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ACI Africa, Apr 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Cameroon's Diocese of Kumbo, which is part of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, located in the country's conflict-affected northwest region has issued an "urgent alert" on a surge of human trafficking in the diocese.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, on April 8, the coordinator of the Commission for Justice and Peace in the Cameroonian diocese said that traffickers, who are now capitalizing on the region's crises, "keep changing their strategies."

"The Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo Diocese has been sensitizing us on issues of trafficking over the years," said Sister Minkoue Falie, a member of the Congregation de Notre-Dame.

In a statement titled "An Urgent Alert on the Situation of Human Trafficking in the Diocese of Kumbo," Falie wrote: "The ongoing crises in the two Anglophone regions have increased vulnerability, unemployment, and hardship in our communities. Traffickers are taking advantage of this, and the rate of human trafficking has drastically increased in the past years."

"We write once again to call your attention to the growing phenomenon of human trafficking taking roots in our diocese," Falie said, encouraging families whose members have fallen victim to human trafficking to report the matter "as a matter of urgency."

She continued: "Many of our sons and daughters, friends, and relatives were promised jobs in big companies and are now stranded in Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, etc., always demanding more money for one thing or another as we write."

"As a matter of urgency, we call on any family whose child or children have fallen victim to get in touch with the diocesan Justice and Peace Office as soon as possible with useful information to enable the office to respond to this worrying issue." 

Cameroon's English-speaking regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent. An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called "Republic of Ambazonia" emerged following the government's crackdown on protesters. 

School boycotts have become common in the Cameroonian region as have enforced moratoriums on public life known as "ghost towns."

According to a March report, Cameroon's crisis "has caused over 900,000 people to flee internally and 60,000 people to flee abroad."

The report indicates that "as of February 2025, more than 500,000 internally displaced people were in Anglophone-majority regions."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported that the Central African nation plays host to over 400,000 refugees primarily coming from the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Chad, and Niger; more than 17,000 asylum seekers; and over 1 million internally displaced persons "with an additional 658,544 returnees."

More than 3.3 million people stand in need of humanitarian aid in Cameroon.

In recent years, however, there have been reported instances of former separatist fighters laying down arms, transitioning into professional careers, and advocating for peace.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Apr 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Catholic advocates in Australia are warning lawmakers there of the risk that pornography exposure poses to children, including the threat of normalizing forms of violent sexual behavior among young people.

The Parliament of New South Wales recently began public hearings for its inquiry into the "impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional, and physical health."

The Parliament's Standing Committee on Social Issues says the inquiry will particularly focus on "age of first exposure to pornography and impacts of early exposure to pornography" as well as porn's "impacts on body image" and "the impact of exposure to violent and/or misogynistic pornography on children, teenagers, and young adults."

Advocates have been warning for years of the detrimental effects of pornography, including the harm it does to young people who consume it. Ubiquitous internet access and universal smartphone access has allowed porn to proliferate over the past several decades and has given children significant access to it.

Among the New South Wales Parliament's aims is assessing the "psychological and physiological impacts" of so-called "harmful porn" use on "at-risk groups such as children and young people" as well as possible restrictions on porn use.

'All forms of pornography are harmful'

Several Catholic groups and advocates have weighed in on the parliamentary inquiry. Among them are Deirdre Little, the national bioethics convener of the Catholic Women's League Australia.

Little spoke at last month's public hearing on the inquiry. During the event she challenged the inquiry's classification of "harmful porn." 

"As Catholic women, we regard all forms of pornography as harmful and that so-called standard nonviolent pornography is not harmless," she told the committee. 

An evidentiary submission from the Catholic Women's League cited data showing that children exposed to pornography prior to 12 years old "are statistically more likely to sexually assault their peers" as well as a correlation "between sexually abusive children and their access to the internet."

The porn crisis goes beyond its directly harmful effects on children, Little told the panel.

"Children are more likely to experience a broken home and parental disharmony in a home where there is repeated adult exposure to even nonviolent standard pornography," she said.

Porn consumption "is associated with reduced valuation of marriage, regarding extramarital affairs as normal, associated with a mounting use to addiction, associated with escalation to more deviant pornography, the trivialisation of rape and behavioral aggression," she continued.

A majority of divorce lawyers, she said, say that internet porn "plays a role in divorce."

Also speaking at the hearing was Catherine Garrett-Jones, the executive director of the Council of Catholic School Parents.

