Coast Guard agrees to ‘structural protections’ for religious personnel
The U.S. Coast Guard has agreed to a slate of religious protections for service members, including committing to individualized reviews of personnel who request religious accommodations for Coast Guard policies.
The Thomas More Society, a Catholic law firm that focuses on religious liberty and civil rights, said on April 16 that it had settled a lawsuit with the Coast Guard in an agreement that “permanently reforms how the Coast Guard evaluates, trains on, and reports religious accommodation requests.”
The yearslong case was first filed in September 2022 as a federal class action lawsuit, one that claimed the Coast Guard was in violation of both the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for “categorically denying virtually all religious accommodation requests from the Coast Guard COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
That mandate has since been rescinded, but the settlement announced on April 16 still serves as a “model for every branch of the military,” attorney Peter Breen said.
One of the provisions in the settlement includes a requirement that the Coast Guard intensively review religious accommodations requests and, in cases where a request is denied, show that granting it would “seriously harm a critical military interest.”
The Coast Guard will also institute “command-wide training” in leadership courses and chaplain instruction. The branch must also publicly affirm its commitment to religious liberty as well as post public data about religious accommodations on its website for three years.
The primary plaintiffs in the suit were Lts. Alaric Stone and Mack Marcenelle as well as Boatswainʼs Mate First Class Eric Jackson.
Marcenelle in the announcement said the team had been “wrongly accused of violating lawful orders” but that the settlement “sets things right once and for all and recognizes the lawful religious freedoms of all Coast Guard service members.”
The government will also pay $750,000 in attorneyʼs fees and expenses as part of the settlement, the Thomas More Society said.
U.S. Embassy to the Vatican: Nigerian Christians are being targeted
ROME — It is “intolerable” that Christians are being targeted for persecution in Nigeria, said U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch during an event in Rome on Friday.
The group Solidarity with the Persecuted Church (SPC) and the Embassy of the United States to the Holy See organized the April 17 conference at the embassy on threats to religious freedom in Nigeria.
Burch spoke to EWTN News on the sidelines about the stance of the U.S. on religious violence in Nigeria. He described the current situation as a “conflict between radical Islamic groups and Christians because of their faith.”
“The United States is the greatest friend of religious liberty,” Burch said. “The purpose of this event is to call attention to the plight of Christians who are being targeted and killed in Nigeria. Unfortunately, there are extremist Islamic groups that have been targeting Christians specifically in their churches and their homes, and the scale and size of the persecution of Christians there is intolerable.”
Asked about the denial by some Nigerian government officials that Christians specifically are being targeted, Burch insisted that the current violence against Christians is alarming, citing U.S. President Donald Trump, who designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern in 2025.
“The president has said that Christians face an existential crisis in Nigeria, and thanks to his leadership, he is now acting to bring an end to this. We have called on the Nigerian government to take necessary steps to protect Christians, and the United States government is now working in partnership with the Nigerian government to assist them in doing just that,” he said.
Steven Wagner, president of SPC, underscored the importance of Nigeria for Christianity in Africa and the need for the Holy See to be involved in raising awareness.
“As Nigeria goes, so goes Africa. More Christians are martyred for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country on earth. There is a huge crisis of internally displaced persons. We are calling on the Vatican to increase public awareness of the problem and to continue to encourage the government of Nigeria to make progress in protecting its people,” Wagner said.
Burch responds to Trump’s comments on the pope
In his opening remarks at the conference, Burch commented for the first time on the recent tensions between Trump and Pope Leo XIV. He emphasized their difference in approach to armed conflicts and their shared goal of eliminating evil.
“In recent days, President Trump and Pope Leo have exchanged, shall we say, sharp words. We must not pretend there is no disagreement. But both men are driven by an unshakable belief in protecting the innocent. One leads with the sword and shield of American power, the other with the cross of sacrificial love. But both are saying in their own languages, ‘Evil must not triumph and innocence must not be abandoned,’” Burch said.
Papal trip in Africa
The pontiff is currently on his first apostolic journey to Africa — visiting Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization and a presenter at the conference, described the trip as a moment of profound unity for all Africans.
“This is Africa, and much of the divisions, according to countries in Africa, are artificial divisions that were imposed on the continent,” Nwachukwu told EWTN News. “Africans quite often feel united even beyond the boundaries. So the popeʼs message to these churches and these populations will also be a message to the population in Nigeria and to the Church in Nigeria.”
