Congressman criticizes Vatican for hosting China’s top organ transplant official in 2017
A New Jersey congressman sharply criticized the Vatican for giving a platform to one of Beijing’s top transplant officials at a 2017 international conference on organ trafficking.
During an April 9 event hosted by the Hudson Institute highlighting new evidence of forced organ harvesting in China, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, called out the Vatican for hosting China’s leading transplant official at the Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism in 2017.
Smith was a panelist at the Hudson Institute event with Ethan Gutmann, the author of a new book, “The Xinjiang Procedure,” which presents evidence of forced organ harvesting targeting Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim communities on an industrial scale in China.
Gutmann testified during the panel about his findings while on an undercover mission where he secretly interviewed former detainees of Chinese concentration camps, whose testimonies included accounts of gang rape, water torture, and forced organ harvesting.
“I’ve argued with [the Vatican],” Smith said. “If you’re bringing in people who are doing terrible evil, you’re giving them a platform.”
Participants at the 2017 Vatican conference, organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, signed a statement agreeing to unite in fighting the crime of organ trafficking, submitting 11 proposals for implementation by health care and law enforcement professionals around the world.
China’s participation in the conference was the source of controversy at the time, as the advocacy group Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting said in a statement that there was “no evidence that past practices of forced organ harvesting have ended” in China.
The group further criticized the Vatican’s decision to invite Huang Jiefu, Beijing’s top official on transplants, saying that it would compromise the conference’s image and objectives, when there was not sufficient evidence that China was changing its ways.
Human rights advocate and Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Nina Shea, who also spoke at the April 9 event, echoed Smith’s censure of the Vatican for hosting Jiefu.
She told EWTN News the Vatican’s first point of leverage to help prevent organ harvesting is to “start by doing no harm.”
“What they did was host the public face of the organ transplant sector of China at their conference in Rome,” she said, describing Jiefu as a “longtime member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Shea said the Vatican conference helped “open doors” for Jiefu with the World Health Organization (WHO), after which she said he proposed a “task force for best practices on organ transplants.”
“That’s part of his propaganda,” she said. “The Vatican thought that was a great idea and introduced him to WHO, and when he proposed it, they said, ‘Yes, at the Vatican’s urging we’ll create a task force and you’re on it.’”
“So, they appointed this Chinese Communist Party Central Committee member, who is the vice minister of health and the public face of their organ transplant sector, to this task force,” she said.
“Needless to say, the task force has done nothing," she said.
“I think Pope Leo should pronounce against forced organ harvesting. Itʼs a great human rights issue,” she said. “It hasnʼt been addressed on the world stage, and the pope has the platform to do that and the moral authority to do it."
Legislative efforts in the U.S.
On a policy level, Smith emphasized the need to “seriously criminalize” forced organ harvesting to combat the practice on an international level. He also lamented that the Senate failed to pass the Stop Organ Harvesting Act of 2023 after it passed in the House with nearly unanimously.
The congressman warned that the latest attempt to pass legislation with the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025 could face the same fate if the Senate fails to lend its support.
The current legislation, he noted, would require the president to impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in forced organ harvesting and authorize the State Department to revoke passports of individuals found complicit in the practice.
“This would have a chilling effect on [organ] brokers,” Smith said.
Chaldean Catholic bishops meet Pope Leo as they prepare to elect new patriarch
The bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Friday as part of their synodal meetings in Rome to elect a new patriarch. The encounter comes after Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako resigned as patriarch last month, prompting the bishops to gather in the Italian capital.
The electoral synod represents a pivotal moment in the life of the Chaldean Catholic Church, as the bishops are expected to choose a new shepherd to lead Chaldean Catholics amid complex internal and national challenges. The meetings also reflect a broader dimension that goes beyond the local framework, highlighting a close relationship with the Holy See.
Leoʼs hope for the next patriarch
The Holy Father addressed the bishops on April 10, praying that the Holy Spirit would guide them in their election of a patriarch. He expressed the hope that the patriarch would be a father in faith and a sign of unity; a person of the beatitudes who lives daily holiness based on fidelity, mercy, and purity of heart; and a shepherd close to his people, steadfast in prayer, capable of facing difficulties with hope, and working with the bishops in a spirit of unity.
The pope described the Chaldeans as guardians of a living and noble memory, and of a faith transmitted through the centuries with courage and fidelity. He added that their history is glorious but also marked by harsh experiences: wars, persecutions, and trials that affected their communities and scattered many believers around the world.