In its own submission, the council cited a recent survey of Australian teachers in which they "expressed despair with the rapid rise of sexualized behaviors which they attributed to early exposure to pornography."

Parents have reportedly expressed concern to teachers about "the ease with which pornography can be accessed, the lack of parental engagement in managing access to social media as well as the inability of many parents to use technology to block unwanted content being accessed."

At last month's hearing Garrett-Jones told the committee that parents have expressed "support for further government regulation around access" to porn.

"I think the request for that comes from parents' own feelings of inadequacy around how to manage social media," she said. "It's growing at a pace faster than they can understand.

"Parents and carers feel helpless, in many ways, to actually do the regulating themselves," she continued. "They're unsure of how their kids are accessing some of this material and need support."

The parents council in its filing further cited links between porn usage and poor body image as well as the "relationship between pornography and violence against women." 

The parents council called for education campaigns to help "provide users of technology or anyone supervising children who use technology with an understanding of how to mitigate the risks" associated with internet usage. 

The Catholic Women's League, meanwhile, said parents should "accept responsibility for the purity and protection of children," including strict monitoring of technology and a familiarity with sexual content blocks and filters. 

Technology platforms, meanwhile, "should be answerable for their role in exposure of children to pornography and for internet grooming of children."

At the recent hearing Deirdre Little compared the current understanding of pornography to that of cigarette smoking in decades past. 

"We already saw … with cigarette smoking, how it went on for over a generation, two generations, before there was a warning, 'Well, hang on. This could actually be injurious to your health,'" she noted. 

"At the moment, because there is this acceptance that standard nonviolent pornography is harmless — that there's harmful pornography and there's good pornography — [that] tends to normalize it," she pointed out. 

And "we know that normalizing pornography leads to an escalation in use, and that also leads to an escalation towards other deviancy and violent forms," she added. 

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 14, 2025 / 19:57 pm (CNA).

Nalin Haley, the son of former U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley, was received into the Catholic Church on Palm Sunday.

"As parents, Michael and I always prayed that our children would have a faith and relationship with God," Nikki Haley posted on social media Sunday.

"Today we were so proud to support Nalin in his faith journey as he was confirmed into the Catholic Church, completed RCIA, and received his first holy Communion," she said of her son.

Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, was born and raised in the Sikh faith but converted to Christianity after marrying her husband, Michael Haley, in 1996. 

In a 2012 interview, Haley said she and her husband "chose Christianity because of the way we wanted to live our life and raise our children." She was reportedly baptized in a Methodist church but has attended Baptist churches as well. 

Nalin Haley, 23, is a 2024 graduate of Villanova University, a Catholic institution. In 2023 and 2024 he distinguished himself for his steadfast presence on the campaign trail and support for his mother. He is the younger of two Haley children. His sister, Rena, 26, is a pediatric nurse. 

Nalin was received into the Catholic Church by Father Jeffrey Kirby at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Indian Land, South Carolina.

Kirby also posted on social media to celebrate Nalin Haley's entrance into the Church, writing: "Congratulations to Wiliam Nalin Peter, who was received into the fullness of the Christian faith today! Welcome home, Nalin!"

In addition to serving as pastor at Our Lady of Grace, Kirby is the host of the YouTube channel "Daily Discipleship with Father Kirby" and is a regular contributor to the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 14, 2025 / 17:42 pm (CNA).

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, announced that he is introducing new legislation to make Easter a federal holiday so families are able to spend "the holiest day in Christianity" together.

In a thread of posts on X, Schmitt explained why the day should be federally recognized, starting with the fact that "81% of Americans celebrate Easter."

"But," he continued, "our current holiday schedule makes it way too difficult for families to celebrate together."

The new bill is in the earliest stage of the legislation process but states its intent is "to designate Easter Monday as a legal public holiday," which Schmitt said "isn't a radical idea."

"It's a federal recognition of a tradition that is central to Western civilization — a tradition that's already recognized as a public holiday in nations across (and beyond!) the West, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe," Schmitt said.

"It isn't even novel in America," Schmitt continued. "We already have a 'National Day of Prayer,' signed into law by Missouri's own President [Harry] Truman. A federal Easter Monday holiday allows Americans to celebrate the most extraordinary day in world history, Easter — the day of Christ's resurrection."

Schmitt said that Easter is not a "micro-holiday" but rather a day that "unites more than three-quarters of Americans."

