʼs positions,” an Amnesty International UK spokesperson said.

The statement comes after the organization removed a report titled “A Growing Threat: The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK” from its website following backlash from organizations that were categorized as “anti-rights” as well as conservative author J.K. Rowling.

“Because these groups challenge core human rights principles, Amnesty International UK uses the term ‘anti-rights’ to describe their aims and impact,” the report said of the 117 organizations it censured for restricting human rights, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), the Catholic Herald, the Catholic Medical Association, Right to Life UK, and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.

“The Catholic Church works to uphold the God-given rights of all humanity, without exception,” the CBCEW said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “This includes the rights of those unjustly imprisoned, of refugees and migrants, of those who have been trafficked, and the right to life of all people from conception to natural death.”

“Furthermore,” the statement continued, “we uphold the right to freedom of religion, conscience, and expression as explained in the document of the Second Vatican Council Dignitatis Humanae. Our belief in the dignity of every person, from which a proper understanding of human rights comes, animates all our work in the field of social justice in England and Wales.”

The report also cited the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission at the U.N. General Assembly as playing a role in coining the term “gender ideology,” which the report said is used by “anti-rights actors.”

An image Rowling posted showed Amnesty’s website after the report was taken down that stated the briefing was “temporarily removed” and was being subject to internal review.

Amnesty International UK said the report’s "use of language does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK, which is why it was promptly removed.”

"We remain committed to defending human rights, including both the rights of women and the rights of trans people,” the statement said. "Human rights protections are strongest when they apply equally to everyone, and no community should be singled out for unfair treatment or denied their dignity and rights."

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

As Spain prepares to take the field in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, the Marian devotion of now-retired Spanish soccer legend David Silva serves as a reminder of the role faith has played in the lives of some of the most celebrated athletes.

Silva, who helped Spain capture its first men’s FIFA World Cup title in 2010, has spoken of his familyʼs devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of his hometown of Arguineguín on Gran Canaria in Spainʼs Canary Islands.

Following Spainʼs historic victory in South Africa, Silva returned home to fulfill a promise to participate in the annual festivities honoring the Blessed Virgin. Speaking with reporters at the time, he said he wanted to join the celebration “as always,” continuing a family tradition of taking part in the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Silvaʼs grandmother recalled the anxiety of watching the 2010 World Cup final, saying the family entrusted the match to the Virgin Maryʼs intercession.

“We were very nervous,” she said. “I couldnʼt even watch the end. I just held on to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Who would have thought that when this 14-year-old boy I raised left my home he would achieve this? I am so proud.”

The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated each year on July 16, drawing thousands of faithful to processions and parish celebrations around the world. In Arguineguín, where Silva was raised, the celebration includes a traditional procession through streets adorned with intricate carpets created by local residents in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

As Spain seeks another World Cup crown, Silvaʼs story continues to resonate with many Catholics, illustrating how faith and devotion often accompany athletes during moments of both triumph and uncertainty. While the outcome of Sunday’s final remains unknown, the former Spanish internationalʼs public witness offers an enduring example of gratitude to God and confidence in the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

Official figures show a drastic drop in irregular migration in Mexico and in encounters between undocumented migrants and U.S. authorities at the U.S.-Mexican border.

However, a priest who has been helping migrants for over a decade points to a reality that goes unrecorded: routes that are less visible, more expensive, and exposed to organized crime networks.

In Mexico, according to figures from the Migration Policy, Registry, and Personal Identity Unit, the number of recorded instances of individuals with irregular migration status fell from over 1.2 million in 2024 to 155,730 in 2025. As of May of this year, the total stands at 18,083 cases.

On the U.S. side, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 443,671 encounters at the southwest border during fiscal year 2025, compared with 2.1 million the previous year. So far in fiscal year 2026, the figure stands at 90,121.

This trend also reflects the shrinking number of people assisted by Catholic shelters.

Located halfway along the route of those seeking to reach the north of the continent, the Mexican city of Puebla is also seeing a drop in the number of migrants arriving to seek help at Catholic shelters.

Father Alberto Vivar León told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that 1,200 migrants were assisted at the Archdiocese of Puebla’s three shelters during 2023. Two years later, in 2025, the figure was 145.