Leo further stated that it is precisely in these wounds that the witness of faith shines, because a Church that bears the scars of history shows how wounds, in the risen Lord, can become signs of hope and new life. He affirmed his closeness to them in their trials, calling for communion with Christians of other denominations.
He urged the bishops to remain vigilant and transparent in managing Church property, to exercise moderation and responsibility in the use of media, and to be cautious in public statements so that every word contributes to building ecclesial communion rather than harm it. He also emphasized the importance of forming priests, supporting consecrated persons, and accompanying laypeople. He highlighted the importance of believers remaining in their homelands and respecting the freedom of Christians in the Middle East.
He also described those present as signs of hope in a world full of violence, noting that they are called to be peacemakers, since only dialogue creates true peace. He said they have a great mission: to proclaim the risen Christ and keep hope alive.
Sako bids farewell to his Church
Leo accepted the resignation of Sako on March 10, one day after the patriarch requested to step down to “dedicate himself quietly to prayer, writing, and simple service.”
In a farewell letter April 9, Sako expressed his deep gratitude to all those who supported him during his 13 years as patriarch, noting his profound emotion at the messages of solidarity he received from Church figures and believers of different backgrounds. He affirmed his commitment to pray for the Church and the bishops gathered in Rome, calling for the election of a patriarch who embodies unity and serves the people with love.
Sako also emphasized his neutrality in the electoral process, considering his absence from the synod an expression of respect for the bishops’ freedom. He also reviewed key aspects of his ministry, through which he sought to balance tradition and renewal, affirming that ecclesial tradition must remain alive and engaged with the times.
Sako noted his influence since the Second Vatican Council, his participation in Catholic Church synods, and his role in the Middle East Council of Churches. These experiences, he said, shaped his efforts to develop Church discourse in liturgy and teaching in a modern and accessible language. He highlighted his efforts to strengthen Christian-Muslim dialogue, unify Church positions, defend the presence of Christians in Iraq, and advocate for a state based on citizenship and equality. He said he considers his resignation not an end but the beginning of a new phase of quiet service.
After the election and announcement of a new patriarch, a holy Mass, an expression of ecclesial communion, will be celebrated by the new leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church with Pope Leo XIV or his representative. The newly elected patriarch will also announce, in consultation with the synod fathers, the date of his enthronement at the patriarchal seat in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
Media narrative about nuncio’s Pentagon meeting untrue, Vatican says
The Vatican on Friday said the narrative in some media outlets about a meeting at the Pentagon between senior U.S. defense officials and the pope’s then-representative to the U.S. “does not correspond to the truth.”
According to Cardinal Christophe Pierre, his meeting with Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge A. Colby in January was part of the former nuncio’s “regular mission and provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said in a statement April 10.
“The narrative presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth at all,” Bruni added.
Bruni’s statement followed an April 6 report by The Free Press claiming Pierre, then the apostolic nuncio to the U.S., received “a bitter lecture” in a January meeting with defense officials, reportedly because of a speech in which Pope Leo XIV criticized “a diplomacy based on force.”
According to The Free Press, the pope’s message was interpreted as a criticism of U.S. policy by Pentagon officials, who told Pierre: “America has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”
The U.S. Department of Defense, in a post on X on April 9, said that a “substantive, respectful, and professional” meeting took place on Jan. 22, but “recent reporting of the meeting is highly exaggerated and distorted.”
“During the cordial meeting, they discussed a range of topics, including issues of morality in foreign policy, the logic of the U.S. National Security Strategy, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and other topics. Cardinal Pierre expressed his appreciation for the outreach and both sides looked forward to continued open and respectful dialogue,” the department said. It also shared photos from the meeting.
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The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, also commented on the Pentagon meeting on X on April 9. Burch said he had spoken to the former nuncio who “emphatically denied the media’s portrayal of his meeting with Colby.”
Pierre, Burch wrote, “described the meeting as ‘frank, but very cordial’ and a ‘normal encounter.’ He confirmed that the reporting ‘does not reflect what happened’ and was ‘just invented to make a story.’”
Catholic news outlet The Pillar reported April 10 that one senior Vatican official had described the conversation as having moments of tension, with some U.S. officials being “aggressive” and “bullying,” though “there was no question of anybody threatening anyone.”