"For generations, many American school calendars gave students the day off for Good Friday and Easter Monday," he continued.

Schmitt explained that aside from religious elements, the day off would also create a break when "workers and families need it most."

"Easter is a floating holiday, it can fall from March 22 to April 25. The only two-month gap in our federal holiday calendar is April-May. An Easter Monday holiday fills the gap."

Schmitt said federal recognition of the holiday is "Pro-worker. Pro-family. Pro-faith."

"There are plenty of practical arguments for it, too," Schmitt said. "Easter weekend already generates around $15 billion for our economy. Making it a three-day weekend could boost that by an estimated 10%-15%, adding up to $2 billion in economic activity while strengthening American families."

"Our holidays and traditions are part of the story we tell about ourselves. This is not partisan. It's not a 'Republican' or 'Democrat' holiday. It's an American holiday, allowing a fuller celebration of the defining moment of the faith that shaped our nation and civilization," Schmitt said.

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 13, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

Marking another in a series of recent surprise public appearances, Pope Francis on Sunday briefly greeted thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to celebrate Palm Sunday.

"Happy Palm Sunday and beginning of Holy Week!" the Holy Father said with some difficulty to the cheers of the large crowd that filled the square and spilled out along the Via della Conciliazione.

Unable to participate in the Palm Sunday Mass, the 88-year-old pontiff, still convalescing after a serious bout of double pneumonia that kept him hospitalized for 39 days, arrived in a wheelchair toward the end of the outdoor liturgy, smiling and without nasal tubes as he passed by clergy, religious men and women, and lay people standing near the altar.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over the Mass as the pope's delegate and read the Holy Father's written homily to crowds of people waving palms and olive branches under overcast skies. 

In his prepared homily, the pope exhorted Christians to "experience the great miracle of mercy" by accompanying Jesus in his journey to the cross.

"Let us decide how we are meant to carry our own cross during this Holy Week: if not on our shoulders, in our hearts," the pope shared. "And not only our cross, but also the cross of those who suffer all around us."

Pope Francis' homily focused on Simon of Cyrene who, in St. Luke's gospel, "unexpectedly found himself caught up in a drama" of Christ's crucifixion.

"As we make our own way towards Calvary, let us reflect for a moment on Simon's actions, try to look into his heart, and follow in his footsteps at the side of Jesus," the pope observed.

Though the man from Cyrene did not take up Jesus' cross and follow him out of "conviction" but, rather, of "coercion," the Holy Father praised him for being present to help the suffering Jesus and, in an "unexpected and astonishing way," becomes "part of the history of salvation."

"Between him and Jesus, there is no dialogue; not a single word is spoken. Between him and Jesus, there is only the wood of the cross," the pope wrote.

"When we think of what Simon did for Jesus, we should also think of what Jesus did for Simon — what he did for me, for you, for each of us: he redeemed the world," he added.

Placing emphasis on Christ's infinite love which, "in obedience to the Father," bore the sins of all humanity, the pope highlighted that Christians believe in a God who "suffered with us and for us."

"Let us remember that God has made this road a place of redemption, for he walked it himself, giving his life for us," the pope urged.

Pope' Angelus message

In his Palm Sunday Angelus address released by the Vatican, the Holy Father asked Christians to continue to pray for those who are suffering in the world because of war, poverty, and disasters.

"The 15th of April will mark the second sad anniversary of the beginning of the conflict in Sudan, in which thousands have been killed and millions of families have been forced to flee their homes," he said in his message.

"The suffering of children, women and vulnerable people cries out to heaven and begs us to act," he added.

On Friday, Sudanese paramilitaries killed the entire nine-member staff of the last medical clinic in a refugee camp in the western region of Darfur, Sudan, according to a report in the New York Times, citing aid groups and the United Nations. In all, at least 100 people were killed in an assault on the camp, which is populated by a half-million people displaced by the country's civil war, the report said.

Noting other ongoing civil wars affecting populations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, the pope asked people to pray for peace in Congo, South Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Myanmar.

In his address, the Holy Father also asked people to remember the victims and families of the Santo Domingo disaster, in the Dominican Republic, which killed more than 200 people after a nightclub roof collapsed on April 8.

"May Mary, Mother of Sorrows, obtain this grace for us and help us to live this Holy Week with faith," Pope Francis said.

