Eucharist stolen, faithful robbed during adoration in Mexico on Holy Saturday
In the early hours of the morning on Holy Saturday, several individuals in hoods charged into a Eucharistic adoration chapel in the Mexican Diocese of Tlaxcala, assaulting and robbing the faithful in attendance and stealing the ciborium containing the consecrated hosts.
In an April 4 statement, Bishop Julio C. Salcedo Aquino said the faithful, who were praying at Eucharistic adoration in the town of San Lucas Cuauhtelulpan, “were threatened, beaten, and stripped of their belongings.”
“We deplore this incident, above all for the lives and physical and spiritual well-being of the people who suffered this outrage,” he said, expressing his hope “that they may soon regain their peace and their physical and spiritual equilibrium.”
The bishop said that “these events wound us deeply, for among the offenses committed against the Catholic faith, the theft of the Eucharist constitutes one of the most grave,” reminding his listeners that those who commit this sin automatically incur excommunication.
Furthermore, he emphasized that “these events, perpetrated on Holy Saturday, lead us as the Church in Tlaxcala to live in close solidarity with Mary Magdalene, who heads to the tomb to honor the body of Jesus and, finding it empty, hurries to inform the apostle Peter, telling him: ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him.’”
Salcedo issued a call “to pray intensely for the people who stole the holy Eucharist,” so that they may return it and be converted.
The prelate also asked all parish priests in the Diocese of Tlaxcala to organize “Days of Eucharistic Prayer” and announced that on Saturday, April 11, he will perform a rite of reparation at the Church of San Lucas Cuauhtelulpan.
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.
Churches packed in Nicaragua for Holy Week amid restrictions and police presence
Nicaragua’s churches were “filled with the faithful” during Holy Week 2026 despite continued governmental restrictions and persecution, according to Father Edwing Román, a Nicaraguan priest in exile in Florida.
“Thousands of Lenten and Holy Week activities were canceled once again — such as group pilgrimages; gatherings where hundreds of the faithful assemble to organize the transport of flowers, religious images, or the cross itself to be carried to the churches in procession, accompanied by music and fireworks; or the ‘Judea’ [the reenactment of the passion of Christ] throughout the country,” the priest told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
In 2022, the dictatorship of Vice President Rosario Murillo and President Daniel Ortega banned processions in the streets and public thoroughfares. “Religious celebrations have been restricted to inside the churches, courtyards, or atriums, under police surveillance,” the priest said.
Holy Week in Nicaragua “was celebrated in an atypical manner” without the religious freedom to do so fully, said Román, who serves as vicar at St. Agatha Parish in Miami. “Thank God, the churches were filled with the faithful of all ages even as they endured the presence of police and infiltrators.”
“People attended the Easter Vigil in Nicaragua’s parishes under police surveillance. They take photos and videos of the people entering and leaving the church,” Martha Patricia Molina, author of “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church” reported on X.
“Sandinista guards were present to harass the Procession of the Encounter [which depicts the risen Christ appearing to his mother Mary] at a parish in the Archdiocese of Managua,” she also reported on X.
Despite the restrictions, however, Román emphasized that “thousands of the faithful attended churches even with the regime’s extensive propaganda urging people to visit the country’s beaches and tourist centers, the majority of which are owned by Sandinistas — that is, individuals aligned with the dictatorship.”
On March 31, Christopher Landau, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, denounced the Nicaraguan dictatorship for banning public Holy Week processions and expressed his hope to see “the day when our Nicaraguan friends reclaim their religious freedom.”
Responding to Landau, the Nicaraguan government published a statement titled “Utterly False,” in which it “categorically refutes the perverse accusations issued by U.S. government spokespersons” regarding religious activities during Holy Week.
The regime countered that “throughout Nicaragua, thousands of religious activities — both Catholic and those of Christian and evangelical churches — are taking place.”
However, the statement did not specify that the regime banned public Holy Week activities. If any do take place in defiance of the government, they are dispersed by the police.
