Pope Leo XIV accepts Filipino priest’s withdrawal as bishop-designate
TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Father Gerardo F. Saco Jr., the priest appointed by Pope Leo XIV to become the next bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran in the Philippines, has decided not to proceed with his episcopal ordination, a move that surprised many clergy and faithful in Bohol province and across the Philippine Church.
In an official statement released by the Diocese of Tagbilaran on May 5, Saco said that after “much prayer and careful discernment,” he had decided not to continue with the episcopal ordination scheduled for May 26.
“I sincerely ask for your understanding regarding this change of heart,” Saco said in the statement. “It comes from a deep awareness of my own human limitations and inadequacies.”
Saco, who had been serving as diocesan administrator since October 2025 following the appointment of Bishop Alberto Uy as archbishop of Cebu in 2025, was appointed bishop of Tagbilaran by Pope Leo XIV on March 25.
The Archdiocese of Cebu, the metropolitan see of Tagbilaran, later confirmed that the Vatican had accepted Sacoʼs decision.
In a statement, Uy said that Saco had communicated his decision directly to the Holy Father.
“Bishop-elect Gerardo ‘Jingboy’ Saco Jr. has communicated to the Holy Father his decision not to proceed with his episcopal ordination,” Uy said. “The papal nuncio has informed me that the Holy Father has accepted his decision.”
Uy acknowledged that while he respects Sacoʼs decision, it “has brought sadness to many of us, especially the faithful of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.”
Despite widespread public interest surrounding the rare decision, Saco has declined interview requests from journalists. Sources interviewed by EWTN News said the priest has requested privacy and told those seeking interviews that he “just needs more time for himself.”
One priest from the Diocese of Tagbilaran, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said many clergy were initially “shocked and saddened” upon hearing the news but that he respected the decision of Saco, whom he described as “a simple man, kind and has a big heart for the poor and marginalized.”
“We have a very thriving diocese. We are not in debt. We have so many vocations. We send out priests to do mission work because we have many priests here. I donʼt know why he declined.”
Online, many Catholic faithful and netizens reacted with surprise and sympathy. Some described the decision as “courageous,” noting that stepping away from such an appointment required humility and honesty. Others promised prayers for Saco and for the Diocese of Tagbilaran, which remains “sede vacante” pending a new episcopal appointment.
Difficult role
Catholic apologist and pro-life advocate Carlos Antonio Palad cautioned against “dark and baseless speculations” about Sacoʼs reasons, noting that “the pope has accepted his decision, so he cannot be accused of disobedience, as some have implied.”
Palad added that the leadership of a diocese “is very heavy, and it is not a secret that many priests refuse the office when it is offered to them,” urging respect for Sacoʼs “conscience and his decision.”
Catholic commentators also noted that, while rare, there have been instances in Church history where priests or bishops-elect declined episcopal appointments before ordination.
The Diocese of Tagbilaran comprises 60 parishes, served by 126 diocesan priests across 1,734 square kilometers (670 square miles) of the southern half of the island province of Bohol, according to the latest statistics.
Saco remains the diocesan administrator as the Holy See restarts the selection process for a new bishop of Tagbilaran.
Lithuanian families rally to save pro-life maternity home blessed by John Paul II
VILNIUS, Lithuania — A planned reorganization and merger of Lithuaniaʼs Kaunas Christian Maternity Home (KGN) with its parent hospital have triggered protests from families and pro-life advocates who fear the consolidation will erode the institutionʼs distinctive character and family-focused mission.
KGN is owned by LSMU Kaunas Hospital, which itself is equally divided between two shareholders: the Ministry of Health and the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), each holding 50% ownership. Both shareholders recently approved an optimization plan that would merge KGN into the larger hospital in an effort to streamline operations and reduce costs linked to obstetrics.