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ACI Africa, Apr 13, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Catholic bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have expressed their "spiritual closeness and solidarity" with victims of the recent floods and landslides that struck the capital city of Kinshasa and surrounding areas, leaving scores dead and causing widespread destruction.

At least 33 people were reported dead and thousands displaced following the April 5-6 flooding that cut access to over half of the capital. The floods reportedly occurred when the N'Djili River, which runs through the city of an estimated population of 17.8 million, burst its banks and submerged major roads.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, on April 9, members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) conveyed their compassion and assured their prayers for those affected by the devastating natural disaster, which followed torrential rains during the night of April 4-5.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic events caused by the torrential rains … resulting in the loss of human lives and significant material damage," CENCO members said in their statement.

They expressed their "spiritual closeness and solidarity" with Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, and Bishop Jean-Crispin Kimbeni of Kisantu. "With them, we share in the suffering of all those in the heavily affected areas," they said.

"As shepherds of the people, we welcome the measures taken by the Congolese government and the arrangements put in place to assist and shelter those living in the flooded zones," the statement said.

They also appealed to "humanitarian organizations and to the solidarity of all people of goodwill to support the victims of these disasters."

"To our brothers and sisters in the areas affected by the floods and landslides, be assured of our compassion and our prayers," the Church leaders said.

"Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Congo, may the risen Lord heal the wounds of the injured and restore courage and hope to all who have lost their belongings," they continued. "May he console the bereaved families and grant eternal rest to the victims."

Residents of Kinshasa are still counting their losses following the floods, describing the disaster as having torn the city "into two," according to a local priest. Father Patrick Lonkoy Bolengu, a member of the Mill Hill Missionaries in the DRC, shared his firsthand account of the tragedy in an interview with ACI Africa. 

"As a Catholic priest, I have stood at the bedside of the sick, prayed beside the dying, and walked with the poor. But nothing prepared me for the sorrow I now witness in my beloved city, Kinshasa," Bolengu said in an April 9 interview with ACI Africa.

"?On the morning of Saturday, April 5, heavy rains poured down from the heavens not as a blessing but as floods that swallowed homes, claimed lives, and left a trail of anguish across our capital," he recalled.

"For two days, Kinshasa was torn in two, its people stranded, helpless, grieving," he explained. "Today, 33 of our brothers and sisters have died, 46 are hospitalized, and 2,956 have been forced into temporary shelters."

"The cries of children echo through flooded streets. Mothers search for what little remains of their homes. The elderly sit in silence, waiting, some in despair, others in prayer," he said.

On April 9, Ambongo paid a solidarity visit to the flood victims, particularly in Ndanu, one of the most severely affected neighborhoods.

The cardinal, accompanied by members of the Catholic community and numerous volunteers, began his visit at a local parish that had suffered extensive damage.

"We are here to share in the pain of our brothers and sisters, to offer them solidarity and hope in these difficult times," Ambongo said during his tour.

As he moved through the damaged streets of Ndanu, he stopped to speak with families who had lost their homes, many partially or completely destroyed by the flooding. Survivors shared their grief and stories of loss but also expressed gratitude and a sense of renewed hope brought by the cardinal's presence.

"It's a gesture from the heart. He came to share in our suffering, to comfort us. We hope his involvement will inspire political leaders to take concrete action to prevent such tragedies in the future," one resident said.

In 2024, Congo faced its worst flooding in six decades, according to UNICEF and other United Nations agencies. More than 300 people died, and 280,000 households were displaced. In 2023, more than 400 people died in floods; in 2022, rains and floods killed more than 160.

The devasting floods come as the DRC battles with a growing humanitarian crisis due to the incursion of the March 23 Movement rebels, who have made inroads into the Central African nation, with significant gains already made in the mineral-rich eastern region.

Researchers at Denis Hurley Peace Institute of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference have warned that should the Rwanda-backed invasion continue, DRC risks a "complete breakdown."

Amid the challenges, including the seemingly never-ending armed conflicts in the poverty-stricken Plateaux de Bateke, Bolengu expressed his commitment to be a voice for the voiceless.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Vatican City, Apr 12, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has announced the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, held annually on Sept. 1: "Seeds of Peace and Hope."

The day is part of the Season of Creation, an ecumenical initiative that takes place Sept. 1 to Oct. 4. This 2025 edition takes on a special character as it coincides with the Jubilee Year of Hope and the 10th anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si', the Holy Father's magisterial text on the care of our common home.

