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Our Sunday Visitor
Trump backs Irish unification, bucking US neutrality
By Kate Scanlon, September 14, 2026
President Donald Trump backed Irish unification during a meeting Sept. 12 with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, a move that drew praise from a U.S. Irish Catholic fraternal organization, but bucked several decades of precedent for the U.S.’s officially neutral position on the question. Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom since 1921, after the Government of Ireland Act 1920 divided the island into two parts amid the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence. Divisions became hardened after the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty led to Southern Ireland becoming the majority-Catholic Irish Free State, while Northern Ireland, with its unionist Protestant majority and nationalist Catholic minority, remained in the United Kingdom. The U.S. has supported the Good Friday Agreement — the historic 1998 accord that the Clinton administration helped broker — that effectively ended three decades of violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, often referred to as “the Troubles.”
Zeale
Catholic parents fight for custody of socially ‘transitioned’ daughter
By Elizabeth Ervin, September 14, 2026
Catholic parents in Massachusetts are fighting to regain custody of their teenage daughter after her public school allegedly began socially “transitioning” her without their knowledge and state officials subsequently removed her from their home. Joseph and Arlene Kutzko said the state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) removed their then-15-year-old daughter, Sophie, from their home in late 2024 after they refused, because of their Catholic faith, to refer to her as a boy, according to a Sept. 13 episode of Fox News’ “Lighthouse Faith” podcast with religion correspondent Lauren Green. The parents — who spoke on the podcast alongside their attorney, Vernadette Broyles — alleged that the removal came shortly after staff at Algonquin Regional High School in Southborough, Massachusetts, began referring to Sophie by a male name and using male pronouns for her without informing them.
EWTN News
Church documents 304 martyrs in Latin America so far this century
By Victoria Cardiel, September 15, 2026
The Catholic Church has documented 304 martyrs in Latin America so far this century. These are men and women killed not only for professing their faith but also for defending the poor, confronting organized crime, and protecting creation. Their stories are part of a global catalog of martyrs promoted by the Vatican that already exceeds 1,700 documented cases. Many were murdered for reasons related to drug trafficking, deforestation, or for opposing the exploitation of natural resources,” explained Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The cardinal noted that while many were missionaries, the group also included lay faithful who gave their lives defending the Gospel and denouncing drug traffickers, protecting Indigenous territories from deforestation, or fighting the illegal exploitation of natural resources. The martyrs became “inconvenient” to those controlling illicit activities, Semararo said. Their Gospel witness clashed directly with economic interests and criminal structures.
Related: ‘Century of martyrdom’: Vatican commission has recorded death of over 1700 martyrs in the 21st century, By Crux Now Staff, September 15, 2026
CBCP News
Archbishop calls digital world new mission territory
By CBCP News, September 12, 2026
The digital world is a ‘new mission territory’ where people already live, work and search for meaning, a Philippine archbishop said Saturday. Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon of Caceres urged Catholic digital missionaries across Asia to bring the Gospel into online spaces with discernment, critical thinking and a strong sense of community. “The new mission territory is not the seas, not the air, but the digital sphere,” Alarcon said. “Not a parallel world, but a world where we live in. We are already there.” Alarcon said digital spaces have become places where people form opinions, build relationships, encounter information and search for meaning, making them part of everyday human life. He warned that rapid technological change, particularly artificial intelligence, raises new ethical questions and should not replace human judgment. “We are now outsourcing our intelligence,” Alarcon said, urging digital missionaries not to “relegate our thinking to the machines.”
UCA News
Franciscans report three Christian civilians killed in Indonesia
By UCA News reporter, September 7, 2026
“Following yet another massacre, there is an urgent need to protect civilians, respect international humanitarian law and reduce the presence of Indonesian army troops. At the same time, humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach more than 100,000 displaced persons,” said Fr. Alexandro Rangga OFM, director of the Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in the Indonesian province of West Papua. Rangga confirmed that three Christian employees of the agricultural office in Jayawijaya Regency were killed in an ambush on 9 September, once again raising the issue of the safety of civilians amid the long-running conflict in Papua. According to reports, the armed group West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) stopped the convoy and separated indigenous Papuans from non-native people, who were then killed. the situation of civilians in conflict-affected areas of Papua has deteriorated, as they face attacks by both separatist groups (TPNPB-OPM) and operations by Indonesian security forces.