A century of care
Founded in 1926, KGN is the last major maternity home of its kind in Lithuania, focusing on low-risk pregnant mothers. When a report of its family-friendly environment and quality care reached Pope John Paul II in 1997, the impressed pontiff later sent a handwritten greeting blessing the maternity home. To date, it has been consistently rated as one of the best places to give birth in Lithuania.
The maternity home has long partnered with Caritas Lithuania, the Archdiocese of Kaunas, and various pregnancy crisis centers to help mothers give birth in a safe and highly personal environment, which most argue is not the case in typical obstetrics wards in major hospitals.
Critics of the merger say that dismantling KGN, given its rich 100-year history, recognition from the late pope, and excellent record, makes families feel unheard and their needs ignored.
Why families fear the merger
Jarūnė Rimavičė, head of the “Letʼs Save the Kaunas Maternity Home” initiative, which has gathered over 12,000 signatures, told EWTN News that the merger plans would negatively alter the care mothers receive.
She explained that the infrastructure at LSMU Kaunas Hospital is less family-friendly and that allocating higher flows of pregnant mothers there would result in “less privacy and less individual attention.” She also pointed out that “some of the delivery rooms and wards do not have private sanitary facilities, which reduces the feeling of privacy and dignity during childbirth.”
Rimavičė argued that KGNʼs defining strength lies not only in its family-oriented facilities but also in a care culture built around emotional safety, close personal attention, and respectful communication between staff and mothers.
She said this approach is a key reason for the maternity homeʼs high satisfaction among families. Such a culture, she warned, “cannot be simply transferred to another environment by administrative decision alone.”
For that reason, she said, merging KGN into a larger multi-specialty hospital “is not an equivalent transfer of services — it is a real deterioration of conditions for women in labor.”
An appeal to Pope Leo XIV
Reports circulated that organizers of the KGN petition had met with Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states.
When EWTN News approached him for confirmation, Gänswein acknowledged the meeting, saying he received three representatives who outlined the situation surrounding the Kaunas Christian Maternity Home. He added: “On that occasion they gave me a letter for Pope Leo XIV.”
Organizers later told EWTN News that the letter was an appeal to the Holy Father, detailing their concerns. Gänswein added that he subsequently spoke with the archbishop of Kaunas, informing him of the meeting while discussing the facts of the matter. “He promised to take care on the matter,” he noted.
The Archdiocese of Kaunas later issued a statement supporting the petition while highlighting the long-standing role of maternity homes “whose activities are based on Christian values,” in providing both medical and dignity-based care. Kaunas Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas also called for cooperation to find solutions to preserve the maternity home.
Lithuaniaʼs current healthcare situation
On May 3, marked as Motherʼs Day in Lithuania, supporters gathered outside KGN, calling for its preservation while stressing its importance to families. The demonstration reflects a broader rise in visibility of Lithuaniaʼs pro-life movement, which included a major pro-life march held last year in Vilnius. It also comes as the government continues to discuss measures aimed at supporting families and addressing the countryʼs declining birth rate.
Against this backdrop, Rimavičė highlighted what she described as a clear policy contradiction. “On one hand, the state talks about encouraging birth rates, but on the other hand, it reduces the choices available to mothers and destroys precisely those places that families trust the most and where they feel safe,” she said.
Others have also pointed to structural issues in Lithuaniaʼs healthcare system. The current funding model reimburses hospitals largely based on the number of deliveries performed, which critics say incentivizes volume over quality. This approach can contribute to staff burnout, lower levels of individual care, and a tendency to favor faster, more intervention-heavy procedures, such as C-section births over natural births. Rimavičė stated that “maternity wards already face low pay and heavy workloads,” making it difficult to attract and retain staff, and leaving obstetrics systematically undervalued.
Observers have pointed to Germany as a potential model for reform. There, funding changes introduced payments that cover fixed costs regardless of delivery volume, helping maintain service availability and reducing incentives tied to the number of births.
