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In my last article Debating Protestants, I discussed how and why I used to debate Protestants on a nearly-daily basis with open-Bible verse-wars when I was in my early 20s.  After learning that these verse-wars rarely make converts, I learned the best way to disprove Protestantism is by simply overturning their completely non-Biblical notion of Sola [...]

Reading 1 Acts 5:27-33

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20

Alleluia John 20:29

Gospel John 3:31-36

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The challenge set by the Editor of The Catholic Weekly was to investigate whether prayer can be combined with doomscrolling. A tough ask.   

A sympathetic reader: But when the going gets tough, the tough get going, right? Scroll on, MacDuff!  

Well, as Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has reminded us, 2026 is supposed to be a year of prayer before Eucharist28. And since most of us spend an indecent amount of time doomscrolling, can we do both at the same time?  

Possibly. 

Forgive me if I resort to a hoary old story. 

I say “forgive me” because my hoary old stories are not always good stories. For instance, I love atrociously bad puns and when I offered to repeat my favourite to half a dozen friends the other day, I was taken aback by the terror on their faces. Nothing daunted, I told it for the benefit of the one who hadn’t heard it. He advised me not to tell it again. 

This is supposed to be about doomscrolling, remember?  

Well, I’ve gone off piste and not for the first time, but the hoary old story about prayer goes as follows. I hope it won’t terrify you.  

A pious old nun wants to explain to her primary class “the necessity for them to pray always”, as Jesus explains in Luke 18. Or as St Paul tells the Thessalonians, “Pray without ceasing”. Impossible, right? No time, right?  

Wrong, she says.  

And she whips out a large glass jar. “This is the 24 hours of your day,” she says. “Let’s fill it with prayer.” And she takes a big rock and puts it in the jar. “That’s the Mass,” she says, “our greatest prayer. Is the day full of prayer?”  

No, she says, and tips handfuls of gravel into the jar. “That’s the Rosary, and the Angelus, and your morning and night prayers,” she explains. “Is your day full of prayer yet?” 

No, she says, and she takes a bag of beach sand and carefully fills the jar to the brim. “Now it’s full of prayer.”  

“Those, class, are aspirations,” she explains triumphantly, “tiny short prayers that you can tell God and his Blessed Mother any time of the day and night, whether you’re happy or sad, and all day long.”  

Excuse me, what about the doomscrolling bit?  

Be patient, we’re almost there.  

Aspirations are a very ancient practice in the Church. “The brethren in Egypt are reported to have very frequent prayers, but these very brief … lest the wakeful and aroused attention which is indispensable in prayer should by protracted exercises vanish or lose its keenness.” So wrote St Augustine to the widow Proba about 412AD. This letter is St Augustine’s main treatise on prayer, so no doubt we’ll be hearing about aspirations from Pope Leo XIV one of these days.  

If we love God, we don’t have to always resort to formal, timetabled, structured prayers. Those are the gravel in the jar.  

If you hit your thumb with a hammer, what do you say? Well, yes, I say that, too, and more than once, but you can follow up with an aspiration, “Jesus, I offer this to you” or whatever a few times. Those are the grains of sand.  

What if your NRL team unexpectedly beats last year’s premiers by a huge margin, say 32 to 16, don’t you think God isn’t rejoicing, too? You can say, Alleluia, Alleluia! What if you’re walking to work on a crisp autumn day, with the sun glittering on the gum leaves, the magpies carolling in the branches, the morning air intoxicating – can’t you say, “Thank you, God, thank you”? 

Scripture can be mined for aspirations. The liturgy of Holy Week and Easter is a treasure chest. The “Jesus, remember me…” of the Good Thief. The “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you” of the repentant Peter. The “My Lord and my God” of Doubting Thomas.  

But aspirations don’t have to be scriptural. In Shakespeare’s love tragedy, Romeo says “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs”. Lovers of God make up their own sighs. And like lovers they say the same dumb things over and over without getting tired. 

Doomscrolling, dammit, doomscrolling!!!! 

Ah, yes, I’m off piste again. Apologies.   

About doomscrolling: it’s a very bad habit which I condemn unreservedly and without qualification.  

I do it a lot, actually.   

If you do, too, make the most of it. Pour the sand of aspirations over the images as you scroll through your feed. Doomscrolling at its worst is mindless and unreflective. Make it intentional by praying. 

When you see children crying in Ukraine, say to yourself, “Queen of Peace, pray for them.” When you see schoolgirls bombed in Iran, pray to their guardian angels to lead them to Heaven. When you see world leaders throwing infantile tantrums, say “Come, Holy Spirit, and knock some sense into those numbskulls.” When you see Pope Leo getting hammered over the war in Iran by President Trump, say “Peter and Paul, pray for him.”  

When you see skeletal figures in Sudan holding up their bowls for food, say, “O dear Christ, help the poor bastards.” Keep saying it.  

Aspirations don’t have to be as sugary as a Krispy Kreme doughnut. They spring from the heart. God doesn’t mind profanity. He minds indifference.  

If you pray aspirations while doomscrolling, you’ll pray more, which will open up unsuspected horizons for your spiritual life, and you’ll doomscroll less. Which is probably not a bad thing.  

What I want to know is, can you pray aspirations while watching cat videos? 

Sorry, above my pay grade. I can’t help you with that.  

The post Pope versus President – Doomscrolling and prayer appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Shortly after Vice President JD Vance appeared to warn Pope Leo XIV to “be careful” when speaking about theology and taking issue with his description of the US conflict in Iran as unjust, the US bishops’ point-man on doctrine issued a forceful statement on the church’s teaching about just war theory.

Vance’s comments at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia 14 April come amid fallout after President Donald Trump lashed out at Pope Leo XIV on social media and in verbal remarks the previous day, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” as tensions escalate over the Iran war.

In a statement that did not name Vance, but was issued the day after his comments, Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn, New York, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, said, “For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war.”

Vance invoked the church’s just war tradition at the TPUSA event, where he took issue with Pope Leo’s post on X in which the pontiff said God “is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”

Pointing to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other church documents, Vincent J. Miller, the Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture at the University of Dayton, told OSV News, “The vice president’s answer shows he has much to learn about what the church actually teaches about peace and war.”

The post US bishops’ doctrine chair defends church’s just war tradition after Vance comments appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

The record number of adult and teenage baptisms during the Easter Vigil on 4 April drew global attention. French secular media outlets reported on the event in every region, describing it as an “astonishing phenomenon.”

Over 13,200 adults and over 8,100 adolescents were baptized during the 4 April Easter Vigil, according to an annual survey published by the French bishops’ conference March 25.

“It has completely changed my life,” Anne-Cécile Perrier, baptized in St Louis Cathedral in Versailles on 4 April, told OSV News.

Sharing her personal journey toward baptism, she said: “There are always difficult moments. But since I let Jesus and the Holy Spirit into my heart, I know I am not alone. God is with me every moment, and he loves me just as I am. It is extraordinary to be loved and accompanied in this way.”

Perrier is part of a broader French phenomenon of over 21,000 people baptised on Easter.

“It is spectacular,” Le Dauphiné libéré said, describing baptisms by full immersion in the Chambéry Cathedral, near the Alps. In Lyon, the oldest diocese in France, 460 baptisms were reported, compared to 390 in 2025. Normandy alone recorded 555 baptisms.

La République du Centre described the “very sharp rise in baptisms” in Orléans, the city liberated by St Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years’ War. The Populaire du Centre spoke of numbers “skyrocketing” in Limoges, famous for its porcelain.

In Paris itself, 786 adults were baptised, compared to 671 in 2025, which was already a record. Four of them were baptised by the archbishop of Paris in Notre Dame Cathedral.

Le Parisien reported that 48 young adults and teenagers were baptized by immersion in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, west of Paris, during an outdoor Mass, as the parish church was too small to accommodate the 850 people surrounding them.

Some commentators pointed out that this increase in numbers does not offset the sharp decline in the number of infant baptisms recorded in France over the past 25 years. There were approximately 380,000 babies baptised in 2000, accounting for nearly half the number of births that year. By 2025, that number had dropped to 150,000, less than a quarter of the babies born that year.

Nevertheless, the number of Easter baptisms has more than tripled over the past decade.

“The Church in France feels more than a breeze in its sails,” wrote historian Christophe Dickès, a specialist in contemporary Catholicism, in Le Figaro, referring to a “renewal of faith.” Le Monde described “a transformation of Catholicism in France.” “This apparent vitality reflects the evolution of a once-dominant religion toward a ‘minority’ and ‘trendy’ faith,” it reported.

According to the French bishops’ conference, newly baptised individuals come from a wide variety of social backgrounds, and each has a “unique” story. Many of them shared that an illness, a bereavement or a “decisive encounter” triggered in them a “search for meaning.”

For Perrier, baptised in the Versailles Cathedral, this decisive encounter with a practicing Catholic and further social media Catholic content led to rediscovery of the faith of her ancestors.

“I grew up in a family that was absolutely not religious,” the 26-year-old said. “My parents had been baptised, but they had drifted far away from religion. My grandmothers were believers, but the subject of religion was almost a taboo. It was better to avoid talking about it.”

“As I grew up, I realised that life could be complicated, even very difficult,” Perrier said. “At that time, I met a practicing Catholic, and while talking with him, I explicitly told myself: ‘I have always been told that God does not exist. But maybe he actually does?’ I wanted to learn more about the Christian faith. I found a lot of interesting explanations on social media, thanks to the testimonies from the priests who are active there.”

“These posts on social media are invaluable for those of us who know absolutely nothing” about the Catholic faith, Perrier emphasised. “It also gives you the courage to knock on a church door, which is not easy. I first got involved with the catechumenate to satisfy my curiosity. My journey had already begun, and I had already read the Gospels. But I wanted to go deeper. At a certain point, you can no longer move forward alone.”

When she was welcomed into the parish of the Versailles Cathedral, Perrier felt “incredibly well received.”

“I am amazed at how I was supported,” she said. “Then, little by little, things became clear, and that journey led me to baptism.”

Perrier’s family was there when she was baptized. “My parents agreed to my baptism when they saw how happy I was,” she said. “They even enjoyed the three-hour Easter Vigil. I think they experienced it through my joy.”

Perrier said she will continue to pray once a month with her group of catechumens. “I feel very close to them,” she told OSV News. “Prayer is now part of my life. What I really love is that there are a thousand and one ways to pray. You can pray anywhere, alone or with others, in church or on the subway. Every prayer brings something different.”

In the testimonials shared by the media, the dynamic energy that the newly baptised bring to the dioceses has been frequently mentioned.

“In a few years, when I have deepened my faith even further, I will be happy if I, too, can in turn accompany people who want to learn more,” Perrier concluded.

The post From searching to belonging: Record Easter baptisms in France reflect personal journeys of faith appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

The Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation announced a series of initiatives across several continents that will take place throughout 2026 to mark the centenary of Pope Benedict XVI’s birth.

In a statement announcing the yearlong events 14 April, the foundation said events are set to take place in Europe (Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary), Asia (India), South America (Colombia), North America (United States) and Africa (Kenya) before the centenary of the late pope’s birthday on 16 April, 2027.

The events, it said, which include various lecture series and symposiums, aim to commemorate and explore “the figure and thought of Joseph Ratzinger.”

To prepare for the upcoming centenary, the foundation established a committee, composed of scholars from around the world, to promote research, publications and cultural initiatives inspired by Benedict’s work. It also aims to involve younger generations in exploring the late pontiff’s legacy.

Speaking by phone with OSV News 14 April, Father Roberto Regoli, president of the Ratzinger Foundation and the Centenary Committee, said the initiatives are not only meant to “reintroduce” the late pontiff’s thoughts about the Catholic Church and society, but to also show that his teachings “can contribute to today’s culture: to ecclesial and cultural debates and to society today.”

“All the initiatives look to the past, to Ratzinger’s thought, but they want to take it up again not in a merely preservative way, but in dialogue with today’s problems and debates because, ultimately, Ratzinger’s thought is still relevant,” Father Regoli said.

Founded in 2010, the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation was established to promote theological study and support scholarly work related to Pope Benedict’s writings, including through conferences and the annual Ratzinger Prize, which recognises contributions to theology.

Father Regoli told OSV News that in presenting Christianity, Pope Benedict had a “Christological approach that runs through all theological questions.”

Placing “everything in the light of the encounter with Christ,” particularly one’s personal experience, he explained, makes his writings and teachings “easily understandable for younger generations.”

Another element that made the late pope an “interlocutor for many nonbelievers” was the emphasis he placed “on the reasonableness of human nature,” Father Regoli said.

“He shows the reasonableness of faith and how faith can help reason itself to become more fully rational, without falling into totalitarianism or arbitrariness,” the foundation president told OSV News.

Father Regoli said the foundation is looking toward a two-pronged approach in making Pope Benedict more accessible to younger generations. The conferences and symposiums taking place throughout the year, he said, are aimed at involving the next generation of scholars, which includes researchers, doctoral and post-doctoral students.

“An intergenerational alliance is needed,” the priest said. “This is an idea that runs through all the major conferences.”

The second approach, he continued, was a more pastoral and outreach-oriented aspect that would present the late pope’s teaching on social media to make his thoughts and contributions known.

“Young people now often gain their initial knowledge through videos, and only afterward do they move to texts,” Father Regoli explained. “So we must also adapt to these new and widespread ways of learning.”

Father Regoli told OSV News that while there are “strictly academic” events that cater to a “more specialised audience,” they also can “influence educational processes at the university and school levels – thus impacting the formation of new university students and future teachers.”

However, events such as exhibitions and concerts are of equal importance because they reach “a much broader audience and engage not only in thinking, but also perception, feeling and the senses.”

“Exhibitions and concerts are experiences,” Father Regoli said. “So the aim is to communicate not only at a conceptual level but also at the level of lived experience.”

According to the foundation, the centenary initiatives will continue through 2026, culminating in 2027, the anniversary year, when further commemorations are expected.

“The dates for the 2027 events will be announced later,” the foundation said.

The post Vatican foundation announces global events to honour Benedict XVI ahead of 2027 centenary appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

More of the nation’s Catholic bishops have weighed in after President Donald Trump began denouncing Pope Leo XIV at length on social media, and then posted a now-deleted image of himself as Jesus.

The bishops’ statements have emerged as Trump doubled down on his diatribes – and as Vice President JD Vance delivered a new rebuke 14 April to Pope Leo, whom he said he respects, claiming the pope should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology” in criticizing the US-Israel war in Iran.

In an 13 April statement, Bishop Michael M. Pham of San Diego noted that “throughout history, the papacy has served as a vital voice for peace, justice, and the care of the most vulnerable,” adding that Pope Leo is exercising his ministry at a time when “our world is under tremendous turmoil by leaders who execute decisions disregarding the moral implications that lead to greater division, hatred, and death.”

Archbishop James R. Golka of Denver affirmed in an 13 April statement that “Pope Leo’s role is pastoral, not political,” and said Trump’s language “fails to reflect the respect owed to the Successor of Peter and does not serve the common good.”

In a 13 April statement, the Tennessee Catholic Conference and the state’s bishops said that “it is entirely appropriate that Pope Leo comment from the truth of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels on life and death matters that affect souls.”

The post More US bishops raise their voices against Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Zeal after the Flood

Today is the tenth anniversary of the earthquake that ended the mortal life of the Servant of God Sister Clare Crockett. We wrote last Saturday to mark the tenth anniversary of the flood in Playa Prieta that God providentially made use of to prepare the way for the Servant of God’s entrance into heaven that we are now commemorating.

The five days between the flood and the earthquake were a time of intense zeal. According to Alone with Christ Alone:

The entire community took part in the cleaning operation with supernatural joy and generosity. From the moment the Virgin Mary had triumphed in their hearts, no task was too difficult for them; no challenge could overcome them. Sr. Clare joyfully lifted their hearts to God in song as they worked. She made everyone laugh with her jokes and comments and reminded them to offer their fatigue for the salvation of souls. And she was not the only one. Each generously gave her “yes” to the Lord during these days. Not a complaint was to be heard. If there was a difficulty or if they were at the end of a long morning of work, someone would exclaim, “Let’s offer this up for the souls in purgatory!” or “Let’s offer this up for so-and-so.” The rest would respond, “Yes! Let’s go for it!” and continue working even harder than before.

Clare Crockett and Encountering Zeal

What words would we most associate with Sister Claire? For most of those who have encountered her, it is probably joy. But another possible word is zeal. Consider how the joy and generosity with which Sister Clare and the others responded to an objectively devastating flood was directed towards supernatural goods, and especially towards the salvation of souls. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “God loveth a cheerful giver,” and Sister Clare’s joy and generosity were part of her gift, a gift that was for the salvation of souls and the pleasure of her Divine Lover, Jesus Christ.

