U.S. dioceses observe Child Abuse Prevention Month
Dioceses nationwide are observing National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Cardinal Blase Cupich and Bishop Barry Knestout are urging renewed vigilance and commitment to the protection of children.
In a video message on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cupich reflected with gratitude on the bishops’ adoption of the 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” while Knestout separately emphasized April as a time for prayer, education, and recommitment to the well‑being of the young.
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Cupich described the bishops’ enactment of the 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” in the video as “something important and that I’m really proud of.”
“When I look back at the 50 years of being a priest and 27 years as a bishop, one of the things that I am so pleased happened during my time was a means by which the Church would come together in this country and protect and defend those who suffered abuse,” the Chicago archbishop said.
“I was the chair of the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People but also was involved in the 2002 moment in which, in Dallas, we enacted the charter,” Cupich said.
“And then, of course, when we released the studies by the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, I was the chair of that committee,” he said.
“So, I think that is an important contribution for the life of the Church that I really embrace as something important and that Iʼm proud of,” he said.
Cupich was serving on the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse in 2002 when the abuse crisis hit and was part of the group that helped draft the charter. The Ad Hoc Committee was established in 1993 by the then-National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) after the conference had been “dealing with the subject of sexual abuse by clergy since the mid-1980s.”
The 2002 charter mandated the creation of a permanent USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, which Cupich led from 2008 to 2011.
A call for vigilance
“In the protection of children and young people from abuse, it is important for all of us who work or minister to youth to remain vigilant in our efforts of protection and education,” Knestout, who serves as chair of the committee, told EWTN News.
“This annual reminder to recommit and refocus our attention on the physical, intellectual, and spiritual well-being of the young is also an important reminder that, as we continue to walk with survivors in their healing, we are called to continual improvement,” he said.
Knestout noted that each April, dioceses are called to observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month “by praying for victim survivors and their families.”
“We do this in different ways, such as at Mass, or with a special rosary with these intentions,” he said. “Protecting children and youth is a vital part of the Church’s ongoing ministry throughout the year, but April provides us with an occasion for our diocesan safe environment office to share information about our child protection practices with the people of the diocese, ensuring that it remains a core value for our ministry.”
The USCCB’s poster from the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for National Child Abuse Prevention Month 2026 includes messages such as “Every Child Matters — Make a Difference,” as well as “Let’s stand up for children!” and “Learn how we can all keep children safe.”
Bishop urges ‘return to Christian values’ after shooting at Mexican pyramid
In the wake of a shooting on April 20 at the Teotihuacán archaeological site in Mexico, which resulted in two deaths and 13 injuries, Bishop Guillermo Francisco Escobar Galicia of Teotihuacán expressed his sorrow, called for prayers, and issued an urgent appeal to “reaffirm Christian values within families.”
“We deeply lament that this has occurred as a consequence of the loss of a sense of the meaning of life and the failure to recognize the other as a brother,” the bishop stated in a press release.
According to a statement from the Security Cabinet, the body responsible for the countryʼs security strategy, “a man fired shots at the scene and subsequently took his own life.”
“Regrettably, a Canadian woman lost her life, and as of now there are reports of several individuals who sustained injuries and are currently receiving medical attention. A firearm, a bladed weapon, and unspent ammunition were secured at the scene,” the statement said.
According to the Security Cabinet, the 13 people injured, two of whom are minors aged 6 and 13, are foreign nationals: six from the United States, three from Colombia, one from Canada, one from Russia, one from the Netherlands, and one from Brazil. As of the latest report, “eight remain hospitalized.”
The office of the attorney general of Mexico state identified Julio César Jasso Ramírez, a Mexican national, as the alleged assailant.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated April 20 on X that “what occurred today in Teotihuacán pains us deeply. I express my most sincere solidarity with those affected and their families. We are in contact with the Canadian Embassy.”
“I have instructed the Security Cabinet to thoroughly investigate these events and provide all necessary support,” she stated.
The federal attorney generalʼs office stated that it is carrying out “the necessary investigative steps to clarify what occurred, in coordination with the attorney generalʼs office of Mexico state.”