Ordained nearly 15 years ago, Vivar has dedicated the last 11 years to assisting migrants. He estimated that the shelters have assisted around 60 migrants during the first half of 2026.

His close involvement with migrants began at San Felipe de Jesús parish in Hueyotlipan, about an hour north of Puebla. The parish boundaries include the Puebla City Central Bus Terminal (CAPU, by its Spanish acronym), which for years has served as a transit point for many migrants continuing their journey northward.

Both that parish and Our Lady of the Assumption, where Vivar has served as parish priest since late 2021, are located near the railway tracks known to many as “La Bestia” (“The Beast”), another mode of transport historically used by many migrants, despite the risks involved in traveling atop freight cars.

The numbers

Although the figures point to a decline in migration flows, Vivar said this doesn’t mean people have stopped trying to reach the U.S. “The traffic continues,” he said. “Perhaps not as many as before, but they keep coming through. People are still passing through Mexico.”

He believes the policies implemented by the administrations of President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have contributed to a “natural decrease in the number of people, because they couldn’t cross as freely.” However, he maintains that these policies have also led to a situation where “organized crime exploited the circumstances and began profiting from them.”

Criminals are currently demanding “between $6,000 and $7,000” of migrants seeking to cross Mexico, he said.

“Organized crime … continues to take advantage” of migrants, he reiterated.

An important change in migrant transportation

Throughout his years of pastoral work, Vivar has observed a significant shift regarding transportation.

In the past, he noted, migrants would board the freight train to take advantage of routes heading north. However, since 2018, many have avoided this option because “drug traffickers with long guns get on, demand payment, and throw anyone who doesnʼt pay off the train.”

Word of this has spread among migrants, leading them to switch to buses; subsequently, however, Mexican authorities stepped up document checks for those traveling through the country.

The result was that many migrants began to rely on buses offering alternative routes, some of which were controlled by criminal groups.

Along these routes, Vivar said that some migrants end up falling victim to scams, abuse, and even forced labor.

Violence: A constant on the migrant’s journey

One of the cases the Mexican priest recalled involved a group of five or six young people whom he had advised to be wary of anyone trying to offer help, “because people are watching where you come from and who you are.”

“They didn’t listen to me, and a pickup truck took them away,” he said. “They took them to a ranch. They kept them there working for about 15 days without pay” and barely gave them anything to eat.

“One day, they managed to escape,” he said. “They returned to the shelter … and said, ‘Father, you were right.’”

Criminals, Vivar warned, “are lying in wait at bus stops” such as the CAPU terminal, where “several individuals are looking specifically to rob migrants” because they are easy to spot “and [the criminals] know that if they rob them, they won’t cry out” because the authorities “will deport them.”

He also recalled one migrant who was abducted in San Luis Potosí and fell victim to sexual abuse at the hands of criminals. The victim managed to escape when his captors asked him to prepare breakfast. He seized a moment of inattention to flee barefoot and, after receiving help from several people, managed to reach the shelter in Puebla. “It was a very, very ugly situation; and from here, we paid for his fare to Tapachula in southern Mexico so he could continue on to his country.”

The Church’s response

In the face of such suffering, Vivar noted that the Church continues to maintain shelters where migrants can receive food, clothing, medical care, and a place to rest for one or two nights before continuing their journey.

Furthermore, thanks to a bazaar organized by the parish community, there are funds that help cover the cost of travel fares as well.

These shelters receive no government aid. Years ago, during the massive migrant caravans, authorities would send some aid, he said, but “there has been a distancing since 2018 under the new administrations because that support is no longer there.”

“The government does not have migrant shelters; it’s the Church that operates migrant shelters throughout the country. The National Migration Institute has detention centers; they are not shelters,” he said.

Assistance to migrants should not be restricted to Catholic shelters but should be the responsibility of every believer, Vivar emphasized, and every Christian must “try to help.”

Almsgiving, he said, is not about giving from “my surplus” but rather about “giving what is right.”

“Give your alms, but alms in the sense of giving what is necessary. If you have some clothes, if you have a jacket, give it to them.”