This impression of Sister Clare’s zeal can be very strong. One of the monks states that when he read the life of the Sister Clare Crockett back in 2021, he experienced a significant — he says “life-changing” — encounter with the attractiveness of zeal. Seeing her life, he discovered how deeply she burned with a love for souls and their salvation, and, he says, comparing himself with her, he discovered that he was tepid within himself. But far from being discouraged, he was attracted.

If the story of her life brought him back in memory to his own life, not without regret, it very quickly changed from looking back to looking forward. He writes:

I experienced a conversion of sorts when I was 13. It was at the beginning of the second year of my Junior Cycle. I became inflamed with a desire to save souls. By the end of sixth year, when I was 18, this zeal was waning because I felt burnt out and had had a number of difficult experiences. In college, the way I had formerly expressed zeal began to seem both excessive and foolish. My faith didn’t lessen, but I was no longer primarily motivated by the salvation of souls. Reading Clare Crockett’s life showed me an example of true zeal for the salvation of souls that helped me recover the good sense of zeal while seeking to purify it. I reviewed my years of secondary school and college.

Things started to seem different because, while it’s true that I had a fervour for the salvation of souls and for the worship of Jesus immediately after my experience of conversion in secondary school, and while it’s true that I experienced a sort of cooling-off after graduation, especially in my fervour for the salvation of souls, I realised in reading about Sister Clare that it was more complicated than I had thought. I saw that my zeal in secondary school was good (even if there were some excesses) but immature, and that I had needed maturation and purification from the selfishness and coldness in me. The years that followed were a sort of “cooling off” from this zeal, though they still had fervour in them. I was now in a position to experience a restored and purified zeal.

When I read how intense Sister Clare’s desire to love and to put Jesus’ pleasure before all things was, and how this desire brought forth works of zeal for the salvation of souls in deep self-forgetfulness, and how this zeal manifested itself in humble and patient service — bearing the burdens of those around her, overcoming her natural repugnances — I experienced something like an awakening of that teenage zeal, with a new desire for it to be increased, purified, and emptied of self.

About Zeal

In chapter 72 of the Holy Rule, our holy Father, Benedict, tells us about two types of zeal.

The first type of zeal is an evil zeal of bitterness, bitter like the bitter waters of Mara in Exodus 15 or the bitter sea of Ezekiel 47. In Exodus 15, Moses threw a tree into the bitter waters and they became sweet; in Ezekiel 47, a double stream poured forth from the right side of the Temple into the bitter sea making the water sweet. Both of these are images of the passion of Jesus, which we have just celebrated. Moses can be seen as a type of Jesus, healing the bitterness within through His Holy Cross; the Temple can be seen as a type of His Sacred Body, for out of the right side of It a double-stream of Blood and water poured to heal the bitter waters of our souls until the sweet springs of the Living Waters of the Holy Spirit spring up unto everlasting life.

Saint Benedict knows that there are “bitter waters” within. He knows that there is an evil zeal of bitterness. He also knows that Christ can heal it. This is why He writes this chapter. He does not want us to be discouraged by the bitterness within, but He wants us to strive towards the other type of zeal, the sweet zeal of love, that can only come through the Cross.

Saint Benedict writes:

As there is an evil zeal of bitterness that separateth from God and leadeth to hell, so there is a good zeal that separateth from vices and leadeth to God and to life eternal. Thus the monks should exercise this zeal with most fervent love, that is, that they outdo each other in showing each other honour; bear most patiently with their infirmities (whether of body or of behaviour); compete with each other in obedience; no one pursue what he judgeth profitable for himself but rather what is for another, devote themselves chastely to the charity of the brethren, fear God with love, love their Abbot with sincere and humble charity, prefer nothing at all to Christ. May He lead us all alike to life everlasting.
-The Holy Rule, Chapter 72

The Good Zeal and Bitter Zeal

Saint Benedict speaks of two sorts of zeal, a good zeal and a bitter zeal. Both seem to be something more than ordinary Christian living. They both add to it a special fervor, a fervor that spurs to deed. Yet one he calls good, and the other evil! Saint Benedict distinguishes between the two through bitterness. One can say that bitterness is the fruit and the distinguishing character of the evil zeal. Its root is pride; the good zeal’s root is humility.

Bitterness shows that it is not the Good Spirit that is at work in the soul. The Greek word zēlos, like the Latin fervor, first of all means heat. Zeal implies a hot, fervent love that spurs to deed. Zeal has as its fountain and spring the very love that it manifests by its deeds. The spirit that inspired this love becomes manifest in the fruits of the zeal. Zeal can be likened to a channel of water (or a wind tunnel). Experience seems to show that something — some “water,” or some “wind” (or spirit) — flows through us. There is some source of it that we know not, but love blows where it will, almost as if something were blowing — or flowing — through us.

The Complicated Relationship to Zeal

Because zeal can easily become a bitter and hurtful expression of pride, we can have a complicated relationship to zeal. Moreover, zeal, because it moves to acts, can do a lot of harm if it is bitter. The zeal itself can be evil (or the acts can be foolish), and the result can be that one hurts himself or others, sometimes very gravely.

Yet, despite all its complications, true zeal is one of those truly essential things for a Christian life.

Zeal in Its Essence, Works, Effect, and Manifestations

Perhaps all of us — and not just the monk quoted above — need to grow in true and joyous zeal. Perhaps Sister Clare’s example can lead us to embrace a more fervent and holy zeal. In the next few weeks, Vultus Christi hopes to examine zeal from five angles.

The five are:

1. Zeal’s Essence (and primary motivation): Jesus, love of Him and the delight in working for His good pleasure.
2. A Work of Zeal: Salvation of Souls (also a secondary motivation).
3. An Effect of Zeal: Self-forgetfulness.
4. Two Manifestations of Zeal: In:
   1. Service with humble affection and patience,
   2. Bearing one another’s burdens.
5. The Power of Zeal: Zeal overcomes self and one’s own natural repugnances or loves,

The Complimentary Examples of the Saints

Sister Clare’s example is the primary inspiration for this examination of zeal, so of course her example will come up again and again, but we will not limit ourselves to only looking at her life. We will especially look at Chapter 72 of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict that we quoted above. And we will also look at other holy examples, and especially the example of Saint Thérèse.

Saint Thérèse is truly kindred and complimentary to Sister Clare. Saint Thérèse had a boldness in love, and she admired boldness in love. She said she wanted to love Jesus like He’d never been loved before. Then she did. But it’s remarkable how she did so. It was by responding to graces that most of us simply let slip by. One can sense sympathy in all of this between the “greatest Saint of modern times” (according to Saint Pius X’s apt phrase) and the relatively hidden and unknown Sister who had once wanted to be a “famous actress” and then a “famous nun”.

For both of them, their moment of total transformation began with a grace associated with a moment similar to those most of us simply let slip by unnoticed…again and again. For Saint Thérèse it was the “Christmas Miracle” of 1886, a grace so modest in its appearance that its significance can be easily missed at first glance. For Sister Clare, it was just kissing the Cross. As Sister Clare herself said:

When it was my turn, I got on my knees and kissed Jesus’ feet. That simple gesture lasted no more than ten seconds. Kissing the Cross, something that apparently seemed so trivial, had a very strong impact on me. Tertullian wrote [in his pre-Montanist period] that ‘there is absolutely nothing which makes men’s minds more perplexed about the divine works than the disproportion between the simplicity of the means employed and the grandeur of the effect obtained.’ I’m not sure how to explain exactly what happened. I didn’t see a choir of angels or a white dove flying down toward me, but I experienced the certainty that the Lord was on the Cross for me, and along with that certainty, I felt a burning pain, similar to what I had experienced when I was little during the Way of the Cross. Going back to the pew, I had a deep impression in me that I hadn’t felt before. I had to do something for Him who had given His life for me.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, is urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to add crucifixes to its list of acceptable symbols for veteran headstones at national cemeteries.

“In the pursuit of religious freedom, as guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, we urge the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cemetery Administration to offer the crucifix as an eligible emblem of belief for inscription on headstones at national cemeteries,” Steube said in an April 10 letter addressed to Secretary Douglas Collins of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs Samuel Brown.

“Veterans and their next of kin may select from nearly 100 different emblems representing several different belief systems,” he said, noting sanctioned emblems include symbols for several Christian denominations as well as Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu symbols.

“While even atheists, humanists, and Wiccans have an eligible emblem of belief for inscription, Catholic veterans do not currently have the option to select a crucifix, an emblem of belief that most accurately represents the faith of nearly 20% of all veterans,” he said.

A crucifix is a cross that bears the body of Jesus Christ crucified, which is called the “corpus.” It is a spiritual symbol that recalls the passion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, calling attention to his love, suffering, and redemption of humanity.

Steubeʼs press release quoted Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, saying, “I support the bipartisan effort led by Congressman Greg Steube (R-Florida) to support the free exercise of religion of veterans in having the crucifix included on tombstones.”

The archdiocese did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The VA has the authority to add emblems administratively, or lawmakers could introduce legislation if the agency does not act.

Steubeʼs letter, signed by 45 members of Congress — including 42 Republicans and three Democrats — requested the Department of Veterans Affairs provide its criteria for evaluating and approving emblems of belief for inscription on headstones at national cemeteries and whether any prior request had been made to include crucifixes on its list.

“VA is looking into the lawmakers’ request and will answer their letter directly,” Quinn Slaven, press secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, told EWTN News.

Republican Reps. Riley Moore of West Virginia, Mike Carey of Ohio, and John Rutherford of Florida were among the 20 Catholic members of Congress who signed on to the letter. Steube is Protestant, according to Pew Research Center.

Steube’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pope Leo XIV finished the first leg of his papal trip to Africa on April 15, wrapping up meetings with Catholics and local religious and civic leaders in Algeria before heading south to Cameroon.

The Holy Father will spend several days in Cameroon before heading on to Angola and Equatorial Guinea during his first apostolic journey to Africa. The trip is scheduled to last through April 23.

Here is a look at the popeʼs activities in both Algeria and Cameroon:

Pope Leo XIV concludes the first leg of his Apostolic Journey, travelling south from Algeria to Cameroon, where he addresses the country’s authorities, members of civil society and the diplomatic corps, and visits an orphanage.

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Amid the fierce persecution against the Catholic Church by the regime of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Silvio Báez denounced the “false peace” that “dictators seek to impose through fear and weapons.”

In the homily delivered during a Mass he celebrated on Sunday, April 12, at St. Agatha Church in Miami, Baez, who has been living in exile since 2019, warned that the wounds inflicted on the Nicaraguan people will remain but that "they will be scars healed by the love of God — wounds glorious forever, wounds of love destined for eternity. So too will be the wounds and sores of our people. One day, they will just be historical scars reminding us of a painful past of injustice and oppression, so that we may never repeat it,” he underscored.

A message of hope

The Nicaraguan prelate reflected on the Gospel passage in which the risen Jesus shows his wounds so that the apostle Thomas may touch them and believe.

Báez affirmed that “just like the glorious wounds of Jesus, so too one day will be the wounds we endured as we alleviate and heal, with respect and mercy, the wounds of others.”

“And those very wounds — scarred over yet eloquent — will spur us to build the future, acting as artisans of peace, ready to foster processes of healing and reconciliation with ingenuity and boldness,” the prelate continued.

Báez denounces ‘false peace’

The bishop also referred to the vigil for peace led by Pope Leo XIV on April 11 at the Vatican and pointed out that “peace is not merely the absence of war. Political systems that impose themselves upon people through terror, stripping them of their freedom, are enemies of peace.”

“Even if they speak of peace, if they repress, control, imprison, and force people into exile, they are enemies of peace. For peace is not a mere balance of forces, nor is it synonymous with the tranquility of cemeteries. We must not grow accustomed to the false peace and deceptive normality that dictators seek to impose through fear and arms, solely to preserve their privileges,” he continued.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Nicaraguan dictatorship has banned thousands of processions and public events during Lent and Holy Week, permitting only a few on the streets and always under police surveillance.

Currently, 309 religious including bishops, priests, and nuns have been forced to leave the country, while the regime has confiscated at least 39 properties belonging to the Catholic Church and has banned the ordination of priests in several dioceses.

A call to be builders of peace

The prelate emphasized that “we, the disciples of Jesus, having received his peace are called to be builders of true peace: a peace that springs from justice, is lived out in freedom, and bears the fruit of reconciliation.”

The bishop expressed the hope “that the mercy of the Lord, welcomed into our hearts, may make us mature believers, earnest builders of peace in the world, and people capable of bending down with mercy [to heal] the wounds of our brothers and sisters.”

“Our lives may not be easier, but they will be fuller, more vibrant, and more filled with light and love,” he said.

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.

This is the edited text for the Homily of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, 25 March 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney.

Every now and then, a single sentence captures an historical moment. We think: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” “I have a dream.” “We shall fight on the beaches.” But the sentence or two that truly changed everything – dividing all time into before and after – was not spoken from the moon, a monument, or parliament, but in a small room, in an obscure town, two thousand years ago. “You will conceive the Son of the Most High God” said one; “Fiat: let it be done” said the other (Lk 1:26-38). 

Cur deus homo? Christians of every generation have asked, “Why did God become man?” Great theologians and pastors from the New Testament onwards gave a similar answer, “God became human in order to save us.” He had tried various things: the natural law written on our hearts; the revealed law of Moses; the provocations of the prophets; constant efforts to woo back the Chosen People when they strayed. When all else had failed, God did the unthinkable – He sent His Son. 

In his great work Cur deus homo? (1094–98) St Anselm of Canterbury argued that we owe God a great debt for our existence, our gifts, and our sinful misuse of both. Only a human being could justly pay the debt. But only God would be sufficient payment. So we needed a God-man to atone for us. 

St Thomas, some generations later, agreed. By offering Himself as man, God enabled man to make just satisfaction for our many failures. So God took upon Himself our sins and due punishment. But, Aquinas observes, it didn’t have to be that way. A simple divine thought, or act of will, or spoken word, and our debt would have been wiped clean. 

So we’re back to our question: why the Incarnation? Well, St Thomas thought, it is of the essence of goodness – and wisdom, and justice, and might – to communicate itself, and so the God who is goodness itself fittingly communicates Himself in the most perfect way. If we got a message saying “You’re saved” by SMS, or via some go-between, or even in cosmic skywriting, would we understand it, believe it, take it to heart? The best way to get a message across is directly, person to person. 

What is more, Aquinas said, there’s something ‘fitting’ about God uniting Himself to a human nature in order to renew our human nature. By this clearest revelation of His truth, He engages our trusting faith in His Word. By this greatest demonstration of His promises, He stirs in us a certain hope. By this fullest outpouring of His love, He evokes our love in return. By this most benevolent of acts, He calls us to good deeds. 

Thomas followed Augustine, who followed Athanasius, who followed Ireneus, in saying that “God became man so man might become God.” With a little more precision than his predecessors, he says that by uniting Himself to a human nature, Christ enables us to be united to the divine. By becoming one of us, He dignifies us and deters the Evil One. By so dignifying and protecting us, He helps us not to sin. And by so humbly diminishing Himself, He enables us to demonstrate similar virtue. In these ways Christ prepares us for adoption into His divine family. 

That’s about ten Thomist reasons for the Incarnation for you to think about today – there are plenty more. But I think Thomas’ big reason is especially persuasive: if we were told that the Creator of the universe loves us to bits, if we saw skywriting that said He forgives us no matter what we do if we return to Him, if we got a text message that we could be united to God forever, we wouldn’t believe it. It sounds too good to be true. So God became one of us, that we might see and hear and touch Him as He walked among us, so He might give Himself completely for us on the Cross, the altar, our tongues. What Isaiah foretold was at last fulfilled: the virgin conceived and bore a son, God-with-us (Isa 7:14; 8:10). 

My friends, it really happened this day. The angel Gabriel was sent to tell a young woman “You will conceive the Son of the Most High God” and to receive her consent “Fiat: let it be done”. At that moment the Creator became creature, the divine Word human flesh, and God sung you personally His love song Jesus. 

The post Archbishop Fisher OP homily: Fiat: Let it be done appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

A historic parish in rural Wisconsin suffered major damages amid severe weather in the region on April 14 after strong storms and possibly a tornado destroyed much of the roof of the church building.

St. Joseph Catholic Church in East Bristol lost roughly half of its roof during the weather incident. Photos showed huge portions of the parish roof peeled off, exposing the churchʼs attic and rafters below.

The region has experienced multiple nights of severe storm outbreaks including severe winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes.

