Catholic News

Bishop Kevin Doran of the Diocese of Achonry in Ireland delivered a homily at the Newman University Church in Dublin on the occasion of the May 4 March for Life in Dublin organized by the Pro Life Campaign.

In his homily, Doran addressed the relationship between science, faith, and human dignity, centering his message on the truth regarding the human embryo and the child in the mother's womb.

He reminded the congregation that there is no conflict between the truth of science and the truth of faith, and clarified that the starting point of faith "is the revealed word of God, which, for us Christians, comes to its completeness in the person and teaching of Jesus."

Along these lines, he emphasized that scientific advancements have made it possible to confirm that the genetic identity of a new individual "is already established once fertilization has occurred," noting that "what happens after that is an amazing process of growth and development."

Based on this, the theologian and bioethicist further stated that anyone who denies the essential continuity between the embryo and the baby born nine months later "is flying in the face of truth."

Referencing Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato, he noted that "in every living thing there must be a first principle of life which explained and governed all its action."

"Human action," he continued, "includes complex reasoning and the formation of concepts, which are beyond the limits of the material world."

This, according to Doran, led many of these thinkers to conclude "that the first principle of life in human beings must be a spiritual soul."

The bishop pointed out that "once there is a living body, even one as small as an embryo, there must be a soul which explains and directs all its growth and development and its action throughout the cycle of life."

He also emphasized that "everything in the universe is not only created by God but finds its purpose and meaning in an order established by God," underscoring that "there is an intelligent plan, and we mess with nature at our peril."

Abortion not only kills babies but also wounds women

In light of these considerations, the bishop noted that abortion "not only kills babies, it also wounds women in the depth of their being" and does "untold moral and spiritual damage to all who promote it or who participate in it, precisely because it flies in the face of truth."

In connection with the introduction of a new bill to expand the availability of abortion in the country, he questioned the reasons why some legislators seem determined "to ignore the truth or to deny it entirely."

In this regard, he appealed to the responsibility of Catholics to know the Gospel of Life "in all its dimensions, and to confidently bear witness to it, both in our private lives and in the public space."

"We need to find new ways of offering life-affirming support to women who are in crisis during pregnancy or after the birth of a child," he emphasized.

Doran recalled the invitation of Pope Leo XIV: "The Church is called to reach all peoples, not by imposing itself but by bearing witness to the truth in charity."

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.

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Every Sunday, the police arrive to photograph him. He must report to authorities every time he leaves his parish and about every liturgical service in which he participates. If he speaks of any social issue during a homily, he risks one of two things: imprisonment or exile.

Speaking anonymously to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, a priest in active service in Nicaragua revealed the exact mechanisms by which the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, control, surveil, and silence the Catholic Church in the country.

The Nicaraguan dictatorship intensified its persecution of the Church in 2018 after bishops and priests offered to mediate between the regime and civil society in the wake of popular protests. Documented attacks against Catholics in the country now total over 1,030, and 149 priests have been expelled or exiled.

The priest said the population "has grown accustomed to the situation and no longer says anything. I sense a calm atmosphere, yet the restrictions, which are always present, persist, because there is no freedom."

Every Sunday, 'the police arrive to take my photograph'

Speaking about how the police monitor priests and bishops, the priest recounted: "Whenever there are liturgical services, we have to report what they are and where they are being held; we have to report when we leave our parish boundaries, and we have to state how long we intend to remain at any location outside of it."

"And the police arrive to take my photograph, always, every Sunday. It's a way of verifying that we are where we said we would be. Police superiors require their officers to provide evidence of the visits they conduct, and that's how they maintain control," he added.

"If you fail to give notice," the priest continued, "sometimes nothing happens; but other times when they realize that you're outside the parish and didn't give prior notice, they make a call. There have been times when it simply slipped my mind to let them know."