“Help however you can, and then — yes — send them to the shelters we have, and we’ll see what else can be done,” he added.

The migrant, he said, “didn’t leave home because he wanted to … he isn’t going days without eating and sleeping on the street because he wanted to.”

Rather, migrants leave “out of necessity, because they have no other option,” Vivar said, and are “chasing a dream, trying to provide for their families.”

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.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

Dominican Sister Jude Andrew Link is encouraging Catholics to view the beatification of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen as a chance to deepen their relationship with Christ rather than simply a historic celebration.

The 2 p.m. CT Sept. 24 ceremony at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis will formally declare Sheen “blessed,” bringing him one step closer to sainthood.

Link, programming director for the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, told Veronica Dudo on “EWTN News Nightly” on July 15 that pilgrims can arrive early for the broader celebration, which includes a nine-day novena of Holy Hours in Peoria, Illinois, leading up to the beatification, along with Masses of thanksgiving and the Sheen Awards Gala afterward.

Sheen was a pioneering television evangelist whose popular media ministry made him one of the most influential American Church figures of the 20th century.

“I think of someone who fell in love with Jesus Christ,” said Link, with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. “He knew Jesus Christ through his study. He knew Jesus Christ in the Church and in the liturgy. But in a really profound way, he knew Christ in the Eucharist. He knew Christ in prayer.”

“He knew he was a child of God. He knew he was a priest of Jesus Christ,” she said. “He knew that as a priest then that he was called to be a victim and to offer his life in union with the sacrifice of Christ.”

Link also reflected on St. John Paul II’s 1979 meeting with Sheen, when the pope embraced the archbishop and called him “a loyal son of the Church.”

“John Paul II could see right into the heart of Fulton Sheen’s identity there and just affirmed him at the deepest level,” she said.

Encouraging the faithful to attend

Inviting Catholics to attend the beatification in St. Louis, Link called the celebration “a gift for the Church.”

“Fulton Sheen doesn’t need it. He’s in heaven,” she said. “But it’s a gift that the Church gives to us.”

At the beatification, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will serve as the papal representative. Before the liturgy, pilgrims can attend a morning program featuring Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Sister Josephine Garrett, CSFN; Matt Maher; Monsignor Roger Landry; and Katie McGrady.

The beatification Mass requires a ticket, which costs about $15 to $25. Organizers say the fee is intended to offset the high costs of hosting thousands of pilgrims in a stadium venue.

Organizers have stressed that the ticket charge is not a fee for attending Mass, which canon law prohibits. Instead, it is intended to help cover the costs of hosting the large-scale event, including security, crowd management, and stadium operations, while also helping make attendance possible for priests, religious, and school groups.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

Cardinal Robert Sarah urged Europe and Africa to build their future relationship on truth, justice, and human dignity rather than ideological approaches, warning that today’s geopolitical conflicts stem from what he described as a “crisis of the logos” in which reason and language become instruments of power rather than truth.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels on July 15 during a discussion titled “Europe and Africa: In Conversation with Cardinal Robert Sarah,” the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said international cooperation is increasingly undermined by a growing disconnect between language and reality.

“In the relationship between the European Union and Africa, words are today used not to reveal reality but to hide it, and even to distort it,” Sarah said.

Pointing to expressions such as “sexual and reproductive health,” “gender equality,” and “human rights,” Sarah argued that such language is sometimes used to advance concepts that many African societies neither share nor have chosen.

“If words no longer mean what they say, how can there be authentic dialogue?” he asked. “How can Africa trust a Europe that speaks with equivocal, double-meaning words?”

He warned that international agreements relying on ambiguous terminology risk becoming “instruments of perversion and of silent power” rather than genuine cooperation.

Lessons from the pope’s AI encyclical

Sarah also drew on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, published in May, arguing that although it addresses the ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), its warning against manipulative and deceptive language also extends beyond technology to diplomacy and international cooperation.

He said the encyclical calls on policymakers to ensure political, economic, and technological systems remain grounded in truth and always serve the human person. It also insists on human oversight and moral discernment so that AI remains at the service of the human person rather than becoming its master.