Local news reports said tornadoes had been reported in the East Bristol area just after midnight on April 14. The area was under a tornado warning at the time the parish roof was destroyed, though it wasnʼt clear if a tornado was itself responsible for the destruction.

The parish did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the damage. On the parishʼs Facebook page, meanwhile, a post claimed that a tornado had hit the church. Images showed destruction inside the church including insulation piled up near the altar and a light fixture in a pew.

A listing on the Wisconsin Historical Society website says the parish was completed in 1890 and designed by local Swiss-American architect Henry Messmer.

Built in the early Gothic Revival manner, the building has seen several additions in the roughly 130 years since it was built, including in 1965 and 2024.

The parish is part of the Diocese of Madison. A press release from the diocese  said the diocesan office of buildings, construction, and real estate was responding to the incident, along with the insurer Catholic Mutual Group.

“St. Joseph Church has served generations of Catholics in northeast Dane County, and we are heartbroken by the devastation,” the diocese said. “We ask for your prayers as we assess the damage.”

About 495 faith leaders and advocates are set to gather in Washington, D.C., to read the entire Bible aloud ahead of the nationʼs 250th anniversary.

America Reads the Bible is a national Scripture-reading event and movement led by Christians Engaged, a nonprofit organization committed “to discipling Americans on biblical worldview and their responsibilities as citizens to pray, vote, and engage for the well-being of our nation.”

From April 19–25, a diverse set of speakers including some Catholics will gather at the Museum of the Bible and read the King James Version of the Bible from beginning to end “as a spiritual celebration of our nation’s founding ideals and a call to rediscover the truth that still anchors us today,” event organizers reported.

The event is inspired by the Hebrew book of Ezra, where the public reading of Scripture sparked national repentance and renewal, according to a press release.

The event will kick off with an opening celebration on April 18 as leaders from more than 100 national ministries will begin to gather for the weeklong celebration. The recitation will begin on April 19 at the museum and will continue with speakers reading each day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to complete the whole Bible in a week.

Those interested in attending can register to join in person or can watch live online.

Catholic speakers

A wide array of speakers including actors, lawmakers, and advocates will participate in the anniversary celebration.

Event sponsors and organizers will speak over the week including Bunni Pounds, America Reads the Bible organizer and president of Christians Engaged, and Steve Green, chair and co-founder of the Museum of the Bible.

Catholic companies, set to serve as partners with America Reads the Bible, including Catholic Book Publishing, will also send speakers. Catholic author Allan Wright, whose books focus on discipleship, evangelization, and the Catholic faith, will read.

The event is also partnering with CatholicVote and will welcome its president, Kelsey Reinhardt, to read.

Catholic figures from the Trump administration will take the stage including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. Among others, Christian administration members participating will also include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

A number of lawmakers and government representatives will speak, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is Catholic. Others lawmakers scheduled to read include U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, and Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho.

Pro-life leaders will also read, including Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and Kristie McCrary, adviser to the president. Pro-life advocate Abby Johnson, CEO and founder of ProLove Ministries and And Then There Were None, will read as well.

Entertainers and actors from various Christian backgrounds will read Scripture including Catholic actress and author Patricia Heaton, and Christian actress Candace Cameron Bure, America Reads the Bible national spokesperson. Other entertainers will include actors Dean Cain and David Hunt.

By Ann Boutros

Living on the other side of the Resurrection, the word “mission” has been used for two millennia to describe the continuation of the work Christ undertook during his earthly pilgrimage.  

What was Christ’s mission? To bring the reign of God to earth, to preach God’s love, and to reconcile us to the Father through his death and resurrection.  

If we proclaim ourselves witnesses to this, then the baton is now passed to us to continue this mission unto our dying breath. In a culture often proclaiming the opposite, the Christian is called to be a missionary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Mission is not just a lofty idea involving sending the most qualified person into the poorest pocket of the world to preach Christ to an unbelieving people. Nor is it simply about converting multitudes. Mission goes deeper. Modern scholarship introduces us to three theologies of mission.

Prophetic dialogue

This is aimed at building relationships and encountering people where they are. It is about stepping into the other’s culture, ethnicity, struggles and brokenness without an agenda to change them. The success of the ‘prophecy’ depends on the value of the dialogue.  

Christians speak the Gospel when they speak words of encouragement, hope and comfort in times of trouble, in ways that are clear, challenging, attractive, intelligent and engaging, using language relevant to those with whom they are in dialogue.

Transforming or missionary discipleship

This recognises the power found on the margins and makes room for them to lead the church’s mission. Discipleship is a call to mission. “The pilgrim church is missionary by her very nature” (Ad Gentes, 2), and therefore all baptised Christians are called to participate in the mission of Christ.  

It challenges believers to be constantly open to the promptings and movings of the Holy Spirit, demanding a life steeped in prayer, contemplation, participation in liturgical life and theological reflection.  

Thirdly, it invites believers to have a firm commitment to transform the world by protecting creation, confronting injustice and standing in solidarity with those on the margins. 

Missiology of attraction

This is making Christ attractive to others. It concerns presenting the Gospel in a way that draws the attention of those who might otherwise view the church with indifference or even animosity. This is seen most eloquently in liturgy and hospitality.

The Eucharistic table becomes a place of welcome that attracts people to Christ. This is seen clearly in the Emmaus story. Christ meets the downcast disciples exactly where they are. He does not come in strength and power ready to convert their hearts. He encounters them on the road, in the midst of their hopelessness.  

He builds relationship and then explains all that is written about him in the Scriptures. This trust is imprinted so deeply on their hearts that they invite him with the words, “Stay with us” (Luke 24:29). The Risen Christ then draws the two disciples to the Eucharistic table. In reverence and awe, they discover the True Presence that was with them all along. 

The two who were leaving Jerusalem, going further and further away, now become missionaries to the apostles. Their openness to the promptings of God has now allowed them to carry this joyful news back to the apostles and beyond. 

The word ‘mission’ comes from the Latin missio, meaning “act of sending, a dispatching.” It is formed from the past verb mittere, which means “to release, let go, send, or throw.”  

As Christ was ‘dispatched’ and ‘sent’ from the Father to encounter our broken humanity, to proclaim and to attract others to him and then create more disciples to continue his saving mission; so too he does the same to us today. 

Mission needs to start with dialogue. It relies deeply on encounter. We must allow Christ to encounter us, to meet us in whatever valley we are in and whatever storm we so happen to be caught up in.  

He becomes attractive to us in the liturgy and at the Eucharistic table. Only then, can we in turn encounter others and make Christ attractive to them, forming new disciples and thus truly fulfilling Christ’s mandate before his glorious Ascension: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). 

The post Melto D’Moronoyo: What is mission? appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Pope Leo XIV was welcomed by the happy chatter of children on Wednesday at the Ngul Zamba Orphanage in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where he shared a message of Godʼs presence.

“Dear children, I know that many of you have endured difficult trials. Some of you have known the pain of loss through the death of parents or loved ones. Others have experienced fear, rejection, abandonment, deprivation, and uncertainty. Yet, you are called to a future that is greater than your wounds. You are bearers of a promise," the pope said April 15.

Run for 40 years by the religious congregation the Daughters of Mary, the Ngul Zamba Orphanage — whose name means “Strength of God” — provides food, lodging, and education to poor or abandoned children.

During the visit, the pope listened with delight to the various songs of welcome. He applauded with satisfaction, smiling in return at the many smiles of the children. He was also moved by the recitation of a verse from Psalm 27: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even should mothers forget, I will never forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before my eyes.”

Leo also listened to two testimonies from staff members, one of whom is a former student, who expressed his gratitude for all that the Daughters of Mary of Yaoundé did for him and concluded by reaffirming his commitment to promoting an “education for all,” without exclusion.

Pope Leo then addressed the children and staff: “I am very happy to visit this orphanage, which has become your home. Here, above all, it is our heavenly Father who welcomes you with love as his children. He wants to show you his tenderness and to draw you close to his heart. In his name, I too wish to do the same. Indeed, you form a true family here, with brothers and sisters who all share a similar history marked by suffering. In this family, your eldest brother is Jesus! It is living as brothers and sisters gathered around him that makes you strong, helps you to carry life’s burdens together, and allows you to experience true joy.”

“In a world often marked by indifference and selfishness, this home reminds us that we are the ones who need to look after our brothers and sisters, and that, in God’s great family, no one is ever a stranger or forgotten, no matter how small he or she may be.”

Turning directly to the children, the Holy Father acknowledged the weight of their experiences:

“Dear children, I know that many of you have endured difficult trials. Some of you have known the pain of loss through the death of parents or loved ones. Others have experienced fear, rejection, abandonment, deprivation, and uncertainty. Yet, you are called to a future that is greater than your wounds. You are bearers of a promise. For wherever there is misery, suffering, or injustice, God is present; and he knows each of your faces and is very close to you. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus cares especially for children like you, and he would often place them at the center of a gathering. Know that he looks upon each one of you today with that same affection.”

Finally, the pope addressed all those who care daily for the children of the orphanage:

“I would also like to greet with gratitude all those who take care of these children: the directors, educators, staff, volunteers, and, of course, the sisters. Your faithful dedication is a beautiful testimony of love. By caring for these children, you are getting a foretaste of the joy that the Lord has promised to those who serve the little ones. Your patience reflects the face of divine mercy. Through your patience and dedication, you offer much more than mere material support: You offer these children a presence, a listening ear, a family, and a future. Through you, God’s tenderness is made manifest — a faithful tenderness that does not falter in times of trial and never disappoints. I thank you for all that you do, and I encourage you to persevere courageously in this beautiful work that you have undertaken.”

He concluded by entrusting everyone to Mary’s care: “As I impart my heartfelt blessing, I entrust each of you to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our mother. May she always watch over you, console you in moments of sadness, and help you to grow as true friends of her son, Jesus.”

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The U.S. bishops’ chair for doctrine issued a clarification on April 15 reaffirming that Catholic just war theory sets strict moral limits on the use of military force, emphasizing that it is not a political endorsement of war but a moral framework.

The statement came as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the latter a Catholic, have taken issue with papal remarks claiming that “anyone who is a disciple of Christ” is “never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”

Speaking at an April 14 event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA, Vance publicly criticized Pope Leo on his anti-war remarks, asking: “How can you say God is never on the side of those who wield the sword?”

Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop James Massaʼs statement on the subject underscored that Christians are obliged to critically evaluate claims made in favor of armed conflict rather than assume moral legitimacy.

“For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war," Massa said.

"A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308)," Massa noted.

Massa continued: "That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’

“When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of goodwill must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars,” the bishop concluded.

Pope Leo XIV responded to Trump’s public criticism by saying he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue to proclaim the Gospel.

At the Turning Point USA event, Vance — who is publishing a book about his conversion to the Catholic faith — said if Pope Leo was “going to opine on matters of theology,” his comments needed to be “anchored in the truth.”

“In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who was elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2025, said in a statement on X on April 15 that “public officials may opine about theology, as is their right.”

But "the successor of Peter teaches. This is his office," Flores said. "If what he teaches doesn’t sound like what we want to hear, we should admit the likelihood that the problem is in what we want to hear and not in what he teaches.”

Vance: ‘Stick to matters of morality’

On Monday, Vance defended Trumpʼs decision to post on social media, and later delete, an AI-generated image that critics said depicted the president as Jesus Christ. Vance described it as a joke that people misunderstood.

“It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on in the Catholic Church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News.

At the Turning Point USA event, Vance said he likes it when the pope comments on public issues — including immigration, abortion, and war and peace — because it “invites a conversation,” even when there is disagreement.

This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. ET on April 15, 2026, with additional comments by Vance at the Turning Point USA event regarding inviting a conversation.

Bishop James Massa issues a statement in response to public comments regarding the Church’s teaching on war and peace

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YAOUNDE, Cameroon — “Peace, in fact, cannot be decreed: It must be embraced and lived," Pope Leo XIV emphasized on Wednesday in a meeting with government authorities, the diplomatic corps, and civil society in Cameroon — the second stop of his journey in Africa.

In a dense address, the pope expressed confidence in Cameroonʼs society, often described as “Africa in miniature” because of the richness of its lands, cultures, languages, and traditions. A country marked by conflict, even recent conflict, but whose civil society, the pope said, is ready to take responsibility for a rebirth, together with its young people.

Leo arrived in Cameroonʼs capital, Yaoundé, for the second leg of his 11-day papal journey to Africa. President Paul Biya, in power for nearly four decades, welcomed the pope. Yet beneath a political system that has endured, conflicts have also taken root. In particular, the so‑called Anglophone crisis remains in the background, a topic the pope will address when he visits Bamenda on Thursday.

The Anglophone crisis erupted in 2016 when Cameroon’s Anglophone minority launched a campaign calling for greater autonomy and was rejected by Biya. From that point onward, the situation deteriorated, resulting in deaths and displacement, culminating in a “declaration of independence” proclaimed in October 2017 in a territory referred to as Ambazonia. At the height of the crisis, mediation by the Holy See was also requested.

The Church remains present in Cameroon and carries out extensive work. Leo XIV recalled that he is the third pope to visit the country, following two visits by St. John Paul II and one by Pope Benedict XVI. In 1995, John Paul II chose Yaoundé, the country’s capital, to promulgate the postsynodal apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, which emerged from the Synod for Africa.

‘A hunger and thirst for justice’

This was the backdrop of Leoʼs address on April 15, which was not only as a message of peace but also an encouragement to Catholics in Cameroon to continue building the common good.

“I come among you as a shepherd and as a servant of dialogue, fraternity, and peace,” he said. “We are living, in fact, at a time when hopelessness is rampant and a sense of powerlessness tends to paralyze the renewal so deeply desired by peoples. There is such a hunger and thirst for justice! A thirst for getting involved, for a vision, for courageous choices and for peace!”

The pope expressed his desire to reach everyone, especially the young, “who are called to help shape a world that is more just, including in the political sphere.” He recalled the visits of his predecessors and asked where the country stands today, quoting St. Augustine: “Those who rule serve those whom they seem to command; for they rule not from a love of power but from a sense of the duty they owe to others — not because they are proud of authority, but because they love mercy.”

From this perspective, he said, serving one’s country means dedicating oneself, with clarity of mind and upright conscience, to the common good of all people, including both the majority and minorities, and their mutual harmony.

Leo acknowledged that Cameroon is facing complex difficulties. Violence and tensions in the northwest, southwest, and far north regions have caused profound suffering: lives lost, families displaced, children deprived of education. In response, he recalled his appeal to reject violence and war and to embrace peace founded on love and justice: “A peace that is unarmed, that is, not based on fear, threats or weapons, and at the same time disarming, because it is capable of resolving conflicts, opening hearts, and generating trust, empathy, and hope.”

“Peace cannot be reduced to a slogan: It must be embodied in a way of life that renounces all forms of violence, both personally and institutionally,” the pontiff continued. He forcefully reiterated that “the world is thirsting for peace… Enough of war, with all the pain it causes through death, destruction, and exile!”

“Peace, in fact, cannot be decreed: It must be embraced and lived. It is a gift from God, which unfolds through patient and collective effort. It is everyone’s responsibility, beginning with civil authorities,” he said. To govern, the pope added, means to love one’s own country and neighboring countries, applying the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself” even to international relations. Governing also means truly listening to citizens and valuing their ability to help build lasting solutions. In this context, he recalled Pope Francis’ call to move beyond “the idea of social policies being a policy for the poor, but never with the poor and never of the poor, much less part of a project which can bring people back together.”

Civil society, the pope stressed, must be recognized as a vital force for national cohesion. “Cameroon is ready for this transition!” Associations, women’s and youth organizations, trade unions, humanitarian nongovernmental organizations, and traditional and religious leaders, he said, play an irreplaceable role in social peace. They are often the first to intervene during tensions, to assist the displaced, support victims, open spaces for dialogue, and encourage local mediation. Their closeness to communities allows them to identify the root causes of conflict and appropriate solutions.

Leo expressed particular gratitude for women, who are frequently the first victims of prejudice and violence yet remain tireless peacemakers. Their commitment to education, mediation, and rebuilding the social fabric curbs corruption and abuse of power and requires that their voices be fully recognized in decision‑making processes.

Transparency in managing public resources and respect for the rule of law, he said, are essential to restoring trust.

‘Integral human development’

Addressing those in positions of authority, Leo XIV spoke of a twofold witness: collaboration among institutions in service of the people, especially the poor, and integrity of personal conduct. To allow peace and justice to flourish, he said, the chains of corruption must be broken and hearts freed from idolatrous pursuit of profit. True profit lies in integral human development.