Many of the issues the pope is addressing on his trip “are shared in common in Nigeria,” Burch added. The Holy See and the United States “certainly share this deep, fundamental commitment to religious liberty.”
EWTN News explains: Why does the pope visit mosques on papal trips?
For more than a quarter-century, popes have periodically visited Islamic mosques as part of official voyages and papal visits.
The tradition began with Pope John Paul II, who in 2001 became the first pope in history known to have entered a mosque when he visited the Great Mosque of Damascus in the capital of Syria.
The subsequent Popes Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV have all paid visits to mosques to hold ecumenical dialogues and host diplomatic meetings.
Yet the practice is not without some controversy. Indeed, Leo XIVʼs visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers on April 13 drew some backlash on social media by critics incredulous over the leader of the Catholic Church visiting a major Islamic holy site. (This was Leoʼs second visit to a mosque; he also visited the famed “Blue Mosque” in Istanbul in late 2025.)
So why do popes make visits to mosques, courting controversy and criticism for making a point to go to holy sites of another religion?
‘We can live together in peace’
Pope Leo XIV himself addressed criticism directed toward him on April 15 on board the papal plane after leaving Algiers bound for Cameroon.
“I think the visit to the mosque was significant [and showed] that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can [still] live together in peace,” the Holy Father said.
“I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today,” he said, arguing that such visits show that “together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”
Gabriel Said Reynolds, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame who has written multiple works on the Quran and its relationship to Christianity, told EWTN News that interpreting papal visits to mosques should include an understanding of “the Churchʼs vision of God in the world.”
“What is God’s relationship to the world? That’s been important to all of the recent popes,” he said.
Reynolds pointed out that an Islamic mosque is “fundamentally different from a church.”
“A Catholic church is a sort of temple in which God is present in the tabernacle — body, blood, soul, and divinity,” he said. “It’s a sacred space in the deepest sense of the word.”
“What Muslims would say of a mosque is fundamentally different,” he said. “A mosque is for communal prayer, but the communal prayer that takes place in a mosque is no different than the ritual prayer that’s more often done at home.”
He likened a mosque to a “gathering place” with just a few features that set it apart as a distinct site — such as a pulpit for occasional sermons and an alcove that denotes the direction of Mecca to which Muslims orient themselves during prayer.
Reynolds said popes visit mosques in no small part as a “pastoral concern” for Christians living in majority-Muslim countries, such as Algeria.
“Algerian society is thoroughly Islamic,” he said. “It’s not generally marked by notions of rights and responsibilities and citizenship in the same way the U.S. is. Cultivating positive relationships with Muslim leaders is absolutely essential for Christians.”
Reynolds said the Churchʼs view about human dignity has “fundamental implications with its relationship toward non-Christians.” He pointed out, for instance, that the pope “could show up at an atheist convention and meet the people there and have dialogue with them.”
“John 3:16 says God loves the world,” he said. “It’s not that God loves believers and doesn’t love the unbelievers. All people are children of God, according to Catholic teaching.”
The declaration Nostra Aetate, meanwhile — issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 to address Catholicismʼs relationship with non-Christians — affirmed that the Church “regards [Muslims] with esteem.”
The document points out that although Muslims “do not acknowledge Jesus as God,” they still “adore the one God” and “revere [Jesus] as a prophet” while giving honor to the Virgin Mother as well.
The Second Vatican Council acknowledged that “in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen” between Christians and Muslims, but the document “urge[d] all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding.”
It further called on religious adherents to “preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.”
Catholic theologians explain why war is a ‘matter of morality’ after Vance comments on Pope Leo XIV
With President Donald Trump criticizing Pope Leo XIV for comments on the ongoing Iran war, Catholic Vice President JD Vance has taken a more nuanced tone — welcoming some input from clergy but discouraging them from wading into certain matters.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” on April 13, Vance said it’s good the pope discusses what he cares about, but added: “In some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of whatʼs going on in the Catholic Church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”
At a Turning Point, USA event the next day at the University of Georgia, Vance said he respects and admires Leo, likes “that the pope is an advocate for peace,” acknowledging it as “certainly one of his roles.” He disputed Leo’s understanding of just war doctrine and said the pope should be “careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
The comments come as Leo calls for peace and Church officials question the justification of the war on the basis of just war doctrine. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy have said they do not believe the war fits just war criteria.