Warning against reducing individuals to “statistical categories or instruments of economic power” rather than recognizing their “transcendent dignity,” Sarah said the encyclical ultimately places the human person at the center.

“The question remains, and always will remain, anthropological,” he said, urging Europe and Africa to build their partnership on “the truth of the human person, of the family, and of peoples.”

Europe-Africa cooperation

Opening the conference, Paolo Inselvini, an Italian member of the European Parliament, said the gathering offered an opportunity to recover Europe’s Christian roots while promoting “a frank, equal dialogue” with Africa based on truth rather than ideology.

European Parliament Vice President Antonella Sberna pointed to the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy and Italy’s Mattei Plan as examples of cooperation with Africa based on “respect, reality, and the identity of peoples.” She said such discussions help “translate our values into legislation and concrete change.”

Launched in 2021, Global Gateway is the EU’s flagship global investment strategy. As part of that strategy, the EU aims to mobilize up to 150 billion euros ($171.9 billion) in public and private investment across Africa.

A bridge between continents

Born in Guinea, Sarah was appointed archbishop of Conakry by Pope John Paul II in 1979 at the age of 34, becoming the youngest Catholic bishop in the world at the time.

Pope Benedict XVI named him president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum in 2010, and Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 2014, a position he held until his retirement in 2021.

Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, the apostolic nuncio to the European Union, who also spoke at the event, recalled his first meeting with the cardinal during reconstruction efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He described Sarah as someone whose life and ministry have spanned Africa, Europe, and the universal Church.

Sarah remains one of the Catholic Church’s most influential voices on evangelization, liturgy, religious freedom, and the relationship between faith, culture, and public life.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, has cut a priest off from financial support and is seeking his removal from the clerical state after federal investigators accused him of “abhorrent criminal conduct,” the diocese said this week.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York said in July that Father Jeffrey Nowak of Lackawanna, New York, had been arrested and charged with both the receipt and possession of child pornography.

Nowak had been placed on administrative leave by the diocese in 2019 amid allegations that he had sexually harassed a seminarian. Bishop Michael Fisher, who was appointed to the diocese in 2021, subsequently told Nowak that his priestly faculties in the diocese would not be reinstated and that he would advise other bishops not to accept Nowak in their own dioceses.

In a July 15 statement, the diocese pointed out that it was required by canon law to “provide some level of financial sustenance” to Nowak, even though he was not in active ministry. But after the “abhorrent criminal conduct” of which Nowak was accused this month, the diocese said it was “no longer providing any financial support” to the priest.

In addition, Fisher “has now instructed the diocese’s judicial vicar to gather the necessary documentation based on these latest allegations to petition the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to dismiss Jeffrey Nowak from the clerical state,” the statement said.

The diocese had previously not made such a petition due to “no allegation of child sexual abuse or other criminal allegation,” the statement said.

In its statement, the diocese noted that its financial support of Nowak was “considerably less than what an active priest receives and also less than what a retired priest receives.”

Nowak is facing up to 20 years in prison on the child pornography charges. In announcing Nowak’s arrest earlier in July, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said the priest “hid behind a keyboard and took part in the tragic exploitation of one of society’s most vulnerable populations, our children.”

“Nowak has now been exposed and can no longer hide and will be held accountable for his disgraceful behavior,” the prosecutor said.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

MARALAL, Kenya — Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya of Kenyaʼs Catholic Diocese of Maralal announced in a pastoral letter a series of clergy accountability measures and suspended seven priests, saying the decisions follow an assessment of the diocese and “credible information” concerning clergy conduct and the administration of Church property.

In the letter, Joya reflected on his nearly four years of episcopal ministry since taking charge of the Maralal Diocese in October 2022, outlining financial, administrative, and pastoral challenges he said he encountered upon his arrival and the reforms he has since undertaken.

“It is painful to state that I found the diocese with multiple problems but no one was willing to tell me the cause of the problems and how to get the solution,” he wrote in the four-page letter dated July 12.

The Kenyan-born member of the Institute of the Consolata Missionaries wrote that, alongside seeking donations and grants to support the diocese, he initiated assessments, financial audits, restructuring, and debt repayment.