Looking ahead, the Holy Father highlighted Cameroon’s human, cultural, and spiritual resources and emphasized that “young people represent the hope of the country and of the Church. Their energy and creativity are priceless treasures.” While unemployment and exclusion can fuel frustration and violence, investing in education, training, and entrepreneurship, he said, is a strategic path to peace and the only way to stem the loss of talent and counter the scourges of drugs, prostitution, and apathy.

Cameroonian youth, he added, possess a “deep spirituality that still resists the homogenizing influence of the market.”

Through its educational, health care, and charitable efforts, the Catholic Church in Cameroon wishes to continue serving all without distinction, collaborating with civil authorities and strengthening ties between Cameroonians worldwide and their communities of origin, the pope concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV visits the Ngul Zamba Orphanage in Yaoundé, and encourages children who have faced hardship to see themselves as part of a loving family, thanking caregivers for their dedicated service.

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Theologian, philosopher, and missionary priest Fr. Nico Syukur Dister, OFM, is remembered for his enduring contribution to theology, philosophy, and religious life in Indonesia.

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During his first official event in Cameroon, Pope Leo XIV calls for peace, justice, and a renewed commitment to the common good, highlighting that peace “must not be reduced to a slogan.”

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The Knights of Columbus issued a statement that affirms the Catholic fraternal organization’s solidarity with Pope Leo XIV as President Donald Trump criticized the Holy Father a second time on Truth Social.

“The Knights of Columbus has always stood in solidarity with the Holy Father, recognizing in him a spiritual father who calls the world not to division but to unity, not to conflict but to peace,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in the statement.

“In this moment, we reaffirm that commitment with clarity and conviction,” he said.

Trump escalated his criticism of the Holy Father late Tuesday evening in a second post on Truth Social, which criticized the pontiff’s staunch opposition to war.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Leo’s policy views, Kelly said, “the Holy Father’s prophetic voice deserves to be heard with respect and engaged seriously.”

“Pope Leo XIV has consistently called for peace, dialogue, and restraint in a world marked by war and suffering,” he said. “The Holy Father’s words are not political talking points — they are reflections of the Gospel itself.”

Kelly noted that many Catholics and others “have been deeply disappointed by the disparaging comments directed at Pope Leo XIV” by Trump, and that Leo “is not a politician — he is the vicar of Christ, entrusted with proclaiming the Gospel and shepherding souls.”

In his statement, Kelly acknowledged that faithful Catholics can hold differing views on foreign policy and that Catholics should engage in the public square. He said nations can safeguard security “in accordance with the demands of justice and the pursuit of peace.”

“The Church does not ask Catholics to withdraw from civic life but to engage with and elevate it — bringing to our civic dialogue the light of truth, respect for the dignity of every human person, and a steadfast concern for the common good," he said.

Kelly also encouraged prayers for the pope, the president, and other politicians.

“As Knights, we are called to be men of unity, as followers of Christ and patriotic citizens,” he said. “I encourage all Knights of Columbus to pray for the Holy Father, to pray for civic leaders, and to pray for peace and those working to achieve it.”

“And let us recommit ourselves to charity in our public discourse,” he added. “May we be known not for echoing the divisions of our time, but for healing them. In a moment of tension, the path forward is not louder conflict but deeper fidelity — to truth, to charity, and to the Gospel.”

Trump goes after Leo again

Trumpʼs social media post said: “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable."

During the protests, Leo did call for peace, saying in January that “ongoing tensions [in Iran and Syria] continue to claim many lives.”

“I hope and pray that dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society,” he said at the time.

Leo has also strongly opposed nuclear weapons, saying in June 2025: “The further proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, as well as this escalation of violence, imperils the fragile stability remaining in the region.”

While Trump cited numbers exceeding 40,000 people, estimates about the number of people killed in anti-regime protests and unrest in Iran varies a lot, ranging from several thousand to more than 30,000. Most protesters were unarmed, but Iran’s government claims some were armed and killed about 500 security personnel. Trump said the United States tried to arm the protesters, but those guns did not get to the right people.

Vance, bishops offer more comments

Catholic bishops and leaders have responded to Trump’s attack on Pope Leo, and elected officials also have made statements.

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, said he is deeply concerned and troubled by Trump’s social media rhetoric, especially during Holy Week and Easter, which he says falls short of the moral standard expected of both the presidency and a professed Christian. The archbishop criticized Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo, saying the pope’s calls for peace and dialogue arise from his pastoral mission, not political ideology.

Sample said the Church’s role is to proclaim peace, human dignity, and the Gospel, citing Jesus’ teaching: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

The Ancient Order of Hibernians condemned attacks and mockery directed at Pope Leo XIV and the papacy, affirming that respect for the Holy Father is essential to Catholic faith.

Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, said at a Turning Point USA event that Pope Leo XIV should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”

“One of the issues here is that if youʼre going to opine on matters of theology, youʼve got to be careful,” he said. “Youʼve got to make sure itʼs anchored in the truth.”

Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said: “Any religious leader can say anything they want, but obviously, if you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response.”

Pope Leo XIV has responded to Trump’s public criticism by saying he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue to speak out boldly with the message of the Gospel.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Pope Leo XIV arrived Wednesday in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, after a five-hour flight. While meeting with journalists aboard the papal plane, he delivered a brief address, thanking the Algerian authorities and reflecting on the first leg of the journey.

Leo, speaking in English, expressed his “gratitude to all the authorities in Algeria, who made this visit possible. As youʼve seen, theyʼve even granted us the full honor of an escort as we fly over Algerian airspace.”

This, the pope said, is “a sign of the goodness, of the generosity, of the respect that the Algerian people and the Algerian government have wished to show to the Holy See, to myself. And so I want to say a word of thanks to them, as well as a word of thanks to the very small but very significant presence of the Catholic Church in Algeria.”

The pontiff then reflected on the journey.

“We had, as you know,” he said, “some very special visits both in the Basilica Notre Dame dʼAfrique as well as in Annaba yesterday, in the Basilica of St. Augustine on the hill overlooking both the modern city of Annaba and the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Ippona. And that in itself, I would say, is also symbolically significant, because St. Augustine, who was bishop, as you know, of Hippo for more than 30 years, actually is a figure which is very much from the past and speaks to us of tradition, speaks to us of the life, the Church, as the Church grew in the early centuries.”

Continuing to speak about St. Augustine, Leo said that he is “a very important figure today as his writings, his teaching, his spirituality, his invitation to search for God and to search for truth is something that is very much needed today — a message that is very real for all of us today, as believers in Jesus Christ, but for all people. And as youʼve seen, even the people of Algeria, the vast majority of whom are not Christian, they very much honor and respect the memory of St. Augustine as one of the great sons of their land."

"So it was a special blessing for me personally to return once again to Annaba yesterday," he said, "but also to offer to the Church and the world a vision that St. Augustine offers us in terms of the search for God and the struggle to build community, to seek for unity among all peoples and respect for all peoples in spite of the differences.”

The pope concluded: “In two days in Algeria I think weʼve really had a wonderful opportunity to, if you will, continue to build bridges, to promote dialogue. I think the visit to the mosque was significant and to say that it showed that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace. And so I think that promoting that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today, and that together we can continue to offer in our witness through as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”

Pope Leo XIV is the third pope to visit Cameroon.

Leo will first meet with 92-year-old President Biya, elected to an eighth term and in power for 40 years. After his address to the diplomatic corps — a standard stop at the beginning of every trip — the pope will visit the Ngul Zamba orphanage, a historic point of reference for the care and education of orphaned children and minors in situations of serious social vulnerability.

In addition to Yaoundé, Leo XIV will also visit the city of Bamenda, around 230 miles from the capital, at the center of the Anglophone crisis — a complex situation in which English-speaking separatists have also called for the formation of their own state.

The pope will also visit Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, thus touching all the major realities of the country before departing for Angola on April 18.

The Catholic Church in Kenya is preparing to host the 21st Plenary Assembly of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa, a significant ecclesial gathering that will bring together bishops from across eastern and parts of southern Africa for reflection on the Church’s mission in the region.

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After kicking off his apostolic journey to the African Continent in Algeria, Pope Leo XIV’s lands in Cameroon on Wednesday, April 15, beginning the second leg of his pilgrimage that will take him also to Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

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MANILA, Philippines — Amid growing concerns over mental health, Cardinal Jose Advincula, the archbishop of Manila, Philippines, stressed on April 2 that priests must prioritize their mental health to sustain their missionary work.

Celebrating the chrism Mass on Holy Thursday at the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as Manila Cathedral, Advincula quoted a recent study, saying: “About 18% reported that they are psychologically distressed,” meaning “almost one in every five priests is undergoing a mental difficulty or emotional burden.”

He reminded clergy to acknowledge their human vulnerabilities and weaknesses, calling on the faithful to support clergy through prayer and understanding.

According to data from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), as of 2025, there are more than 10,000 priests serving 73.6 million Catholics. The Philippines is Asiaʼs largest Catholic country.

Lay faithful support for the clergy

Advincula urged lay Catholics to stand with priests as they carry out their ministry.

“To be faithful, we need your understanding and your prayers,” he said.

Advincula thanked communities for their continued support, despite what he described as the “obvious limitations” of clergy, which include challenges such as limited resources and the need for more active engagement from the laity.

The cardinal thanked priests and the faithful for their shared responsibility in continuing the Churchʼs life and mission.

He said human connections are essential to restoring hope and sustaining missionary work.

Pope Leo XIVʼs April prayer intention

Advinculaʼs remarks coincided with the Holy Fatherʼs April prayer intention, which is “for priests in crisis.”

“Let us pray for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer,” Pope Leo XIV said.

Echoing the popeʼs words, Advincula urged Catholics to pray for priests, especially those facing loneliness, doubt, and exhaustion.

“When a pastor faces some kind of weariness at any time, the Church is not supposed to judge but rather to walk beside him,” he said.

A parish priestʼs struggle with addiction

EWTN News spoke with two priests who have faced mental health challenges and described how they overcame them.

Father Mark (a pseudonym used to protect his identity), a 52-year-old parish priest in the southern Philippines, serves a parish with more than 40,000 Catholics. He has been there for the last five years.

Over the years, Father Mark felt exhausted by pastoral duties. He gradually developed loneliness and distress, which affected his mental well-being. Over time, he began to consume alcohol more frequently and eventually became addicted.

As his health conditions and addictions affected his personal life and pastoral duty, his religious superiors made him take a break from pastoral care and placed him in a Church-run rehabilitation center near Manila for a year.

After a year of medication along with prayer, social connections, and discernment, he is free of addiction and back to pastoral work in a different parish in the central Philippines.

He said he learned a valuable lesson from his imperfections, especially about balancing personal care — physical, spiritual, and emotional.

A rural missionaryʼs ordeal

Father Marcilino, a 47-year-old priest, used to be a rural missionary in the northern part of the country.

He used to minister to 70,000 Catholics across eight chapels and one parish, alongside two younger priests.

“At some point, I got disinterested in my pastoral work and lost zeal for it,” he said.

“I did not have any vices as such. I felt a kind of spiritual dryness in my priestly life,” he said.

When his priest companions noticed his mental distress and lack of participation in community prayers and mealtime presence, they encouraged him to take a few months' break from pastoral responsibility with the knowledge of their superiors.

His superiors sent him for a three-month refresher course on psycho-spiritual enrichment.

After spending three months in the program, he returned to the parish with renewed zeal as a person and pastor.

“I have realized that priests like me face pastoral exhaustion or compassion fatigue caused by many factors,” he said. “It is necessary that we take precautions and efforts to monitor our mental well-being as we are interested in rendering our pastoral service to others with hope and compassion,” he added.

He thanked his superiors and those who continually support him in his missionary endeavors.

“My struggles with mental health issues taught me a valuable lesson that I am not a superhuman being,” he said. “I need to be aware of my limitations, especially worry, anxiety, stress, and depression to some extent.”

“We are all works in progress and rely on Godʼs grace to carry out our pastoral work for the common good,” he said.

Mental health in the Philippines

An estimated 7 million to 12.5 million Filipinos suffer from mental health conditions, according to research published in the Lancet Regional Health.

The National Capital Region Police Office reported on March 25 that suicide cases in Metro Manila more than doubled in the first three months of 2026, with many cases stemming from emotional distress, financial pressure, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues.

Meanwhile, the country does not have adequate mental health professionals, and the government is making efforts to strengthen mental health services, such as increasing funding for mental health programs and training more professionals to meet the growing demand.

Everyone must take care of their mental health amid the many challenges of life and work, Christopher Lim, a professional psychologist, told EWTN News.

Over the years, Lim has counseled several people, including priests and religious sisters, who have faced mental health challenges.

One piece of advice he gives is that anyone can develop mental health concerns at any time, regardless of their current mental well-being.

“Timely professional help is key to mental health,” Lim said.

Aboard the papal plane bound for Cameroon, Pope Leo XIV reflects on his Apostolic Journey to Algeria, calling it a “special blessing for me personally” and a “wonderful opportunity to continue to build bridges and promote dialogue.”

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Faced with the destructive power of modern weapons, it is very difficult to speak, as was done in past centuries, of the possibility of a ‘just war.’ As early as 1963, Pope John XXIII, in 'Pacem in Terris,' wrote that in the atomic age it becomes almost impossible to think that war can be considered an instrument of justice. In this same spirit stands Pope Leo XIV, who is making peace one of the central themes of his pontificate.

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Just a few weeks since the death of her husband, Miguel, and amid her grief, Virginia Pérez de Santana, clutching a rosary, recounted with serenity and strength their story of a love that endures, sustained to the very last moment by the certainty that God exists and never abandons us.

Although she grew up in a Catholic family, Virginia said she felt that “something was missing”: a spark, an impulse of faith that would dispel her doubts regarding the existence of God. What she never could have imagined was that this longed-for certainty would come with the illness of her husband, Miguel, a dentist whom she met while volunteering in Cambodia 14 years before.

Although Miguel never doubted, she said, faith did not occupy a central place in their lives. But everything changed one day in July 2024 while they were enjoying a vacation with their three children: Virginia, 5; Miguel, 4; and María, 3.

After suffering severe headaches and a loss of mobility in his left arm, Miguel decided to go to the emergency room.

And that moment marked the beginning of it all.

“While waiting, Miguel was incredibly nervous, because he sensed that something was wrong. He was very agitated the entire time, saying, ‘I want to get out of here, I want to get out of here — I can’t breathe,’” Virginia told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. After several tests and a long wait, the doctors confirmed what the couple feared most: Miguel had a brain tumor and required emergency surgery.

‘I’ve had an experience with God’

Gripped by fear and uncertainty, Virginia left the room to tell her parents what was happening. Upon her return, Miguel was no longer the same: His nervousness had vanished, and his face reflected a surprising peace and serenity. “When I came back, they had already moved him into an emergency bay, and I saw him there, laughing and talking with the other patients,” she recalled.

Then, Miguel took his wife’s hands and said: “Virginia, be at peace; I’ve had an experience with God.”

Miguel told her that, after being left alone in the room once the nurse had gone, he got down on his knees and pleaded: “My God, please, don’t leave me alone.”

A love ‘not of this world’

After praying, Miguel felt as though someone were embracing him, and in that instant, a warmth coursed through his entire body: “From head to toe, he felt a kind of electricity, of love, love, love. A love so pure, a love so profound, that he said it was not of this world.”

She recalled how her husband recounted to her every detail of the embrace he felt in the empty room, where he heard someone say to him: “Be at peace; I am with you, and I bear your cross with you.”

“And in that moment, he began to weep; not out of sorrow, not because of the tumor, but out of happiness. Then, he took my hands once more and said to me: ‘Virginia, you, who have sometimes had doubts — never, never, never doubt again, for God exists. I no longer merely have faith; I am certain that God exists.”

From that moment, Miguel experienced a profound peace and an absolutely radical transformation, “even physically,” recalled Virginia, whose friends and family told her that he looked even “more handsome” than before his illness because of the happiness he radiated.

‘He was in love with God’

Although her husband was “a very good person,” Virginia recalled, with a smile, that he complained at times. Nevertheless, he offered up all his suffering and illness. “He would tell me that he was in love with God and that he didn’t want to complain, he wanted to do everything for God.”

“He used to tell me that he felt just like a typical teenager waiting outside school for his girlfriend to come out,” she recalled.

She said that her husband never stopped talking about God and would tell her: “In time, you will come to see this as a blessing, because thanks to the tumor, God has granted me this experience; and thanks to this experience, my eyes have been opened — for before, I was blind.”

Miguel was discharged from the hospital 15 days after the emergency operation. “He was happy,” his wife remembered. During his stay at the hospital, they prayed the rosary daily, and Miguel made a point of visiting some of the patients in nearby rooms, accompanied by the Schoenstatt Pilgrim Virgin statue.