Pope Leo accepted Pierreʼs resignation as nuncio in March for reaching the age limit and appointed Archbishop Gabriele Caccia as his new representative to the U.S.
How Divine Mercy Sunday will be celebrated at the shrine in Krakow, Poland
The Divine Mercy Shrine in Kraków, Poland — one of the foremost pilgrimage centers in the Catholic world — is preparing to welcome thousands of the faithful for Divine Mercy Sunday on April 12.
According to official information released by the shrine, the celebrations will be marked by liturgical observances and moments of prayer in response to the request of St. Faustina Kowalska, who conveyed the words of Jesus: “I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the feast of mercy.”
Mass and vigil celebration
Under this year’s theme, “God, the Merciful Father... To You We Entrust the Destiny of the World,” the organizers invite the faithful to the commencement of celebrations on Saturday, April 11, with a vigil Mass in the basilica to be celebrated by the archbishop emeritus of Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski.
After the Mass, a prayer vigil will take place, continuing through the early morning hours. At midnight, another Mass will be celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Janusz Mastalski of Kraków. Afterward, the faithful will continue to participate in the vigil until 5 a.m.
On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Mass will be celebrated at the outdoor altar by the archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, who also serves as the honorary patron of the event.
During this celebration, the so-called “Bell of Hope” destined for the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius, Lithuania, will be blessed.
One of the most significant moments will be the solemn hour of mercy, a practice deeply connected to this devotion, which will be observed in the basilica at 3 p.m., coinciding with the hour of Christʼs death.
A shrine marked by history and faith
The shrine’s current basilica was built from 1999 to 2002 and was consecrated on Aug. 17, 2002, by St. John Paul II, who at that site entrusted the entire world to divine mercy.
The basilica is noted for its symbolism: Its shape evokes an ark, a sign of salvation for those who place their trust in God. Inside, a tabernacle shaped like a globe representing humanity in need of mercy is situated alongside the image of the merciful Jesus.
It also houses depictions of St. Faustina Kowalska and St. John Paul II — great apostles of this devotion — as well as one of the largest stained-glass windows in Kraków, which symbolizes the light of divine mercy radiating upon the world.
Mass schedule
The shrine has scheduled multiple Eucharistic celebrations throughout the day:
6 a.m. (basilica), celebrated by Father Tomasz Szopa
8 a.m. (basilica), celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Damian Muskus
10 a.m. (outdoor altar), principal Mass with Cardinal Ryś
12:30 p.m. (basilica), celebrated by Father Robert Woźniak
4 p.m. (outdoor altar), celebrated by Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who served as secretary to St. John Paul II for over 40 years.
6 p.m. (basilica), with the participation of young people
7 p.m. (convent chapel)
Broadcasts and global participation
All celebrations will be broadcast on television and digital platforms. The main Mass will be aired on TVP1, while the hour of mercy can be followed on EWTN.
Additionally, the shrine will offer online broadcasts via its official website and YouTube channel, enabling the participation of the faithful from around the world.
The shrine has implemented various logistical measures to accommodate the crowds expected to attend the celebration.
Confessions will be available throughout the night and on Sunday, including in several languages, and Communion will be distributed between Masses.
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.
Cause for canonization of Argentine Bishop Jorge Novak closed ‘with sorrow’
The Diocese of Quilmes in Argentina announced that by decision of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the “nihil obstat” granted to the cause for the canonization of the Servant of God Bishop Jorge Novak has been revoked.
The decision, communicated by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the dicastery, stems from “a possible canonical procedure not carried out by Bishop Jorge Novak, SVD, regarding the conduct of a priest of the diocese,” the Diocese of Quilmes clarified.
Furthermore, the diocese clarified that this decision expresses “no moral judgment regarding the life, virtues, and pastoral ministry" of Novak and that consequently he is still recognized as a servant of God even though his cause will not proceed.
The Diocese of Quilmes and the Society of the Divine Word — co-sponsors of the canonical cause initiated on Dec. 11, 2017 — announced the news “with sorrow,” while simultaneously expressing their confidence that “God, in his immense goodness, has granted the beloved and fondly remembered Father-Bishop Jorge Novak, SVD, the joy of eternal life, even if he is not inscribed in the canonical register of the blessed and saints officially proclaimed by the Church.”
Novak, who died in 2001, was the first bishop of the Diocese of Quilmes, which was established in June 1976. His episcopal consecration took place on Sept. 19, 1976, and he remained at the helm of the diocese until his death.