Located approximately 25 miles northeast of Mexico City, the Teotihuacán archaeological site, which includes the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, is the second-most-visited site in Mexico after Chichén Itzá in Yucatán state. According to official figures from the Secretariat of Tourism, 1.8 million tourists visited Teotihuacán during 2025.
Look to Jesus Christ
In his statement, Escobar called upon all Catholic faithful “to lift up our prayers for those who have lost their lives, as well as for all those who are going astray, that they may be profoundly reconciled with God and with others.”
“Today, more than ever, we need to look to Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, to return to Christian values within our families,” he said.
“May Mary Most Holy accompany and soothe the pain of those suffering the loss of a loved one and of those who have gone through this bitter experience,” the prelate prayed.
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.
PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV visits Equatorial Guinea as Africa visit draws to a close
Pope Leo XIV met with civic leaders and cultural stewards in Equatorial Guinea on April 21, coming to the coastal African nation after traveling across much of the continent during his first papal visit there.
The Holy Fatherʼs two-day stay in Equatorial Guinea will cap his visit to Africa, during which he has visited and toured Algeria, Cameroon, and Angola.
During his first day in Equatorial Guinea, Leo met with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo along with civil leaders and the countryʼs diplomatic corps.
He also visited with cultural leaders and with staff and patients at a psychiatric hospital in Malabo.
Hereʼs a look at Leoʼs activities during his first day in Equatorial Guinea:
Catholic Charities launches ad campaign to ‘love your neighbor’ through volunteer work
Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) launched an advertising campaign encouraging Catholics to love and serve their neighbors with volunteer work with local CCUSA agencies.
“Often we think of a neighbor as just someone who lives nearby, but itʼs more than simple geography,” a new 30-second video advertisement states.
“Being a neighbor is how you show up in moments of need, when things are unsure, when small acts can be huge, and youʼre a light in someoneʼs darkest moment, showing up again and again to faithfully serve,” the advertisement adds. “Thatʼs a neighbor. Be the hope around the corner in your neighborhood nationwide.”
According to a news release, CCUSA has 169 affiliates in the country and serves more than 16 million people every year.
CCUSA Vice President for Communications Kevin Brennan told EWTN News the organization launched the advertisements because volunteers are “the backbone of the work of the Catholic Charities network across the country.”
“There’s always more need, and so it is a priority for us at [CCUSA] and for agencies across the country to encourage people to volunteer,” he said.
Brennan said specific services vary depending on location to “respond to the specific needs of those most in need in their local communities.” The largest service, he said, is to “feed hungry people” through food pantries or other services such as delivering meals to homebound seniors.
Services also include support for those with developmental disabilities, accompanying pregnant mothers in need, and financial counseling for veterans looking to enter the workforce or change careers, among other things.
He said CCUSA “really serves virtually any category of a person in need that you can think of” and any person “can contact your local Catholic Charities agency and learn how you can get involved.”
Brennan said each agency is united in the core mission to “live out the Gospel call to love your neighbor and serve those most in need.” He said doing volunteer work also “benefits the one doing the service.”
“We know [serving your neighbor is] critical to being a well-rounded person [and] to being a well-rounded Catholic,” he said.
According to the news release, the first round of advertisements will run until the end of May, and another two phases will run in the summer and fall. They will appear on Catholic media, other Christian media, and secular national media outlets. They will also run on podcasts and digital publications.
CCUSA will run advertisements in both English and Spanish media.
“Inspired by the merciful, selfless acts of service undertaken each day by the staff and volunteers of the Catholic Charities network, this campaign calls all of us to find ways, big and small, to offer assistance and accompaniment to those struggling in our midst,” CCUSA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson said in a statement.
“By following the Gospel call to love and serve our neighbors, we can strengthen our communities, our world, and ourselves,” she said.
The campaign was launched in conjunction with CCUSA’s launch of the traveling museum People of Hope, which celebrates Christian service with stories of faith-based acts of charity.
The museum’s nationwide tour began in late March. It offers an exhibit with 42 stories from CCUSA staff serving around the country and an interactive data wall on poverty and other challenges.