Following the biopsy, they were informed that the tumor was one of the most aggressive types — incurable and fast-progressing. Yet, Miguel accepted the diagnosis with serenity, never questioning why this was happening to him.

“It was a profound acceptance of his illness,” Virginia continued. “And the truth is, we were always side by side, like a team, always believing that we were in God’s hands and that we simply had to accept his will. If a miracle occurred and he was cured, that would be wonderful; and if not — well, then whatever he decides, for we will never understand his ways.”

Friends and parents from their childrenʼs school in Madrid formed a prayer group that grew to nearly 500 people, “almost none of whom we knew,“ Virginia said. ”That gave us a great deal of strength: So many good people who, without even knowing us, cared and prayed for us.”

Embracing illness as a gift

As time went by, although Miguel no longer felt the same powerful impact of the experience he had undergone in the hospital, he still saw God’s love in the everyday “little signs” and gestures of the people praying for him. “It also brought me much closer to God," Virginia said.

In July 2025, the tumor recurred, returning with greater force and in a much more aggressive manner. “He always faced it with great courage, with great strength, and with immense faith. We always used to say: ‘Whatever God wills.’”

The tumor progressed rapidly, all treatment options exhausted. In February, Miguel was admitted to palliative care at the Navarra Clinic in Madrid, where he remained until he died on March 10.

“Throughout that entire month Miguel spent in the hospital, he never once complained; even the palliative care doctors themselves told us they were astonished by the sense of peace we radiated,” Virginia said.

Miguel was able to say goodbye to his children. "Watching how he faced his illness and how he faced death has set the bar very high for me,” Virginia recounted.

‘It’s true that God exists, that he rose again, and that he is with us’

Drawing upon her experience, Virginia hopes to reach out to those who are going through a similar illness: “God desires that very same love and that very same faith for them, too.”

“Even if they haven’t felt it within their own bodies, let them lean on the testimonies of others,“ she said, ”because he is real; because it is true that God exists, that he rose again, that he is with us; and that even when you call out to him and it feels at times as though God isn’t listening, he is indeed listening to you.”

“That very same strength God has given us, he is also giving to other people ... Obviously, I would have preferred for Miguel to remain with me, to grow old alongside him, for our lives to continue on, free of illness and trouble. But I think that had we simply continued on in that same manner, would we have remained so close to God? Well — no; probably not,” she reflected.

‘No ordinary peace’

Virginia shared what she considers the most important thing of all: “I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to say that my husband is in heaven — because I know it; because he had immense faith, he had such deep love for God, and he demonstrated it in so many ways, such as by praying the rosary every day.”

Shortly before her husband died, the chaplain at the Navarra Clinic administered the anointing of the sick. 

"I said to Miguel: ‘Do you realize how many people have drawn closer to God because of your illness? I truly believe there is nothing more important you could have done,’” she said.

With tears in her eyes, Virginia said that if one sets aside “human selfishness,” her husband has already achieved his goal: “To be with God — and in such a way.”

“For Miguel, this has been the greatest gift God could have given him. Miguel is with God; he’s happy, and that’s what truly matters,“ she said. ”And if you hold onto that thought, your life changes.”

“The peace we experienced throughout the entire process of his illness and his death was no ordinary peace,“ she said. ”I know it because we were enveloped by so many people’s prayers, and because we were enveloped by God.”

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.

ANNABA, Algeria — Pope Leo XIV met privately Tuesday with fellow members of the Augustinian order, sharing lunch with the local community in what the order described as a “beautiful and pleasant” fraternal encounter.

A statement from the Order of St. Augustine said the meeting reflected the joy of brothers dwelling together in unity.

“After visiting the ruins of Hippo and the home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, the pope arrives in Annaba as a brother among brothers,” the statement said. “Here he meets the Augustinian friars who care for the Basilica of St. Augustine, sharing with them one common heart rooted in the spirit of St. Augustine of Hippo.”

The gathering was marked by a shared meal, smiles, and fraternity, according to the statement.

Also present with the pontiff were Father Joseph Farrell, prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, and Father Martin Davakan, OSA, vicar general.

The statement highlighted the international character of the Augustinian community in Annaba, saying it reflects unity amid the diversity of nations.

“The community of Annaba (Hippo) itself reflects this diversity, with the presence of Father Dominic Juma Habakuk from South Sudan, Father Shailong Leviticus Longzem from Nigeria, and the rector, Father Frederick Wekesa from Kenya,” the statement said. “They are brothers, coming from different lands, but united in heart and soul.”

Father Augustine Ugbomah, who serves in the Pontifical Sacristy, was also present.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News’ Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Christians in Algeria say they are hoping Pope Leo XIV’s visit will be what “leads to change” as they have recently faced a massive spike in church closures and Christian arrests.

Pope Leo is visiting Algeria April 13–15 for the first part of his African papal trip. The popeʼs presence has been “widely viewed by the Christian community as a success,” Kelsey Zorzi said in an April 14 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”

Zorzi, director of global advocacy at Alliance Defending Freedom, discussed religious freedom in Algeria and the governmentʼs move to stop the spread of Christianity.

“Algeria is 99% Muslim; less than 1% of the population is Christian," she said. "So for many years, Christians and Muslims have been living side by side. Muslims have been hearing the Gospel and steadily converting to Christianity."

“As of 2017, there were 50 thriving Protestant evangelical churches operating across the country, and these churches were growing, and the government took note of this,” she said.

“To combat what it perceived as an increasing threat,” the government “started enforcing an old 2006 ordinance that required the association of Protestant churches to be licensed,” she said. “These associations tried numerous times to apply for a license, but the government has refused to this day to acknowledge these applications or to grant the licenses.”

“So they have shut down, over the course of the last nine to 10 years, almost 50 churches across the country,” she said.

The government has claimed the closures were due to problems including safety permits and zoning laws, but Zorzi said “these claims are a mere pretext, and the governmentʼs actual motivation is to stop the spread of Christianity in Algeria.”

In the nation, there has been "a long history of pretextual and manipulative tactics that have been used to keep the churches closed,” she said.

“Weʼve seen the government allege that some of the churches have building code violations, and after these alleged violations are remedied, the government still refuses to reopen the churches,” she said.

The government also has asked “the Evangelical Association to meet to discuss the license, and when the invitation for these meetings arrives, itʼs often for a date that has already passed,” she said.

Pope Leo’s visit to Algeria

The pope met with the president of Algeria on April 13, “and we are hearing he did raise the issue of the Protestant church closures as well as the criminal charges that are being brought against pastors,” she said.

Pope Leo also said Mass where the archbishop of Algiers "pointed out that the Christian community in Algeria is comprised of several denominations" and he "specified that several Protestant church leaders were present at the Mass,” she said.

“The pope visited the eastern portion of the country, which is where St. Augustine lived, and planted an olive tree as a symbol of peace,” she said. “The Protestant communityʼs general sense of the popeʼs visit has been highly positive.”

“Theyʼre very encouraged and theyʼre hoping that this might be the thing that leads to change,” she said.

After concluding the first leg of his African apostolic journey in Algeria, Pope Leo XIV travels to Cameroon from April 15–18. In the Central African nation, the Holy Father is set to visit the capital, Yaoundé, and the metropolitan sees of Bamenda and Douala.

If Algeria represents the Church as a small minority navigating a Muslim-majority society, Cameroon presents a different ecclesial landscape. The Catholic Church there is demographically significant, institutionally entrenched, socially influential, and politically attentive.

Cameroon stands not only as the second stop on the Holy Father’s African itinerary but also as a microcosm of the contemporary African Catholic experience — complex, vibrant, and consequential.

Here are eight things to know about the Church in Cameroon and what is expected of Pope Leoʼs visit:

1. It has a significant and growing Catholic population.

Cameroon’s population is religiously diverse, made up of Christians, Muslims, and practitioners of African traditional religions. Within the Christian bloc, Catholics constitute one of the largest denominations. Current estimates place Catholics at roughly 30% to 35% of the national population, translating into several million Catholics.

This scale gives the Catholic Church measurable public presence. Parishes are numerous, Catholic diocesan structures are well developed, and lay movements are active across urban and rural areas. The Church is not a marginal actor; it is a central stakeholder in national life.

Growth trends remain steady rather than explosive. Unlike some East African contexts where Catholic numbers have surged, Cameroon’s expansion is incremental and closely tied to demographic growth. Nonetheless, vocations to the priesthood and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) continue at levels that sustain ecclesial institutions.

In Cameroon, Pope Leo XIV will encounter a people of God neither defensive nor peripheral but fully embedded in national society.

2. It has a robust ecclesiastical structure and metropolitan sees.

The Catholic Church in Cameroon is organized into five ecclesiastical provinces, each headed by a metropolitan archbishop. These include Yaoundé, Bamenda, Douala, Garoua, and Bertoua.

The Archdiocese of Yaoundé serves the political capital and functions as a strategic center for Church-state engagement. Douala, the country’s economic hub, anchors the Littoral region and reflects the Church’s engagement with commerce, urbanization, and migration.

Bamenda, in the Anglophone Northwest Region, carries particular pastoral and political weight due to ongoing instability in that part of the country. Garoua Archdiocese is in the north of the country, while Bertoua Archdiocese is in the east.

The bishops collectively operate through the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, which regularly issues pastoral letters on social, political, and moral issues.

Pope Leo XIV’s decision to visit three metropolitan sees signals a recognition of Cameroon’s regional diversity and ecclesial complexity.

3. The Church in Cameroon has deep historical roots.

Catholic missionary activity in Cameroon dates to the late 19th century, particularly under German colonial administration and later French and British rule. Missionaries established schools, clinics, and parishes that became foundational to local communities.

Over time, ecclesial leadership transitioned from missionary congregations to Indigenous clergy. Today, Cameroonian Catholic bishops and priests lead the Church across the country, and missionary institutes have shifted toward collaboration rather than control.

This historical trajectory — from missionary implantation to local ownership — has shaped a confident Church. Catholic institutions in education and health care are not peripheral supplements; they are pillars of national infrastructure.

The historical memory of missionary sacrifice and local perseverance still informs Catholic identity in Cameroon. Papal visits are therefore received not as external interventions but as moments of communion within an already mature ecclesial body.

4. The Church leads in education and health.

Few institutions in Cameroon rival the Catholic Church in educational reach. Catholic primary and secondary schools are widespread, often regarded for discipline and academic performance. The Church also sponsors tertiary institutions and teacher training colleges.

Health care is similarly significant. Catholic hospitals and clinics serve urban centers and remote areas alike. In regions where public health systems are strained, Catholic Church-run facilities frequently fill service gaps.

This social footprint gives the Catholic Church influence but also responsibility. It must negotiate regulatory frameworks, maintain quality standards, and manage financial sustainability.

This also means that papal messaging on social justice, youth formation, and health care ethics resonates concretely rather than abstractly.

In Cameroon, the Church’s credibility is measured as much by service delivery as by liturgical vitality.

5. Catholic leaders play a role in political and social realities.

Cameroon’s Catholic bishops have consistently engaged in public discourse on governance, elections, corruption, and national unity. Pastoral letters issued around electoral cycles often emphasize transparency, accountability, and peaceful participation.

This engagement places the Church in a delicate position. While she does not function as a political party, she operates as a moral voice. Her statements can attract both public support and governmental scrutiny.

The Anglophone crisis in the northwest and southwest regions — marked by tension between separatist groups and state forces — has intensified the Church’s mediating role. Bishops in affected regions, particularly in Bamenda, have appealed for dialogue and protection of civilians.

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Bamenda is therefore not merely ceremonial. It unfolds against a backdrop of social fragility and political complexity. Any public remarks in that region will be closely analyzed for diplomatic nuance.

6. The Cameroon Church sees many religious vocations.

Cameroon is considered one of the more fruitful Churches in central Africa in terms of religious vocations. Major seminaries in the country train diocesan clergy, and religious congregations attract local candidates.

The presence of Indigenous clergy has allowed the Church to contextualize liturgy, catechesis, and pastoral strategy. Inculturation — integrating elements of local culture within Catholic worship and life — has developed within the framework permitted by universal Church norms.

However, vocations also present governance challenges: ensuring adequate formation, preventing clericalism, and addressing global concerns about safeguarding and accountability. As elsewhere, the Cameroonian Church must navigate expectations of transparency and ethical leadership.

A papal visit often includes meetings with clergy and religious. In Cameroon, such encounters are likely to reinforce standards of pastoral responsibility and ecclesial communion.

7. The Church here enjoys linguistic, cultural, and religious pluralism.

Cameroon is frequently described as “Africa in miniature” due to its linguistic and cultural diversity. The country officially operates in both French and English, with numerous Indigenous languages in daily use.

This diversity shapes ecclesial life. The Church must minister across Francophone and Anglophone regions, urban and rural contexts, and varied ethnic identities. Liturgies may incorporate local languages and music while maintaining doctrinal unity.

Religiously, Cameroon is pluralistic. Alongside Catholics are Protestants, Pentecostals, Muslims, and adherents of traditional religions. Inter-Christian competition — particularly with rapidly growing Pentecostal movements — poses pastoral challenges. The Catholic Church must articulate its identity in an environment where charismatic worship and prosperity preaching attract large followings.

Interreligious coexistence with Muslim communities, particularly in northern regions, remains a factor in national stability. The Church has often collaborated with Muslim leaders to promote peace and counter extremism.

For Pope Leo XIV, this pluralistic setting requires calibrated messaging — affirming Catholic identity without undermining interreligious harmony.

8. Cameroon hosted a previous papal visit.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI visited Cameroon, marking a major ecclesial event that included the promulgation of the Instrumentum Laboris for the Second Synod for Africa. That visit reinforced Cameroon’s role within the continental Church.

Pope Leo XIV’s 2026 journey will inevitably be compared with past papal engagements. Expectations will be shaped by memory: large public liturgies, strong doctrinal messages, and calls for ethical governance.

This story was first published on March 12, 2026, by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been updated.

At the conclusion of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Algeria, Archbishop Nicolas Lhernould, president of the North African Conference of Bishops, recalls that the Pope's visit was inspired by St. Augustine and saw him meet people with faith, simplicity, and humility.

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After a brief visit to a Church-run orphanage in Algiers, Pope Leo XIV boards the papal plane at the conclusion of his Apostolic Journey to Algeria and flies to Cameroon for the second leg of his visit to four African nations.

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WASHINGTON – In light of recent public comments regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching on war and peace, Bishop James Massa, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, issued the following statement:

“For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war. A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308). That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’

“When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars.”

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM ALGERIA TO CAMEROON (CNS) -- Following three days of public attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, Pope Leo XIV did not take questions from reporters in an in-flight press address, redirecting attention, instead, to his international trip across Africa and his spiritual father, St. Augustine.

Heading to the second country of his trip, Cameroon, the pope told journalists in a greeting of less than three and a half minutes that he was grateful for the warm welcome by officials, the people and the “very small, but very significant presence of the Catholic Church” of Algeria. However, he spent much of his address talking about the value of the teachings of this 4th-century saint today. 

“It was a special honor for me to return to Annaba yesterday also to offer the Church and the world the vision that St. Augustine offers us in terms of that search for God and the struggle to build community, to seek for unity among all people, and respect for all peoples in spite of the differences,” he said April 15 on the papal plane. 

Highlighting his stop at the Great Mosque of Algiers, he also reiterated the value of peace. 

“I think the visit to the mosque was significant and to say that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace,” he said. “I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs today and that together we can continue to offer and witness as we continue in this apostolic voyage.” 

The pope began his longest international trip thus far April 13 in Algeria, during which time U.S. President Donald Trump called Pope Leo “wrong” on geopolitical issues. When Pope Leo greeted reporters on the papal flight from Rome to Algeria, he addressed the president’s remarks, saying he was not a politician, did not want to enter into a debate with the U.S. president, and would continue to speak out against war. 

Thus far, the White House has only doubled down on its condemnations of the pope’s calls for peace, particularly in the Middle East. 

Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic,  joined in, backing the president in two media appearances April 14, saying to Fox News, “it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on in the Catholic Church.”

“And let the President of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said in the interview. 

At a Georgia college campus tour organized by conservative media group Turning Point April 14, Vance pushed back on Pope Leo’s Palm Sunday homily that God does not hear the prayers of those who make war, questioning if God was on the side of Allied forces in World War II, liberating Jewish survivors from concentration camps. 

When asked if he would apologize to the pope following Pope Leo’s comments on the papal flight, Trump replied, “No, I don’t because Pope Leo said things that are wrong.” 