“That helped me to conduct assessment of the diocese, carry out audits in all parishes, institutions, offices; set up systems and structures; do restructuring; and pay debts and some loans,” Joya said in the letter.

He went on to respond to the criticism that he had frequently appealed for financial support and failed to act against priests alleged to be living contrary to their vocation or possessing property whose acquisition could not be explained.

Addressing concerns over fundraising, he wrote: “I want everyone to know that I have mobilized hundreds of millions of shillings in the time I have been [here] — more than all the money all Christians of this diocese have done for their Church without counting on the major projects that have been done directly in various parishes and institutions.”

Turning to the issue of clergy discipline, the bishop said he had acted only after obtaining sufficient information.

“I never suspect or hold any priest accountable for any wrongdoing without credible information. Since I now have some information and identified such priests, I announce here two things,” he said.

The first, he wrote, is the introduction of new obligations for priests in the Diocese of Maralal under Canon 277 §3 of the Code of Canon Law.

The measures require priests to be in their presbyteries before 7 p.m. for evening prayers and prohibit them from spending the night away from the priests' residence without the bishop’s permission.

The measures also state that no layperson is to sleep or stay in a priest’s house or a religious sister’s convent without the bishopʼs authorization.

The norms further prohibit priests from drinking alcohol in bars or presenting themselves for liturgical celebrations “drunk or with the hangover of alcohol.”

The new rules also prohibit priests from engaging in private business outside “the business of the Church,” acquiring property they cannot explain, or cohabiting or engaging in relationships “with a person of the opposite sex or same sex.”

Additional measures concern the administration of parish and institutional finances, the functioning of finance councils and parish councils, annual budgets and audits, the authorized use of diocesan vehicles, and adherence to both Church and civil law.

In another measure, Joya announced the suspension of seven priests under Canons 1336 §§1–4 and 1281 §3 of the Code of Canon Law. He said the suspensions will remain in force “until the issues of abuse of ecclesiastical power, negligence of administration, and mismanagement of the temporal goods of the Church are resolved.”

The suspended priests are Fathers Paul Maina, Peter Musau, Stephen Lekasuyan, Peter Nderitu, Christopher Letikirich, John Dida, and Jonathan Namoni, whom Joya noted had already been suspended on July 10.

The pastoral letter did not specify the particular allegations against the priests or indicate whether the suspensions arise from the same circumstances. The letter also did not detail the specific canonical restrictions imposed on each priest beyond citing the relevant provisions of Church law.

Additionally, the letter also did not indicate whether the priests received individual canonical decrees explaining the reasons for their suspension, the scope of the disciplinary measures, or the conditions each would be required to meet before the suspension is lifted.

Inviting the faithful to accompany the suspended priests in prayer, Joya wrote: “Pray for these priests of ours at this moment they are starting a life of deep reflection on the value of their vocation and the importance of working for the common good of the Church.”

Alongside the disciplinary measures, the bishop announced five new priestly appointments in his diocese, including parish, pastoral center, and media apostolate assignments.

The pastoral letter concluded by asking the faithful to continue praying for him as he “endeavors to save the diocese from the difficult challenges it is undergoing.”

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

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

The French National Assembly gave final approval on July 15 to a bill legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, making France one of the few European countries to legalize the practice along with Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain.

The 291-241 vote came three years after President Emmanuel Macron, who had made it one of his key campaign promises, first opened the question to national debate.

The vote ended an unusual parliamentary stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate. Members of the National Assembly passed the bill three times over the course of 14 months — most recently on June 30 by a vote of 295 to 232 — and senators rejected it just as many times.

On July 7, the Senate passed, by a narrow majority of 169 to 164, with 11 abstentions, a preliminary motion to outright reject the bill rather than debate it, and this motion itself called on the government to end the legislative process. Rather than heeding this call, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invoked Article 45 of the Constitution, which allows the government to give the National Assembly the final say when repeated readings fail to produce an agreement between the two chambers. He then referred the bill back to the National Assembly for a fourth and final vote instead of a fourth reading in the Senate.

