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Zeale News
Islamic leaders and political office in America
By RealClearInvestigations, August 26, 2026
Some Islamic leaders and political organizations are increasingly using elections, campaign spending, and other parts of the American political system to build influence and advance objectives that critics argue conflict with American laws and institutions, according to an Aug. 18 RealClearInvestigations report. “In one sense, this is just the continuation of the country’s deep tradition of offering newcomers the opportunity to contribute their own customs to American society. But some critics say this iteration of the immigrant story offers a distinct challenge,” investigative reporter Paul Sperry wrote. Sperry reported that at least $315,000 from donors he characterized as tied to Muslim Brotherhood–linked organizations supported El-Sayed during his successful Democratic primary campaign. El-Sayed, who won the nomination Aug. 4, will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November.
Our Sunday Visitor
Judge temporarily blocks Illinois assisted suicide law
By Simone Orendain, August 27, 2026
Illinois’ physician-assisted suicide law, effective Sept. 12, has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge for specific individuals. The order applies to “Catholic health care entities” under the authority of Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, four Catholic doctors, and Lutheran Care Center, a nursing home in south-central Illinois. (Two Catholic hospital systems, the Hospital Sisters Health System and OSF Healthcare’s Springfield campus, are in the diocese). The Thomas More Society announced U.S. District Court Judge Franklin Valderrama placed the temporary restraining order on the End of Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act on Aug. 21, noting, for now, the state cannot force its clients “to tout the alleged ‘benefits’ of assisted suicide, refer patients to someone willing to prescribe lethal drugs, log those requests in a way that triggers the state’s suicide ‘qualification’ process, avoid engaging in whatever the state decides is ‘misinformation’ about suicide, or falsify death certificates to conceal how a patient died.”
Crux
Record-high number of assisted suicides in California
By Crux Now Staff, August 27, 2026
As the US state of California reports a dramatic increase in assisted suicides, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is working on different fronts to foster support for the vulnerable and to educate the faithful. Released earlier this month, the California End of Life Option Act 2025 Data Report shows a record-high 1,235 deaths by assisted suicide, a nearly 11% increase over the past year. Over the five-year period from 2020 to 2025, the report shows a nearly 150% increase. Esmeralda Sosa of the Los Angeles archdiocesan Office of Life, Justice, and Peace told Crux Now that the statistics are more than sobering and a call to action. “It is both concerning and heartbreaking to look at the 2025 data and see the continued increase in people seeking prescriptions to end their lives,” Sosa said.
National Catholic Register
US dioceses vary in granting, denying exemptions to vaccines
By Matthew McDonald, August 25, 2026
What should Catholic schools do when parents object to vaccinating their children on religious grounds? U.S. Catholic bishops don’t agree. Prompted by a conflict in Florida between the state attorney general and local bishops, the Register recently obtained vaccination policies from 28 Catholic dioceses in 19 states covering all major regions of the country. A comparison shows that vaccination requirements vary widely among Catholic schools, depending on state laws and how individual bishops interpret Catholic teachings on individual conscience and the common good. 16% of dioceses in the United States say they ordinarily require vaccinations for students and allow exemptions if a vaccine would harm a particular child's health. That’s the law in all 50 states for children who attend school, whether public or private, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Aleteia
Confessional at the County Fair? Is this a trend?
By Philip Kosloski, August 27, 2025
Despite sweltering triple-digit heat, an annual county fair buzzed with activities in the quaint town of Washington, Missouri. The Washington Town and Country Fair has been held for nearly 100 years, starting in 1929, and includes livestock shows, carnival rides, and booths much like those you’d see at farmers' markets or craft shows. However, this year had a rather unusual booth: a Catholic Country Confessional started by Fr. Ryan Truss. The priest is the associate pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in Washington and St. John the Baptist-Gildehaus, and chaplain at St. Francis Borgia High School. The idea came while Fr. Truss was at the fair last year and spoke with someone who said they hadn't been to the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a long time. Fr. Truss gained support from other priests, including Fr. Nick Winker, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes; Fr. Jeff Maassen, pastor of St. Francis Borgia Parish and Assumption in New Haven; and others.