Rimavičė said her initiativeʼs goal is to preserve the Kaunas Christian Maternity Home as an independent, family-oriented facility offering a “safe alternative between home birth and hospital inpatient birth.” She stressed that the group supports reform, but only if it improves conditions for mothers, including changes to the funding model and more targeted, quality-focused service optimization.
In Syria, renaming schools fuels debate over historical, cultural, and religious identity
A decision by the administration of the Palmyra region in Syria to adopt new names for a number of the city’s schools has reopened debate over a growing trend in Syria: the removal of names of national and cultural figures from public spaces and their replacement with neutral or religious names reflecting a single identity.
While this process is sometimes presented as part of “reorganization,” many see it as a sign of deeper changes affecting the identity of public space and the balance of its symbols.
The latest changes in Palmyra affected 16 school names. Among the most prominent was that of archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad, whose name became internationally associated with Palmyra after he spent more than four decades as director of its antiquities. He contributed to the discovery, restoration, and documentation of large parts of the ancient city before being killed by ISIS for refusing to reveal the locations of archaeological treasures. He later became an international symbol of the protection of heritage.
Also removed was the name of educator Jumaa al-Bayai, one of the pioneers of educational development in the Syrian Badia. His name was associated with social stability and educational work, and he helped graduate generations of professional cadres in the region.
The changes also included the name of writer and physician Abd al-Salam al-Ujayli, considered one of the pillars of modern Syrian culture. As a novelist and short-story writer, he helped consolidate Syria’s cultural standing, dedicating his life to documenting the identity of the Syrian Badia and serving his community as a doctor.
The name of Huda Shaarawi, an icon of the Arab women’s movement in the 20th century, was also removed. Shaarawi contributed to women’s empowerment and to helping to free women from rigid social constraints by advocating for their right to education and political participation. Her name was replaced at one of Palmyra’s schools with “Al-Shayma bint al-Harith.”
This step does not appear to be isolated. Days earlier, street names in the city of Homs were replaced with other names, removing figures such as Zaki al-Arsuzi, Saleh al-Ali, Sultan al-Atrash, and others.
Schools in several Syrian governorates have witnessed similar changes in recent months. In Aleppo, the names of about 128 schools were changed. The Sami al-Kayyali School, named after the writer and researcher, was renamed Imam al-Ghazali School. Other names were replaced with religious titles, such as Dawn of Islam and Aisha, Mother of the Believers.
The renaming has also affected two schools bearing the names of Christian figures, Mikhail Kashour and Antoine Aswad. The name of poet Nizar Qabbani was nearly replaced with that of one of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions before the decision was reversed. In Damascus, dozens of names were reconsidered, including an attempt to remove the name of playwright Saadallah Wannous, before officials backed down under public pressure.
The wave of school and street renaming, therefore, is not limited to the removal of symbols associated with Syria’s former authorities. It also extends to literary, scientific, and national figures with no connection to the previous government, raising serious questions about the criteria being used in the process.
At the same time, critics point to a clear increase in the adoption of religious names reflecting one particular identity, some of which are not connected to the Syrian context. They say this reflects the dominance of a single narrative at the expense of the country’s historical and cultural diversity.
While there is no objection to a balanced presence of religious figures in public life, critics stress that public space must continue to reflect the mosaic of society. For them, the debate has become a struggle over memory, identity, and Syria’s image.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Organized crime ‘rules’ in several states in Mexico, cardinal warns
Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara in Jalisco state in Mexico, warned this week that “at the level of many municipalities, at the level of several states, the government, the decisions, are in the hands of organized crime.”
In a May 3 press conference, the Mexican cardinal noted that “this is nothing new; it’s what the people experience.”
The cardinal said this in response to a question from the press regarding recent controversy surrounding the unsealing of an indictment filed by a U.S. federal prosecutor, which was announced in an April 29 press release, against the governor of the state of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, and nine other Mexican officials.