Regarding the bishops, he said he believes that "yes, they are monitored, they are kept under surveillance. And the police are constantly asking about this or that meeting: where it's going to take place and whether the bishop will be there." It also appears the police do in fact "have some person along with his vehicle assigned to" follow the bishops.

Political or social issues avoided in homilies

The priest explained that no priest can speak about social or political topics; otherwise, he risks being considered an opponent to the regime and it could cost him one of two things: "imprisonment or exile."

"If we speak about a social problem or something currently taking place, they may view us as opponents, as if we were delivering a speech inciting rebellion. And so, they keep watch. They listen whether in person or via broadcasts, and they record us and file reports," he said.

Any criticism of the dictatorship, he added, "they interpret as political discourse or an act of insurrection. And so that can have consequences."

The priest recounted that whenever he learns of a fellow priest being imprisoned, there is "total silence. You can't visit them; you can't speak with them."

Pressure on the bishops

ACI Prensa asked the priest why the bishops of Nicaragua do not typically speak about the situation in the country or criticize the dictatorship.

"First, perhaps, out of fear of being expelled. I believe that's the primary factor. And there is the fear of leaving a large population of believers [without a bishop] as happened in Matagalpa, Estelí, or Jinotega" where the bishops are in exile, the priest noted.

The four dioceses currently without a bishop present in the country are Jinotega, whose bishop, Carlos Herrera, serves as president of the bishops' conference; Siuna, Matagalpa, and Estelí. The latter two are headed by Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was exiled to Rome in January 2024.

The priest noted that "in the dioceses where the bishops are absent, there are no priestly ordinations, primarily because the bishops are not there."

"They [the police] are specifically keeping those dioceses under surveillance," he added, explaining that a bishop from another diocese is also not permitted to ordain priests who fall outside his own jurisdiction.

In a diocese where the bishop is still present, he continued, "ordinations do take place, but they are conducted with great prudence and caution; they are not given much publicity or promoted in the media, so as to avoid any difficulties."

The priest noted that there has been a decline in the number of priests due to expulsions, and that the most affected diocese is Matagalpa, with nearly half of its clergy now outside the country — a reprisal against Álvarez, who "in his homilies never sugarcoated" the situation in Nicaragua.

Processions banned in Nicaragua

The priest said that while most processions are banned, "there are some, traditionally massive in scale, that have been permitted," such as those for St. Jerome or the Virgin of Mercy; "but more for their cultural and tourism value and not because it might be an opening toward the faith which they [the police] have otherwise closed."

The priest recalled when he requested permission from the police to hold a procession and an officer told him that they could imprison him if he proceeded with it.

How does the Church get by day to day?

In 2023, the dictatorship banned the inflow of foreign funds to the Catholic Church after accusing it of "money laundering," an accusation deemed "ridiculous" at the time by Félix Maradiaga, president of the Freedom for Nicaragua Foundation, while simultaneously freezing the bank accounts of the country's parishes and dioceses in an attempt to further curtail their activities.

"There are no [parish] vehicles, and it's impossible to purchase them using the offertory funds because the people are poor. So I have to go around asking people to give me a ride," he recounted.

Among the many institutions whose legal status was revoked by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship — meaning they cease to function and their assets are transferred to the regime — is Caritas Nicaragua, the charitable arm of the Catholic Church, which was dissolved by the dictatorship in March 2023.

"We no longer have access to Caritas or foreign aid, because all of that has been banned. Consequently, here, assistance is provided by the population itself amid their poverty," the priest emphasized.

Without the assistance of Caritas, "it's the community itself that takes it upon itself to help us. We rely on divine providence, and that's how we carry on."

"If we survive, it's because of the help of the people themselves. The people pay for the electricity and the water. These costs are not paid with the collection or offerings. The same goes for food; the people pitch in to help me. Without that, it would not be sustainable," he explained.

"We collaborate with the people; we help, we deliver food, provisions to certain people. I haven't had any issues with the police in that regard, but I do it publicly; I don't do it in secret," he explained.