Three Catholic theologians who spoke with EWTN News disputed the notion that public policy matters — especially as they relate to war — can be separated from “matters of morality” and affirmed the Church’s role in these topics.
EWTN News reached out to Vance’s office to ask whether he believes justifications for entering a war or conduct in war are “matters of morality” but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
‘Matters of morality’
The Church has long held concerns about war to be a moral subject, with St. Augustine writing extensively about it in the early fifth century and popes and theologians both commenting on just war doctrine generally and speaking out about specific wars for centuries.
Joseph Capizzi, dean and ordinary professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that Vance is “just wrong” to draw a line between matters of morality and matters of public policy.
“For people to be moral, they need a good, healthy, stable political community,” he said. “All of us, men, women, children, priest and religious, lay, and so on have a stake in the moral good of the political communities we inhabit.”
The Church, Capizzi said, has been around for more than 2,000 years, and “her experience, her wisdom, her tradition are critical resources for helping us live in good communities.”
“The plea that bishops and popes and priests should ‘stick to morals and avoid politics’ is old, and rightly rejected by all Catholics, lay or otherwise,” he said. “Itʼs what many relied on in the past to try to quiet Catholics about immigration, abortion, poverty, and many other issues. The overlap of politics and morality is expansive.”
Taylor Patrick O’Neill, theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College, told EWTN News he thinks Vance’s comment “was very uncareful.”
“There is no amoral arena,” he said. “There’s no aspect to our … life where moral aspects don’t come into play.”
O’Neill said the pope’s role to speak on matters of faith and morals “includes politics,” adding: “It would be a mistake to think that public policy does not touch upon the moral.”
The Holy Father’s statements, he said, are part of his role “to guide and to teach,” and if Leo were to avoid the Iran war, “it would be quite odd … and not in step with the tradition of the papacy” because it touches on “the faith and the morals of believing people worldwide.”
O’Neill said the pope’s role is not to “dictate public policy” like “directing the [government] in regard to what sort of military formations to use.” But he said the pope’s role is to explain that “certain policies are intrinsically contrary to human flourishing and dignity” and to comment on “moral truths that should affect policy.”
Ron Bolster, dean of the School of Theology and Philosophy at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, told EWTN News he wishes Vance “hadn’t taken his disagreement with the Holy Father publicly” and said it is not helpful to set up a dichotomy between the moral realm and the public policy realm.
“One would certainly hope that you would bring the Gospel to bear on public policy,” he said. “I would like to think [Vance] knows better than that, but his position is not very uncommon.”
A role of the pope, Bolster said, is to “try to bring public servants to a better appreciation for how the Gospel would be advanced in their policies” and to help and guide them “when they’re out of line in that regard.”
“The Gospel and morality [should] drive all policy and any action that we would take,” he said.
Just war doctrine
At Tuesday’s Turning Point event, Vance challenged Leo’s understanding of just war doctrine in a response to the pope’s post on X that read: “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
Vance asked: “Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis?” and “Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated those innocent people…?” The vice president said: “I certainly think the answer is yes.”
Capizzi said Vance “misses the point” because Leo is “aware of the Churchʼs understanding of the just war.” When Catholics must wage war, they should “pray in the hope that they are doing Godʼs will … with humility and even a fear of God that they have rightly judged [the] situation,” he said.
“They try to avoid praying with hubris or arrogance about their judgment, because they know Godʼs judgment alone matters,” he said.
Capizzi said Leo’s comments are “about the rise in recourse to violence to attempt to solve problems” and “those who ‘wage wars’ are those turning to violence rather than looking for other solutions.”
O’Neill said Catholics should not interpret Leo’s comments as “throwing out” just war doctrine but understand it the same way they understand Christ saying that “all who take the sword will perish by the sword” in Matthew 26:52.
“Even when a Christian has to take up the sword, he doesn’t live by the sword,” O’Neill said.
Even when a Christian has to take up the sword, he doesn’t live by the sword.