Rocha, a member of the ruling Morena party, is charged with “narcotics importation [into the U.S.] conspiracy,” “possession of machine guns and destructive devices,” and “conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.” U.S. authorities are seeking life imprisonment for the politician, who is currently on leave from his post.
Regarding the accusations made by U.S. authorities, Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, said during her May 4 morning press conference that “we don’t cover for anyone” but demanded “evidence.”
“Let them send whatever evidence they have. And if warranted, the prosecutor’s office — the [federal] prosecutor’s office — will take action,” she said.
The power of organized crime in Mexico is 'nothing new’
Robles noted that “the allegations made by the U.S. government are one thing, allegations which I am willing to assume are based on investigation, on firsthand knowledge, and which have some foundation.”
However, he emphasized, “as far as our own country is concerned, something we have been saying and lamenting for a long time now, we are experiencing, at the level of many municipalities and several states, that the government, the decisions, are in the hands of organized crime.”
The residents experience this through a financial "levy they call ‘protection money’ — demanded, threatened, and coerced — because they have a business or hold a job, and are forced to pay a fee to organized crime,” he said.
The archbishop noted that the actions of criminals have also made themselves felt “during election periods,” and that he knows of cases involving candidates who “received threats from organized crime if they continued their bid for the office to which they were legitimately aspiring.”
This, he warned, “indicates that organized crime in many places puts forward its candidates, imposes its candidates under threat,” in situations that “speak to the very real power that organized crime holds within the structure of our society.”
“I don’t know to what degree the authorities bear a shared responsibility — it could not be otherwise — or to what degree there is impunity, for we do not see these matters being brought to trial or subjected to the enforcement of the law,” he stated. “In that sense, we can say that the drug traffickers govern in certain jurisdictions, in certain places.”
Violence in Jalisco and the extent of organized crime in Mexico
Jalisco is the stronghold of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal groups, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State.
According to the 2025 Mexico Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, “over the last two decades, Jalisco has recorded both the highest number of disappeared [missing and presumed dead] persons and the highest number of bodies exhumed from clandestine graves.”
“Of the 3,335 bodies exhumed nationwide between late 2018 and late 2021, one-third were found in Jalisco alone, representing by far the highest figure recorded in any state,” the report notes.
An especially dramatic case that brought these practices to international light in early 2025 was that of “Rancho Izaguirre,” about 40 miles from Guadalajara, where charred human remains, along with hundreds of scattered clothes and shoes, were discovered in what had apparently functioned as an organized crime training and extermination camp.
Based on leaked intelligence from the Secretariat of National Defense, the Mexican newspaper El Universal produced an “Organized Crime Map” of Mexico in October 2022, indicating that “40% of the country’s states have their entire territory divided among one or more organized crime groups.”
“Of the 2,471 municipalities in Mexico, at least one cartel, crime gang, or crime cell is listed in 1,198 of them [48%],” the Mexican newspaper states.
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.
Cardinal Parolin says talks with German bishops continue, calls sanctions talk premature
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said on Wednesday it would be premature to discuss sanctions against the German bishops for blessings of same-sex couples.
Parolin, however, did not rule out an intervention by the Holy See but expressed hope that it would be avoided.
“It is premature now to speak of sanctions. Let us hope we never have to get to sanctions, and that problems can be resolved peacefully, as they should be in the Church,” Parolin told reporters on the sidelines at a book launch at the Patristic Institute in Rome on Wednesday.
Several members of the German Bishops' Conference, citing the Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans, have formalized blessings for same-sex couples in their dioceses in Germany. Recently, a 2024 letter was circulated from the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith prohibiting this practice.
Pope Leo XIV has also weighed in on the issue, recently stating that the Holy See does not agree with the German bishops with the “formalized blessing of couples" beyond the allowances of Fiducia Supplicans.