According to an April World Bank report, 2.8 million people in Nicaragua live in poverty.

Are there vocations in Nicaragua?

The Nicaraguan priest highlighted that, despite everything, there still are vocations. "It's true that there was a decline in vocations after 2018. There was significant attrition and a decrease in numbers, and many young people left the country; however, vocations are currently on the rise."

The year 2018 marked a turning point in the persecution against the Church. Protests against the dictatorship prompted the regime to intensify its multifaceted attacks against Catholics. Nicaraguan lawyer and activist Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report "Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church," provides a detailed account of these attacks.

"Today, vocations are once again beginning to resurge in the seminaries. Before last year there were few, but today the number of seminarians has already risen," the priest added.

Despite the tribulations, the Church in Nicaragua 'walks with hope'

The priest said "a characteristic of Nicaraguans is their love for the pope, because he [represents human] dignity and the Church, it's something that characterizes the Nicaraguan Catholic."

Bolstered by the pope's encouragement expressed to the exiled Nicaraguan bishops in August 2025 and despite all the difficulties facing Nicaragua, the priest said there are reasons for hope, such as those newly baptized at Easter.

"I believe that the Church in Nicaragua is a suffering Church; yet, above all that suffering, we press onward. We are spurred on and find hope in the knowledge of what Easter has given us: the resurrection of Christ, that Christ is alive, that Christ is with us, and that he walks in our midst," he said.

"Even amid these tribulations," he affirmed, "the Church in Nicaragua moves forward with confidence; it moves forward with hope. We're not sorrowful; we are joyful. We simply hope to receive the solidarity and attention of the world, and that, one day, we may be able to live out our faith in complete freedom."

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.

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Nick Argel Vaquilar as the new bishop of Urdaneta in the Philippines on the very day of Vaquilar's 56th birthday and two days before the anniversary of his priestly ordination.

"I know that I am not capable of this big responsibility," Vaquilar said. "But being chosen for this big responsibility, I am hoping for all the help from God, for I know he will guide me as a pastor," the bishop-designate said after David William Antonio, archbishop of Nueva Segovia — the jurisdiction in which Vaquilar had served until now — announced his appointment.

"Your presence is a blessing, and we look forward to journeying together in faith, hope, and service. Thank you for saying 'yes' to this new ministry. The local Church of Urdaneta is blessed to have you as our new shepherd," the Diocese of Urdaneta posted on Facebook.

Vaquilar succeeds Bishop Jacinto A. José, who led the diocese for over 20 years and whose resignation the pope accepted after the prelate reached the age of 75, the retirement age for bishops in the Catholic Church.

Who is the new bishop of Urdaneta?

Born on May 3, 1970, in the town of Cabugao in Ilocos Sur province, Vaquilar studied philosophy at the San Pablo University Seminary in Baguio and theology at the Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan. He earned a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in biblical theology from the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City.

He was ordained a priest on May 5, 1997, for the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia.

He has held the following positions, among others: parochial vicar of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Paul in Vigan (1997–2000, 2004); professor and resident formator at the Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan (2000–2001, 2005–2009); and rector of the Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan (2009–2011, and subsequently, since 2015).

He has also served as parish priest at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Sinait (2013–2014) and as director of the Archdiocesan Biblical Apostolate since 2018.

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.

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Bishop René Henry Gracida, who led multiple U.S. dioceses and whose career included combat service as a U.S. Army Air Corps tail gunner over Germany in World War II, died on May 1. He was 102 years old. His death was announced by the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas.

The long-lived prelate, who was ordained in 1959 and appointed a bishop by Pope Paul VI in 1971, was the bishop emeritus of Corpus Christi since his retirement in 1997. He was appointed to that diocese in 1983 and had previously served as the bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, and as an auxiliary bishop of Miami.