Taylor Patrick ONeillTheology professor at Thomas Aquinas College
If a Christian must engage in war, O’Neill said, “he does so as if it’s a tragedy.” He said glee or indifference toward war is “not living in accordance with the spirit of Christ” and noted concerns with the administration splicing together videos of the war with action movies, treating it like “a joke” or like “it’s cool.”
“The spirit should always be turned away from warfare,” he said.
Bolster said he read the pope’s comment in the context of Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization: “The threats were made against the culture, the civilians, and the innocents.” He said the pope “has a responsibility to all of the souls entrusted to him and to protect the innocents and call out an escalation that would go beyond the military targets.”
Yet, he also said Vance is in a tough position because when someone “questions whether [the soldiers are] involved in something that’s morally legitimate, you jeopardize their ability to do their job and you jeopardize their safety.”
The U.S. and Iran entered a temporary two-week ceasefire on April 8. So far, a long-term peace deal has not been reached.
Miami archbishop urges U.S. government to reconsider funding cut for children’s program
MIAMI — “We ask the U.S. government to reconsider the cancellation of an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities, given the immediate and long-term impact on services for unaccompanied minors and the broader humanitarian mission of the archdiocese,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami at a press conference on April 15.
For decades, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has partnered with the federal government to serve vulnerable children and families. The sudden termination of this contract ends a more than 65-year relationship that began with Operation Pedro Pan, which resettled approximately 14,000 Cuban children who were fleeing the Castro regime in the United States.
Wenski called for a review of the decision to cut funding for the Unaccompanied Minors Program of Catholic Charities.
“It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores,” he said.
The U.S. government oversees the care of unaccompanied minors and partners with organizations such as Catholic Charities to provide services.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has long funded Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami through the Unaccompanied Minors Program since 1960 to provide shelter and services to thousands of unaccompanied minors.
Federal spending data shows that Catholic Charities received $11 million from HHS in fiscal year 2025, but the award ended March 31. The abrupt end will force the organization to shut down services within three months.
The decision comes as President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pope Leo XIV. However, Wenski said the funding decision is unrelated to those tensions.
The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village, formerly known as Boys Town —established during the Pedro Pan exodus in the early 1960s — can house up to 81 children today.
“Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched. Yet Catholic Charities’ services for unaccompanied minors have been stripped of funding and will be forced to shut down within three months,” Wenski said.
Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez of Florida, both Republicans, also issued a letter to ORR urging the agency to reconsider.
“South Florida has always been the front line of humanitarian migration in our hemisphere,” the April 3 letter stated. They also warned of potential future migration from Cuba and Haiti.
“Catholic Charities provides what cannot be quickly replaced: trained staff, proven infrastructure, and decades of expertise,” they wrote. “Losing this capacity now will make future response efforts more costly, slower, and less effective.”
For those who lived it, today’s crisis is personal
Javier Llorens, first vice president of the Pedro Pan board of directors, arrived in the United States in 1962 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, years before his parents could join him. He spent five years in shelters run by the Catholic Welfare Bureau, the predecessor of Catholic Charities.
“It wasn’t just shelter — it was care, education, and formation,” said Llorens, now a dentist. “That model showed how to care for refugee children the right way.”
With federal funding now cut for programs serving unaccompanied minors, Llorens warned today’s children risk losing that support.
“I understand budgets can be evaluated,” he said. “But what matters is the care of the children. Without it, they are left without assistance and without support to integrate into this country.”
Graciela Anrrich, director of the Pedro Pan board of directors, shared a similar experience. She arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1961 with her sister and spent months in the program before reuniting with her parents.
“The care we received was extraordinary,” said Anrrich, now a professor at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. “We were placed with a wonderful foster family and supported during a very difficult time.”
Both say the program changed their lives — and fear others may now miss that opportunity.
“We have to call the attention of the government,” Llorens said. “They are making a mistake. We only want to help the children.”
Contract funded care for unaccompanied migrant children
Recently, the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village shelter was housing five children.
Four minors were transferred to a new center, and the last one is expected to reunite with his or her family. After that, the facility will no longer house children.
Peter Routsis-Arroyo, executive director of Catholic Charities, said similar programs across the country are also being affected.
“Programs that received funding starting April 1 will continue. We are currently seeking a 90-day no-cost extension, not yet officially approved, to provide proper notice to staff, severance pay, and the transfer of cases dating back to the 1960s. We may request an additional extension if needed,” he said.