Rubio to meet with Pope Leo
Parolin also weighed in on the May 7 meeting scheduled between Leo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. President Donald Trumpʼs recent criticisms of the pope. Parolin said the United States remains an interlocutor with the Holy See and described the latest verbal attacks against Leo as “strange.”
“We will listen to [Rubio]. We will listen to him. The initiative came from [the Trump administration]. I imagine we will talk about everything that has happened in recent days; we cannot avoid touching on these issues,” Parolin said.
Leo recently spoke to journalists at Castel Gandolfo and rejected Trumpʼs claim that the Church supports nuclear weapons. Parolin echoed those sentiments on Thursday, stating that the “Holy See has always worked, and continues to work, precisely on nuclear disarmament.”
Trump: Rubio’s message to Pope Leo XIV should be ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon’
Ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump told “EWTN News Nightly” that one message he wants to get to the Holy Father is: “Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.”
"Well, I can tell you this, that as far as the pope is concerned, itʼs very simple, whether I make him happy or I donʼt make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told EWTN News' Toby Capion when asked what message he hopes Rubio delivers to Leo at the May 7 meeting.
“And he seemed to be saying that they can [obtain a nuclear weapon], and I say they cannot because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage, and weʼre not going to let that happen,” he said. “Thatʼs my only message.”
Trump has repeated the claim several times that Leo believes Iran should be able to obtain a nuclear weapon; however, the pontiff has never said those words and has spoken out against nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and against nuclear weapons more broadly.
When speaking about the Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025, Leo said: “The commitment to creating a safer world, free from the nuclear threat, should be pursued through respectful encounter and sincere dialogue, to build a lasting peace, based on justice, fraternity, and the common good.”
On March 5, Leo spoke more broadly against nuclear weapons, saying: “May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.”
During a news conference on May 5, Rubio told reporters that his May 7 meeting with Leo is not about the president’s criticism of the Holy Father. Rather, he said the meeting had already been scheduled.
“The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them and other secretaries of state have done that in the past,” Rubio said, noting common interests in religious freedom, Christian persecution, and humanitarian aid to Cuba.
Pope Leo XIV expected to visit France in late September, bishops announce
PARIS — The Catholic Church in France is preparing to welcome Pope Leo XIV for an apostolic visit expected to take place at the end of September, the French Bishops’ Conference announced in a May 6 communiqué.
While the Holy See has yet to make an official announcement, the news came as no surprise, as rumors of a papal trip to France had been circulating since March.
“Since his election, a year ago, Pope Leo XIV has been asked by several bishops to come to France,” the communiqué said. The formal invitation was extended by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French Bishops’ Conference, acting in coordination with the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Celestino Migliore. It received an important boost when French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his own support for the trip during his Vatican visit April 10.
Commenting on the announcement, Aveline, who has held several working sessions with the pope on the matter, said that “Leo XIV has expressed, on various occasions, the great esteem he holds for our country and its spiritual history.”
The cardinal continued: “His coming would be an opportunity to share with the pope what our Church in France is living and to let ourselves be encouraged by his word.” He added that the two had already begun mapping out a tentative itinerary.
According to the itinerary currently under consideration, the Holy Father would visit both the French capital — where he is also expected to visit Notre-Dame Cathedral — and Lourdes, a landmark site of Marian apparitions in the Pyrenees Mountains.
According to reporting by press agency I.Média quoted by Famille chrétienne, the name of Scy-Chazelles, a small town in the Moselle department (northeast of France) that is home to the residence and tomb of Robert Schuman — known as the “Father of Europe” and whose cause of canonization is underway — has also been regularly mentioned as a possible stop. The Diocese of Metz, however, has said it has no confirmed information to that effect.
If the visit goes ahead as planned, Leo XIV would be the first pope to make an official state visit to France in nearly two decades. The last came in September 2008, when Benedict XVI traveled to Paris and Lourdes. Pope Francis visited France three times during his pontificate — in Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament, in Marseille in 2023 for the Mediterranean Meetings, and in Corsica for a symposium on “popular religiosity in the Mediterranean” in December 2024 — though none of these trips constituted an official state visit. John Paul II, for his part, made no fewer than seven trips to France across the course of his pontificate.