The July 15 vote, however, did not close the matter. On July 14, Lecornu announced he would refer part of the text to the Constitutional Council, a step Senate President Gérard Larcher had also urged, citing in particular how the billʼs conscience clause would interact with health and social care facilities built around end-of-life accompaniment that exclude assisted dying. The council must rule within a month, or eight days if the government asks for an expedited review, meaning the law cannot be promulgated until that review is complete even though the Assembly has now adopted it.

The end-of-life law covers both euthanasia, administered by a doctor or nurse, and assisted suicide, in which the patient self-administers a lethal substance, under five cumulative conditions: A person must be an adult, a stable resident of France, diagnosed with a serious and incurable condition, in an advanced or terminal phase of that condition, and suffering in a way current treatment cannot relieve, while remaining able to express a free and informed decision. Self-administration is supposed to be the default rule, with the law providing for intervention by a healthcare professional only when the patient is physically unable to act.

A supporting measure aimed at expanding access to palliative care was adopted with much broader support, passing its first reading in the Senate by a vote of 307 to 17. To date, more than 20% of French departments still lack a palliative care unit, according to figures cited repeatedly by the Bishops’ Conference of France during the debate.

The push to legalize assisted dying traces back to September 2022, when the National Consultative Ethics Committee reversed its earlier opposition to assisted dying and endorsed an “ethical” application of the practice. A citizens’ panel Macron had convened spent the following winter weighing the question and backed legalization.

The French president unveiled the outline of a bill in March 2024, but the initiative stalled when he dissolved the Assembly in June the same year. Deputy Olivier Falorni, who had filed an earlier and unsuccessful end-of-life bill, revived it in 2025.

Critics argue the newly adopted framework is among the most permissive of its kind in the world. Grégor Puppinck, a Catholic lawyer and director general of the European Centre for Law and Justice, has published a point-by-point analysis contending that the entire process rests on the judgment of a single physician, who may meet the patient for the first time on the day of the request and need not be the one already treating them.

The two additional professionals that physician must consult are chosen by the same person, are not required to examine the patient in person, and may be consulted by videoconference.

Puppinck noted the statute sets no minimum interval between the decision and the act itself beyond a two-day reflection window, relatives have no guaranteed right to be informed beforehand, and they cannot challenge the outcome in court.

Doctors who object in conscience must still refer patients to a colleague willing to proceed, and private and religious institutions, including nursing homes, must accommodate mobile euthanasia teams under threat of administrative penalties. Oversight, in Puppinck’s account, comes only after death, based on a report filed by the same clinician who carried it out.

The founders of the ethics collective Democracy, Ethics, and Solidarity, Laurent Frémont and Emmanuel Hirsch, wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that the law’s eligibility criteria — primarily a “serious and incurable condition” causing “unbearable suffering,” are defined vaguely enough that a strict medical interpretation could make more than 1 million people eligible, including patients with chronic illnesses, psychiatric disorders, or advanced age, without requiring a prior written request, a peer review by medical colleagues, or a psychiatric evaluation.

A 2025 study by the Fondation pour l’innovation politique estimated the measure could save the state around 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) a year in health, eldercare, and pension spending, a projection critics have cited as evidence of the pressures vulnerable and elderly patients could face once the law takes effect.

The French bishops’ conference called the text a threat to “the most fragile” among French citizens in a statement issued in May 2025 ahead of the Assembly’s first vote on the bill. The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, has repeatedly urged lawmakers to reconsider their position, asserting that true solidarity is built through caring for others rather than through death. “More than assistance in dying, our society needs assistance in living,” he has repeatedly stated.

In a video appeal to lawmakers released before the vote, Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours invoked François Rabelais’ centuries-old warning that “science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.” What is underway, he said, is “an anthropological shift,” a new way of viewing life and its end that will gradually reshape the country, touching caregivers, families, people with disabilities, and the relationship between generations.

He pointed to the Netherlands, where regulators had layered on safeguards for two decades and where health officials confirmed in June that a child under 12 had been euthanized for the first time, under a 2024 expansion of the law to children between the ages of 1 and 12.

Making a law, Jordy said, is also opening doors toward things “one had perhaps not imagined” when it was written.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

As the sun set behind the hills of Huancavelica in the heart of the Peruvian Andes, the final match ended in a draw. The outcome was decided by a penalty shootout. Cusco took the first kick, and everything came down to the fifth attempt. The Huancavelica goalkeeper managed to block Cuscoʼs final penalty kick, leaving the outcome in the hands — or rather, at the feet — of Father Santiago Salazar of the Huancavelica home team.