Molina told ACI Prensa that since 2019, the dictatorship has banned more than 28,900 public processions and acts of popular piety.
Another exiled priest consulted by ACI Prensa who preferred to remain anonymous out of fear of the dictatorship, noted the extensive coverage given to Holy Week activities by media outlets aligned with the regime.
“This year, an unusually large number of media outlets provided coverage,” he said. “I interpret this as stemming more from the government’s fear regarding the current situation and the sanctions involving Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran.”
Román noted the media presence as well, saying that “ironically, pro-government media outlets made their presence felt — going so far as to climb onto the high altar in the midst of a service — to take photographs inside the churches for their political propaganda, thereby denying the existence of any prohibitions and asserting, as they did in a recent statement, that everything is ‘normal.’”
A third exiled priest who also wished to remain anonymous noted that there was no chrism Mass in the dioceses whose bishops have been exiled, nor were there public processions. However, the faithful managed to organize them nonetheless, “with the creativity of the people of God.”
Four Nicaraguan dioceses are currently led by bishops living in exile and lack their shepherds’ physical presence in the country: Matagalpa and Estelí, headed by Bishop Rolando Álvarez (who resides in Rome); Siuna, led by Bishop Isidoro Mora; and Jinotega, led by Bishop Carlos Herrera, who is exiled in Guatemala.
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Alongside Pope Leo XIV, Álvarez, who was formerly imprisoned by the Ortega dictatorship, participated in the Rite of the Adoration of the Cross at the Vatican during Holy Week.
On Holy Thursday, at the conclusion of the chrism Mass at the Managua Cathedral, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes told the media present inside the church that bishops throughout the country sent him images “showing the level of participation in their cathedrals, as well as in their parishes.”
He continued: “What we observe here is the tremendous work of the priests, and that the people — with complete generosity and absolute freedom — have been able to come to their churches and are living out their faith, which, I believe, is the most important thing.”
Brenes, the metropolitan archbishop of Managua, led the Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Managua Cathedral, which lasted over four hours and drew thousands of the faithful to the surrounding grounds.
Bishop Báez’s homily on Easter Sunday
Silvio Báez, the auxiliary bishop of Managua, has lived in exile since 2019, celebrated midday Mass on Easter Sunday at St. Agatha Parish in Miami. He noted that “by raising the Crucified One from the dead, God reveals not only the triumph of his power over the destructive power of death but also the victory of his justice over the injustices of men.”
“The new hope that Jesus introduces into the world can only be proclaimed out of faith in a God who does not abandon the victims — a liberating God who does not accommodate the pretensions of the powerful, nor follow the paths laid out by the masters of the world. In the presence of the risen Lord, we must ask ourselves whose side we are on: that of those who crucify, or that of the crucified?” he asked.
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.
Threat against entire people of Iran ‘not acceptable,’ Pope Leo XIV says
Pope Leo XIV renewed his forceful appeal for an end to war and urged an embrace of dialogue, distinguishing himself as a singular global voice calling for restraint and moral accountability amid bellicose statements from U.S. leadership.
The first U.S.-born pope called on U.S. citizens to plead with elected officials to work for peace in remarks to the press April 7 and called threats to destroy Iran’s civilization unacceptable. Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump promised on social media the annihilation of the “whole civilization” of Iran if the country fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The pope said “attacks on civilian infrastructure [are] against international law [and] also a sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction that the human being is capable of ... We all want to work for peace. People want peace. I would invite citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen, to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war.”
Reiterating the substance of his Easter Sunday urbi et orbi message, Leo said he was "asking people of good will to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything,” the pope said. “We have a worldwide economic crisis, energy crisis, situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world.”
He also said, speaking in Italian: “Today, as we all know, there was also this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this truly is not acceptable. Let us begin with dialogue. We should resolve problems without reaching this point, yet here we are. We must pray a great deal.”