Born in New Orleans on June 9, 1923, Gracida said that as a young man he was captivated by the depiction of Jesuit martyrs in James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel "The Last of the Mohicans."

He told the journalist Jim Graves in 2016 that upon entering the Benedictine monastery he took the name of the Jesuit martyr Rene Goupil, who was tortured and martyred by Iroquois in 1642.

Among the dwindling number of World War II veterans still alive, Gracida served with distinction in the U.S. Army Air Corps, flying multiple missions over Nazi-occupied Europe. In one mission over the Ruhr Valley his airplane lost two engines, leading him to nearly bail out over enemy territory before the craft recovered.

His flying career did not end after World War II. He told Graves that following a stint in the hospital in 1972 after he drove across Southern Florida performing dozens of confirmations, he acquired a pilot's license and a small aircraft, which allowed him to fly around the archdiocese rather than spend long hours on the road.

In several instances, he said, he blacked out during intense thunderstorms, waking up at different altitudes than when he lost consciousness. "It's another example of God preserving my life," he said.

Gracida said that he considered EWTN foundress Mother Angelica a friend. In his 2005 biography of Mother Angelica, Raymond Arroyo noted that when the U.S. bishops debated the extent of their collaboration with EWTN in 1988, Gracida "cinched the deal" by proposing that the bishops adhere to a secret ballot when voting on any disputes.

Gracida was among the signatories of the Aug. 11, 2017, "filial correction" addressed to then-Pope Francis over the Holy Father's apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

In his later years he was known for expressing a number of controversial views, including a claim that Pope Benedict XVI's 2013 resignation was invalid. He was a vocal supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass.

In announcing his death, the Diocese of Corpus Christi said that under his leadership it developed its communications arm and expanded ministries throughout the diocese.

A trained architect, the bishop reportedly reviewed all diocesan building proposals before they were sent to construction. The bishop in his retirement "remained active and was an avid hunter and fisher," the diocese said.

Earlier this year, in a statement to the advocacy group Catholics for Catholics, he exhorted listeners to "keep the faith."

"As long as your faith is a motivating factor in your life, guiding what you do, you're on the right track," he said.

He told Graves in 2016 that his many brushes with death — including a near-fatal case of pneumonia in the 1950s — led him to believe that he was kept alive for a purpose.

"I have no doubt that the only reason I'm alive today ... is because God has work for me to do," he said at the time. "I have a message to deliver; God has kept me alive to deliver it."

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The U.S. Catholic bishops are calling on Congress to move forward appropriations that promote families, protect unborn children, and support women.

In a May 4 letter to Congress, Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, who heads the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. bishops, urged Congress "to advance appropriations that respect and affirm the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death."

Addressed to the chairs and vice chairs for the committees on appropriations of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, Thomas in the letter voiced support for policies that support women and children, defund abortion providers, and support restorative reproductive medicine.

"We continue to call for policies that put children and families first," he said. "Funding priorities, aligned in this way, must respond to mothers in need and their babies, born and preborn alike."

Thomas urged Congress to invest in maternal and child health as well as fully fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

"In addition to such assistance, pro-family policies ought to support husbands and wives and the integrity of the family itself," he continued.

Thomas noted that the bishops' priorities, such as "support for the poor, migrants and refugees, foreign assistance, environmental protection, health care, housing, nutrition, and more," are founded in the "dignity and flourishing of the human person" through "the protection of innocent, preborn lives."

Thomas urged Congress to continue upholding the Hyde Amendment, which protects taxpayer funding from being used for abortions, and to "oppose any bill that expands taxpayer funding of elective abortion."

He also called for an extension of "last year's historic, one-year defunding of the abortion industry in Medicaid within the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' (H.R.1)," which expires in July.

"We urge Congress not only to extend this prohibition of funding in the budget reconciliation process but complement this effort through other appropriations packages, such as by defunding major abortion providers in the Title X family planning program," Thomas said.