According to a Vatican statement, this year's theme reflects the urgency of working "to create the conditions for peace, a lasting peace built together that inspires hope."

"The metaphor of the seed indicates the need for long-term commitment," the fruit of concrete actions and a profound ecological conversion, according to the statement.

The biblical reference text chosen for this edition is Isaiah 32:14-18, which directly links justice, peace, and harmony with creation: "Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. … My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."

The statement also emphasizes that, as Pope Francis and his predecessors have emphasized, "there is a close link between peace and care for creation."

In fact, it quotes the messages for the World Day of Peace in 1990 and 2010, from St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, respectively, which warned of the destructive consequences of war on nature.

"The connection between war and violence, on the one hand, and the degradation of the common home and the waste of resources (destruction and armaments), on the other, is very close," the press release reads.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Apr 12, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

A Catholic liberal arts university based in North Dakota is partnering with the Diocese of Phoenix to develop Arizona's only Catholic seminary.

Despite now being home to more than 2 million Catholics, the Diocese of Phoenix had no seminary of its own for more than 50 years.

Nazareth Seminary is working with University of Mary's "Mary College," a satellite academic institution partnered with Arizona State University (ASU).

University of Mary, also known as "UMary," has offered Catholic studies and theology courses at ASU through Mary College for more than a decade. Through the "unprecedented" partnership, Mary College classes fulfill degree requirements at the large public university.

With the new diocesan partnership, Mary College will form seminarians as they pursue degrees in Catholic studies and philosophy with Mary College.

The seminary will continue to grow as Mary College plans to launch graduate-level degrees in 2026, when the college will offer master of divinity and master of arts in theology degrees.

The first ordination class is already being formed, with 27 seminarians currently enrolled at Mary College. By spring 2026, 10 seminarians will graduate from the program with undergraduate degrees.

Scott Lefor, the director of Mary College at ASU, said the timing of the partnership was "incredibly providential."

"The providence that seems to be behind all this is just beautiful," he told CNA.

Mary College first came to Phoenix in 2012 after Bishop Thomas Olmsted, now retired, invited UMary president Monsignor James Shea "to bring Catholic higher education to the valley," Lefor recalled.

As it developed its seminary program, the diocese found that UMary at ASU already had much of the groundwork for a seminarian academic program.

"What a beautiful way for that relationship to develop into serving the community in this very unique and beautiful way," Lefor said.

When the Diocese of Phoenix reached out to UMary, the university already had "a slight majority of what we needed in place," Lefor recalled.

UMary faculty had already designed the philosophy major to align with the Program of Priestly Formation in case a UMary philosophy student were to go on to seminary.

"We had a ton of the courses already in place. We had the facilities, we had the presence," he said. "It was incredibly providential."

Nazareth Seminary: a parochial model

Nazareth Seminary is designed so that seminarians are formed within the communities they will one day serve.

While traditional formation for seminarians takes eight years and involves limited direct experience with parish life, the Nazareth Seminary is based on a model of formation that prioritizes parochial interactions.

Seminarians begin with community life and general studies for the first two years. Then, the young men stay at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale for the third year of spiritual formation. Next, in the discipleship stage, seminarians return to full-time academics at Mary College while living in parish-based seminarian houses. Finally, for the graduate-level stage, seminarians study advanced theology while living in smaller parish houses centered on fraternity.

Seminarian houses are overseen by at least two priests who are in parish ministry and serve as mentors.

"It looks a bit closer to rectory living than we've had in the past with our seminaries," Father Paul Sullivan, rector of Nazareth Seminary, told CNA.

This model ensures "more intentional, smaller communities" for the seminarians, "which hopefully brings with it deeper and more intentional friendships, accountability, and growth," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said this structure has "brought with it so many blessings." 

While Arizona seminarians were previously educated out of state — sometimes as far away as Ohio — Nazareth seminarians can have a closer relationship with the diocese and the people they will serve. 

Sullivan hopes the structure will provide "continued deepening of the bond between the men who will be future pastors and their own dioceses, and the communities, and the people that they will serve as well as their bishops and the priests." 

Nazareth Seminary also presents a fuller picture of day-to-day priestly life, he observed.

"We live communal life together, priests and seminarians," Sullivan said. 

Sullivan said he hopes this will help with discernment, enabling seminarians to "embrace" the priesthood for what it is, "in the midst of real community and real parish life that in no way is perfect but always in need of conversion and service and evangelization." 