The pope spoke to the press outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo before returning to Rome after a daylong stay there. He made his appeal in Italian and English and did not take reporters’ questions.
“Let’s come back to the table, let’s talk, let’s look for solutions in a peaceful way, and let’s remember especially the innocent,” the pope said. “Children, the elderly, the sick, so many people have already become or will become victims of this continued warfare.”
Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly rejected rhetoric invoking God to justify loss of life. “Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said on Palm Sunday.
On April 7, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, underscored the pope’s repeated calls for peace and urged Trump to avoid war with Iran.
Carrying hope
Pope Leo XIV in his Easter homily called for peace throughout the world, urging Christians to carry the hope of the Resurrection into a world wounded by war, violence, and injustice.
Leo used his first Easter urbi et orbi message April 5 to make a forceful appeal for an end to war and a renewed embrace of dialogue. He will lead a prayer vigil for peace on April 11 at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The pope has repeatedly condemned war, saying it is a moral failure rooted in abuse of power and domination rather than dialogue. He urged those “who have weapons to lay them down” and those with power “to choose peace — not peace imposed by force, but through dialogue.”
In the Easter message, the pope warned that the world is sliding into a “globalization of indifference” toward the suffering and deaths caused by war.
Valentina Di Donato contributed to this story.
A mission of the heart: Artemis II crew honors faith, family, and a life lost
As the Artemis II mission begins its return from deep into space — now over halfway through its historic journey — the mission is marking a new chapter in human exploration.
Operated by NASA, the crewed flight has captured global attention not only for its technical ambition but also for its human moments. Among them, a moving message sent back to Earth in celebration of Easter and honoring the late wife of a crew member offered a reminder that even amid the vast silence of space, themes of hope, renewal, and faith continue to resonate across the cosmos.
On April 4, a CBS News reporter asked mission pilot Victor Glover if he had a message to share ahead of Easter. The astronaut — who took his Bible into space — shared a powerful reflection on the beauty of creation.
“As we are so far from Earth and look back at, you know, the beauty of creation — I think for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing,” Glover said. “And when I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us … you have this amazing place, this spaceship.”
He added: “You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special, but we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you — just trust me — you are special.”
Referencing the Earth, the astronaut said: “In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.”
“I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together.”
On April 6, Glover also reminded those on Earth about the greatest commandment Christ left us — to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor.
Moments before the crew lost communication with Earth as the spacecraft went behind the moon, Glover said: “As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from Earth, as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth, and that’s love.”
“Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all you are,” he added. “And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it. And that is to love your neighbor as yourself.”
Glover has been very open about his Christian faith. Ahead of the Artemis II launch, he shared that Jesus is the answer to the world’s problems, saying: “We need Jesus — whether here on Earth or orbiting the moon.”
In another heartfelt moment, Artemis mission specialist Jeremy Hansen shared a message proposing possible names for two unnamed craters on the moon’s surface. The first name was “Integrity” — to honor the name of their spacecraft — and the second was “Carroll” — to honor the late wife of Artemis commander Reid Wiseman.
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He called the proposal of naming a crater Carroll “especially meaningful for this crew.”
“A number of years ago we started this journey, in our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one,” he shared.
Hansen explained that at certain points in the moon’s transit around Earth it can be visible from Earth.
“It’s a bright spot on the moon and we would like to call it Carroll,” he said, choking on tears.
Carroll Taylor Wiseman died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 46.
The Artemis crew is scheduled to make their return to Earth by splashing into the Pacific ocean on April 10.
Trump’s threat to fully destroy Iran ‘cannot be morally justified,’ head of U.S. bishops says
Archbishop Paul Coakley on April 7 condemned a threat from President Donald Trump that promised the annihilation of the “whole civilization” of Iran if the country fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by the end of the day.
“The threat of destroying a whole civilization and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified,” Coakley, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in an April 7 statement. “I call on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost.”