Zenit
‘Entrepreneurial nuns’ serve God with ‘pray and work’
By Alma Recinas, September 14, 2026
Certain women religious are not abandoning the traditional “ora et labora”; rather, they are bringing the ancient Benedictine principle — “pray and work“ — into the 21st century. They are engaging in online stores, social media, marketing, sustainable agriculture, artisanal products, and business management, yet with a purpose distinct from that of conventional business: sustaining a community, preserving a heritage, and continuing a mission. Considered “entrepreneurial nuns“ — though entrepreneurial women religious or social entrepreneurs may be more accurate — their goal is not personal enrichment, but sustaining the community, preserving convents, and funding apostolic and social works. In Spain, Benedictine Sister Marta González is a master brewer who has produced beer for the convent for decades; L’Osservatore Romano reported an annual production of 3,000 hectoliters. She believes brewing beer serves God, breaking the stereotype that a nun must limit herself to activities traditionally considered “religious.“
The Pillar
Pope Leo gave Eastern Churches the power to remove patriarchs
By John D Faris, September 8, 2026
By the motu proprio Mutua concordia, issued on 29 August 2026, Pope Leo amended canons 106 and 126 of the Eastern code to empower a synod of bishops, the highest governing body of a patriarchal Church, to remove its own patriarch from office in an orderly fashion. Twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. Six are headed by a patriarch (Coptic, Syriac, Melkite Greek, Maronite, Chaldean, and Armenian Catholic Churches). Four more are headed by a major archbishop, an office that carries substantially the powers of a patriarch under a different title. These ten Churches are not dioceses of the Latin Church. Each governs itself through its own synod of bishops, elects its own head, and legislates its own particular law. That self-governance is not a courtesy extended by Rome. It is a right recognized in the universal Church’s own legislation for the Eastern Churches, the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, promulgated in 1990. Self-governance, however, had a gap in it, until now. Canon 1060 §1, n. 1 reserved to the Roman Pontiff alone the right to judge a patriarch. A synod could disagree with its patriarch, and could say so, but it could not act.
Crux
Ecuador Catholics believe assisted reproduction bill can be defeated
By Eduardo Campos Lima, September 13, 2026
Catholic pro-life activists are confident a bill aimed at regulating assisted reproduction – and containing several provisions that go against Church teaching – may be shelved by a majority of lawmakers in Ecuador. The bill, which was about to be put to a vote but had its consideration suspended at the end of July, is part of what pro-life movements describe as an offensive by various sectors of society to promote legislation contrary to the defense of life in the Andean nation. Three legislative proposals were combined and introduced as a single bill on assisted reproduction in the Ecuadorian Congress earlier this year. Lawmakers advocating its approval argue that assisted reproduction has been practiced in Ecuador for several years without regulation or state oversight, and that it is therefore time to establish legislation governing such practices. But the bill contains a number of provisions that pro-lifers in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, cannot accept.
Keep informed - 9/15/26 news for Catholics
Snippets: Pulpit, EWTN, & Aleteia
BIG PULPIT
Tito Edwards’ Catholic blogger site: September 15, 2026
The Big Pulpit website is an intelligent news aggregator offering insights and analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide. Here are Chief Editor Tito Edwards’ top recommendations for today.
Pope Leo XIV Abrogates Yet Another Francis Document – Rorate Cæli
God Raises Up His Champions – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American Catholic
Human Women Turned Into Vending Machines is. . .Progress? – Creative Minority Report
Sobering Spiritual Truths According to St. John of the Cross – Msgr. Charles Pope at CIM
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — September 15, 2026
EWTN News 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.
Daughter of imprisoned Christian Syrian urges Trump to intervene - By Emma R.C. Lyons - The family of Suleiman Khalil, a former mayor in Sadad, Syria, is urging U.S. officials to intervene after he spent 19 months in detention without charges under the Syrian transitional government. Khalil was arrested and detained Feb. 8, 2025. His daughter and advocacy group Christian Solidarity International (CSI) have urged U.S. governmental intervention.
‘Daniel and the Fiery Furnace’ brings biblical story of faith under pressure to big screen - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - A new biblical drama is bringing the story of the prophet Daniel to the big screen, depicting his rise in the Babylonian Empire and the faith of three men who chose death rather than bow to a king who demanded they worship him.
Study: Doctors don’t screen for abortion coercion — and it hurts women - By Kate Quiñones - A recent study highlights that when women are coerced or pressured into abortion, they are at high risk for negative outcomes — but abortion providers rarely screen for abortion coercion. The authors, David C. Reardon, Dr. Martha W. Shuping, and Dr. Patricia K. Giebink, called the failure to screen for this “medical negligence.”
Aleteia
Aleteia’s global network reports for September 15, 2026
Aleteia (aleteia.org) is an online publication distributed in six languages (English, French, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Slovenian). Launched in 2013, it is one of the world’s leading news websites with content free from ideological influences.