Routsis-Arroyo said the organization received no warning.
“We were negotiating a new budget right up to the time of the cancellation letter. We were even approved for staff hiring the week before notification arrived,” he said.
He added that the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Refugee Resettlement informed them by email March 24 that their application was not selected for funding.
“It appears we scored very well but were not awarded bonus points,” he said.
Catholic Charities has no alternative funding to continue the program.
“Children are referred to us by ORR. Without a contract, ORR will not send children to us,” Routsis-Arroyo said.
The Unaccompanied Minors Program has operated continuously since 1960, making it the longest-running facility of its kind in the country. Contracts are currently awarded every three years.
Routsis-Arroyo said no other agency has provided this level of care for more than 65 years, beginning with Operation Pedro Pan. The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village was specifically designed, in collaboration with ORR, to provide optimal care for unaccompanied minors.
“If funding is not restored, we will have to transition to other residential programs. Once we do, ORR will lose our capacity to serve this population,” he said.
The current federal process does not allow for an appeal, leaving reconsideration or legal action as the only options.
This story was first published by the Florida Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.
Australian diocese unveils new cathedral as archbishop prepares for Rome
SYDNEY — An Australian diocese north of Sydney is building the countryʼs first purpose-built Catholic cathedral in more than 100 years, appointing an award-winning architect to design a sprawling precinct that will house everything from the bishopʼs seat to a parish hall and disability services.
The Diocese of Broken Bay announced April 14 that it has appointed London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects to design the new cathedral and surrounding campus at Waitara, on Sydneyʼs upper north shore. The diocese describes the project as the first Roman Catholic cathedral in Australia in more than a century to be master-planned from inception as a complete, integrated complex.
The announcement was the final major project decision taken under Archbishop Anthony Randazzo before his expected relocation to Rome.
Pope Leo XIV named Randazzo, 59, prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Legislative Texts on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, also granting him the personal title of archbishop. He continues to serve as apostolic administrator of Broken Bay until the move.
“While my responsibilities have expanded to serve the universal Church in Rome, my commitment to this vision is unwavering,” Randazzo said in a statement issued through the diocese. “The appointment of Níall McLaughlin Architects signals we are moving ahead with confidence to create a community legacy for generations to come.”
The 7.7-hectare Cathedral Precinct Project will succeed the dioceseʼs current cathedral, Our Lady of the Rosary, which was designated as the bishopʼs seat in February 2008 after succeeding the smaller Corpus Christi Church at St. Ives.
The new precinct will rise on the same Yardley Avenue site and integrate the existing St. Leoʼs Catholic College campus, a pastoral center, parish hall, a new home for the diocesan charity CatholicCare, residences for the bishop and clergy, and diocesan offices.
Erected as a diocese in April 1986 by Pope John Paul II, Broken Bay this year marks its 40th anniversary and serves around 250,000 Catholics across 26 parishes spanning Sydneyʼs North Shore, the Northern Beaches, and the upper Central Coast — a territory of 2,763 square kilometers (1,067 square miles).
A ‘virtuous circle’ of faith and education
In its own communications, the diocese has framed the project around what it calls a “virtuous circle” of Catholic life — the integration of liturgy, formation, and education on a single site, from baptism through secondary schooling.
The architectural concept draws on the natural setting of the Hawkesbury River, which unites the dioceseʼs parishes, and on the local sandstone bluffs of the surrounding bushland.
Renderings released by the practice show twin slender sandstone-clad spires rising above a public forecourt, with a timber-framed entrance portal centered on a cross. Inside, an exposed lattice of cross-braced timber members vaults the length of the nave, with raw sandstone walls and geometric stained glass.
The diocese said the design draws explicitly on the spirit of Laudato Si', the 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis on care for creation, prioritizing sustainable timber and stone and preserving the existing Blue Gum High Forest on the site as a public amenity.
A practice known for sacred architecture
Níall McLaughlin Architects, established in 1990, was selected following an invited international design process. Its founder, the Irish-born and London-based Níall McLaughlin, received the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal in January — one of the disciplineʼs highest international honors, awarded annually in recognition of a lifetime contribution to architecture.
The practice has built several sacred and contemplative spaces, including the Bishop Edward King Chapel for Ripon College in Oxford, a 2013 Stirling Prize finalist; the New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; and the Auckland Castle Faith Museum in northern England.