Devotees flock to shrine of ‘the Lady who calls’ in Philippines for coronation centenary
MANAOAG, Pangasinan — For Salvacion Peralta, devotion to the Blessed Mother has been a constant companion beginning in her childhood in San Carlos City in the Philippines to her new life thousands of miles away in San Diego, California.
A native of Pangasinan, Peralta grew up with a deep love for Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, affectionately called by devotees “Apo Baket,” a local term that literally means “Old Lady” but conveys deep reverence for the Blessed Mother as a venerable matriarch.
After marrying her husband, a serviceman in the United States Navy, Peralta relocated to California, where they began raising their family. Despite the distance from her homeland, Peralta said her Marian devotion remained central to her life, especially during moments of suffering.
Her faith was put to the test when doctors diagnosed her with malignant tumors in her thyroid. During that difficult period, she turned constantly to prayer before a replica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag enshrined at her parish church in San Diego.
“There was no single day that I didn’t pray to Our Lady of Manaoag and to Our Lord Jesus, who is really our healer,” Peralta recalled.
After undergoing a series of medical tests, she said her physician was surprised when a subsequent biopsy showed no trace of cancer.
According to Peralta, she initially kept both her diagnosis and her healing private. But her story eventually came to light when a fellow Filipino-American parishioner approached her one day after Mass saying she had dreamt of the Blessed Mother inviting her to visit her shrine in Manaoag.
The parishioner shared that she had purchased a plane ticket to the Philippines for the visit. Peralta, who had also quietly arranged a trip with her husband to give thanks for her healing, was struck by the unexpected confirmation.
News of her recovery quickly spread within the close-knit Filipino Catholic community in San Diego, and she soon found herself sharing her testimony with fellow Marian devotees.
On April 22, Peralta and her husband will be among the millions of pilgrims in Pangasinan marking the centenary of the canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, enshrined at the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag.
A canonical coronation is a formal act of the pope typically expressed through a papal decree or bull that bestows the pontifical right to “crown” a specific, highly venerated image of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or St. Joseph.
A devotion rooted in centuries of faith
The devotion to the Lady of Manaoag traces its origins to a reported apparition in 1605 when a farmer is said to have seen the Blessed Mother holding the Child Jesus atop a tree located on the present-day site of the basilica.
According to long-standing tradition, the farmer heard a voice calling him by name. Following the sound, he saw a radiant cloud resting on a leafy tree. From there, the Blessed Mother identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary and asked that a shrine be built in that place so that the faithful could come to seek her maternal protection.
Word of the apparition spread quickly among neighboring communities, drawing pilgrims to the site. Over time, the area came to be known as “Manaoag,” a term derived from the local expression “Dimad Virgen ya Mantataoag,” meaning “to the place where the Virgin calls.”
Missionary activity in the region was first undertaken by Augustinian missionaries who accompanied Ferdinand Magellanʼs expedition. Later, administration of the mission was entrusted to the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), whose members eventually built the church dedicated to the Blessed Mother.
The centuries-old ivory image of the Virgin Mary housed in the basilica has since become one of the most beloved Marian images in the Philippines. Devotees widely attribute to her powerful intercession countless testimonies of healing, protection, and answered prayers.
The image was solemnly crowned in April 1926 by Archbishop Guglielmo Piani, then the apostolic delegate of Pope Pius XI to the Philippines, in recognition of the deep and enduring devotion of the faithful.
Centennial celebration of faith
The centenary celebration marks a historic milestone for Filipino Catholics and Marian devotees worldwide.
Father Felix Legaspi III, OP, basilica rector, said in a statement that the celebration commemorates a century of faith and grace experienced by pilgrims who continue to entrust their lives to the Blessed Mother.
“This historic celebration marks 100 years of faith, devotion, and grace for countless pilgrims and devotees who frequent the shrine of the Blessed Mother, asking for her unwavering help and intercession,” he said.
A series of novena Masses is being held in preparation for the April 22 commemorative liturgy marking 100 years since the 1926 canonical coronation.