Lefor said that for UMary, being a Catholic university, "there's something special about being able to engage in the seminary formation."

"We actually have a priest who's an alum of UMary, the Catholic studies program," Sullivan added.

"He's been ordained for almost two years now," Sullivan noted. "So he's the first one to be connected to UMary who went to seminary afterwards."

Community on campus

ASU has a "very busy" Newman Center located at the oldest-standing Church building in the valley, Old St. Mary's Church. 

"We're this big Catholic compound," Lefor said. 

The seminarians are "active participants" in the Catholic community on campus, Lefor noted. They attend classes on the ASU campus in the Mary College building, which has its own classroom and study library. But they also participate in the campus Newman Center. 

"They hang out at the Newman Center," Lefor said. "They're meeting — quite literally — the future leaders of their diocese, their peers." 

Nazareth House has been up and running for some years in its first, "propaedeutic" stage, as the seminarian program is being built up around a group of seminarians that recently started taking classes at Mary College. 

"I teach some of the guys in my own class, and they're just phenomenal young men," Lefor said. "They love the Lord. They want to serve the local dioceses. And there's just something healthy about them being able to be present in it and know the people — so I think it's a great blessing."

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CNA Newsroom, Apr 12, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).

Pope Francis made a prayerful pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on Saturday afternoon, continuing the pontiff's gradual return to public appearances ahead of Holy Week celebrations.

The 88-year-old pope paused to pray before the venerated icon of the Virgin Mary known as "Salus Populi Romani" (Protectress of the Roman People), according to a Vatican statement released Saturday.

This visit marks another step in Francis' cautious comeback to public life following his recent health challenges. The pope has been largely absent from public view since his release from Rome's Gemelli Hospital approximately three weeks ago, where he was treated for a respiratory infection.

Saturday's visit to the Marian basilica comes on the eve of Palm Sunday, which inaugurates Holy Week in the Catholic liturgical calendar. The Vatican has yet to confirm Francis' participation in upcoming Easter celebrations, with officials indicating that decisions regarding his role in the Easter Triduum will be made "at the last minute."

According to medical updates, the pontiff continues to receive respiratory therapy and motor physiotherapy, though his need for supplemental oxygen has decreased in frequency.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals, is scheduled to preside over Palm Sunday Mass as Pope Francis' delegate.

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CNA Newsroom, Apr 12, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback on Friday praised President Donald Trump's choice of former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker for the position, hailing the nominee as an "excellent pick" who will advance religious liberty worldwide.

Brownback served in the religious freedom role from 2018 until 2021. He was the first Catholic to serve in that role; he was the governor of Kansas prior to the appointment and also served as a U.S. senator.

Trump announced Walker's nomination on Thursday. Appearing on EWTN News Nightly on Friday night, Brownback told anchor Mark Irons that Walker brings "several real key assets" to the role.

"Number one is he knows the president well, and the president knows him," Brownback said. "And that's the key piece for the ambassador, is just that he can be out there and speaking for the president of the United States. And whenever he travels around the world, he's speaking for the president, and people respect that."

"Number two, he's been a pastor," Brownback continued, referring to Walker's Southern Baptist ministry. "So he really knows the issues and it's in his heart, it's in his DNA. This is what he is, this is what he's about."

"And then he's been in Congress," he added. "So he knows the Hill. And the Hill is critically important on pushing religious freedom around the world—for people to know that you understand how the process works, you have friends where the process works and you mean what you say and you're going to get things done. I think this is a really excellent pick for the president."

Brownback noted that "a lot" goes into the ambassadorship position "because religious freedom has become the cornerstone human rights issues for those of us on the right."

"And it's an issue around which, if you can get it established in countries, you can build your other human rights—right of assembly, the right of free speech, these other things, if you can get this foundational issue set right."

Freedom of religion, Brownback noted, is attacked "particularly by authoritarians" including the Chinese Communist Party.

"They are all about eliminating religious freedom," he said. "To them, it's an existential threat. To us, it's a cornerstone human right. There really couldn't be a bigger dichotomy, and carrying that message and pushing it around the world is what the ambassador does."

On Thursday, after his nomination was announced, Walker said in a statement that he was "open-eyed to the bad actors and regions committing [atrocities] against people of faith."

"Religious expression is the foundation of human rights and, whether it's a college campus in New York or Sub-Saharan Africa, I'll be relentless in fighting for those targeted who dare to live out their faith," the nominee said.

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