In February the firm was announced as winner of the international competition to design the Museum of Jesus' Baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the UNESCO World Heritage site on the east bank of the River Jordan traditionally identified as the place of Christʼs baptism. That museum is targeted to open in 2030 to mark the bimillennial of the baptism of Jesus.
McLaughlin spoke about the Broken Bay project on April 14 at the Rothwell Public Lecture series at the University of Sydney. “We are delighted to work on this significant project to help create an enduring spiritual, civic, and cultural precinct that places the faithful at its center,” he said.
The Australian firm Hayball has been appointed as executive architect on the project. Funding will be drawn from a combination of institutional capital and a dedicated philanthropic appeal, and the diocese said design work will now move into approval pathways that will determine the construction timeline.
Pope Leo XIV in Cameroon: The Eucharist sustains us amid fear, suffering
DOUALA, Cameroon — Physical food is not enough; the soul needs the nourishment of the Eucharist, which sustains us in times of fear and suffering, Pope Leo XIV said at a Mass in Douala, Cameroon, on Friday.
Celebrating Mass for more than 120,000 people outside Japoma Stadium, in Cameroon’s economic capital, the pope said in his homily that Jesus’ miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is a sign he came to serve with love, not domination.
The miracle “shows us not only how God provides humanity with the bread of life but how we can share this sustenance with all men and women who, like ourselves, hunger for peace, freedom, and justice,” Leo said.
“Each act of solidarity and forgiveness, every good effort, becomes a morsel of bread for humanity in need of care,” the pope added.
“Yet this alone is not enough: The food that sustains the body must be accompanied, with equal charity, by nourishment for the soul — a nourishment that sustains our conscience and steadies us in dark hours of fear and amid the shadows of suffering. This food is Christ himself, who always gives his Church abundant sustenance and strengthens us on our journey by giving us his Eucharistic body," he said.
Leo celebrated Mass in French in Douala on his third day in Cameroon. On April 18, he will celebrate Mass in the country’s capital, Yaoundé, before departing for the third country of his apostolic journey in Africa — Angola.
In his homily, delivered mostly in French, the pope reflected on the miracle of the loaves and fishes, comparing the crowd in the Gospel to those present at the Mass.
“The Gospel we have heard (John 6:1-15) is the word of salvation for all humanity. This good news is proclaimed today throughout the world; for the Church in Cameroon, it resounds as a providential proclamation of God’s love and of our communion,” he said.
Describing the scene in the Gospel, Pope Leo focused on the crowd and the lack of food: “Jesus asks us today, just as he asked his disciples then: How will you solve this problem? Look at all these hungry people, weighed down by fatigue. What will you do?”
The pope stressed that this question concerns everyone: “It is posed to the fathers and mothers who care for their families. It is directed to the shepherds of the Church, who watch over the Lord’s flock, and also to those who bear social and political responsibility for the people and seek their well-being. Christ asks this question to the powerful and the weak, to the rich and the poor, to the young and the elderly, because we all hunger in the same way.”
“Our necessity reminds us that we are creatures,” he continued. “We need to eat in order to live. We are not God: but where is God in the face of people’s hunger?”
Turning to Christ’s response, Leo underlined the meaning of thanksgiving and sharing: “While awaiting our answers, Jesus gives his own: ‘Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.’ A serious problem was solved by blessing the little food that was present and sharing it with all who were hungry.”
He said the miracle is that “there is bread for everyone if it is given to everyone. There is bread for everyone if it is taken, not with a hand that snatches away, but with a hand that gives.”
Pointing to the Mass being celebrated, the pope highlighted its transforming power as “a source of renewed faith, because Jesus becomes present among us. The sacrament [of the Eucharist] does not merely revive a distant memory; it brings about a ‘companionship’ that transforms us because it sanctifies us.”
“This very altar, around which we gather for the Eucharist, becomes a proclamation of hope amid the trials of history and the injustices we see around us. It is a sign of God’s love; in Christ, the Father invites us to share what we have, so that it may be multiplied in ecclesial fellowship,” Leo said.
Switching to English, Pope Leo addressed young people, asking them to “be the first faces and hands that bring the bread of life to your neighbors, providing them with the food of wisdom and deliverance from all that does not nourish them, but rather obscures good desires and robs them of their dignity.”