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The prelate’s statement comes in response to a post from Trump on social media earlier on April 7 in which the president claimed that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iranian leadership fails to strike a deal on Hormuz by the 8 p.m. ET cutoff.
“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump said. “We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world.”
Trump’s latest threat follows a strongly worded post from the president on Easter Sunday in which he stated that April 7 will be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” an apparent intimation that the U.S. would strike at critical Iranian infrastructure if the strait was not reopened.
In his response to the posts, which did not quote Trump directly, Coakley noted that “after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem, and his first words were ‘Peace be with you.’”
The archbishop cited Pope Leo XIV’s calls for peace and invited the faithful to join the Holy Father in his prayer vigil for peace on April 11.
“I make a special plea to my brother bishops, the priests, the laity, and all people yearning for true peace to join the Holy Father’s Vigil for Peace, whether virtually, or in parishes, chapels, or before the Lord present in the quiet of their hearts to join with our Holy Father as we pray for peace in our world,” Coakley said.
New record in France: More than 20,000 adults and teens baptized at Easter
This Easter, France recorded more than 20,000 adult and adolescent baptisms, a 20% increase compared with the previous year.
A new report published by the French Bishops’ Conference presents the latest statistical data from Easter 2026, during which approximately 8,200 adolescents and 13,200 adults embraced the Catholic faith.
The report indicates that the majority of converts are young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, closely followed by the 26-to-40 age group. Women constitute the largest segment, accounting for approximately 62% of the total.
In general, the new catechumens have no prior religious tradition, driven primarily by difficult life experiences, a profound search for meaning, or spiritual encounters that left a lasting mark on their lives, according to the report.
The ecclesiastical provinces with the highest number of baptisms were Paris, with 3,184, followed by Marseille with 1,437 and Lyon with 1,200. The report highlights a notable increase in the military diocese, headquartered in the French capital, particularly during the military pilgrimage to Lourdes.
The ‘magnitude of the thirst for God’
Olivier de Germay, archbishop of Lyon and the official responsible for the catechumenate in the country, reflected on this new reality, one that “never ceases to surprise and challenge us.”
Although society has long been aware of the world’s failure to provide answers to “the deep aspirations of the human being,” the French prelate expressed his surprise at the “rapidity and magnitude of the thirst for God manifesting itself today.”
This phenomenon opens up a new horizon and presents a “major challenge” for the Church, he said, which must offer appropriate guidance for initiation into the Christian life.
For De Germay, the situation also calls upon the “seasoned veterans of the Christian life,” who are invited “to once again become aware of how God can break into [a person’s life] and transform it.”
Among some new initiatives to address the increasing numbers, the regional council launched by the eight dioceses of the Île-de-France region stands out. Titled “Catechumens and Neophytes: New Perspectives for the Life of Our Church in Our Dioceses,” the council will run until May 2027. After gathering feedback from Catholics, including the newly baptized, the council aims to develop an appropriate response to the growing number of converts and to establish common guidelines at the provincial level.
The provincial council is encouraging the other dioceses outside the Île-de-France region to launch other initiatives focused on specific proposals to increase the participation of the newly baptized in the liturgy.
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.
Government favors natural family planning over contraception in key health funding
New 2027 guidelines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will ban key federal abortion funding while favoring fertility education and natural family planning.
The April 3 “2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity” for Title X, the federal family planning grant program, bans funds from being used “in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”
The move came days after the Trump administration released the fifth and final year of grant funding to Planned Parenthood under Title X, a decision that garnered criticism throughout the pro-life movement. The White House cited legal challenges for the controversial decision to continue the funding.
“The administration has issued the fifth and final year of Title X grants that were locked in place during the Biden presidency,” the White House told EWTN News in a statement. “The administration faced significant legal challenges in stopping any of these dollars from going out.”
Previous Republican administrations, including that of Trump’s first term, also banned abortion funding via Title X. What makes this year’s criteria unique is that it encourages fertility education in place of contraception.