He is remembered for his staunch defense of human rights during the military dictatorship in Argentina and for his care for the poor. Novak also promoted the “Mass of Hope,” which continues to be celebrated to this day.
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 worldwide join Pope Leo’s prayer vigil for peace on April 11 amid ongoing global conflicts
Several bishops’ conferences around the world have echoed Pope Leo XIV’s call to pray for peace on April 11.
During his “urbi et irbi” (“to the city and the world”) message on Easter Sunday, the Holy Father called for a prayer vigil for peace to be held Saturday at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Responding to that call, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, made “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.”
The pontiff encouraged the faithful to join together to make heard “the cry for peace that springs from our hearts” and warned against growing indifference: “We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent.”
“Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people,” he continued, “indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow. Indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.”
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, issued a statement urging priests, religious, and all believers to participate in the vigil led by the pope or to gather in prayer within their local communities to “implore the gift of reconciliation.”
“Let us halt the whirlwind of pain, suffering, and devastation; let us say our ‘no’ to war, and let us not grow accustomed to the horror,” the cardinal said.
Together with the Society of Jesus and the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious in Mexico, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference issued “an urgent call to society” to join the popeʼs campaign of prayer for peace with the theme “Let Us Make Heard the Cry for Peace That Springs from the Heart!”
“The peace that Christ offers us is both a gift and a mission. This peace is built by learning to transform conflicts into opportunities for forgiveness rather than into excuses for violence. Therefore, peace within the family and community is a daily task that requires a generous heart, willing to forgive,” the Mexican bishops stated.
The bishop of Huesca, Spain, Pedro Aguado Cuesta, has also called upon the faithful there to participate in the prayer vigil.
The prelate will lead the vigil at San Vicente el Real Church at 9 p.m. local time in communion with the initiative promoted by the Holy Father.
“Peace lies at the heart of the Gospel and at the center of human aspirations,” said Aguado, who urged the faithful to make a personal commitment to be builders of peace.
Likewise, Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, invited local churches to participate in the day of prayer.
“In a world increasingly marked by conflict and the ‘globalization of indifference,’ the Holy Father has invited the entire Church to unite in prayer, exhorting everyone to implore the gift of peace and to renew our commitment to dialogue, reconciliation, and nonviolence,” he said in a statement.
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.
Bishop Zaidan appeals to Trump for aid and peace in Lebanon after deadly Israeli attack
As the United States enters negotiations with Iran during a two-week ceasefire, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan is urging President Donald Trump to help facilitate humanitarian aid to the people in Lebanon.
Zaidan, a native of Lebanon and chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, issued a statement on April 9 conveying his gratitude for the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire but also expressing his concerns about Lebanon, which he says the agreement does not cover.
Shortly after the ceasefire, Israel launched its deadliest attack on Lebanon since the start of the war, killing more than 300 people, according to the Associated Press. The attack outraged Iran, with officials claiming Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. American officials asserted Lebanon’s inclusion was never promised.
“I am grateful for the ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran, and pray for all sides to engage in effective dialogue to end this devastating war,” Zaidan said in his statement. “I am disappointed, however, to learn that the agreement does not cover Lebanon, and thus falls short of encompassing the entire region where the conflict has been raging.”
On April 9, Lebanese and Israeli officials both expressed an interest in beginning peace talks.
Zaidan acknowledged the Israeli people “have the right to live in peace,” as do “the innocent Lebanese civilians who are currently suffering from lack of food, medical supplies, and from paralyzing fear.”
“Distressingly, over 1 million people, including 370,000 children, have been displaced by the fighting in what is becoming one of Lebanon’s most acute internal displacement crises in recent history,” he said.
As EWTN News previously reported, several Catholic organizations are operating in Lebanon seeking to provide shelter, food, medical services, and other forms of aid to people harmed or displaced by the conflict. This week, a Vatican humanitarian convoy in southern Lebanon was forced to turn back after it was caught in the crossfire between Hezbollah and Israel.
Father Pierre al-Rahi, a Catholic priest, was killed in Israeli strikes in late March. Some Catholic communities in southern Lebanon were ordered to evacuate, but some have refused to leave the war zone out of fear their land and homes could be permanently occupied. The majority of southern Lebanon is Shia Muslim, but it has pockets of Catholic, Sunni, and religiously mixed communities.