Vatican News
Cardinal Pizzaballa: The West Bank is a ‘lawless land’
By Vatican News, August 27, 2026
The West Bank has now become “a lawless land,” and tensions between settlers and the Palestinian population are continually rising. The situation is ongoing “without any effective security or legal restraints.” “The fact that there is a situation of continuous aggression by settlers is well established.” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke on the final day of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples in Rimini, first meeting with journalists and then engaging in a dialogue with a group of young people. “The West must help raise its gaze somewhat, create perspectives, and also help calm this continuing downward spiral through ever greater diplomatic efforts,” the Cardinal stressed. He pointed to diplomacy, despite “all its weakness,” as “the only way to try to resolve the conflict while avoiding the use of weapons, violence and military force.” The Patriarch also turned his attention to Gaza, where the situation “has deteriorated enormously” and remains “very devastated from a human point of view.”
Zenit
Pilgrimages on the Camino de Santiago breaking records again
By Zenit Staff, August 25, 2026
The Camino de Santiago is approaching a remarkable milestone: the pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint James appears poised to set another annual record in 2026, even before the Catholic world turns its attention to what could be an extraordinary Holy Year in Compostela in 2027. More than 363,000 pilgrims have already received the Compostela this year, 2026, according to the official figures recorded by the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago de Compostela. The figure counts those who formally collect the certificate after completing the requirements for one of the routes leading to the Galician city. At the current pace, 2026 could surpass last year’s unprecedented total of 530,724 officially certified pilgrims. The number is already about 6% higher than at the same point in 2025, pointing toward a fifth consecutive annual record if the trend continues.
EWTN News
Communion Project to heal ‘toxic polarization’ within U.S. Church
By Tessa Gervasini, August 27, 2026
The Communion Project initiative hopes to repair polarization in the U.S. Church and help the Church offer a better, more joyful witness in a divided country, organizers said. “Unfortunately, too often Catholics and Catholic leaders are acting more like thermometers instead of thermostats,” Jonathan Lewis, mission strategy officer for the Paulist Fathers and co-director of the Communion Project, told EWTN News. “Weʼre reading the temperature of the room or the culture, instead of setting the temperature according to our values and the truths of the Church,” he said. “So, part of what this effort is aimed to do is to lower the temperature of division and distrust, starting with those of us Catholics who call ourselves brothers and sisters, who are a real spiritual family,” Lewis said.
Keep informed - 8/27/26 news for Catholics
Snippets from OSV, EWTN News, & ChurchPOP
OSV News
OSV’s seasoned reporters - August 27, 2026
OSV News — information service and evangelization partner that enables dioceses to connect and boost engagement with the faithful by sharing timely, trustworthy, and accurate content about what is happening in the Church and the world.
Faithful across Honolulu Diocese rally after devastating hurricane - August 26, 2026 - As Hurricane Lala barreled across the Hawaiian Islands Aug. 15-16, several Catholic organizations kept close watch over one of the hardest-hit areas — Hawaii Island’s Kau district, home to Sacred Heart Church in Naalehu and Holy Rosary Church in Pahala.
Archbishop urges US to ‘rethink’ Haiti deportations after mass kidnapping, massacre - August 26, 2026 - A deadly gang attack near Haiti’s capital that saw dozens killed and kidnapped should cause the U.S. to “rethink” its ending of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami told OSV News.
What young Catholics say draws their peers to the Church and gives them a reason to stay - August 24, 2026 - They talked about friends who invited them, Catholics they admired, communities where they felt at home, and moments that helped the faith become their own. For many, those experiences helped them come to know Christ personally.
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — August 27, 2026
EWTN provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See, and is available to anyone with internet access.
Norway’s bishops seek papal jubilee for 2030-2031 to spark spiritual renewal in the north - By Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves - The upcoming 2030 millennium commemorates 1,000 years since the pivotal Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, where King Olav Haraldsson was martyred.
Possible Eucharistic miracle in Guatemala: Church urges ‘prudence and restraint’ - By Diego López Colín - As in all such cases of an apparent manifestation of the Real Presence, the local Church is duly investigating the phenomenon and urging the faithful not to draw any conclusions. A fallen host was placed in water to dissolve, and “the following Thursday [Aug. 13], while cleaning the chapel, a parish volunteer noticed that the host had not dissolved and bore red stains that could be blood.”
Muslim Senate candidate faces backlash for comparing sharia law to canon law - Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing backlash after comments he made during a television interview comparing Muslim sharia law to Catholic canon law.