The choice of date, according to observers, can be explained by the Holy See’s desire to distance itself sufficiently from the electoral calendar in the interest of neutrality, as the presidential elections are scheduled for the first half of 2027.
The announcement comes at a time of unexpected renewal for Catholicism in France, a country known as the “eldest daughter of the Church” but long associated with aggressive “laicité” (“secularism”) and de-Christianization.
In recent years, the Church has seen a steady increase in the number of adult catechumens, with 13,000 of them receiving baptism at Easter this year. In response, the bishops of the Île-de-France region convened a dedicated pastoral council focused on how to welcome these newcomers appropriately — accompanying them not only through the sacraments of initiation but also toward a lasting and deeply rooted life of faith.
Pending the official announcement from the Holy See, the bishops of France have asked all the faithful to hold the preparation of this event in prayer.
Vatican confirms official itinerary for Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Spain
The Holy See made public on May 6 the official program for Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Spain, which will take place June 6–12, when he will visit Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands.
The pontiff will depart from Rome on June 6 at 8 a.m. local time and is scheduled to arrive in Madrid at 10:30 a.m.
At 11:30 a.m., a welcome ceremony will take place at the Royal Palace of Madrid, followed by a courtesy visit to the king and queen of Spain, Don Felipe VI and Doña Letizia. At the same venue, the pontiff will meet with government officials, members of civil society, and the diplomatic corps, before whom he will deliver his first address.
At 6 p.m., he will visit the CEDIA 24-hour facility (an outreach to homeless people). Later that evening, starting at 8:30 p.m., a prayer vigil with young people will be held at Plaza de Lima, adjacent to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
On Sunday, June 7, he will celebrate Mass in Cibeles plaza followed by the Corpus Christi procession. In the afternoon, he will hold a private meeting with members of the Order of St. Augustine at the nunciature, and at 6 p.m. he will preside over an event titled “Weaving Networks with the Worlds of Culture, Art, and Sport,” where he will deliver another address.
In the evening, he will dine at the residence of the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo.
On Monday, June 8, at 9:30 a.m., he will meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the nunciature before heading to the Congress of Deputies (lower house), where Leo XIV will become the first pontiff to address the countryʼs legislature, known as the Cortes Generales.
Subsequently, he will proceed to the headquarters of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. There he will meet with the prelates. He will also meet with the bishops at the nunciature and have lunch there.
At 6 p.m., a prayer service and veneration of the Virgin of Almudena will take place at the cathedral. Afterward, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, he will meet with the diocesan community, where he will offer another reflection.
On Tuesday, June 9, before traveling to Barcelona, Leo XIV will meet with volunteers at a pavilion within the International Trade Fair Center, to whom he will address a few words.
Shortly after 11, he will take off from Madrid, arriving at El Prat airport in Barcelona around 12:30. At 1 p.m. he will pray midday prayer at the cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, where he will deliver a homily.
At 8 p.m. a prayer vigil will take place at Olympic Stadium, where the pope will deliver an address.
The following morning, Wednesday, June 10, the Holy Father will travel to the “Brians 1” correctional facility. At noon, he will proceed to the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, where he will pray the rosary and deliver an address.
Following lunch with the Benedictine community of Montserrat, he will hold a meeting at 4:30 p.m. with charitable and social assistance organizations at the St Augustine Church, where he will give another reflection.
At 7:30 p.m., he will celebrate Mass at Sagrada Família Basilica, where the Jesus Christ Tower will be inaugurated.
On Thursday, June 11, the pope will travel to the city of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria Island. At 11:40 a.m., he will get a firsthand look at the reception of migrants at the port of the town of Arguineguín on the southern end of the island.