"Congress should do all it can to defund this enterprise and, instead, ensure greater support for authentic, life-affirming health care providers who truly serve mothers and their children in need," he continued.

Planned Parenthood performed an all-time high of 434,450 abortions of unborn babies in 2023-2024, according to the organization's most recent annual report. Almost half of Planned Parenthood's revenue came from taxpayer dollars, even as abortion services increased and other services dwindled, according to the group's 2024-2025 annual report.

Thomas also voiced support for restorative reproductive medicine to help couples experiencing infertility have families.

"We support funding and access to resources, such as training or research, for holistic and comprehensive restorative reproductive medicine, to help identify and treat underlying causes for those experiencing infertility," he said.

The bishop voiced opposition to in vitro fertilization (IVF), a fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church in which doctors fuse sperm and eggs to create human embryos and implant them in the mother's womb. To maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos and routinely destroy undesired embryos.

"IVF represents an underregulated industry that creates hundreds of thousands or even millions of preborn children who will be interminably frozen, lost in attempts to implant them within a mother, or discarded and killed (often in a selective, eugenic manner)," Thomas said.

"By turning the conception of children into a lucrative manufacturing process, IVF also violates their rights and treats them like property," he continued.

Nevertheless, he said, "no one has any less worth because of being conceived through IVF. Every person has infinite, inherent dignity, which must be upheld through every stage and circumstance of life."

"Society must make it easier to welcome and raise a new child and should promote life and hope for preborn children and their mothers and fathers," Thomas said.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that he has "a lot to talk about" with Pope Leo XIV in their upcoming meeting but that his trip to the Vatican on Thursday is not related to President Donald Trump's criticisms of the Holy Father.

Rubio was asked by a reporter during a news conference on May 5 whether the May 7 meeting is an attempt to "smooth things over" with Leo after Trump called him "weak on crime" and "weak on nuclear weapons" and falsely accused him of wanting Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The secretary said this is not the reason for the meeting, but instead it is "a trip we had planned from before." He acknowledged "we had some stuff that happened" but said there is "a lot to talk about with the Vatican."

"The pope just returned from a trip to Africa, where the Church is growing very vibrantly, and we have shared concerns about religious freedom in different parts of the world," Rubio said. "We'd love to talk to them about that."

Rubio added that the U.S. gave $6 million of humanitarian aid to Cuba, which was distributed by the Church, and "we'd like to do more" with that partnership.

"We're willing to give more humanitarian aid to Cuba, by the way, distributed through the Church, but the Cuban regime has to allow us to do it," he said.

A reporter also asked Rubio about Trump's more recent comment about Leo on May 4. On "The Hugh Hewitt Show," the president again accused Leo of holding the view that "it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon" and added: "I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people."

In response, Rubio said the president's position is that "Iran can't have a nuclear weapon because they would use it against places that have a lot of Catholics, including Christians and others for that matter."

"[Trump] doesn't understand why anybody — leave aside the pope — the president, and I for that matter, I think most people, I cannot understand why anyone would think that it's a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon," Rubio said.

Although Leo has urged diplomacy in Iran as opposed to war, the Holy Father has not said he supports Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. Rather, the pope has spoken out strongly against nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

Rubio accused Iran of "holding the whole world hostage" by refusing to let ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran threatened to block all ships from passing through the strait without express permission from its government following the American and Israeli attack. The U.S. is now blockading every ship that coordinates with Iran.

"What do you think they would do if they had a nuclear weapon?" Rubio said. "They would hold the world hostage with that nuclear weapon."

Rubio was also asked about the upcoming papal visit by an Italian journalist. He similarly said he plans to discuss "the destruction of religious liberty, the persecution of Christian minorities, and also the challenges that are being faced by Christians in Africa, where the pope just recently visited."

"So we have a lot to talk about with them and I engage with them quite a bit on that front, so 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," he said.