Meanwhile, Pope Leo said that even though St. Augustine lived 1600 years ago, his words "have great relevance today." Speaking to Cameroon's President Paul Biya and the diplomatic corps at the presidential palace April 15, the pope said the saint believed those who rule should do so to serve the people, and they should rule "not from a love of power, but from a sense of the duty they owe others." 

"From this perspective, serving one’s country means dedicating oneself, with a clear mind and an upright conscience, to the common good of all people in the nation," he said in his first stop in Cameroon, whose president has led the country since 1982.  

He went further to state that religious traditions can help "inspire prophets of peace, justice, forgiveness and solidarity." When religious leaders are involved in mediation and reconciliation, then politics and diplomacy "can draw upon moral forces capable of easing tensions, preventing extremism and promoting a culture of mutual esteem and respect."

ANNABA, Algeria (CNS) -- In a country marred by hardship, deep faith and hard-won independence, Pope Leo XIV pointed to Algeria as a living witness to what he called the Church's "guiding principle above all," a charity that transcends power, binds community and makes peace. 

Throughout the first leg of his 11-day trip across Africa, the pope returned again and again to one idea: peace comes not through power or dominance, but through a sacrificial love, exemplified in Christ. 

In the Basilica of St. Augustine, his spiritual father, Pope Leo presented the Christians of Algeria as an example of this aspect of the Church’s mission, asking that they remain a humble and faithful sign of Christ's love.

"Your presence in this country is like incense: a glowing grain that spreads fragrance because it gives glory to the Lord and joy and comfort to so many brothers and sisters," he said during his final Mass in the country April 14. 

In his homily, he described a Church of charity, "where there is despair, she kindles hope, where there is misery, she brings dignity, and where there is conflict, she brings reconciliation."

"Therefore, in the face of poverty and oppression, the guiding principle above all for Christians is charity: let us do to those around us, as we would have them do to us," the pope said. "On the contrary, faith in the one God, Lord of heaven and earth, unites people according to perfect justice, which calls everyone to charity -- that is, to love every creature with the love that God gives us in Christ."

In his April 13 address to  Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the diplomatic corps, he pointed out that Algerians practice "sadaka" (meaning almsgiving and justice) "even for those of limited means," and how their "spirit of solidarity, hospitality and community is woven into the daily lives of millions of humble and upright people."

After being a French colony for more than 130 years, Algeria sought independence in 1954, sparking a war that left an estimated 1.5 million people dead. 

The pope highlighted Algeria's solidarity despite its years of hardship and conflict. He positioned Algeria as a teacher to economically wealthier countries, reframing what development means.

"Indeed, a religion without mercy and a society without solidarity are a scandal in God’s eyes," Pope Leo said. "Yet many societies that consider themselves advanced are plunging ever deeper into inequality and exclusion. Africa knows all too well that people and organizations that dominate others destroy the world, which the Most High has created in order that we might all live together."

During his address April 13 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, he spoke again on selfless love, saying the Church's work with disabled children shows how charity transcends "material help" and creates "an authentic community, where many people share moments of joy and sorrow, united by bonds of trust, friendship and fellowship." 

He furthered this message when speaking at a nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, mirroring his repeated message that this sentiment is what builds the kingdom of God.

"Our Father's heart is not with the wicked, the arrogant or the proud," the pope said April 14. "God's heart is with the little ones and the humble, and with them he builds up his kingdom of love and peace, day by day, just as you are striving to do here in your daily service, friendship and life together."

It is precisely through charity that the pope said one performs acts of martyrdom, regardless of one's religion.

"After all, it is precisely love for their brothers and sisters that inspired the witness of the martyrs we have commemorated," he said in the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa. "In the face of hatred and violence, they remained faithful to charity even to the point of sacrificing themselves alongside many other men and women, Christians and Muslims."

Throughout his two-day sojourn in Algeria, he spotlighted the selflessness of martyrs. Pope Leo’s first stop April 13 was the Maqam Echahid Martyrs' Monument, which commemorates those who died during the Algerian War. 

"Our presence here at this monument pays tribute to this history of Algeria and to the very spirit of a people who fought for the independence, dignity and sovereignty of this nation," he said. 

In the beginning of his speech to the diplomatic corps, he recalled the 19 religious men and women who were martyred during the Algerian War. 

By expressing this charitable love, the faithful find the ability to forgive and reconcile, ultimately leading to peace – Pope Leo’s biggest priority at the moment. 

For months, Pope Leo has been relentlessly consistent on his call for peace, particularly following the conflict in the Middle East. Pope Leo presented peace not as a vague ideal, but as a moral calling, rooted in human fraternity, justice and humility. 

 To a country overwhelmingly Muslim -- an estimated 99% identify as Sunni Islam -- he emphasized that Algerians and Christians alike are brothers and sisters because they share “the same Father in heaven.”

"In a world full of conflicts and misunderstandings, let us meet and strive for mutual understanding, recognizing that we are all one family!" he said to the diplomatic corps April 13. "Today, the simplicity of this awareness is the key to opening many doors that are closed."

From the start of his visit, he framed himself as “a pilgrim of peace." The pope said the world cannot continue to "add resentment upon resentment, generation after generation."

"In this place, let us remember that God desires peace for every nation: a peace that is not merely an absence of conflict, but one that is an expression of justice and dignity," he said at the monument. "This peace, which allows us to face the future with a reconciled spirit, is possible only through forgiveness."

 

Reading 1 Acts 5:17-26

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Alleluia John 3:16

Gospel John 3:16-21

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Ahead of Pope Leo XIV's arrival, Cameroonians tell Vatican News that his Apostolic Journey to the African nation could inspire diverse groups to “live together, work together, and get along."

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Even amid global conflict, Christians in Spain marked Easter with a message of hope and peace. At Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, some 85,000 people gathered 11 April for the fourth annual “Feast of the Resurrection,” a massive concert celebrating Christ’s victory over death through music and culture.

The event, organised by the Catholic Association of Propagandists, featured artists like the Gipsy Kings and Hakuna Group Music. Pope Leo XIV, in a message read by Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid, urged young people to embrace the Gospel and become witnesses of Easter joy.

“Faith in the Risen One gives meaning to human joy; it purifies it, elevates it, and brings it to fullness. But precisely for this reason, Easter asks something greater of us than a passing emotion; it invites us to let ourselves be reached by the Resurrection, so that our life too may begin anew,” he wrote.

Despite ongoing war and failed international peace talks, attendees united in prayer, with Cardinal Cobo reminding them that peace begins by recognizing others as brothers and sisters. Organisers and performers alike said the goal was simple: to share faith, joy, and a renewed call to pray for peace in a troubled world.

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St Luke’s Parish in Revesby marked Divine Mercy Sunday on 12 April with Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and veneration of a first-class relic of St Faustina Kowalska, six months after it was installed in the parish.

The celebration, led by Bishop Daniel Meagher, drew parishioners and visitors who gathered to pray and reflect on the message of Divine Mercy, which has gained renewed prominence in the parish.

The relic was brought to Australia with an effort involving parish priest Fr Dariusz Basiaga SDS and the Salvatorian Regional Superior, Fr George Kolodziej SDS, now Bishop of Bunbury. With the support of Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, they travelled to Poland to obtain the relic before transporting it to Perth and then to Sydney.

Since its installation, the relic and accompanying statue of St Faustina have become a focal point for devotion at St Luke’s, attracting those seeking spiritual consolation and a deeper understanding of God’s mercy.

Fr Dariusz said the presence of the relic has strengthened the parish’s spiritual life, with many coming to pray and reflect on St Faustina’s message.

“People come to pray and feel comforted,” he said. “Her message is simple: show mercy, seek forgiveness and live with kindness. Her relic and statue remind us to carry that message into our daily lives.”

Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter, centres on Christ’s call to trust in his mercy and extend that mercy to others – a message parish leaders say continues to resonate strongly within the local community.

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I have a problem with this liturgical season. That’s because our first readings are taken from the Acts of the Apostles. These readings describe a young, lively church that’s bursting out. There are brave public declarations, mass conversions, persecutions, miracles, and missions.  

It’s all good stuff. But it tricks us into thinking that this is what the church was like straight after Jesus’ resurrection. But it wasn’t. All these exciting episodes are post-Pentecost. 

Jesus remained on earth with his followers for forty days before the feast of Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit. And we know almost nothing about this critical forty days in the church’s history. We have hints – for example, that Jesus once appeared to a very large group of people (1 Cor 15:6). 

Matthew’s Gospel jumps straight from the resurrection to the ascension and the command to go out and baptise. Some versions of Mark briefly mention Emmaus, Jesus appearing and rebuking the Eleven, and then the ascension. Luke describes Emmaus in more detail.  

He also says that Jesus appeared to his disciples, “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures”, and told them about the imminent arrival of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24). 

John describes three detailed appearances of the risen Jesus (Jn 20-21). But he also says that he hasn’t written down everything that happened. He says, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book” (Jn 20:30), and “Jesus did many other things as well” (Jn 21:25). 

Luke hints a little more in Acts: “He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3). But what exactly did he talk about? What signs did he perform? And what things weren’t written down? And why?  

Forty days is always significant in our history as the people of God. It’s always about testing, renewal, and laying new foundations.  

Moses spent forty days on Sinai with God, being taught the law and the new rites of worship that formed the core of Judaism. And Jesus spent forty days in the desert preparing for his mission of saving the world.  

I think these hidden forty days are all about Jesus still at work on earth before he ascends to heaven, forming the church as the new People of God. This was now the most important transition in salvation history. It’s the point towards which everything was leading.  

Forming the church as his body and his bride was a core part of Jesus’ mission. He’s died and risen – but his work on earth isn’t quite done yet. 

We are told twice in the Gospels that after his resurrection, Jesus had to open his disciples’ minds to understand the scriptures, because they simply weren’t grasping what had happened.  

Luke says something similar in Acts, where the disciples are still asking when Jesus is going to restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6). But by the time Jesus ascends to heaven, Peter understands enough to call for the election of a new twelfth apostle, which takes place before Pentecost (Acts 1:15-26). 

So something has clearly changed. Something has taken root which is going to grow under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Imagine how much Jesus could have taught them in forty days, like God taught Moses on Sinai.  

So many key Catholic doctrines – the purpose of what we call the Mass; the real presence; the veneration of Mary; the structure of bishops, priests, and deacons; Peter’s leadership – appear very early in the church’s history. Is this where they came from? 

This also means that the descent of the Holy Spirit was not an abrupt change or lively interruption in the church’s history. Instead, it followed an intensive formation period when Jesus’ followers were prepared by him directly to receive this huge grace. 

Some people like to talk about the Holy Spirit as if he’s slightly out of control. They see him as descending at random and making people do weird and unconventional things under his influence. 

It’s true that Pentecost lights a bonfire in the apostles – but the fuel had been collected and heaped up first under Jesus’ direct tuition before his ascension. This should help us to see the Holy Spirit as woven directly into the fabric of the church from its very beginning, not as a rogue element outside of it.  

The Holy Spirit is always conformed to the life, mission, and activity of the Trinity. Always was, always will be. There’s a lot to chew on here, but I find it deeply reassuring.  

The post Those very important forty days appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

The Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission reviewed testimony from seven prior sessions at its capstone hearing on 13 April, pointing toward possible policy recommendations for the president.

The panel’s work comes amid controversy surrounding Donald Trump, who launched into tirades against Pope Leo XIV on social media and verbally and briefly shared an AI-generated image portraying himself as Jesus that prompted a backlash from Christians who found it blasphemous over 12-13 April.

Commissioners did not address those incidents during the hearing. Speaking to the panel, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, warned that attacks on houses of worship, religious symbols and believers themselves pose a direct threat to religious liberty.

Witnesses at the final hearing included Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Sisters of Life, who testified about their 2022 lawsuit against New York state’s effort to probe pro-life pregnancy centers that would have required them to share internal documents.

A court order later blocked New York’s effort in relation to the Sisters of Life. Established last May, the commission is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious freedom in the US, highlighting peaceful pluralism, identifying current threats and recommending ways to strengthen protections.

Across its hearings, the commission gathered testimony on conscience protections for health care workers, access to chaplains, religious accommodations in military grooming standards, protection of Native sacred sites and safeguarding the Catholic seal of confession. Its report is expected later this spring.

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Pope Leo XIV sent a letter to the College of Cardinals thanking them for their participation in the January consistory and preparing the conversation for their next gathering 26-27 June – right before the solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul.

The January consistory focused on two topics, voted on by the cardinals: synodality and Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”).

The pope did not specify in his letter what the topics of the next consistory would be, but he gave hints on what are the possible further reflections driven by the first consistory that coincided with the closing of the Jubilee Year doors on 6 January and started right afterward.

The conversation in January resulted in “free, concrete and spiritually fruitful exchanges,” the pope said in his letter, dated 12 April and published by the Vatican 14 April. “The compiled contributions constitute a resource of lasting value, which I hope will be reflected on further, and will mature through ecclesial discernment,” he said.

Reflecting on “mission and the transmission of the faith” aspects of “Evangelii Gaudium,” the pope said in his letter to cardinals that the exhortation “was recognised as a ‘breath of fresh air,’ capable of initiating processes of pastoral and missionary conversion – rather than producing immediate structural reforms – and thus profoundly guiding the church’s journey.”

“This journey affects the very quality of spiritual life, expressed in the primacy of prayer, in the witness that precedes words, and in the coherence between faith and life,” the pope said, adding that at the community level, “it calls for a shift from a pastoral approach of maintenance to one of mission.”

Communities, Pope Leo said, should be “living agents of the proclamation,” meaning they should be welcoming, using accessible language and being attentive to the “quality of relationships, and capable of offering places for listening, accompaniment and healing.”

He warned that on the diocesan level, the responsibility of pastors “to resolutely support missionary boldness” cannot be “weighed down or stifled by organizational excesses,” but needs to be “guided by a discernment that helps us to recognise what is essential.”

“From all this flows a profoundly unified understanding of mission,” the pope wrote to the cardinals, defining the mission as “Christ-centered and kerygmatic.”

“It is born of an encounter with Christ that is capable of transforming lives and spreading through attraction rather than conquest,” the pope wrote.

“It is an integral mission, holding in balance explicit proclamation, witness, commitment and dialogue, and yielding neither to the temptation of proselytism nor to a merely institutional mentality of preservation or expansion.”

Even when the church finds herself in a minority, the pope said, “she is called to live with confident courage, as a small flock bringing hope to all, mindful that the aim of mission is not its own survival, but the communication of the love with which God loves the world.”

On the day his letter was released, the pope celebrated the first-ever public papal Mass in Algeria – a country that is 99 per cent Sunni Muslim, home to fewer than 9,000 Catholics among more than 45 million people.

Among the specific suggestions that emerged from the January consistory, the pope pointed to some deserving further reflection, such as “the need to relaunch ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ through an honest assessment of what has actually been embraced over the years” and what “remains unfamiliar or unimplemented, with particular attention to the necessary reforms of the processes of Christian initiation.”

He also pointed out to “the importance of valuing apostolic and pastoral visits as authentic opportunities for kerygmatic proclamation and for a growth in the quality of relationships” and “the similar need to reassess the effectiveness of ecclesial communication, including at the level of the Holy See, from a more explicitly missionary perspective.”

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Iraqi Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona, who until now led the Chaldean Eparchy of St Thomas the Apostle of Australia and New Zealand, was elected patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, succeeding Cardinal Louis Sako.

Archbishop Nona was elected 12 April during a Synod of Bishops convened in Rome, and he chose the name Paul III, the Chaldean patriarchate announced.

“His Beatitude announced his acceptance of the election in accordance with the requirements of the Church laws, expressing his reliance on God’s grace, and his commitment to exercising his patriarchal service in a spirit of fidelity and responsibility, in full communion with the Synod Fathers, and in service to the unity of the Chaldean Church and its mission in the homeland and the countries of the diaspora,” the patriarchate said.

Born in Alqosh in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains on 1 November, 1967, the new Chaldean patriarch served as a priest in the Diocese of Alqosh. He received episcopal ordination in 2010, which, at 42 years of age, made him the youngest Chaldean archbishop in the world.

After his ordination, he served as archbishop of Mosul, where he was displaced in 2014 due to the invasion by the Islamic State, the patriarchate said.

“His Beatitude was also known for the depth of his theological thought, his human closeness to his people, and his courage in bearing witness to the faith amidst challenges, carrying a message of hope in the heart of pain, and embodying the image of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep,” the patriarchate said.

Pope Leo XIV met with Chaldean bishops 10 April, prior to their electoral process, and said that “the new Patriarch should be, above all, a father in faith and a sign of communion with all and among all.”

Sydney-based Chaldean archbishop elected global patriarch

While living in accordance with Gospel values can be seen as “countercultural and sometimes even counterproductive,” the pope said, it is the right path “because love is the only force that conquers evil and defeats death.”