The notice highlighted “fertility-awareness-based methods” or “natural family planning,” a method encouraged by the Catholic Church that involves tracking a woman’s biological markers to determine when ovulation occurs.
The administration also teased a new pro-family grant that will be announced soon.
“HHS will soon be releasing a new Title X funding opportunity for the next five-year funding cycle that prioritizes life and promotes the pro-family agenda,” the White House statement read.
The notice also promoted “body literacy” on fertility-related conditions, such as “education on menstrual cycle physiology, hormonal health, male and female fertility awareness, and early indicators of reproductive disorders such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), thyroid dysfunction, metabolic disorders, and other conditions that often first emerge in adolescence.”
An estimated 1 in 10 women have endometriosis; 1 in 8 women develop a thyroid disorder; and roughly 1 in 10 have PCOS — all conditions that can negatively affect fertility and overall health.
“For example, endometriosis often goes undiagnosed for years because symptoms such as severe menstrual pain or irregular bleeding are frequently normalized or minimized,” the HHS notice read.
“Body literacy counseling helps patients recognize that these experiences are not ‘normal’ features” but instead “potential indicators of an underlying condition, prompting earlier discussion with providers, timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and improved long-term reproductive and overall health outcomes,” the notice continued.
The 2027 plan is not prioritizing contraception funding; instead the government said that contraception is part of an overreliance on “pharmaceutical and surgical treatments.”
The health department noted that fewer women than in previous years are using contraception (54% of reproductive-age women) and that “the most common reason women reported discontinuing use related to dissatisfaction was side effects.” For instance, hormonal contraception can cause depression in some patients, among other negative side effects.
“This approach has failed to adequately address the root causes of the nation’s chronic disease burden, resulting in ongoing health challenges that affect fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and long-term health outcomes,” the notice read.
HHS said it will focus instead on “underlying behavioral and lifestyle factors of health — such as nutrition, sleep, physical activity, stress management, and environmental factors.”
The White House told EWTN News that “the administration remains committed to realigning the Title X program with the president’s pro-life and pro-family agenda going forward.”
Michael New, an assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America as well as a Charlotte Lozier Institute senior associate scholar, called the decrease in Planned Parenthood funding “a win for the pro-life movement,” though with a caveat.
“Cutting funding to Planned Parenthood may not have a large impact on the incidence of abortion in the short term due the increasing prevalence of telehealth abortions,” New said.
The professor also noted that “defunding contraception programs and supporting natural family planning is a win for pro-lifers.”
“Since the Title X program started in 1970, the federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, into promoting contraception,” New said. “This money has been poorly spent. Many places that distribute contraception also perform abortions, so some of this money indirectly funds abortion.”
“Many Catholics do not want their tax dollars spent on programs, such as contraception programs, they find morally objectionable,” New continued. “Even though many Americans support contraceptive use, pro-life Catholics would like the government to stay out of the issue: no funding, no mandates, no distribution. As such, defunding contraception programs has been a longtime policy goal for many pro-life Catholics.”
“Natural family planning, when done correctly, has a strong track record of success,” New said. “However, it has been marginalized in many secular public health circles. The fact that HHS is promoting natural family planning will give NFP more visibility and credibility.”
Archdiocese of Baltimore insurer proposes $100 million settlement for abuse victims
An insurer for the Archdiocese of Baltimore has offered to contribute $100 million to a settlement for abuse victims there, the latest development in the archdiocese’s yearslong bankruptcy proceedings related to Church sexual abuse.
Court documents obtained by EWTN News show that the Hartford Insurance Group proposed the nine-figure payment in an April 3 filing in U.S. bankruptcy court.
The archdiocese originally filed for bankruptcy in September 2023 amid the threat of a wave of clerical abuse lawsuits. The filing was made ahead of the Maryland Child Victims Act taking effect in October of that year. That law ended the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits for negligence in relation to child sexual abuse.
The archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2024 the archdiocese sued multiple insurers over what it claimed was a failure to pay abuse claims for which the insurers were contractually obligated.
Also in 2024, the archdiocese said it would close more than half of the parishes in its titular city, reducing 61 parishes to 23 in response to a plummeting population there.
Archbishop William Lori said the plan would allow the remaining Catholic churches to “focus on mission and ministry, as opposed to leaking roofs, crumbling walls, and failing electrical and plumbing systems.”
Insurance is often a “huge component” of clerical abuse payouts, though dioceses and archdioceses have several means by which they can fund settlements.
Dioceses will very often turn to local parishes to pay into settlement funds, usually stipulating certain percentages of cash reserves that parishes must contribute.
Property sales and contributions from affiliate organizations such as cemeteries often help to bolster a settlement fund as well.
Marie Reilly, a professor of law at Penn State University and an expert in bankruptcy litigation, including Catholic diocesan bankruptcy proceedings, told EWTN News in 2025 that starting in the 1990s, insurance companies mostly changed how they cover sexual abuse.
“Up until about the mid-’90s, a general liability policy used to include coverages for employee liability,” she said. “It would cover sex abuse claims against the diocese stemming from an employee’s abuse.”
“After 1996, insurance policies issued under new revised standards just don’t provide that coverage anymore,” she said.
Father Petri breaks down Pope Leo XIV’s Easter message, warns of ‘indifference’ to violence, war
Father Thomas Petri, OP, a Dominican theologian, reflected on Pope Leo XIV’s call for peace in the Holy Father’s first Easter message to the faithful and warned against showing “indifference” toward violence.
“During his urbi et orbi message [on Easter], he mentioned the globalization of indifference, the indifference that we have, even good Christians and good Catholics have to violence,” Petri told anchor Veronica Dudo in an April 6 interview on “EWTN News Nightly.”
“We’ve been desensitized to it,” he said. “But if Christ has shown us anything, it is that power, the all-powerful God, wins the battle against sin and death not by violence or defeating it in some grand gesture of war against evil. Rather, he abandons himself, he gives himself in service, he dies for it, and then he rises for it without losing an ounce of his dignity, an ounce of his power.”
In his Easter message to the faithful, Leo reflected on the resurrection of Christ, saying Easter is “the victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of love over hatred.”
He said: “The power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent” and compared it to “a human heart, which, wounded by an offense, rejects the instinct for revenge and, filled with compassion, prays for the one who has committed the offense.”
Leo called the Resurrection “the beginning of a new humanity” and “the entrance into the true promised land, where justice, freedom, and peace reign, where all recognize one another as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father who is love, life, and light.”
“We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent,” the pope said. “Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people. Indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow. Indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.”
Petri said during the interview that the Holy Father “challenged us to live in that sort of same grace, not to be disturbed by the problems of the world, but at the same time not to be indifferent to them, that we can coexist in peace and serenity and at the same time still be troubled and upset and concerned about what we see, not only in our own sinfulness and in our own lives, but in the Church and in the world.”
Pope urges laying weapons down
Petri also discussed Leo’s direct call for peace on Easter, in which the Holy Father said: “Let those who have weapons lay them down” and “let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace; not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue!”
In the interview, Petri said: “It might be easy to dismiss” Leo’s call for peace, because “popes always call for peace,” but he warned against downplaying the Holy Father’s role to simply being “a moral figure” and “a great teacher.”
“He is, in fact, we believe, the vicar of Christ on Earth,” Petri said. “And the teachings of the Church, the teachings of Jesus Christ himself, in fact, argue and maintain that peace and nonviolence is ultimately the way to everlasting peace.”
“Only in the grace of Jesus Christ will we find justice, peace, and forgiveness and love all coexisting and living in one reality,” Petri said. “And so this vigil for peace is certainly important and certainly it’s significant that the pope has called for it, but it’s also a real pleading, not simply that people will lay down arms and be peaceful with each other, although it is that, but that God himself will give peace to the world that is so desperately in need of it.”