The priest took his run-up, waited for the whistle, and placed the ball right next to the goalpost. With that match-winning goal, the crowd broke out in euphoria: Dozens of seminarians rushed onto the field as priests from seven dioceses in southern Peru celebrated Huancavelica’s title win in the 2026 Clergy Champions playoffs.

On July 2, more than 150 priests from the dioceses of Puno, Cusco, Abancay, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Huancayo, and Tarma participated in the soccer tournament. For a decade, the event has strengthened priestly fraternity, promoted vocations, and served as a reminder that sports can be a means of evangelization.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Father José Raúl Ayuque Tornero, a priest of the Diocese of Huancavelica and one of the eventʼs organizers, explained that the initiative grew out of the friendship among priests who attended the major seminary in Abancay.

Its origins are deeply rooted in “fraternity and friendship among the priests,” Ayuque said. “At first, it was simply a get-together of friends.”

The event has since become a tradition for the dioceses in the southern part of the country.

A cliff-hanger final decided by penalty kicks

Ayuque excitedly recalled the final match, which was attended by families, priests, and seminarians.

“The atmosphere was extraordinary. Our minor seminarians kept spirits high throughout the day. We had marching bands performing from St. John Vianney Minor Seminary and the Teresa de la Cruz educational institution run by the Canoness Sisters,” he told ACI Prensa.

The bands provided musical accompaniment and cheered equally for both Huancavelica and Cusco as the teams faced off in the final match, which began around 5 p.m.

In Huancavelica, the sun sets early due to the areaʼs geography, making the match even more exciting. Fans followed each play closely, waiting for a goal.

The end of the match could not have been more suspenseful: Cusco failed to get a penalty kick past the Huancavelica goalie, and all eyes were then on Salazar, who skillfully placed his shot out of reach of the Cusco goalkeeper and won the championship.

A celebration immediately began on the field. The priests sang the St. John Mary Vianney hymn composed by the late bishop emeritus of Huancavelica, William Molloy.

“In Huancavelica, we have a very young clergy, with an average age close to 35, and that is also reflected in the enthusiasm with which we experience these gatherings,” Ayuque said.

The awards ceremony followed. Abancay took fourth place, Ayacucho third, and Cusco second, while Huancavelica received the cup.

The Archdiocese of Huancayo was announced as the venue for the next championship matches.

“Beyond the competition, I saw joy in everyone — the joy of sharing the mission God gives us as priests,” Ayuque commented.

For his part, referee Daniel Jorge Cruz Olarte remarked that the most gratifying aspect of being part of this tournament was “seeing how they respect one another.”

“They are wholesome people; they respect the referee, they respect their teammates and opponents, and they experience the sport with a spirit of fraternity.”

A championship born of friendship

Although it now brings together priests from seven jurisdictions and even the regionʼs bishops, the Clergy Champions League began quite simply.

“It started about 10 years ago. At first, only Abancay, Ayacucho, and Huancavelica — the closest ones — participated. Gradually, it took shape and we can now say that this gathering has become an established tradition in the Peruvian Andes,” Ayuque explained.

He said in the future, the league would also like to include the dioceses of Ica, Arequipa, and Tacna “so that it truly represents all of southern Peru.”

Much more than soccer

For the priest, the Clergy Champions was never just a sports tournament.

“These gatherings strengthen our own sanctification as priests. We meet older, younger, and newly ordained priests from different backgrounds, and we see how the Lord continues to call each one amid varying circumstances,” he said.

Ayuque said the sport can become an authentic tool to awaken vocations. “It helps us learn to live as a team, to understand that life must be built seeking communion, knowing how to share, show solidarity, and always feel the presence of our brother,” he said.

Father Doroteo Borda López, one of the participants, highlighted to ACI Prensa that the league is an experience of communion.

“It’s a way for us to participate as priests of a local Church and to come together. Getting together with nearly 150 priests and seeing that sport unites, heals, and is also part of spirituality is something very valuable,” he said.