"The pope is obviously the vicar of Christ … but he's also the head of a nation-state and it's an organization that has a presence in over a hundred-something countries around the world and we engage with the Vatican quite a bit because they're present in many different places," Rubio said.

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The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily paused a lower court order requiring in-person dispensation of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, ruled on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current policy undermined Louisiana state law. The court reinstated in-person dispensation for abortion pills, a restoration of FDA requirements revoked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two mifepristone manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, asked the Supreme Court to pause the lower court ruling, calling it "unprecedented" in their emergency request over the weekend.

In response, Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, putting the lower court order on hold, and temporarily restoring mail-order abortion drugs while the justices consider the companies' request. The temporary stay will expire May 11 at 5 p.m. ET.

Alito instructed the FDA and Louisiana to respond by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 7.

Chemical abortions, which rely on mifepristone and misoprostol, accounted for 63% of U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The number of actual abortions might be higher due to underreporting, according to the organization, which was affiliated with Planned Parenthood until 2007.

In 2024, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to mifepristone's availability, declining to rule on the legality of relaxed regulations under the Obama and Biden administrations.

Activists, lawmakers, and state attorneys general have been calling on the FDA to do a safety review of the drug, citing severe risks to women's health.

A recent study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) found that the removal of in-person visit requirements led to an increase in adverse effects for women having chemical abortions. This study is one among several pointing to a higher rate of serious problems.

Multiple other studies have shown high rates of hospitalizations for women taking the abortion pill. Chemical abortion has a complication rate four times that of surgical abortion, according to one study. Another report found that abortion pill complications are often underreported or misclassified.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who celebrated the initial ruling pausing abortion drug shipments, called the current situation a "five-alarm crisis for the pro-life movement and for the GOP."

"The 'states-only' strategy, promoted out of fear after Dobbs, is an abject failure in the face of blue states brazenly violating state sovereignty and nullifying hard-won pro-life gains," Dannenfelser said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

"The GOP cannot win without its base and simply will not get the enthusiasm that drives turnout without leadership from the top," Dannenfelser said. "With one-third of the most engaged primary voters sidelined and unheard, the Trump administration's inaction puts lives and voter morale at risk every day it goes on."

Dannenfelser also called for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to be "fired immediately," citing recent comments he made about mifepristone.

"Abortions are up, not down after Dobbs, with at least 1.1 million deaths a year," Dannenfelser said. "More than 90,000 abortions occur each year just in states that protect babies in the law throughout all nine months of pregnancy — a direct result of Biden's COVID-era mail-order abortion drug rule, which the Trump administration inexplicably allows to continue."

"Without basic in-person medical supervision, male buyers have a frighteningly easy tool to abuse women, like abortion drug coercion survivor Rosalie Markezich, and their children," Dannenfelser continued. "The Supreme Court will now decide whether this injustice ends here or whether it raises its ugly head over and over again."

Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins called the situation "moral insanity."

"The tragedy of chemical abortion pill distribution is that preborn babies die while we argue about how the abortion lobby and Big Pharma might be hurt," she said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

"Enforcement of the Comstock Act is Step 1 for Trump administration's Department of Justice, but we certainly hope they will fight more fiercely as Trump's Food and Drug Administration has slow-walked a real review of deadly chemical abortion pills," Hawkins said.

The American Association of Pro Life OB-GYNs (AAPLOG) expressed concerns for the safety of women and unborn children.

"Just when women and preborn children were about to receive bare minimum safety regulations, abortion manufacturers jumped in to save their bottom line," the organization said in a statement shared with EWTN News.

"Women deserve real medicine, not a mail-order workaround that benefits only the abortion industry," AAPLOG continued. "'Telehealth distribution' of mifepristone would actually provide medical oversight — instead there is none. No exam, no ultrasound, no screening for coercion and no doctor accountable when patients are harmed."

"This is a transaction, it's not a medical interaction. Women and their preborn children deserve better," AAPLOG stated. "The Supreme Court must allow the 5th Circuit's ruling to stand."