Leo’s call for peace comes as President Donald Trump said he plans to escalate the conflict in Iran. The president said in a Truth Social post on Easter that April 7 “will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day” while using profanities to demand Iran open the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump doubled down on April 7, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” in a separate Truth Social post.
‘From chaos into new life’: Pakistan’s largest diocese installs new archbishop
LAHORE, Pakistan — A Capuchin Franciscan friar has been installed as archbishop of Lahore, assuming leadership of Pakistan’s largest Catholic diocese after a turbulent period marked by the removal of his predecessor.
Archbishop Khalid Rehmat, OFM Cap, 57, was installed as head of the Archdiocese of Lahore on March 28 in a ceremony that acknowledged a period of “particular difficulties and challenges” following the removal of Archbishop Sebastian Shaw, OFM, in August 2024 — an unprecedented development in the country’s Catholic history.
During the liturgy, Vicar General Father Asif Sardar read the Urdu translation of the papal bull, which referenced the trials faced by Pakistan’s largest Catholic diocese, home to an estimated 577,000 faithful.
“We devote all our energies to the governance of the ship of the Church, which for different reasons is sometimes assailed by waves, requiring the guidance of both ourselves and the devoted pastors appointed by us. For this reason, we have turned our attention to the metropolitan see of Lahore,” he said, quoting Pope Leo XIV.
The remarks were widely interpreted as an indirect reference to Shaw, who was appointed apostolic vicar of Quetta and installed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on March 24. Prior to that, he had been residing at the Franciscan Friars Minor house in Karachi while on what Church authorities described as a sabbatical.
Allegations against Shaw
Shaw has faced multiple allegations in recent years, including claims of financial mismanagement and misconduct involving Church funds and properties, circulated in media reports and on social media.
In 2017, he drew criticism for allowing a political address by Maryam Nawaz, now chief minister of Punjab, at Sacred Heart Cathedral during an election campaign.
Further controversy emerged in 2021 when a Christian activist shared on social media photographs and documents alleging irregular land transactions linked to Shaw. He declined to comment on the claims when contacted by EWTN News.
In 2022, additional allegations regarding personal conduct surfaced from a suspended priest, though archdiocesan officials dismissed them as unfounded.
Several Catholics, including a former Caritas Pakistan official, had previously submitted complaints to the Vatican concerning alleged abuse of authority and financial impropriety.
‘Things seem to have settled down’
Archbishop Benny Mario Travas of Karachi, who served as apostolic administrator of Lahore during the transition, drew light laughter from the congregation when he remarked that “things seem to have settled down,” noting a decline in complaints reaching the apostolic nunciature.
Archbishop Germano Penemote, the apostolic nuncio to Pakistan, thanked Travas for his stewardship during what he described as a turbulent period.
“The Church in Lahore is invited to experience this moment as a true resurrection — to emerge from chaos into new life, stepping out from the shadows into the radiant light of the risen Lord,” he said, addressing the faithful on the eve of Palm Sunday.
Catholic lay leaders say the path forward will require structural and cultural renewal.
Shahid Rehmat, executive director of the Youth Development Foundation, emphasized the need for greater accountability and transparency within Church leadership.
“The internet has changed the world. Young people are no longer dependent on, nor can they be controlled by, Church leaders,” he told EWTN News, urging authorities to make public the findings of any inquiry into Shaw’s tenure.
“Transparency will help restore trust among the faithful and strengthen the credibility of the new leadership. Christian activists — many formed within Church institutions — have often been labeled disloyal. Recognizing their role could support the Church’s mission for justice and peace,” he added.
Rehmat, a former diocesan coordinator of Catholic Youth Ministry of the Lahore Archdiocese, also expressed cautious optimism about the new archbishop’s leadership.
“He is well known in Quetta and has the potential to make the Church more accessible and outward-looking, while strengthening its struggling commissions,” he said.