In total, more than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 5,500 have been injured.
“As the United States seeks a negotiated end to the war in Iran, I call on President Trump and the international community to ensure that the people of Lebanon receive greater access to humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies, especially in the south,” Zaidan said in his statement.
For a long-term peace, Zaidan said “it is imperative that all parties work toward the full and immediate disarming of Hezbollah,” which is an Iranian-backed Shia militant group operating throughout southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah joined the war against Israel following the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, prompting Israel to fire rockets and launch ground incursions in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government has sought to disarm Hezbollah previously and attempts to disarm them are part of the Lebanon-Israel peace negotiations.
Zaidan also called for “the implementation of the U.N. resolutions concerning Lebanon,” adding that “hopefully, after that, the governments of Israel and Lebanon can sign an agreement for lasting peace.”
The bishop quoted Pope Leo XIV’s Easter message, in which the Holy Father said: “May you, in the midst of feelings of pain, anxiety, and mourning, come to know in your hearts a deeper joy: Jesus has gloriously triumphed over death. It is a joy that comes from heaven and that nothing can take away.”
“May Our Lady of Lebanon, Queen of Peace, pray for her children in Lebanon and for the peace of the entire world,” Zaidan concluded.
U.S. births declined slightly in 2025, CDC reports
The number of births in the United States fell by 1% in 2025, according to provisional data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There were 3,606,400 live births last year, down from 3,628,934 in 2024, the National Center for Health Statistics reported.
The general fertility rate dropped 1% to 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44, continuing a long-term decline of 23% since its 2007 peak.
The most notable decline came in teenage births, which reached another historic low. The birth rate for females ages 15–19 fell 7% to 11.7 births per 1,000 — the lowest rate ever recorded.
In total, 125,933 babies were born to teen mothers in 2025, an 8% decrease from the previous year.
Rates dropped for both younger teens (ages 15–17) and older teens (ages 18–19), with both age groups setting new record lows.
The provisional figures are based on nearly all (99.95%) birth records received and processed by the CDC as of early February. Final 2025 numbers, expected later this year, are not anticipated to change significantly.
The report reflects the ongoing gradual decline in U.S. births that has persisted for most of the past two decades, interrupted only by a modest uptick in 2024.
Experts continue to link the broader trend to factors such as abortion, biotechnology, economic pressures, and shifting social and political priorities.
“There is no single driver of declining birth rates, and yet what is undeniable is that due to anti-life technologies, economic pressures, bad policies, and cultural movements such as girl-boss feminism, more and more women are delaying or forgoing children," said Emma Waters, a senior policy analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation.
“Increasingly, it is women without a college degree who are opting out of children, in part because it feels like a luxury or elite enterprise to get married and have kids, and sadly our elite class only continues to fuel this lie,” she said.
Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, also expressed concern about the broader trend.
“The continuing decline in birth rates in the U.S. is very worrisome,” Mosher said. “We seem to be going the way of Old Europe, that is, entering an extended period of low fertility that puts us, as a country, in danger of entering into an irrecoverable demographic decline.”
He pointed to multiple possible factors, including “the increasingly widespread use of the abortion pill” and high numbers of abortions reported by Planned Parenthood.
According to the groupʼs 2024-2025 annual report, Planned Parenthood performed an all-time high of 434,450 abortions in 2023-2024.
The record number of abortions is an 8% increase, or about 32,000 more abortions, from the previous year. The number does not include telehealth chemical abortions, which are a growing percentage of all abortions, especially for teenagers and young adults.
A recent report, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, found that young adults (ages 18–24) order abortion medication at much higher rates than older adults and that more teenagers order abortion pills in states with parental notification or consent laws around abortion.
The report found a “growing demand among adolescents and young adults in legally constrained environments.”
Mosher also attributed part of the decline in births to stricter immigration enforcement.
“Another part of the decline is surely related to the now-closed border and the crackdown on ‘birth tourism,’ which means that fewer and fewer babies [of foreign-born parents] are being born in the U.S.,” he said. “Ten percent of all births in the U.S. in 2024 were to illegal aliens, a percentage that is undoubtedly lower in 2025 as deportations and remigration reduce their numbers.”
The CDC also found that the cesarean delivery rate rose slightly to 32.5%, the highest since 2013, while the preterm birth rate held steady at 10.41%. Early preterm births (less than 34 weeks) saw a small 1% decline.
