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Our Sunday Visitor
US bishops advocate for Kids Online Safety Act at the Capitol
By Kate Scanlon, September 17, 2026
More than a dozen U.S. bishops met with members of Congress on Sept. 16 to urge lawmakers to enact effective safety guardrails on artificial intelligence and to support a bill that aims to protect children online. The meetings came the same day the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced a new task force to engage tech leaders and lawmakers on concerns about AI, human dignity, and online child safety. Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon, said that after the USCCB administrative committee meeting, “We just took the opportunity of being here in Washington, D.C., to visit with some of the senators and the representatives about the pressing issues that are on the minds and the hearts of the bishops.” President Donald Trump has largely rejected these concerns about AI, taking a bullish position on advancing the technology and arguing that failing to do so would leave the U.S. playing catch-up with China. After multiple tech leaders called for a slowdown in AI development to establish safety guardrails, debate on Capitol Hill emerged about how to respond.
National Catholic Register
Parents want state to return daughter and stop gender transitioning
By Matthew McDonald, September 21, 2026
A Catholic couple in Massachusetts who say they are fighting a state agency’s attempt to administer testosterone to their teenage daughter say authorities have taken their child from them, encouraged gender transitioning for her, and accused them of criminal conduct. Sophie Kutzko, now 17, was a lector and altar server at St. Matthew’s Parish in Southborough, 27 miles west of Boston, and often prayed the Rosary with her family while living at home, but now rejects Catholicism while under state care, her parents, Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, say. “Sophie was the devoutest of devout Catholics before they got ahold of her,” Joseph told the Register. A spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), the state agency that has custody of the Kutzkos’ daughter, has not responded to a request for comment. Amid a national outcry over the couple’s plight, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey earlier this week called the parents’ claims “incorrect” and “not true.”
EWTN News
600,000 sign up for Leo’s Paris Mass - organizers expand route
By AC Wimmer, September 14, 2026
As France puts the finishing touches on preparations for Pope Leo XIVʼs visit, excitement is building across a nation that one French cardinal says is resisting secularization. Nearly 600,000 people registered for the open-air papal Mass at the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées before sign-ups closed on Sept. 16, according to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris. Registration was encouraged but not required. The huge response forced organizers to expand the security perimeter well beyond the original footprint. “You responded in great numbers to the Holy Fatherʼs invitation to come and pray with him,” Ulrich said in a statement. Demand built fast: When registration opened Aug. 10, more than 200,000 people signed up for the Paris Mass in the first few hours. All 80,000 places for the youth vigil at the Stade de France on Sept. 25 were claimed within hours. Nearly 300,000 registrations were recorded across both Paris events in the first 24 hours.
PIMA Asia News
‘Miss Kathi’ and the hidden face of North Korea
By North Korea, September 19, 2026
A 25-year diary, packed with encounters with faces in North Korea that no one ever gets to see. An account of the daily lives of ordinary people, not featured either in the Pyongyang regime’s ideological propaganda or in the stories of those who have managed to flee the country. The story of the practical aid that — during a favorable period in the troubled history of the Korean Peninsula — an aid worker managed to deliver. And of how much she herself received from these people. All is summed up in “Miss Kathi. Saving Lives in North Korea.” Cathi Zellweger, a Swiss aid worker from a Lutheran family who worked for Caritas Hong Kong for many years from 1978 onwards, together with leading CNN journalist Mike Chino, has documented her truly unique experience in North Korea. Published by Post Hill Press, “Miss Kathi” chronicles 25 years of journeys and stays in Pyongyang. A journey that began quite unexpectedly when, while working on behalf of Caritas Hong Kong at the height of the famine that was bringing the country to its knees in the 1990s.
The Pillar
Pilgrims to ‘make reparation for sins committed within the Church’
By Luke Coppen, September 18, 2026
Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl announced the Oct. 5 walking pilgrimage to Hájek, near Prague, in his first pastoral letter since his installation in April. He appeared to refer to the case of Antonín Juriga, a permanent deacon and former executive director of the archdiocese who was arrested by Czech police Aug. 6 and charged with rape, abuse, extortion, and making threats. Juriga is also being investigated for possible financial offenses. Přibyl said he was “painfully aware” that trust in the Church had been damaged. “I assure you that I acted immediately and firmly. Now it is necessary to allow the competent authorities and institutions to investigate all the suspicions properly and to draw the appropriate consequences from them.” Přibyl is the successor of Archbishop Jan Graubner, who retired in February 2026 at the age of 77. Graubner was in turn the successor of Cardinal Dominik Duka, an anti-communist dissident who died in November 2025. Both Graubner and Duka faced public criticism over their handling of abuse cases but rejected cover-up allegations.