The solemn pontifical Mass will be presided over by Archbishop Charles John Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, and concelebrated with Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas. Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila, will be the homilist. National and local dignitaries are also expected to attend the celebration.
A devotion shared across oceans
Devotion to the Lady of Manaoag continues to flourish not only in the Philippines but also among Filipino communities abroad.
Peralta is one of many Filipino-American devotees who helped establish associations in the U.S. dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, including the Devotees of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag-San Diego.
The group gathers annually to celebrate the Blessed Mother’s feast in May at San Rafael Parish in San Diego as well as during October, the month traditionally dedicated to the holy rosary.
This year, many Filipino-American pilgrims have traveled to Manaoag to join people from across the Philippines and around the world to honor “the lady who calls.”
For Peralta, returning to the shrine is more than a pilgrimage — it is an act of gratitude.
Her story, like those of countless others, reflects a faith rooted in trust and sustained by prayer — a devotion that continues to draw generations of believers to the shrine where, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary once called her people to come.
Pope Leo XIV at psychiatric hospital: ‘God loves us just as we are’
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea — Visiting a psychiatric hospital on Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV said a truly humane society is measured not by how it hides weakness but by how it surrounds the vulnerable with love and stressed that God loves each person “just as we are” while desiring their healing and restoration.
“Whenever I visit a hospital, I have mixed feelings: on the one hand, I feel sorrow for the patients and their families. On the other, I admire and am comforted by all that is done there each day to serve human life,” the pope said in an address delivered in Spanish. “I feel the same way here, but today, I find — and I hope the same is true for you — that joy prevails. It is the joy of meeting in the name of the Lord and of caring for those who are in frail health.”
The late-afternoon event was marked by songs, dancing, and testimonies from both the hospital’s director and a patient, Pedro Celestino Nzerem Koose. A moving poem by a former patient was also recited.
The Jean-Pierre Olié Psychiatric Hospital, with its six pavilions, represents a major development in the treatment of mental illness in Equatorial Guinea, where psychiatric disorders were historically neglected. Founded in 2014, it is the country’s first modern center of its kind and has become a symbol of the national commitment to integrating patients into society, with large green spaces and rehabilitation areas built into the complex.
At the end of 2025, the hospital formalized a cooperation agreement with Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris. In December of that same year, the complex inaugurated a new pavilion and was subsequently named posthumously after the noted French psychiatrist Jean-Pierre Olié, who died in 2023 and whose contribution was instrumental to the project’s development.
The pontiff was welcomed by the hospital’s director, Bechir Ben Hadj Ali, and the facility’s deputy director, who presented him with a bouquet of flowers. Together they proceeded to the main courtyard, where patients and staff had gathered.
“Our mission is clear: to provide care grounded in science, founded on ethics, and guided by a profound respect for the human person. We work to combat stigma, strengthen professional training, support families, and integrate mental health into our country’s public policies,” the director said in the pope’s presence.
In his own remarks, patient Pedro Celestino also expressed gratitude, saying: “We especially thank the first lady of the nation, Mrs. Constancia Mangue Nsue Okomo, patron of our hospital and of the most vulnerable people in the country.”
Leo then cited the director’s earlier words.
“The director said: ‘A truly great society is not one that hides its weaknesses but one that surrounds them with love.’ Yes, that is true,” the pope said. “This is a principle of a civilization with Christian roots, for in the course of human history Christ came to redeem and restore to full dignity those who suffer from the stigma of disability.”
“However, the Savior does not wish to, nor can he, save us without our cooperation, both on a personal and a social level. Therefore, he asks us to love our brothers and sisters not just in words but also in deeds. A facility such as this, with God’s help and everyone’s commitment, can become a sign of the civilization of love,” he said.
Referring to Pedro Celestino’s testimony, Leo highlighted the patient’s final words: “Thank you for loving us just as we are.”
“Thank you for your witness!” the pope replied. “Yes, God loves us just as we are. In reality, only God truly loves us just as we are, but he does not intend for us to stay that way! No, God does not want us to remain sick forever; he wants to heal us!”