Acknowledging the realities of poverty, he issued a warning against violence and corruption, urging them to “not give in to distrust and discouragement” and to “reject every form of abuse or violence, which deceives by promising easy gains but hardens the heart and makes it insensitive.”
“Do not forget that your people are even richer than this land, for your treasure lies in your values: faith, family, hospitality, and work,” he said.
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.
Carmelite sisters ask for prayers, donations after fire destroys retreat house
Carmelite sisters in Los Angeles are asking the Catholic faithful for prayers — and donations if they are able — after a fire destroyed one of their retreat houses April 11.
“[The] No. 1 [way to help] is just to pray with us, to be attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit right now, especially in this time of rebuilding, that we move according to what the Lord wants,” Sister Meredith Boquiren, OCD, directress of the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, California, told anchor Veronica Dudo in an April 16 interview on “EWTN News Nightly.”
Early Saturday afternoon during a four-day Healing the Whole Person retreat, a fire broke out on the second floor of one of the two retreat houses on the campus, which is operated by the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles.
No one was injured in the fire, but the damaged building is inoperable and will need to be rebuilt.
Three fire departments responded to the scene and prevented the fire from spreading further throughout the campus, which includes the motherhouse, where all the sisters begin formation. The sisters have operated the campus for 85 years.
The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the sisters believe the source may have been electrical.
Boquiren said in the interview that the fire alarm went off shortly after the conclusion of the final retreat Mass, which the sisters hosted during the latter half of the Easter Octave, just ahead of Divine Mercy Sunday.
“Weʼve had some false alarms before, so I just went and ran to the place that the source indicated,” Boquiren said. “So I ran up the second floor of the building and saw a bunch of billowing black smoke and realized it was real. And then I ran outside to see, and at that moment the window had burst open with flames.”
She said it was “a strange experience because we had just finished some powerful testimonies” and within the next 10 minutes, “I experienced a sense of weight and darkness at the same time.”
“It was just quite strange to … experience the paschal joy and resurrection of our Lord through the suffering, right? The actual healing journey that we were experiencing on retreat,” she said. “So it was, it was quite a strange contradiction of emotions.”
Boquiren said “the damage was pretty expensive,” noting it is “a two-building, two-floor building with 25 rooms.”
“The water, smoke, and fire damage is pretty extensive,” she said. “The firemen had to make holes through the building on the top, and so itʼs basically unusable and irreparable at this time.”
In addition to asking for prayers, Boquiren said: “If you are willing and able to provide a gift, we would greatly appreciate that.”
Sister Mary Scholastica, OCD, director of advancement for the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, told EWTN News “it is too early for estimated cost of damages” but “an entire building will need to be rebuilt and construction in Southern California is costly.”
She said the retreat house serves more than 13,000 people annually.
Although one building is unusable, Boquiren noted in her “EWTN News Nightly” interview that retreats are still happening, but “it’s just with less capacity.”
“Blessed be God, they are [still happening], because we still have two of the buildings that we use in operation,” she said.
Diocese of Phoenix pioneers role for priestly well-being: No priest should walk ‘alone’
Bishop Peter Dai Bui believes priests are not just “workers in the vineyard” but “sons and brothers who need to be accompanied,” and this conviction has led to a new role in the Diocese of Phoenix that will help ensure all priests are supported spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
“I believe that a priest who is known, accompanied, and cared for brings that fullness to everything he does: to the altar, to the confessional, to the bedside of the dying,” Bui, auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Phoenix, told EWTN News.
Father Greg Schlarb, who is currently a pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Scottsdale, Arizona, will pioneer the role of vicar for priestly life and ministry for the diocese, working with Bui, the vicar for clergy, to care for priests in the diocese.
While Bui’s role is practical — handling priestly assignments and personnel management — Schlarb will take a “more proactive and personal approach,” according to the diocese.
“I want to be a sounding board, a listening ear, and a compassionate brother who is there to support and assist them,” Schlarb told EWTN News.
No priest has to walk alone
“Priestly formation does not end at ordination,” Bui said. “It is a lifelong journey, and every priest needs someone walking alongside him in that journey. Father Schlarbʼs role exists to make sure no priest in the Diocese of Phoenix has to walk it alone."