Zeale
LDS Church could sway Idaho voters on pro-abortion ballot
By Elise Winland, September 21, 2026
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is urging its members in Idaho to oppose Proposition 1, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, a ballot initiative that pro-life advocates say would dismantle the state’s protections for unborn children and allow abortion after fetal viability. Church leaders announced their opposition in a letter scheduled for reading in local congregations Sept. 20 and Sept. 27, just as absentee voting began and about six weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The LDS church opposes the initiative and joins “with other like-minded individuals and organizations working against this initiative,” and encourages “our members to voice their opposition to it in a respectful manner.” The measure would replace the state’s current “Idaho’s Defense of Life Act” with a broad statutory “right” to abortion before fetal viability and after viability in medical emergencies. It defines “fetal viability” as determined on a case-by-case basis according to a physician’s judgment whether the fetus could survive outside the womb without “extraordinary medical measures.”
Aleteia
Pope reminds of Italian courage in refusing to join Nazis
By Rose Bryan, September 21, 2026
Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the town of Pescantina, Italy, on September 20, as a national day of remembrance specifically for the thousands of Italian soldiers who refused to join the Italian Social Republic (RSI) and to continue the war alongside Nazi Germany. 1943, Adolf Hitler ordered that captured Italian soldiers no longer be treated as prisoners of war, as the Geneva Convention states, and removed legal protections, sending hundreds of thousands of Italian soldiers to forced labor, extreme hardship, and ultimately, for many, death at Nazi camps. 650,000 Italian military personnel were interred in German camps for refusing to continue fighting for the Axis or the Italian Social Republic. Many passed through Pescantina’s railway station on their way to the camps — 50,000 died. The Pope’s message reminds us of the dignity of human life and the importance of protecting life at all costs. We should not forget such suffering, but as he says, “rather learn from history so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Zenit
How many martyrs will the Catholic Church have by 2026?
By ZENIT Staff, September 19, 2026
The 21st century is already leaving behind a Christian memorial written not in documents, but in blood. More than 1,700 Christians who died because of their faith have now been recorded by a Vatican commission, with another 100 to 150 names added during 2026. The list crosses continents and, significantly, crosses confessional boundaries: the dead being remembered are not only Catholics, but Christians of other traditions who were killed for bearing witness to Christ. The Vatican is not producing a new list of saints by administrative decree. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery, stressed that the Church does not simply “create” saints. Canonization is a formal ecclesial judgment subject to specific requirements, while the catalog has a wider purpose: to recover the testimony of people whose deaths may never lead to beatification or canonization. The language of a “new age of martyrs” should not be treated as merely symbolic. In his assessment, martyrdom remains a defining reality of the present century.
Keep informed - 9/21/26 news for Catholics:
Snippets: EWTN News, Aleteia, & Catholic World News
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — September 21, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the Holy Father's words and the Holy See.
Pope Leo XIV to Poor Clare nuns: Lack of vocations should renew your commitment - By Ishmael Adibuah - “The numerical decline of communities, and the fear of losing their autonomy that may result from it, should neither trouble you nor deprive you of hope,” Leo said. “Rather, it should encourage a renewal of your way of life and an even greater commitment to the spiritual accompaniment of those who knock on the doors of your monasteries.”
Where is the body of St. Matthew? A visit to his tomb - By Jonah McKeown - Surprisingly little is known for certain about Matthew’s life, even though his Gospel is so crucial for the Church. Matthew’s earthly body is purported to lie in the crypt beneath the cathedral of Salerno, Italy. In the crypt, a bronze St. Matthew made by Michelangelo Naccherino in 1606 sits above the altar.
What does a diocese do when a priest is accused of misconduct? - By Daniel Payne - U.S. dioceses have complex and at times lengthy ways of addressing such allegations — processes that ensure both a full treatment of the alleged misconduct and the rights of priests to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
Aleteia
Aleteia’s free access to Catholic news
Launched in 2013, Aleteia is a free online daily news publication. The site is available in six languages (French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, and Slovenian). Aleteia reaches nearly 50 million people worldwide, making it one of the leading online Catholic media outlets.
Pope Leo prays for Somalia, as weather compounds violence - A lack of international humanitarian aid has made the situation worse. The United States was once a primary supporter of assistance to Somalia but has changed that policy. However, this week, the US did agree to give the United Nations another year to wind down its support for African peacekeepers in Somalia.
19 Catholic coffee shops across the U.S. listed by state - You might have daydreamed about finding a Catholic coffee shop, somewhere you could go to relax and sip a warm drink in a cozy and faith-filled environment. Check out this list to see if there’s a Catholic coffee shop in your area — or maybe this is a great excuse for a road trip!
What is a Eucharistic miracle in the Catholic Church? - This change of the substance of the Eucharist is certainly miraculous at every single Mass — God changes a thing from what it was into something it was not. However, miracles are generally considered things visible to our human senses, and in the case of what happens at every Mass, our human senses perceive nothing. We can't see, feel, or taste the difference that is happening.