“This is seen in the Gospel time and again. Jesus came to love us just as we are, yet he does not want us to stay that way, but rather to care for us!” he continued. “A hospital, especially one with a Christian mission, is a place where a person is welcomed just as they are and respected in their frailty, so that they can be helped to get better according to a holistic vision.”
Leo added that the spiritual dimension of care is essential and said he was pleased that the director had emphasized that point.
He also thanked former patient Tarcisio for his poem, saying that in a place like the hospital, many hidden “poems” are composed every day “not with words, but with small gestures, with thoughtfulness and kindness in your relationships with one another.”
“It is a poem that only God can fully read and which consoles the merciful heart of Christ,” he said.
The pope closed by asking those present to convey his closeness to all the sick in the hospital, “especially those who are most seriously ill and most alone,” and entrusted patients, health care workers, and staff to the protection of Mary, Health of the Sick.
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.
March for Life in Warsaw commemorates 1,060 years of Christianity in Poland
Thousands of people gathered in Poland’s capital on April 19 for the National March for Life, a large public demonstration organized under the slogan “Faith and Fidelity 1966–2026,” commemorating the 1,060th anniversary of the Christianization of Poland.
The event combined religious observance, civic participation, and pro-life advocacy, drawing families, clergy, activists, and public figures to central Warsaw. The day began with Mass celebrated in two of the cityʼs major churches.
In the Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Bishop Piotr Jarecki presided over the liturgy, while Bishop Tomasz Sztajerwald celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian in Warsaw-Praga.
Participants later gathered at Castle Square, where the march officially began. Organizers described the event as a public expression of support for life and family, rooted in Poland’s Christian tradition. Metropolitan Archbishop Adrian Galbas of Warsaw encouraged participation ahead of the event, framing it as a testimony to human dignity. “We want to testify that we are lovers of life. Bring your family along! Life triumphs over every death,” he declared.
March through Warsaw highlights pro-life message
The procession moved through central Warsaw streets under the historic slogan marking Poland’s Christian heritage. As participants approached the Presidential Palace, Polish President Karol Nawrocki spoke, linking the march to broader social concerns.
“I support initiatives that serve Poland, and this initiative certainly serves Poland,” he said. “It is also a response to the deep demographic crisis. Today, the answer to many Polish problems lies precisely in Polish families, in our identity, in remembering where we come from and where we are going.”
Organizers said the march was intended not only as a demonstration of pro-life conviction but also as a broader reflection on national identity and social cohesion.
A prominent symbol carried during the march was a copy of the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, which has been traveling internationally for 14 years as part of the From Ocean to Ocean pilgrimage in defense of life. The icon has traveled more than 220,000 kilometers (almost 137,000 miles) and visited 32 countries across five continents.
Shifting abortion attitudes among younger Poles
The National March for Life is organized by the St. Benedict Foundation alongside dozens of pro-life groups from across Poland and takes place under the honorary patronage of the Polish Episcopal Conference.
Patrycja Michońska-Dynek, director of the Press Center of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, told EWTN News that there are shifting public attitudes toward abortion in Poland, including growing societal acceptance and increased calls for liberalization, attributing these changes to secularization, cultural pressures, and differing interpretations of freedom.
Michońska-Dynek also observed that while pro-life values remain important in Polish society, younger generations often approach the issue with more nuanced perspectives, particularly in complex or exceptional situations. Fostering a “culture of life” must include practical support for families, such as assistance for single mothers and couples in crisis, Michońska-Dynek said.
Not a single-issue agenda
Lidia Sankowska-Grabczuk, one of the organizers of the National March for Life, told EWTN News that the pro-life movement in Poland extends beyond a single-issue focus on abortion.
“In a nutshell, the pro-life movement is [often] the anti-abortion movement. In our view… it’s a bit different. We don’t reduce it to a single-issue agenda,” she said, warning that such a narrow framing “strips it of its true meaning.” While protecting unborn life remains central, she described it as part of a broader vision rooted in what she called “the public voice of Polish Christianity.”