For Borda, the Clergy Champions shows young people that the Church remains alive and “that we are just as normal people as anyone else.”

“On the field, we get angry, we play, we run, and we have our differences, but afterward, we continue sharing our lives.”

Ayuque said he believes the league’s greatest lesson for young people is “to show them that the priest’s mission is not limited solely to piety or prayer.”

“All the realities of life can and must be offered to God. The priest is called to bring God’s grace to all people and to all human endeavors. That’s why more laborers are needed for the harvest, more young people who will dedicate their lives,” he stated.

‘Sport is absolutely essential’

The priest also advocated for sports as a necessary part of holistic formation. “In our seminaries, we strive to dedicate at least one hour a day to sports, since the human person is both body and soul,” he said.

“Sport disciplines the body, makes it more agile, and helps eliminate the bodyʼs toxins. When our physical condition is well cared for, it also becomes easier to engage attentively in prayer and the encounter with God,” he said.

“A neglected body ends up influencing one’s spiritual life as well … Pope Francis frequently spoke of acedia, that kind of spiritual sloth that often stems from a body that is overly comfortable,” he added.

“Sport prepares our nature for a personal encounter with the Lord and helps us view the world with greater joy and optimism,” he concluded.

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.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team

Arkansas is the best state at protecting religious liberty, according to the 2026 edition of the annual Religious Liberty in the States (RLS) report from First Liberty Institute.

First Liberty, a legal organization dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty, released the annual index ranking religious liberty protections for each of the 50 states.

This year, Arkansas and Tennessee ranked first and second, with scores of 89% and 85%. Both states earned an “excellent” rating, meaning that they scored above 80%, marking the first time any state has crossed that threshold in the RLS.

Conducted by the institute’s Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy (CRCD), the report focuses on select legal safeguards of religious exercise in laws and constitutions.

The report assigns a percentage score to each state based on 50 legal protections that states have to protect religious liberty within six categories: government, healthcare, economic life, religious life, and family and education. These protections are gathered into 20 “safeguards,” which researchers average to produce each state’s index score.

The RLS also measures if states did a “poor,” “adequate,” “competent,” or “excellent” job of protecting religious liberty based on the percentage of protections they had adopted.

After ranking sixth in 2025, Arkansas surged to the top this year, taking the spot from Florida, which dropped to third place.

According to the report, Arkansas’ first-place ranking is largely due to the state decision to enact H.B. 1615 — a law that protects individuals and institutions from being forced to participate in wedding ceremonies to which they have religious objections.

Arkansas’ score is 63 percentage points higher than the lowest-ranked state, New York, which RLS authors said protects 26% of the measured safeguards. New York returned to last place for the first time since 2022, taking West Virginiaʼs previous spot.

While Arkansas protects 89% of the religious liberty safeguards tracked in the 2026 RLS index, it is still missing seven of the specific protections RLS considers.

“There remains room for improvement, however, for all states, and our hope is that the Religious Liberty in the States project can help catalyze such gains for years to come,” Jordan Ballor, executive director of First Liberty’s CRCD, wrote in the report.

Changes and improvements among states

“As the report indicates, there are also some hopeful trends as some states have taken action to increase their protections,” Ballor said.

Changes include Tennesseeʼs move from 10th to second place after it adopted what the report called an “exemplary” medical conscience law, with protections that allow healthcare providers and institutions to refuse to perform, provide, or pay for medical services because of their religious beliefs.

While ranking 23rd and 45th, the RLS noted that Georgia and Wyoming adopted Religious Freedom Restoration Acts in 2025, laws to protect individuals and organizations from government regulations that substantially burden their religious practices.

Due to their “competent” and “average” scores, Montana (71.3%), Illinois (70.4%), Mississippi (66.7%), Ohio (66.3%), Idaho (64.2%), South Carolina (62.9%), and Washington (60%) ranked among the 10 best states at protecting religious liberty.

The trends among states have the “potential to become a virtuous cycle as states learn from what other states have done, emulate them, and become more active in protecting and promoting the free-exercise rights of their constituents,” Ballor said.

Saint of the Day – rosary.team