At 1:30 p.m., he will meet with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers at Santa Ana Cathedral. Later that day, at 6:30 p.m., he will celebrate Mass at Gran Canaria Stadium.
On Friday, June 12, he will fly to the city of Santa Cruz on Tenerife Island, arriving at 9:10 a.m. Subsequently, he will hold a meeting with the migrants housed at the Las Raíces center.
At 10:10 a.m., a gathering focused on migrant integration initiatives is scheduled to take place at the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna. After noon, he will celebrate Mass at the port of Santa Cruz on Tenerife.
Following a farewell ceremony, his plane will take off at 3 p.m. bound for Rome, where it is scheduled to arrive at 8:10 p.m. Rome time.
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.
Poll: Most Americans dislike Trump’s jabs at Pope Leo XIV, favor Leo’s call for peace
A poll found two-thirds of Americans have a positive view of Pope Leo XIV’s calls for peace amid the Iran war and a majority of people hold a negative view of President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the Holy Father and threats to destroy Iranian civilization.
The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll surveyed 2,560 American adults between April 24–28. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
Pollsters asked people whether they hold a positive or negative view about statements and actions by Trump, Leo, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
It found that 66% of people have a positive view of Leo asking Americans to contact members of Congress to work toward peace and reject war and only 30% view his words negatively.
Leo made that comment to reporters on April 7 after Trump threatened to annihilate the “whole civilization” of Iran if the country did not reach a peace deal with the U.S. The Holy Father called the threat “a sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction that the human being is capable of.”
The pontiff also called the language “unacceptable,” and the poll found most Americans agreed with that assessment. Only 21% of people viewed the threat positively, and 76% viewed it negatively.
Americans also disliked Trump saying “I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” which was one of the president’s reactions to the pope’s comments. It found just 38% of people viewing the retort positively and 57% viewing it negatively.
Leo never said Iran should have nuclear weapons but rather spoke against nuclear proliferation in the Middle East when Iran and Israel entered military conflict in 2025. The pontiff also spoke against nuclear weapons more broadly.
The poll found that Americans also overwhelmingly disliked Trump posting an AI-created image of himself resembling Jesus Christ amid his public disagreements with the Holy Father, finding that only 9% of people viewed it positively and 87% viewed it negatively. The president deleted the image and said he thought it portrayed him dressed as a doctor rather than Christ.
Americans also disliked a public prayer by Hegseth in which he asked God for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy” in relation to U.S. attacks on Iran. The poll found only 27% of Americans viewed those comments positively and 69% negatively.
Views on Trump and Leo
Trump’s approval among Catholics and Americans broadly has fallen in recent months amid the Iran war and the higher cost of gas and food and broader hikes in inflation and the cost of living that followed.
The poll found Trump’s disapproval from Americans rose to 62% and his approval rating was only 37%. On certain key issues, Trump’s approval is even worse, with 66% disapproving of the way he is handling Iran, 72% disapproving of his handling of inflation, and 76% disapproving of the way he has handled the cost of living.
It found 46% believe Trump’s attacks on Iran are inconsistent with his campaign promise to avoid foreign wars, 22% see it as consistent, and 30% are unsure. It found 36% of people believe military force against Iran was the right decision, and 61% view it as a mistake.
American views about Leo are much better, although many non-Catholics still do not have an opinion about the first American pontiff.
Only 38% of Catholics said they approve of Trump, and 61% said they disapprove. Among white Catholics, 49% approve and 51% disapprove. Among Hispanic Catholics, 25% approve and 72% disapprove.
The poll found that 41% of Americans have a favorable view of Leo, 16% have a negative view, and 43% have no opinion. Among Catholics, 61% have favorable views of the pope, 14% have unfavorable views, and 25% do not have an opinion.
Among Democratic or Democratic-leaning Catholics, 76% have a favorable view of Leo, 14% have a negative view, and 18% have no opinion. With Republican and Republican-leaning Catholics, 48% have a positive view, 23% have a negative view, and 29% have no opinion.