She outlined three core pillars underpinning the movement. The first is “respect for life,” encompassing not only the unborn but also solidarity with the elderly, families, and those in need. The second is the family as society’s foundation, grounded in the traditional understanding of marriage and its role in Poland’s social stability. The third pillar is “a state serving the common good,” reflecting a view of politics as service and a call for greater social solidarity.
Sankowska-Grabczuk also discussed the importance of Poland’s historical and Christian identity in shaping the movement. She noted that recent marches have intentionally marked major national milestones, including the 1,000th anniversary of Poland’s first royal coronation in 2025.
These commemorations, she said, highlight how the movement sees its mission as inseparable from Poland’s historical development, where Christianity has long informed both national identity and social values.
Pro-life voices and public participation
Among international participants was Tonio Borg, president of the European Federation One of Us. He urged participants to remain steadfast in their convictions despite criticism or public pressure.
“Do not be afraid of being slandered and ridiculed because you seek to protect life from the moment of conception,” he said, encouraging continued public engagement and advocacy.
He also called on supporters to make their voices heard in the public sphere, stressing the importance of influencing lawmakers and demonstrating that “the unborn child is one of us.”
Marcin Perłowski, director of the Centre for Life and Family, said participants gathered at the march out of a shared conviction that “human life begins at conception” and must be defended. He stated that the National March for Life serves as a public demonstration of that belief, describing it as a stand “against all those who raise a hand against unborn children.”
Pro-life activist Emilia Mędrzecka told EWTN News that her position is grounded in a belief in universal human dignity. “Children in the womb are as human as we are… they are more dependent and need time to grow,” she said while adding that the march reflected a strong presence of families, young people, and older generations united in support of life.
While official attendance figures have not been released, estimates provided to EWTN News suggested more than 10,000 people participated, with organizers placing peak attendance between 25,000 and 30,000.
Pope Leo XIV: Universities must seek truth and form the whole person
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said the inauguration of a new university campus in Equatorial Guinea is “an act of trust in human beings,” praising investment in the education of young people during the final stop of his Africa trip.
Speaking at the opening of the Pope Leo XIV University Campus in Basupú, part of the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE), the pontiff said the new institution represents more than new buildings.
“This inauguration is an act of trust in human beings, an affirmation of the fact that it is worth the effort to continue wagering on the formation of new generations and on the task, so demanding and yet so noble, of seeking the truth and putting knowledge at the service of the common good,” Leo said.
The new campus, in the northern part of Bioko Island, is the country’s largest academic facility. The government chose to dedicate it to the pope in conjunction with his visit. Founded in 1995, the National University of Equatorial Guinea was established to help form national leaders and align academic and professional training with the country’s development needs.
Leo was welcomed by Rector Filiberto Ntutumu Nguema Nchama and the archbishop of Malabo, Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang May. A bust of the pope was unveiled before he met with students and professors gathered in the square outside the main entrance.
Students appealed to the pope for encouragement in becoming “a generation characterized by discipline, respect, responsibility, and commitment to the common good,” one aimed not only at personal success but also at contributing to the development of Equatorial Guinea.
Faculty members, for their part, pledged themselves to academic excellence, innovation, and the integral formation of students. University officials also stressed that science and technology are powerful tools whose value depends on how they are used and that Christian moral tradition offers essential guidance in that task.
In his address, Leo turned to an image deeply resonant in Equatorial Guinea: the ceiba, the country’s national tree.
“For the people of Equatorial Guinea, the ceiba, the national tree, has a great symbolic meaning,” he said. “A tree puts forth deep roots and ascends slowly with patience and strength to the heights, embodying in itself a fruitfulness that does not exist for itself.”
The pope said the tree offers “a parable of that which a university is called to be”: an institution rooted in serious study, living memory, and the persevering search for truth.
Leo then drew on biblical imagery to reflect on the relationship between faith, reason, and knowledge. Referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis, he said the biblical account is not a rejection of human intelligence.
“It should be emphasized that this story is not about a condemnation of knowledge as such, as if faith was afraid of intelligence or looked with suspicion upon the desire for knowledge,” he said.