Catholic World News
CatholicCulture.org from Trinity Communications
Catholic World News (CWN) is an independent Catholic news service staffed by lay Catholic journalists, dedicated to providing accurate global news from a distinctly Catholic perspective.
Gaza Catholic school reopens after almost 3 years of war - The school attached to Gaza’s sole Catholic parish reopened on September 15. “For me the school is a light in the darkness,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli, I.V.E., pastor of Holy Family Church. “It means a lot to people—when they see the 1,000 students coming in their uniforms to the school, it shows them that there is a future.”
Man charged with terrorist threats against St. Louis archdiocese - A 32-year-old man faces a felony charge of making terroristic threats in connection with social media threats against the headquarters of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In one post, the man allegedly said that God instructed him to kill “everyone who walks into that church.”
In Havana’s darkness, Cubans turn to faith - USA Today published an article on the ministry of Father Ariel Suárez Jáuregui, a Havana parish priest and Cuban bishops’ conference official. “It’s the toughest—and probably the saddest—of all the times I have lived through,” the priest said of the current situation in Cuba, amid the U.S. oil embargo. “We are witnessing a growing deterioration in recent months across every aspect of national life.”
September 21, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Today’s Catholic commentary:
First Things
The ‘Right to Die’ will be the death of solidarity
By Audrey Pollnow, September 21, 2025
Many disability rights groups oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia. Most people who request these services would rather be killed than be disabled. When society regards this preference as reasonable (“Of course you wouldn’t want to live like that!”) and facilitates the choice (“I will have mercy on you!”), people living with disabilities rightly feel targeted. many disability rights groups oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia. Most people who request these services do so because they would rather be killed than be disabled. When society regards this preference as reasonable (“Of course you wouldn’t want to live like that!”) and facilitates the choice (“I will have mercy on you!”), people living with disabilities rightly feel targeted. Assisted death is motivated by disability rather than pain when we consider the great strides made in pain relief over the past century.
Zenit
Vatican Children’s Hospital: No. 1 in Europe, No. 4 in the world
By Valentina di Giorgio, September 19, 2026
The Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, owned by the Holy See, has risen to fourth place worldwide in the 2027 Newsweek–Statista ranking of specialized pediatric hospitals, up two positions from the previous edition and retaining its lead in Europe. It is the only Italian institution among the world’s top 25 in pediatrics. The ranking assessed around 800 institutions in 35 countries before selecting 250 hospitals for the final list. The result matters because the ranking is not based solely on technological capacity. Professional reputation accounts for 85% of the score, drawing on assessments by thousands of doctors, healthcare professionals, and hospital directors in more than 30 countries. Quality certifications and accreditations account for another 10%, while the remaining 5% measures the use of patient-reported outcome programs—systems designed to capture how patients experience recovery and quality of life.
Our Sunday Visitor
Inmate families pay $840 million a year to support them in Brazil
By Eduardo Campos Lima, September 16, 2026
Brazilian families of prisoners spend an estimated $840 million a year to provide basic necessities such as food, hygiene supplies, clothing and medicine for incarcerated relatives, according to a new study commissioned by the Catholic bishops’ prison pastoral ministry. The Aug. 26 report, “Punishment Without a Sentence,” surveyed 2,706 relatives of inmates across Brazil and found that women, especially wives and mothers, shoulder most of the financial and emotional burden. Many are Black, poor, and spend a significant portion of their income supporting loved ones behind bars. Sister Petra Pfaller, who heads the prison pastoral ministry, handed Pope Leo XIV a report in April on restrictions the Brazilian penal system imposes on pastoral agents seeking to visit penitentiaries. After years of working with inmates, she found that families are voiceless. Their rights are continually disrespected; they are humiliated, and they have no way to complain about anything.
The Catholic Thing
Jewish Catholic or Catholic Jew?
By Robert J. Kurland, September 21, 2026
In a few weeks (as I write this) the Jewish Holy Days will be here – Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. [Editor’s note: today, September 21] And again I wonder: am I a Jewish Catholic or a Catholic Jew? There is a difference. The noun, the second word, conveys the fundamental identity; the adjective is a modifier. An Irish Catholic is not the same as a Catholic Irishman. After my conversion, the place of Jews and Jewish history started to matter. Studying Catholic teaching, I discovered that Judaism was the foundation of the Catholic faith. I was uncomfortable trying to be both Jewish and Catholic. My Jewishness is my family background, third-generation Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe – a background that is formative, but not determinative. The Church itself has said in a Declaration of Vatican II (Nostra Aetate) that the covenant between Israel and God has never been revoked. But my Yom Kippur fast is a Catholic fast, not the stricter Jewish fast, which is no water, no food, from sundown to sundown. So, in the end: Jewish Catholic, not a Catholic Jew.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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