The poll found 60% of white Catholics have a favorable opinion of Leo and 15% have a negative view, with 24% holding no opinion. For Hispanic Catholics, 59% have a favorable view 12% have a negative view, and 29% have no opinion.
John White, professor emeritus of politics at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News the poll shows “the danger and absurdity” of Trump directly criticizing Leo when the president is facing bad poll numbers and when those who have an opinion about the pope mostly view him positively.
“Trump spent even more political capital with his false assertion that the pope favors a nuclear Iran,” he said. “As Pope Leo responded, this is simply not true. The teachings of the Catholic Church and of Pope Leoʼs predecessors have been consistent in this regard.”
Unlike Trump, White said Leo does not “think in terms of political capital but only to preach the Gospel.”
“In this, Pope Leo is fulfilling his mandate,” he said. “And the message of the Gospel has endured because billions of people have accepted it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Leo on May 7, although Rubio said this meeting was already planned and is not related to Trump’s comments.
For his part, Leo told reporters it’s “not in my interest at all” to debate with Trump: “So we go on the journey, we continue proclaiming the Gospel message.”
This story was updated at 5:15 p.m. ET on May 6, 2026, to include additional polling data related to favorability of the president and the pope among Catholics.
Christians must defend themselves amid rising persecution, Nigerian prelate says
ABUJA, Nigeria — The judicial vicar of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt has urged Christians in the West African nation to adopt a balanced approach of nonviolence while taking necessary steps to defend themselves in the face of growing persecution.
In an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, following the resurgence of violence in Nigeria, Monsignor Pius Barinaadaa Kii stated that although Christianity promotes peace, believers must not ignore the need to protect their lives.
“Christian persecution in Nigeria is real. It is more pronounced in some parts of the country than others,” he said during the May 4 interview.
He added: “Even though we adopt a nonviolent posture, we also have a necessary obligation to defend our lives and to defend ourselves to any extent that we can.”
Addressing concerns about insecurity and targeted attacks on Christians, Kii reiterated the Church’s long-standing commitment to peace while clarifying that this does not preclude self-defense.
He made reference to the teachings of Jesus Christ, explaining that while Christ advocated nonviolence, there were moments when he acknowledged the need for defense.
“Our Lord was a nonviolent person, because violence always begets violence,” he said.
He however pointed to a biblical moment involving Peter to underscore his argument, saying: “There was a moment in the life of Christ when he told Peter, ‘Sheath your sword, the moment will come when you will need it.’”
The Nigerian priest emphasized that Christians must remain vigilant and responsible in safeguarding their lives, especially in regions where attacks have become frequent.
Kii also addressed Nigeria’s current economic challenges, acknowledging the hardship faced by citizens while expressing cautious optimism about ongoing reforms.
He urged Nigerians to remain patient and forward-looking despite the difficulties.
“Nigeria has been in a situation for a very long time,” he noted, adding that while reforms are “very biting,” they are necessary steps toward long-term stability.
“The president himself said it will not be easy, but we should prepare for a rough ride so that we have a smoother ride tomorrow,” he said.
A canon lawyer, Kii expressed hope that the economic measures being implemented would eventually yield positive outcomes, likening the expected turnaround to the joy of Easter following the sorrow of Good Friday.
“We hope and pray that all the reforms will be quick for us at Easter in this country tomorrow,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s political future, particularly the 2027 general elections, Kii called for trust in divine providence and a renewed sense of faith among citizens. He urged Nigerians not to lose hope, emphasizing that God remains in control of the nation’s destiny.
“God remains God on his own terms. Let God be God on his own terms,” he said.
Kii said faith in God’s plan is essential in navigating both political uncertainties and national challenges. He reassured Nigerians that the country is on a divinely guided path.
“God knows what he is doing in our country. God knows where he is taking our country to,” he said.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.