Instead, he warned against knowledge detached from truth and goodness and reduced to self-interest or domination.
“The problem, therefore, does not rest with knowledge but in its deviation towards an intelligence that no longer seeks to correspond to reality but rather to twist it for its own purposes,” he said.
Leo said Christian tradition points to another tree — the cross — as the redemption, not the negation, of human intelligence.
“Christian tradition contemplates another tree, that of the cross, not as a denial of human intelligence but as a sign of its redemption,” he said.
“At the cross, human beings are invited to allow their desire for knowledge to be healed: to rediscover that truth is not fabricated, not manipulated nor possessed like a trophy but welcomed, sought with humility, and served with responsibility.”
For that reason, he said, Christ is not an escape from intellectual effort.
“From a Christian perspective, Christ does not appear as a religious escape in the face of intellectual endeavors, as if faith began where reason ended,” Leo said. “On the contrary, in him the profound harmony between truth, reason, and freedom are manifested.”
The pope said the Church’s concern in education is that young people be formed integrally, “rather than giving the mere appearance of success.”
He added that the university should be judged less by its size or number of graduates than by the quality of the people it forms for society.
“Here on this campus, the ceiba of Equatorial Guinea is called to bear fruits of progress rooted in solidarity and of a knowledge that ennobles and develops the human being in an integral way,” he said. “It is called to offer the fruits of intelligence and uprightness, of competence and wisdom, of excellence and service.”
“If generations of men and women are profoundly shaped in this place by truth and are capable of transforming their own existence into a gift for others, then the ceiba will remain an eloquent symbol rooted in the best things of this land, elevated by wisdom and abounding in fruits that pay tribute to Equatorial Guinea and enrich the entire human family.”
Before the university event, the pope also made a brief visit to St. Elizabeth of Hungary Cathedral in Malabo, built in 1897.
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.
Israeli military helps replace damaged crucifix in Lebanon, punishes soldiers who destroyed it
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) helped a Catholic village in southern Lebanon replace a crucifix that one of its soldiers destroyed with a sledgehammer and punished two soldiers who took part in the desecration.
“In full coordination with the local community of Debel in southern Lebanon, the damaged statue was replaced by IDF troops,” the Israeli military announced in an April 21 post on X.
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“The Northern Command worked to coordinate the replacement of the statue from the moment it received the report of the incident,” they said. “The IDF expresses deep regret over the incident and is working to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.”
The response comes after a photo circulated on social media that showed an Israeli soldier striking the face of Christ on a damaged crucifix with a sledgehammer. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, called the act “a grave affront to the Christian faith.”
In a separate post, the IDF confirmed that the soldier depicted with the sledgehammer and the soldier who took the photo will receive 30 days of military detention and will be removed from combat duty.
Six other members of the IDF were present and did not act or report the incident, according to the IDF. Those soldiers were summoned for "clarification discussions” and further actions might be taken.
The IDF’s inquiry determined that the conduct of the soldiers involved “completely deviated from IDF orders and values.”
According to the IDF: “Procedures regarding conduct with religious institutions and symbols were reinforced to the troops prior to their entry into the relevant areas and will be reinforced again for all troops in the area following the incident.”
The post stated that the chief of general staff “condemned the incident and stated that it constitutes unacceptable conduct and a moral failure, far exceeding any acceptable standard and contradicting IDF values and the expected conduct of its troops.”
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In a statement through the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land on April 20, Pizzaballa said even amid the destruction of the statue, “the cross remains unassailable in its meaning.”
“As St. Paul the Apostle declares, ‘Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Gal 6:14),” his statement read. “For believers, the cross endures as a source of dignity, hope, and redemption, and as a summons to overcome violence through sacrificial love.”
Spanish Bishops’ Conference president concerned about polarization affecting Church and society
The president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), Archbishop Luis Argüello, addressed the problem of polarization and its effects as he opened the bishops’ 129th plenary assembly.
In addition to offering a reflection on the popeʼs upcoming June 6–12 apostolic journey to Spain, the archbishop of Valladolid devoted a large portion of his address to analyzing the issue of polarization, which carries significant consequences both within and outside the Catholic Church.