Catholic moral theologians worry for civilians amid shaky Iran ceasefire, Trump rhetoric
As a ceasefire between the United States and Iran tentatively remains in place, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has sparked concerns from Catholic moral theologians about the safety of civilian populations if fighting resumes.
Trump announced a ceasefire agreement on April 7, hours after threatening the annihilation of the “whole civilization” of Iran if the country did not agree to U.S. terms.
Plans to destroy Iran’s infrastructure by striking power plants and bridges were paused for two weeks. Yet disputes about the ceasefire’s terms and the starting point of negotiations quickly raised tensions again.
William Newton, chair of the theology department at Franciscan University of Steubenville, told EWTN News: “It always seems best to sort out disputes by talking rather than fighting when this is possible.”
He urged prayers “that a real peace can be established that makes the world safer and the people of Iran better off.”
Joseph Capizzi, dean and ordinary professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News he is “glad” the ceasefire is in place and believes pushback against the war prompted it.
Taylor Patrick O’Neill, a theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College, told EWTN News the ceasefire is “a cause for hope” but “still far from lasting peace.”
He urged both sides to negotiate “in the spirit of using force as an absolutely last resort.”
Peaceful intention
On April 8, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, a Catholic, told reporters that Trump’s threat to destroy the Iranian civilization “was not an empty threat by any means.” The Pentagon, she said, had a list of targets if a deal was not reached.
When asked about the morality of the threats, Leavitt said it was “insulting” to suggest Iran had a moral high ground. She accused Iran of “atrocities” against Americans and the military.
Catholic doctrine recognizes war can be justified under some circumstances. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, war is justified only to confront grave evil, and even then its harm must not exceed the evil it seeks to end and there must be a real chance of success, with all alternatives to war exhausted.
St. Augustine — the architect of just war doctrine — wrote to the Roman general Boniface: “Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that God may by it deliver men from the necessity and preserve them in peace.”
Augustine, writing in A.D. 418, told the general that “even in waging war, cherish the spirit of a peacemaker." The theologian cited Christ’s teaching in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Capizzi said Trump’s rhetoric “is utterly alien to a peaceful intention” and, even if war is justified, “the intention of war must always be peace.”
“We Catholics do not pray to be merciless,” he said. “We do not invoke God in vengeance against our enemies. When we pray to God for victory, Catholics do so with humility and a desire for peace, a peace that ought to include our enemies whom Our Lord taught us to love.”
Capizzi said the notion that power plants are “dual use” because it “fuels both civilian homes and military arms production factors” does not make it a legitimate military target.
“Thereʼs significant gray area in this, but the idea is to limit the conduct of war to legitimate military targets and reduce the expansion of war in ways that increase civilian suffering,” he said.
O’Neill said it is not intrinsically evil to destroy a power plant or bridge, but the question must be: “Why are we striking it?”
Military officials, he said, must also ask: “How do the proportion of innocent deaths caused (directly and indirectly, with a bridge out of service in the coming weeks) by the strike compare to the good sought?”
He said Trumpʼs rhetoric shows “the intention and the means employed to achieve the fruition of those intentions.” He argued Trumpʼs intentions “explicitly and directly threaten mass casualty strikes that make no determination between combatant and noncombatant."
Trumpʼs remarks “border on the genocidal," he argued.
“What the Church provides is a clear moral reasoning for making difficult judgments about how to defend yourself and your nation justly,” O’Neill said. “These comments are more or less a rejection of any kind of moral reasoning beyond ‘win at all costs.’ Under no circumstances is it just to attempt to wipe a nation off of the face of the earth.”
According to Newton, distinguishing between military and civilian targets can be complex, but he offered his opinion that "a proper military target is one which is proximately ordered towards a military goal. By this I mean that the facility exists — or exists in the mode it currently does — because of military needs.”
To determine morality, Newton said, it “is not merely what you do but why you do it” and “something can be evil on account of either or both these elements.”
He said the president’s threats to destroy Iran “imply targeting elements of the country which go way beyond military targets and would be immoral,” but he added the caveat that “not knowing the intention means we cannot really interpret these [words] accurately.”
Principle of double effect
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that a moral act requires “a good intention,” but a good intention does not justify an intrinsically evil act. A bad intention always “makes an act evil,” it states.