Vatican Library needs to be bigger, Pope Leo decides - The Holy Father signed a document ordering the construction of a new building inside the Vatican to expand the Vatican Apostolic Library (BAV) and the Vatican Apostolic Archives. The expansion aims to meet the growing needs of the bibliographic heritage housed in the world’s smallest state.
Diocese to explore canonization process for heroic dad - Philip Kosloski - n September 10, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, has posted an official edict that seeks to explore a canonization process for Thomas Vander Woude. Thomas died in Nokesville, Virginia, while saving the life of his youngest son, who had fallen into a septic tank on the family property.
Pope Leo’s first book published today - ‘Freedom Under Grace’ is a collection of the Holy Father’s writings from his years as head of the Augustinian Order. It's not just his first book as pope, but his first book ever. Not organized by theme, but rather chronologically, specifically covering the future pope's writings from when he was head of the Augustinian order, the book covers homilies from the years 2001-2013.
September 15, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE - or read HERE:
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Dominica
A Time for War
By Br. Gabriel Dobrozsi, O.P., September 15, 2026
In Narnia’s Perelandra, C.S. Lewis is bringing to the surface the incarnate nature of spiritual combat. This is reflected in Ransom’s critical realization: it is a trick of the Devil to think that “spiritual combat” means only using the part of us that is spiritual. God made us soul and body, and while the body is what makes us weaker than the Enemy by nature, it is also the precise instrument by which we are meant to overcome him. In many of our struggles with sin there comes a certain decisive moment. Up to this point, it seems we have already exhausted all our resources: our willpower has not been strong enough; our spiritual reading, while enlightening, has failed to produce the virtue we lacked; even our prayer has not turned things around. Eventually, we reach a fateful junction, a fork in the road. The truth forces itself upon us, and something escapes from the depths: “This can’t go on.”
Missio Dei Catholic
Children’s’ Limbo’ and the theological virtue of hope
By Andrew McGovern, Th.D., September 15, 2026
One of the heaviest crosses that a married couple will ever have to carry is that of the death of a child. As humans, we are programmed to expect that our children will bury us, not the other way around. And so when a parent encounters the tragedy of having to bury their child, there is an overwhelming sense of grief that takes hold. Within this spectrum of tragedies lies the reality of miscarriage. This is, I think, a unique experience. One that is not more or less injurious to the parents, but one that comes with a unique and important question: what of the salvation of my child? Is there hope for a child who dies without baptism? Many have sought to answer this question, and the Church, in Her love for Her children, is not silent. First, a child being condemned to the Hell of the Damned is not permitted. St. Thomas Aquinas said that since there is not a supernatural knowledge for the innocent child, there is no interior affliction in being deprived of the beatific vision.
The Obscure, Forgotten, and Undiscovered
When pressed on Jesus, Kerouac said, ‘all I write about is Jesus’
By James K. Hanna, September 10, 2026
The poet Robert Lax (1915-2000)—not only a friend to Jack Keroauc, but an admirer of the Beat writer’s literary production—once wrote to Kerouac, “… i think it is the heart not head that talks in your writing, and the heart is no dummy.” Contrast that with Truman Capote’s assessment that Kerouac’s production was not writing at all but “just typing.” Lax said of Merton, “…the whole vocabulary of your heart is christian and Catholic.” Those lines of Lax led me to speculate briefly on the meaning—his meaning, of “heart” in Kerouac’s writing. This speculation is rooted in the fact that Lax was raised Jewish, a convert to Catholicism in 1943 at age 28, five years after the conversion of his Columbia University classmate and friend, Thomas Merton. When asked by a reporter, “How come you’ve never written about Jesus? You’ve written about Buddha. Wasn’t Jesus a great guy too?,” Kerouac replied: “I’ve never written about Jesus? In other words, you’re an insane phoney who comes to my house … and … all I write about is Jesus. I am Everard Mercurian, General of the Jesuit Army.”
Catholic Stand
The silence is not empty
By Taylor Willis, September 12, 2026
We live in a world that rarely becomes quiet. There is always something demanding our attention—a notification on our phone, a conversation waiting to happen, a responsibility that needs to be finished, or a worry occupying our thoughts. Even when the world around us is silent, our minds can remain incredibly loud. In the middle of all that noise, we can begin to wonder: Where is God? Is He speaking, and have I simply forgotten how to listen? Scripture gives us a beautiful invitation: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:11). These words are simple, but living them can be difficult. Stillness requires us to put down the things that constantly compete for our attention and make room for God. In a world that tells us to keep moving, silence asks us to stop. It asks us to listen. Silence can feel uncomfortable at first. When we finally put away our phones, turn off the music, and allow ourselves to sit quietly, we may discover just how restless our hearts have become.
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