Drawing upon a doctrinal note published by the CEE in March, which warned of the dangers of emotivism, a phenomenon he defined as fundamentally based on emotions. Argüello said that “reductionism based on emotivism poses a genuine risk,” one that spreads to social, ecclesial, and political coexistence through polarization.
This polarization based on emotions “transforms opinions into identities,” such that fear becomes “the strongest factor undergirding polarization. One’s opponent is no longer viewed as someone with whom one disagrees, but rather as a threat,” which leads to dehumanization.
Argüello emphasized that this phenomenon “denies the polarities that constitute us and make us fruitful,” namely, the Trinitarian polarity, which is “foundational to all others”; the anthropological polarity, male and female; the polarity of “you and I, ourselves and society”; and the polarity of “history and eternal life.”
Polarization affects the life of the Church
The prelate addressed how this phenomenon affects the life of the Catholic Church, alluding to a “typically polarizing controversy” that arose in various media outlets regarding a conversation held by members of the CEE executive committee with Pope Leo XIV in November 2025.
The controversy surrounded leaked comments from the meeting attributed to Pope Leo, who purportedly said that his greatest concern in Spain is the "far right," according to some media outlets. The CEE explained, however, that “in the dialogue, the Holy Father reflected, among other things, on the risks of subjecting faith to ideologies, without mentioning any specific group."
“Ideologies in postmodern societies participate in the interplay of identity, belonging, and polarization, serving the struggle for power. Theological thought — and, stemming from it, ecclesial life and pastoral action — are also affected by ideological reductionism,” Argüello noted.
The consequence is that these positions “wound the deposit of faith, cause division within the Church, and anesthetize the missionary power of the Gospel,” he added.
Polarization and synodality
Argüello also listed other negative fruits of polarization in various spheres, such as human anthropology, attitudes toward immigrants, the Churchʼs role in public life, whether Spain is a single nation or a nation composed of nations, and ecclesiology.
Argüello pointed out that “democracy, when lived as an ideology, seeks to be applied to all dimensions of existence; it disrupts genuine synodality — a shared discernment aimed at being more faithful to the missionary mandate of the Lord — and transforms it into an exercise in the distribution of power based on the theological-pastoral preferences of the participants.”
“By way of contrast, clericalism, both ideological and emotional, views every form of participation with suspicion and rejects synodality under the pretext that it threatens legitimate authority, yet this merely masks the ambition to retain absolute power over the Christian community,” he stated.
Government forcing agreements
The president of the CEE also addressed relations with public authorities and denounced certain attitudes on the part of the government. Although the Spanish state is defined in its constitution as “non-confessional,” the prelate remarked ironically that the executive branch “tends to adopt ‘confessional’ stances” — for instance, in matters of anthropology.
“It also adopts a confessional perspective on history, and a selective one regarding victims,” he added. Furthermore, it “manifests an excessive desire to intervene in civil society and to control institutions,” as well as “double standards, depending on who is affected by matters of abuse of power or corruption. All of this is done in an effort to secure control over the media.”
Argüello stated that “several of these characteristics would apply to almost all governments” and renewed his commitment to cooperation, though not without first noting that despite having engaged in dialogue with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez regarding various matters, “this government’s priority interest, the only one on which it has sought to force agreements, has been the issue of the abuse of minors committed solely within the Church, and the re-signification of the Valley of the Fallen,” the monumental complex dedicated to combatants on both sides of the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War.
The prelate further took issue with Justice Minister Félix Bolaños’ assertion made following the signing of the protocol to assist victims of abuse, that “the government decides and the Church pays,” pointing out that the Church “has provided compensation, in many cases, without any government or court ruling having imposed it.”
Regarding the situation of the Basilica of the Holy Cross at the Valley of the Fallen, Argüello invited "the government and the monks of the Abbey of the Valley of Cuelgamuros to reach a reasonable and satisfactory agreement for both parties — one that, moreover, serves as a testament that it is possible to overcome polarization and find paths for reconciliation.
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.