“When our priests are well — humanly, spiritually, pastorally — their people feel it,” Bui continued.
The new role is one of several mental health efforts established by Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix. Dolan, who has lost four family members to suicide, is known for his mental health advocacy.
“Bishop Dolan has always understood that the health of the diocese depends on the health of its priests, and as that conviction deepened, it became clear that priestly life and ministry deserved its own dedicated focus, that is, as a distinct and primary pastoral priority,” Bui said.
“How do we make sure our priests have what they need, that they are healthy: spiritually, physically, mentally; that they constantly are formed and transformed in their relationship with Christ?” Dolan asked in his monthly podcast, "Tilma," which highlighted the new role.
“Youʼre not just ordained a priest, but youʼre ordained a priest in the presbyterate — that means there’s a community of priests of which you belong,” Dolan said.
The Diocese of Phoenix spans 44,000 square miles and is the fastest-growing diocese in the U.S. It is home to more than 2 million Catholics and 94 parishes.
“It’s my hope that all of our priests, no matter how far away they are from the Phoenix metropolitan area, will feel supported, heard, and loved,” Schlarb said.
“Just as the parishioners they serve understand that the presence of a priest shepherding in the farthest parts of our diocese demonstrates the care, concern, and love of our bishop, so these heroic priests who serve in these remote parishes will also experience that same care, concern, and love through the presence and support I am able to offer them,” Schlarb said.
A pastor’s heart
“Priests can often face challenges when their life is ‘out of balance,’” Schlarb said. “Sometimes there are personnel issues that cause great concern, or ‘actively disengaged’ parishioners are placing stumbling blocks for our pastors, or there’s little to no opportunity to create community in these remote areas.”
But Bui said he believes Schlarb has “exactly the right gifts to this work.”
“He has a pastorʼs heart, a brother priestʼs credibility, and a genuine love for his fellow priests,” he said.
Even though he does not start in the role until July 1, Schlarb said priests have already begun to reach out.
“There have been priests reaching out for guidance with pastoral challenges, new assignment excitement, and concerns and guidance on applying for sabbaticals or ongoing formation opportunities,” Schlarb said.
“I am grateful to God for this assignment that Bishop John Dolan has entrusted to me and with the guidance of the word or God and the Holy Spirit, I hope to serve our priests to the best of my ability,” he said.
China pressures underground Catholics to join state church, rights group says
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is increasing its pressure campaign on underground Catholics, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.
“A decade into Xi Jinping’s Sinicization campaign and nearly eight years since the 2018 Holy See-China agreement, Catholics in China face escalating repression that violates their religious freedoms,” Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in an April 15 report. “Pope Leo XIV should urgently review the agreement and press Beijing to end the persecution and intimidation of underground churches, clergy, and worshippers.”
Human Rights Watch said it conducted interviews with “nine people outside the country who had firsthand knowledge of Catholicism in China” for its report, who said the 2018 Vatican-China agreement has “provided an overarching structure for the authorities to pressure underground Catholics.”
Witnesses in the report said Catholics in China felt the agreement left them with “no other choice but to join the official church” and that those who have remained in the underground Church “felt betrayed by the Vatican.”
Human Rights Watch also highlighted the Chinese government’s persecution of Catholic bishops and clergy, citing instances of detention and forced disappearance as well as China’s move to ban Catholic priests from teaching or evangelizing online.
“Catholic clergy released from detention continue to face harassment,” the report said. “One person said in January that a priest he knew was barred from having bank accounts, SIM cards, and a passport, and thus has ‘no means of survival and can barely make ends meet for even a day or two.'”
“The Vatican’s agreement and policy regarding the Catholic Church in China in recent years has been disastrous,” Nina Shea, Hudson Institute senior fellow, told EWTN News. “Faithful Catholic bishops are subjected by the government to being disappeared, detained indefinitely without due process, sidelined but ‘recognized’ or being actively threatened with detention if they resist swearing fealty to only the Chinese Communist Party and not Rome.”
Shea, who also serves as director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, urged Pope Leo XIV to lead a global prayer vigil for Chinese bishops who have been forcibly disappeared or detained.
“Pope Benedict XVI designated May 24 as the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China but it’s been virtually forgotten in the last few years and never robustly embraced by the Vatican, which probably sees it as implicit criticism of the CCP, something it is loath to do,” she said.