St. Thomas Aquinas explains in the “Summa Theologica” that some acts can have several effects — some good and some bad. If the act itself is morally neutral, the act can be justified only if the good result is intended, and the bad consequence is unintended.
Capizzi said the principle of double effect often applies to war because hitting a legitimate target can result in hitting something that is not legitimate. When necessary, it may be moral to accept “collateral damage” as a secondary, unintended effect, he said.
“The proportionality of military actions is always important,” he said. “The bad secondary effects should not outweigh the good associated with the act. Again, the general idea is that war should be borne by combatants to the war and not be civilians.”
Yet because bad intentions and intrinsically immoral acts cannot be justified, Capizzi said “the intentional targeting of the innocent is never permissible, no matter how much good might come of it.”
O’Neill said this applies in the context of civilian infrastructure, noting the justification cannot just be “Does this harm the Iranian military?” and “Will this help us win the war?”
He said Trump must consider proportionality and cannot actively will the harm to civilians.
“If part of your decision to blow up a power plant is to cause suffering to the civilian population that depends upon it so that they are more likely to organize a coup, you are seeking a good effect through the evil means of civilian suffering,” he said.
Newton also noted the importance of proportionality: “One does need to make a prudential judgment concerning whether the good that one is seeking is really sufficiently good to tolerate the unintended but foreseen negative outcomes.”
He noted any intention to harm civilians “does not square with the principle of double effect” and expressed concern that Trump’s comments “are at least in danger of giving the impression that the approach taken to seeking the military defeat of the enemy is the demoralization of the population as a whole.”
“Iʼm not saying that this is the only way to interpret those statements but they are statements which definitely open up the possibility of an interpretation which is not compatible with the principle of double effect,” Newton said.
Iranian and American officials, including Vice President JD Vance, are scheduled to meet in Pakistan this weekend to negotiate long-term peace. Lebanese and Israeli officials have both expressed interest in peace talks as well.
In ecological letter, Indiana bishops urge Catholics to care for ‘God’s good world’
Indiana’s five bishops are urging Catholics to adopt an integral “faith-filled” approach to the challenge of caring for both creation and the poor.
“The social, economic, and political reality of human life and poverty is not disconnected from environmental issues concerning polluted air, water, and land, decreasing biodiversity, and habitat destruction,” the Indiana Catholic Conference of Bishops wrote in a pastoral letter released April 8.
“Human ecology and natural ecology are united in what Pope Francis called ‘integral ecology,’" the prelates said.
The pastoral letter, signed by Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop Robert McClory of Gary, Bishop Timothy Doherty of Lafayette, and Bishop Joseph Siegel of Evansville, was written during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, according to a press release from the bishops.
The prelates emphasized “Christian hope” amid ecological and societal challenges and called the faithful “to live Eucharistic lives as we care for both our human community and for God’s good world.”
They explained that integral ecology “recognizes that we are both ecological citizens and ecclesiological citizens. We belong to the earth and to the Church."
The letter encourages sustainable farming, enhanced development of renewable energy sources, and care for the state’s water sources.
The Indiana faith leaders highlighted farming as “a vocation from God to feed the human community,” noting that “our state is an agricultural leader in that regard.” They called for the prioritization of “safe, affordable, and sustainable food supply” that “treats people, land, and animals in accord with their God-given way of being.”
“At the core of the ecological and social crises is a human heart enclosed in upon itself, alienated from God, our neighbor, and creation,” the bishops said. “The Sacred Heart of Jesus seeks to draw each human heart into communion with himself and through him into communion with the Trinity.”
Beyond care of creation and the poor, the bishops encouraged Catholics to seek healing in relationships with God, oneself, and each other by restoring commitment to observing the sabbath, unplugging from the virtual world, and seeking encounter with each other and creation.
They further suggested that the faithful could take up gardening in order to become closer to Godʼs world.
“Biblically, our human life originated in the Garden of Eden, a paradise of holy and just relationships among God, ourselves, and creation," the bishops said.
"Gardening is a way of life that requires humility, attentiveness, gratitude, and faithful obedience to cooperate with the ways of soil and plants.”
Cardinal Michael Czerny, the prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, praised the bishops' letter in a separate message.
He called the letter a “thoughtful contribution to the Church’s ongoing reflection on the relationship between integral human development and care for creation.”
Czerny urged Catholics in Indiana to “continue fostering reflection and action regarding integral ecology in an attentive and balanced manner.”