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - August 27, 2026
“We publish inspiring daily stories, fun and shareable faith-centered infographics, prayers, Church history, and more.”
Have Your Loved Ones Left the Church? Look to St. Monica: Keep praying. Keep loving. Keep hoping - Do you have a loved one who has fallen away from the faith? Consider turning to the saintly intercession and holy testimony of Saint Monica!
This Archbishop’s “Conversion Story” Has the Internet Laughing - Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher is going viral for a humorous reflection on faith with an unexpected punchline! “I was extremely selfish. The universe was about me,” he said. “But then, at three weeks old, I was baptized.”
From Dressing Up as a Blues Brother to Becoming Pope: Leo Has Full-Circle Moment Over the Weekend - Pope Leo XIV had a full-circle Blues Brothers moment in Rimini, Italy, meeting “Blue Lou” Marini—the saxophonist known for performing with the legendary Blues Brothers band.
August 27, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Memorial of Saint Monica
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Exaudi News
‘Rebuilding’ movie: The indestructible when everything collapses
By Amparo Aygües, August 26, 2026
What remains when a catastrophe destroys everything upon which we build our identity? The film Rebuilding, by filmmaker Max Walker-Silverman, invites profound reflection on loss and human resilience, emerging from the question of the value of the imperishable and the distinction between rebuilding and recovering. What begins as a forced coexistence after the catastrophe becomes an unexpected network of community support. Survival becomes more humane as they share food, memories, life plans from before the fire, and the possibilities of an uncertain future. Reconstruction arises precisely from the discovery of the indestructible, the value of the imperishable that belongs to the deepest dimension of the person and that the fire has not been able to consume.
The Catholic Gentlemen
Necessities to a successful Catholic marriage
By John Heinen, August 26, 2026
Get Devin Schadt’s new book The Marriage Gap. There is always the temptation to keep score. Every little disagreement becomes a legal discussion, and you try so hard to win the case and walk away victorious. But it costs you. 74% of divorced people say their spouse should have worked harder. 73% say they’d already done enough. Both cannot be true. Today we discuss the importance of not making your marriage a constant battle to win and how wanting to win can cost you your marriage. We learn to listen to our spouse’s heart, not just their words, and to recognize that our needs are God-given. Devin and Kim Schadt have been married thirty years, through cancer, poverty, miscarriage, and a daughter’s brain injury. In their new book The Marriage Gap, they lay out the three things every thriving marriage does.
The Pillar
German AfD seeking to curb national church funding program
By Luke Coppen, August 26, 2026
The Catholic Church in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt is urging voters to shun the Alternative for Germany party when they head to the ballot box Sept. 6. With polls suggesting the AfD could secure its first outright majority at the state level, the Diocese of Magdeburg has launched an initiative urging citizens to “vote consciously” in the upcoming election. The Bewusst Wählen! initiative, spearheaded by the local Bishop Gerhard Feige, is appealing to the more than 2 million residents of the eastern state to prioritize charity, dialogue, human dignity, and solidarity when they cast their votes. The diocese believes that the Church itself could face dire consequences if the AfD, which seeks to curb immigration, wins enough votes to lead the state government in Saxony-Anhalt. The party’s manifesto, released in July, promises to overhaul Church funding mechanisms if the AfD secures power.
Wild at Heart
You must not go alone
By John Eldredge, August 26, 2026
When Neo is set free from the Matrix, he joins the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar — the little hovercraft that is the headquarters and ship of the small fellowship called to set the captives free. There are nine of them in all, each a character in his own way, but nonetheless a company of the heart, a “band of brothers,” a family bound together in a single fate. Together, they train for battle. Together, they plan their path. When they go back into the Matrix to set others free, each one has a role, a gifting, a glory. They function as a team. And they watch each other’s backs. Neo is fast, really fast, but he still would have been taken out if it hadn’t been for Trinity. Morpheus is more gifted than any of them, but it took the others to rescue him. And, of course, Jesus had the Twelve. This is written so deeply on our hearts: You must not go alone. The Scriptures are full of such warnings, but until we see our desperate situation, we hear it as an optional religious assembly for an hour on Sunday mornings.
Image of peanuts by Nicole Köhler, from Pixabay
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