The daily holiness to which the future patriarch is called, the pope said, is “made of honesty, mercy, and purity of heart,” reminding the bishops that “authority in the church is always service and never hegemony.”

Cardinal Sako welcomed the election of the new patriarch and expressed his “great joy” at the news of the new patriarch’s election.

“On this occasion, I offer Your Beatitude my sincerest congratulations and best wishes for a reign filled with achievements, progress and joy,” the Iraqi cardinal said. “To be a patriarch is not a title or position, but a message of faith and loving service with courage and hope.”

Patriarchs in the region also sent well-wishes to Patriarch Mar Paul, including Maronite Catholic Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

In a telephone call with the Chaldean patriarch, Cardinal Rai wished him “continued success in his pastoral and paternal work and expressed his hope for cooperation among sister Eastern Churches in the wounded Middle East.”

The Chaldean patriarchate said Patriarch Paul thanked the Lebanese cardinal, “wishing him health and success as well, and praying for peace to prevail in the Middle East and the world at large, in accordance with the appeals and calls for world peace made by Pope Leo XIV.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, also expressed his joy at the Chaldean patriarch’s election and congratulated him on behalf “of all the patriarchal vicars, priests and faithful of the Holy Land” and assured prayers for his new ministry.

Congratulations and well-wishes also came from government authorities, including Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, who wished the patriarch “success and good fortune in carrying out his spiritual and humanitarian mission.”

“While we highly value the historical and national role of our Christian people, and their remarkable contributions to building Iraq and establishing a culture of diversity and fraternity, we affirm our commitment to preserving their rights and ensuring their active participation in the nation’s progress,” Amidi wrote.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani echoed the president’s sentiments and expressed his hope the new patriarch would continue on “the path of the leaders of the ancient Iraqi churches in serving society and strengthening cohesion among the sons of the one nation.”

The prime minister also stressed the important role the clergy played in society as “a fundamental pillar in consolidating stability and national harmony, and in presenting the national discourse to confront various challenges.”

Pope Leo, during the 10 April meeting, asked Chaldean bishops to remain messengers of peace “in a world marked by absurd and inhumane violence, which, in these times, is driven by greed and hatred.”

The pope said the election of a patriarch is a “time of precious ecclesial discernment,” and said the Chaldean Church carries apostolic traditions “intimately linked to the places of salvation’s origin.”

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Pope Leo XIV offered Mass 14 April at the basilica built near the site where St Augustine died nearly 1,600 years ago, making a deeply personal pilgrimage in the footsteps of St Augustine in Algeria.

“Here the martyrs prayed; here St Augustine loved his flock, fervently seeking the truth and serving Christ with ardent faith,” the pope said in his homily, delivered in French.

“Be heirs to this tradition, bearing witness through fraternal charity to the freedom of those born from above as a hope of salvation for the world.”

Preaching to hundreds of people inside the Basilica of St Augustine, the pope, a member of the Augustinian order who called himself a “son of Augustine” in his first speech as pope from the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica, emphasized Augustine’s dramatic conversion from a restless seeker of truth to one of Christianity’s greatest saints.

A small and very diverse Catholic community carries on Augustine’s legacy in modern Algeria, a nation that is more than 99 per cent Muslim. Attending the Mass were many young Catholics from different African countries who are studying in Algeria.

Before the Mass, Pope Leo visited the nearby archaeological ruins of ancient Hippo Regius, the Roman city where Augustine served as bishop from about A.D. 396 until his death in 430, as Vandal forces besieged its walls.

Arriving in the rain beneath a white umbrella, the pope laid a wreath of flowers, planted a small olive tree and paused in silent prayer before the ancient columns.

He also visited a nursing home adjacent to the basilica run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, where five sisters and a team of volunteers and staff care for approximately 40 elderly residents, the majority of whom are Muslim.

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The Archdiocese of Dubuque is halting weekend Masses at more than 80 parishes across northeastern Iowa this summer as part of a reorganization plan.

The reorganization, which began in September 2024 in response to declining numbers of priests and churchgoers, is now in its third and final phase. The archdiocese will be organized into 24 “pastorates,” or groups of parishes that work closely together and share resources and ministries. Merged parishes will not yet be closed and may still be used for liturgical celebrations such as funerals, weddings, and weekday Masses.

The archdiocese, in which there are about 182,000 Catholics, has only one priest for every two parishes. The reorganization plan is designed to prevent burnout among the 85 priests actively serving in the archdiocese, a number that is expected to continue to decline.

Many dioceses across the United States have taken similar steps to reorganize parishes in recent years, including the archdioceses of St. Louis, Detroit, and Seattle.

‘Stepping forward in courageous honesty’

Archbishop Thomas Zinkula said the new plan was based on “extensive data” from every parish, according to a statement shared with EWTN News.

Mass attendance is down by almost half as of 2006, according to the archdiocese’s numbers. Catholic marriages are down more than 50% over the same time period, while infant baptisms are down by 22%.

“Like many dioceses across the country, we are facing sobering realities,” the archbishop said. “The number of faithful attending Mass has declined by 46% in 20 years and the number of priests available for ministry has been decreasing.”

“Demographic realities, the decline in the number of priests and religious, and the need for priests to serve more than one parish aren’t signs of failure. They are signs of change,” Zinkula said. “And change in the life of the Church has always called the faithful to deeper trust.”

According to the pastorate website, when parishes merge, the assets will transfer to the new parish where the affected parishioners are assigned.

“I envision us not as separate parts, but as one body — stepping forward in courageous honesty,” the archbishop said.

‘In a state of shock’

Zinkula described the archdiocese as “a vast and diverse Church.”

“Our priests and parish communities serve both rural towns and large cities — each with its own history and traditions, yet all united in the one mission of Christ,” he said.

One of the Catholic parishes that will no longer hold weekend Masses come summer is Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Founded in 1858, Immaculate Conception was the first Catholic parish in the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Father Aaron Junge, pastor of Immaculate Conception, told EWTN News: “I am choosing to focus on being with my people in their grief.”

“My people are still in a state of shock, as well as grief, but I have also seen signs of hope and a willingness to consider what new realities God may be inviting us to,” Junge said.

“This weekend, we heard about Jesus meeting the grief and doubt of St. Thomas with access to his wounds, and so it is to those wounds that I am doing my best to point my people with their own,” he said.

Junge said he hopes parishioners in the merger can bring Christ to the downtown area of the city of Cedar Rapids.

“Ultimately, my hope for the future is that the people of Immaculate Conception will join with the other people of our new pastorate to form a community that is greater than the sum of its constitutive parts and be focused on the worship of Our Lord in the sacraments and witnessing to him,” Junge concluded.

Continuing the Gospel mission

Zinkula acknowledged the difficulty of the coming changes while urging parishioners to think of this as a continuation of the Gospel mission.

“Our mission calls us to look beyond what is comfortable and familiar and ask how we can best proclaim the Gospel in the years ahead,” Zinkula said.

“Every parish church is a place where Christ is made present in the Eucharist. A place filled with memories — baptisms, weddings, funerals, and generations of family faith,” he said. “Every Catholic school has sent forth generations of graduates formed in the faith."

“The sacrifice of those who built these institutions — the immigrant families who gave from what little they had to lay a cornerstone, the priests who served faithfully in small rural parishes, the sisters who formed generations in the classroom — isn’t diminished when a building is used infrequently or not at all,” Zinkula continued. “Their sacrifice lives on in the mission we now carry forward.”

The archbishop urged parishioners to remain united throughout the change.

“There are voices and concerns that risk dividing us, particularly around Sunday Mass in some communities,” he said. “Even so, I am confident that, as we remain united in the Holy Spirit and grounded in the Eucharist — wherever we gather for worship — the Lord will bring this process to a good and grace-filled outcome.”

“And so I ask you to continue walking this journey with me — and with one another — with courage and trust,” Zinkula continued. “May we be worthy of the sacrifices of those who have gone before us, by carrying it forward, together, in faith and in mission.”

The U.S. Helsinki Commission examined how the Holy See conducts diplomacy amid growing global polarization and wars on the same day President Donald Trump denounced Pope Leo XIV.

In response to Trump’s social media post Monday calling Leo “terrible for foreign policy” and claiming responsibility for his election to the papacy, Alexander John Paul Lutz, a policy fellow at the Helsinki Commission, said during the April 13 hearing that Leo’s message, and the Holy See’s, is unique from other world powers.

“To all of this, the force, the bellicosity, the transactionalism, the insistence that every actor on the world stage must really be angling for or towards something political, Pope Leo responded with a different vision,” Lutz said.

Citing Leo’s address to the diplomatic corps in January, Lutz emphasized that unlike other global powers, Leo’s message asserts that “the protection of the principle of the inviolability of human dignity and the sanctity of life always counts for more than any mere national interest.”

“These are the grounds on which the Holy See conducts its diplomacy,” Lutz said, noting the Vatican engages all parties, but “never fully endorses any state’s political platform.” Rather, he said, the Holy See “will subject every policy it encounters, including those of the United States, to an intellectual and moral rigor that is likely to improve it,” and “insists on speaking the truth for the record, even when doing so may lead to misunderstanding and scorn.”

“What is clear is that no other state on earth is even attempting to do what the Holy See is trying to do, to address the world as it is while insisting that it answer to something higher than power,” Lutz said.

Victor Gaetan, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, echoed Lutz during his testimony and gave context for the Holy See’s diplomatic approach.

“The Vatican has bilateral relations with 184 nations and operates 124 nunciatures or embassies around the world,” Gaetan said. “The popeʼs right-hand man is the secretary of state, who is typically a diplomat, a priest diplomat. Because the diplomats are priests who take vows of silence regarding what they know, they often approach tasks as pastors, which helps explain why Vatican diplomats are notoriously discreet and why they are willing to meet even with dictators. No one is beyond salvation.”

Gaetan explained that Vatican diplomacy has four dimensions: representation, mediation, preservation, and evangelization. He emphasized mediation as “the most important element in Vatican diplomacy,” highlighting several instances of the Holy See’s success in resolving conflicts between nations.

He also noted Leo’s outspoken advocacy for peace is grounded in “the priorities and pragmatism of his predecessors,” including Pope John Paul II, whom Leo echoed in his recent vigil for piece, saying: “Enough of war!”

“The popeʼs critique of war in Iran and bombing in Lebanon should not be understood as a political,” Gaetan said. “Rather, it is a theological position grounded in what is called ‘just war theory,’ developed by none other than St. Augustine in the early fifth century and studied in all United States military academies.”

For a war to be justified, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it must be waged to fight against a grave evil, the damage caused by waging the war cannot be graver than the evil it is meant to eliminate, there must be a serious prospect of success, and all alternatives to war must have already been tried.

Other panelists at the briefing included Peter G. Martin, a former U.S. diplomat at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, and Jackie Aldrette, executive director of AVSI USA, a humanitarian aid organization that has projects in 41 countries.

Border czar Tom Homan said Roman Catholic Church leaders should “stay out of politics” when questioned about President Donald Trump criticizing Pope Leo XIV.

"I love the Catholic Church. I just wish theyʼd stick to fixing the Church, because thereʼs issues. I know because Iʼm a member. And stay out of politics,
Homan said.

Homan, a Catholic, commented after Trump initiated a direct, personal denunciation of Pope Leo, escalated it publicly, and doubled down in media appearances. Pope Leo responded briefly and calmly, declining to engage in debate and reframing his remarks as moral teaching rather than rebuttal.

Trump had called the pontiff “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy."

Homan said he wished Church leaders would sit down with him to understand his experiences as border czar.

“Maybe theyʼd understand why a secure border saves lives. A secure borderʼs the most humane thing this country can do,” Homan said.

More Catholic bishops respond

Several American Catholic bishops have responded to Trumpʼs criticism, defending Pope Leo XIV.

Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez defended Leoʼs role in preaching “the Gospel of peace.”

“Pope Leo XIV has consistently spoken with clarity and compassion with calls for peaceful resolutions to complex challenges in a manner that upholds the sanctity and dignity of all human life as our world continues to be afflicted with division, conflict, and suffering,” he said. “Both the pope and his message deserve respect and admiration.”

Earlier, Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, called Trumpʼs comments “disrespectful” and urged the president to apologize. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said he was “disheartened” by the comments.

Archbishop Mark S. Rivituso of Mobile, Alabama, said in a statement posted to social media that he echoes the views Coakley expressed and added that he affirms the popeʼs role “as a spiritual leader who speaks from the Gospel and for the care of souls.”

"I encourage all the faithful to be one with the Holy Father in praying for and witnessing to the Gospel of Christ’s peace and care for all peoples," he said. "I ask for all to pray for our president and all in public office to work for a greater peace and justice in our world.”

Pope Leo XIV visits the city of Annaba on his second day in Algeria, visiting the places where Saint Augustine carried out his ministry as Bishop of Hippo.

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The traveling “People of Hope Museum” by Catholic Charities USA is sharing the transformative power of Christian service in a sprawling tour across the country.

Catholic Charities announced the 2026-2027 tour in April 2025 after it received a $5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment as part of its Christian Storytelling Initiative.

When considering what stories the charitable organization would like to tell, Catholic Charities USA Vice President for Communications Kevin Brennan told “EWTN News Nightly” on April 10: “Ultimately, it was the story of the people, the men and women of the Catholic Charities network, staff, and volunteers, and the profound and merciful service work that they perform day in and day out.”

The purpose, he said, is “to tell the story through their perspective, which is a bit of a change from how we would normally do it, and to show the rest of us around the country the profound impact this service has not only on the one being served but on the person doing the service.”

The exhibit, housed in a retrofitted tractor-trailer, contains 42 stories from Catholic Charities staff serving around the country, each “telling the story of the one person or one family whom they have served through their work who had the most profound impact on them,” Brennan said.

“The stories call the rest of us who experience the museum to act in kind, to find ways in ways big and small, to help our neighbors and to serve as the Gospel calls us to,” he said.

The museum also has a “poverty simulator,” according to Brennan, where participants take on the persona of someone “living on the margins” and “experience the types of decisions they make.”

The experience, Brennan said, helps participants to grow in “understanding and empathy” for those living in poverty.

In addition, the museum has an interactive data wall on poverty and other challenges facing Americans across the country as well as a learning library and recording booth to record reactions to the museum “and talk about those who give you hope in your life.”

The museum will travel through 21 states, from Texas to Ohio and from Maine to Florida, mostly in the eastern half of the United States, by December.

“Weʼre going to be all over the country for the next two and a half years,” Brennan said, noting the schedule for 2026 is available to view while dates for 2027 will be announced soon.

People from around the world gather at the Basilica of Saint Augustine in Annaba for Holy Mass with Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, 14 April, during the first leg of his Apostolic Journey in Africa.

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Pope Leo XIV toured several major religious sites in Algeria on April 13 and 14, visiting with the local Catholic community and meeting with Islamic dignitaries during the first leg of his papal trip to Africa.

The Holy Father is scheduled to continue his visit with trips to Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon on his first apostolic journey to the continent lasting April 13–23.

Here is a look at the popeʼs time in Algeria in photos:

Nearly four years after Catholic father of seven and pro-life activist Mark Houck was arrested at gunpoint, he and his wife won a settlement of more than $1 million from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The Houck home, located in rural eastern Pennsylvania, was raided by 20 armed federal agents in the early hours of the morning on Sept. 23, 2022. Houck was arrested in front of his family and interrogated for six hours.

Houck and his wife, Ryan-Marie, sued the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in November 2023 after Houck was acquitted in January of that same year of the incident that prompted the raid.

While praying at a Planned Parenthood facility in October 2021, Houck had defended his 12-year-old son during an altercation with an aggressive, elderly Planned Parenthood volunteer.

Upon his arrest, Houck was charged with alleged violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a 1994 federal law that protects access to abortion services and places of worship. If convicted, Houck faced up to 11 years in federal prison and up to $350,000 in fines. Under the Biden administration, many pro-life activists were charged with violating the FACE Act in what the Justice Department now claims was a weaponization of the law.

In the lawsuit, the Houcks alleged that they and their children suffered post-traumatic stress, economic loss, and loss of reputation after the event. They also said their children suffered from intense anxiety, constant fear of losing their parents, and inability to sleep, and that the stress from the trial led Ryan-Marie to have three miscarriages and receive an infertility diagnosis.

‘Huge victory for free speech'

Two organizations involved in the case are celebrating the victory as a win for the pro-life movement and for freedom of speech.

40 Days for Life President Shawn Carney called the win a “huge legal victory for free speech, not just for pro-life Americans,” in a video statement.

“Itʼs a huge victory for all Americans who want our right to speak our minds peacefully in a law-abiding way without fear of our own government,” Carney said.

Peter Breen, Thomas More Society executive vice president and head of litigation, said the organization was “thrilled with the outcome.”

“The Biden Department of Justice’s intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith has been put in its place,” Breen said.

“We took on Goliath — the full might of the United States government — and won,” Breen said. “The jury saw through and rejected the prosecution’s discriminatory case, which was harassment from Day 1. This is a win for Mark and the entire pro-life movement.”

Carney said the victory was a “long shot.”

“They have a 98% conviction rate at the DOJ, so heʼs part of the 2% that got acquitted,” Carney said. “And then to go on offense and to say, weʼre not going to stand for this from our government, and to sue them, and for them to settle and win is a huge, huge victory.”

Carney said that, as pro-lifers, “we got so much persecution from the DOJ under Biden, and President Trump has corrected that.”

“It has been absolutely night and day. Under Biden, at one point, we were getting one to two inquiries from the FBI per week at different 40 Days for Life locations,” Carney said. “This is absolutely ridiculous, and that has stopped, and we have been victorious in our lawsuit against the DOJ.”

“So, be not afraid, go out, peacefully pray to end abortion,” Carney concluded.

The Spanish-language editor of the Italian writer and apologist Vittorio Messori, who passed away this past Good Friday, revealed the keys to the Italian writerʼs literary success and the secret behind a heroic life lived out of love for the Church.

The relationship between editor Álex del Rosal and Messori, one of the most successful Catholic writers of the last half-century, began in 1993, when the publishing house Planeta embraced del Rosalʼs idea to launch “Planeta Testimonio.”

The idea was to collect Catholic books that offered “engaging themes and authors that would consistently appeal to everyone from the student to the shopkeeper to the taxi driver,” del Rosal said in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

With this goal in mind, del Rosal contacted Messori and proposed compiling his articles from the “Vivaio” column in the newspaper Avvenire into a book. In that column, Messori often defended the Catholic Church. The result was the bestseller “Black Legends of the Church.”

Other titles followed, and in 1984, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was still prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Messori conducted a lengthy and candid interview with the future Pope Benedict XVI. Published in 1985 as “The Ratzinger Report,” the book became an international bestseller. The two men remained friends over the years.

Messori achieved another historic milestone in 1994 with “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” a book-length interview with St. John Paul II. He was the only journalist ever commissioned to prepare questions for such a project with the pontiff. John Paul II personally wrote detailed written responses to Messori’s questions, and the resulting volume became one of the most successful papal bestsellers in history.

Del Rosal, who described Messori as “extraordinary and deeply human,”  maintained a friendship with the Italian writer that spanned more than three decades and lasted till his death on April 3.

The Spanish editor shared in an interview with ACI Prensa some key insights into Messoriʼs work and life.

The secret behind his heroic life

Beyond Messoriʼs public image as a friend of popes and a world-renowned author, del Rosal revealed a little-known aspect of the writerʼs life that, in many ways, defined him even more profoundly as a son of the Church. “It was the great cross that Vittorio bore in profound silence,” the editor remarked.

While he was still an agnostic, Messori entered into a canonical marriage with a young woman. Shortly thereafter, they separated, and he initiated the process to have the marriage declared null — a process that lasted two decades.

In that time, the writer met the woman who would remain his wife until his death: Rosanna Brichetti. The two met within the circles of Pro Civitate Christiana, a group founded in Assisi in 1939 by Father Giovanni Rossi, characterized by a great openness toward the secular world.

Messori disclosed his canonical situation to Brichetti with complete candor. "For 20 years," del Rosal said, "he lived with Rosanna in chastity — together, like brother and sister — in a truly heroic manner, precisely because he was so serious about living out his faith.”

The annulment process lasted from 1975 to 1995. The first ruling, which affirmed the validity of the marriage, came in Turin; the second, in Milan. It was only after his appeal to Rome that he finally received the response he had been hoping for from the Church: His first marriage was declared null.

During one of his visits to Messori, del Rosal discussed this matter with the writer: “He would say to me with great pain: ‘I am convinced. First, my conscience tells me that that first marriage is null and void. Second, I am almost certain that my success has slowed down this proceeding and made things more difficult for me.’”

“Thirdly — I, who am friends with Cardinal Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who oversees these matters, and with the pope [St. John Paul II], who is ultimately the one who can also make the decision — nevertheless, I do not wish to use my friendship for a matter of this nature,” the editor recalled.

“Vittorio’s greatest attribute is not his literary success, nor his apologetic work, nor even how formidable he was in his defense of the Church; rather, it is the immense heroism he displayed in loving the Church despite — one might say — having been mistreated,” del Rosal said.

‘A writer’s master is his readers’

Messori was one of the most successful Catholic authors in recent decades, selling "somewhere between 30 and 40 million copies of his various works worldwide,” del Rosal noted.

Part of this success was based on a maxim he upheld not merely in theory, but through great personal effort: “He was the writer who most earnestly lived out his own words: ‘A writer’s master is his readers. Therefore, one must always answer them,’” del Rosal recalled.

With the help of his wife, Rosanna, Messori replied to every one of the more than 100 letters that arrived in his mailbox each week, until the use of email became widespread.

Speak to the seeker, not the convinced

Another of Messori’s strengths was that he addressed himself “not to the convinced Catholic, but to the seeker, to the one asking questions, even if they were at the opposite ends of ideological or doctrinal positions.” Messori himself was raised in a communist and deeply anticlerical family. It is not without reason that his mother, upon learning of his conversion, “wanted to send him to a psychiatrist,” the editor added.

This approach was evident in the publication of his first book, “Hypothesis About Jesus," for which he asked prominent Italian Communist Party member Lucio Lombardo Radice, an agnostic, to write the prologue.

“He didn’t write or speak for a closed circle within the Catholic Church; rather, he sought to address every type of audience,” del Rosal emphasized.

Every morning in the small Italian town on the shores of Lake Garda, Desenzano del Garda, Messoriʼs work routine involved visiting what he called the “center of the town’s opinion,“ a bar where ”the television was on and people chatted about this and that. While having breakfast and reading the newspaper, he would listen to the people’s conversations. This gave him a great deal of inspiration for taking the pulse of public opinion,” del Rosal said.

The balance between reason and the Holy Spirit

Messori’s manner of expression “maintained a balance between the two lungs of the Church: the Spirit and reason,” according to the editor.

Messori really disliked “the terminology of the Vaticanologist” and rejected that label, despite having interviewed two pontiffs. To him, the Vaticanologist “is incapable of moving beyond merely gazing at the exterior of the vessel containing the deposit of faith” and concerns himself solely “with superficial or flashy matters.”

“He always approached apologetics from the standpoint of reasoned faith, not morality. He argued that when morality is proclaimed without first having presented the faith, the result is not acceptance, but rejection,” del Rosal explained.

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.

ANNABA, Algeria — Pope Leo XIV concluded his visit to the land of St. Augustine by celebrating Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba, where he said the Church is continually reborn when it brings hope to the despairing, dignity to the poor, and reconciliation where there is conflict.

The basilica, dedicated to the bishop of ancient Hippo, was built between 1881 and 1907 at the initiative of Algiers Archbishop Charles-Martial-Allemand Lavigerie and was elevated to the rank of minor basilica on April 24, 1914, by Pope Pius X. Restoration work was completed in 2013, with support that included a personal donation from Pope Benedict XVI.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the Gospel account of Jesus’ nighttime encounter with Nicodemus, presenting it as a summons to renewal for the whole Church and especially for Algeria’s Christian community.

“Today we listen to the Gospel, the good news for all time, in this basilica in Annaba dedicated to St. Augustine, bishop of the ancient city of Hippo,” the pope said. “Over the centuries, the names of the places that welcome us have changed, but the saints continue to serve as our patrons and faithful witnesses of a connection to the land that comes from heaven.”

Leo said Jesus’ words to Nicodemus — “You must be born from above” — are not a burden but an invitation to freedom and new life in God.

“Such is the invitation for every man and woman who seeks salvation!” he said. “Jesus’ invitation gives rise to the mission of the whole Church, and consequently to the Christian community in Algeria: to be born again from above, that is, from God. In this perspective, faith overcomes earthly hardships and the Lord’s grace makes the desert blossom.”

The pope acknowledged that Christ’s command can sound impossible at first but said it reveals God’s power to renew human life.

“On the contrary, the obligation expressed by Jesus is a gift of freedom for us, because it reveals an unexpected possibility: We can be born anew from above thanks to God,” Leo said. “We should do so, then, according to his loving will, which desires to renew humanity by calling us to a communion of life that begins with faith. While Christ invites us to renew our lives completely, he also gives us the strength to do so.”

He then asked whether life can truly begin again and answered with hope rooted in the cross and Resurrection.

“Yes! The Lord’s response, so full of love, fills our hearts with hope,” the pope said. “No matter how weighed down we are by pain or sin: The crucified One carries all these burdens with us and for us. No matter how discouraged we are by our own weaknesses: It is precisely then that God manifests his strength, the God who has raised Christ from the dead in order to give life to the world.”

“Each one of us can experience the freedom of new life that comes from faith in the Redeemer,” he added. “Once again, St. Augustine offers us an example of this: We revere him for his conversion even more than for his wisdom.”

Turning to the Acts of the Apostles, Leo said the life of the early Church remains the model for genuine ecclesial reform.

“Even today, we must embrace this apostolic rule and put it into practice, meditating on it as an authentic criterion for ecclesial reform: a reform that must begin in the heart, if it is to be genuine, and must encompass everyone if it is to be effective,” he said.

The pope said the first Christian community was not founded on a merely human agreement but on communion in Christ.

“The early Church, therefore, was not based on a social contract but rather on the harmony of faith, affections, ideas, and life decisions centered on the love of God who became man to save all the peoples of the earth,” he said.

That unity, he said, must bear fruit in charity, especially amid poverty and oppression.

“Therefore, in the face of poverty and oppression, the guiding principle above all for Christians is charity: Let us do to those around us, as we would have them do to us,” Leo said. “Inspired by this law, inscribed in our hearts by God, the Church is continually reborn, for where there is despair she kindles hope, where there is misery she brings dignity, and where there is conflict she brings reconciliation.”

Addressing bishops and priests, the pope said pastors are called above all to bear witness to God without fear or compromise.

“The primary task of pastors as ministers of the Gospel is therefore to bear witness to God before the world with one heart and one soul, not permitting our concerns to lead us astray through fear, nor trends to undermine us through compromise,” he said.

“Together with you, brothers in the episcopate and the priesthood, let us constantly renew this mission for the sake of those entrusted to us, so that through her service, the whole Church may be a message of new life for those we encounter,” he added.

In his closing appeal, Leo addressed Algeria’s Christians directly, praising their fidelity and urging them to continue witnessing to the Gospel in ordinary life.

“Dearest Christians of Algeria, you remain a humble and faithful sign of Christ’s love in this land,” he said. “Bear witness to the Gospel through simple gestures, genuine relationships, and a dialogue lived out day by day: In this way, you bring flavor and light to the places where you live.”

He also praised their perseverance through hardship and invoked the example of the martyrs and of St. Augustine.

“Your history is one of generous hospitality and resilience in times of trial,” the pope said. “Here the martyrs prayed; here St. Augustine loved his flock, fervently seeking the truth and serving Christ with ardent faith. Be heirs to this tradition, bearing witness through fraternal charity to the freedom of those born from above as a hope of salvation for the world.”

Several cardinals concelebrated the Mass with the pope, including Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, archbishop of Algiers; Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, archbishop of Rabat; and curial cardinals Pietro Parolin, George Koovakad, Luis Antonio Tagle, Peter Turkson, and Robert Sarah. Also among the concelebrants were Archbishop Paul Gallagher and Father Joseph Farrell, prior general of the Augustinians.

Before the Mass, the pope visited the Augustinian community house and later had lunch with his confreres.

At the end of the celebration, Bishop Michel Jean-Paul Guillaud of Constantine offered words of thanks to the pope.

“Holy Father, your visit to this place, a source of your Augustinian roots, was brief, but it was an encouragement for us,” Guillaud said. “First of all, it strengthened our Christian community in its faith and in its trust in the goodwill and respect of the Algerian people. We could not have welcomed you without the support and active collaboration of the authorities and the joyful hospitality of our Algerian brothers and sisters.”

The exchange of gifts followed: The pope received a ceramic work made by an Algerian artist, and he in turn gave a chalice.

Leo then offered brief words of thanks of his own.

“This journey has been for me a particular gift of God’s providence, a gift that the Lord has wished to make to the whole Church,” the pope said. “And it seems to me that I can sum it up this way: God is love; he is the Father of all men and women. Let us return to God with humility…”

He continued: “We acknowledge that the current situation of the world is caught in a negative spiral that ultimately depends on our pride. We need him, we need his mercy, because only in him is the peace of the human heart found, and with him we will all be able to live together.”

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

A priest in Chicago has resigned after the archdiocese found that he misused parish funds for “personal expenses,” Cardinal Blase Cupich told parishioners this month.

Cupich told St. John Henry Newman Parish in Evanston that the archdiocese had launched a review of the parishʼs finances on March 30 amid “serious questions” about the parishʼs “fiscal administration.”

The prelate said in an April 10 letter to the parish that the review found Father Kenneth Anderson “violated a number of core archdiocesan policies pertaining to the proper exercise of good stewardship of parish resources.”

Among the reported violations included “the creation and maintenance of a separate bank account into which he deposited substantial parish funds,” Cupich said.

Some of those funds “were used to cover costs unrelated to parish needs including his personal expenses.”

Anderson resigned after being presented with the findings of the report, Cupich said. The priest also “accepted [Cupichʼs] instruction that, when the full accounting is complete, he is to make restitution for any funds clearly identified as covering his personal expenses.”

The archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the total amount of funds reportedly misused at the parish.

Cupich in his letter said Father Wayne Watts, the pastor of Sts. Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in nearby Wilmette, oversaw the administration of St. John Henry Newman Parishʼs finances during the review process.

The archbishop further said that he had asked the archdiocesan placement board to recommend a new pastor for the parish by July 1.

Retired priest Father Gerald Gunderson will serve as parish administrator until the new pastor is appointed, Cupich said.

The parish was formed in 2022 after the merging of Sts. Athanasius and Joan of Arc parishes as part of the archdiocesan Renew My Faith campaign.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Thousands of pro-life marchers filled the streets of Prague on Saturday, April 11, for the Czech Republicʼs annual March for Life, though organizers say police restrictions on crowd access to the eventʼs main gathering point significantly depressed turnout.

The event began with a Mass in St. Vitus Cathedral, where around 2,000 people gathered before joining the pro-life march. Archbishop Emeritus Jan Graubner of Prague said in his homily that “the path to the revival of the Church and society is not possible without the revival of families.”

Graubner praised a culture based on love, “which does not live for itself,” on the acceptance of the Holy Spirit, interior freedom, and forgiveness.

Some resist this culture, Graubner acknowledged, saying that they “consider their own self to be the center and summit of everything.” Such a perspective “encloses in bubbles and creates boundaries,” he said, adding that it also “causes poverty because there is a lack of love that can divide.”

It “threatens peace because there is a lack of love that seeks the good of others,” he continued. Finally, it “leads to depression because there is a lack of hope for eternity and the disappointed person experiences” that “he is not the omnipotent god he had” thought, Graubner concluded.

Counterprotesters and police response

Pro-abortion protesters attempted to block the marchers, screaming and accusing them of denying women the right to choose. Police arrested five people, but no serious incident occurred. Last year, pro-abortion demonstrators blocked the march at one point, so this time participants walked through the city in separate groups to avoid a repeat disruption.

Typically, the number of marchers doubles once they reach Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí), one of the cityʼs main squares, where the programʼs final portion takes place. This year, however, police blocked the square and allowed entry only to those who insisted on getting in — a barrier that was especially difficult for families with small children. As a result, the total number of participants was hard to estimate, and the turnout in Wenceslas Square was much lower than expected.

The organizer, Hnutí Pro život ČR (Movement for Life of the Czech Republic), told EWTN News that it is considering a legal complaint against the police department.

“The leadership of local police disabled a public gathering for which the public has a right,” the organizer said. The group stressed that the march is held to show support for women facing unexpected pregnancies, adding: “We welcome among us even those with another viewpoint.”

However, those responsible lacked the "political will" to secure the march by blocking the square, while letting “the radicals run wild and intimidate the participants," the organizer said.

The press office of the Police of the Czech Republic wrote to EWTN News that it has “no information suggesting that the police officers acted improperly in any way.” The Regional Directorate of Police in Prague did not respond to an enquiry for comment.