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While Christians represent barely 2% of the total population of the Holy Land, Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel said he is hopeful that the situation can be reversed despite the downward trend, which is worsening over time.

The abbot said the Christian faithful in the region, particularly in the heart of Jerusalem, have been severely affected by war, economic crisis, and all manner of hardships.

"If you think this is an Eldorado [utopia] of Christianity, the reality is different," he said. "All Christians together are less than 2%. For us, dreaming of reaching 5% or 6% would already be a lot," Schnabel noted in an interview with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

"If you think of the most secularized regions in Europe like the Czech Republic or the former East Germany, even there Christians are many times more numerous than here," he remarked.

"My fear is that the Holy Land could become a kind of 'Christian Disneyland,'" he warned. "The holy places will remain, with monks and priests. But there may be no Christian families, no young Christians, no ordinary Christian life," Schnabel warned.

In 1948, the year the state of Israel was created, Christians constituted 20% of the local population of the Holy Land.

The reality of the Latin Church

The abbot addressed the reality of the Latin-rite Church, which is composed of Arabic-speaking Palestinian Catholics, Hebrew-speaking Catholics, and migrants and asylum-seekers.

The first group includes those Catholics "who live in Israel with citizenship" as well as those without political rights in addition to Christians in the West Bank and the small community of believers in Gaza. This group of Catholics lives under oppression, subjected to the violence of war and the Hamas regime, a situation that Schnabel characterizes as a "double occupation."

The second group is "a small but growing community, composed of mixed (for example Catholic-Orthodox or Catholic-Jewish) families and integrated into Israeli society." This reality — being both Israeli and Catholic — is "a new phenomenon," the monk noted.

Schnabel explained that the migrant group is the largest, comprising "more than 100,000 Catholics" hailing from countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Americas. "They are, in many ways, the most vulnerable," he noted, due to the precarious working conditions to which they are subjected. "They often have the feeling that it doesn't matter whether they are there or not."

The economic survival of Christians

He noted that improving housing and employment opportunities would be an important step toward helping these Christian families remain in the region.

"Around 60% of Arabic-speaking Christians depend on tourism. And the last good year was 2019. This is the biggest challenge," he explained. "People leave because they don't see a future."

"Pray that there is a future for Christians here," he urged.

The abbot emphasized that the Church is "neither pro-Israel nor pro-Palestine, but pro-human." The Church is present "on all sides," he said.

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.

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The Vatican released a letter May 4 but dated November 2024 in which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) categorically rejected a proposal from the German episcopate to introduce ritualized blessings for couples in same-sex unions and irregular situations, warning that such blessings could be interpreted as the legitimization of unions incompatible with Church doctrine.

The letter is signed by the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and addressed to Stephan Ackermann, bishop of Trier, and through him to the entire German episcopate.

In the letter, dated Nov. 18, 2024, Rome issued a categorical rejection of a text proposing the implementation of blessings with a prescribed ritual form.

The DDF in the letter responds to a "vademecum" (an authoritative handbook or reference guide) drafted by the German episcopate in October 2024 as a guide for priests. Written in German and Italian, it was intended to serve as a practical aid for "Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other" and was presented as an application of the declaration Fiducia Supplicans to the "pastoral reality" in Germany.

The background: Fiducia Supplicans

In 2023, the DDF published the document Fiducia Supplicans, which opened the possibility of blessing couples "in irregular situations" or of the same sex, without equating them to marriage. The text specified that such blessings could not be performed with a precise ritual nor with signs characteristic of a wedding.

The Church in Africa subsequently expressed its unanimous rejection of the document and requested clarifications from Pope Francis. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said the document did not apply to the Eastern Catholic Churches.

In the November 2024 letter, which it has published on its website, the DDF recalled that Fiducia Supplicans clearly establishes that the "Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when this, in any way, might offer a form of moral legitimation to a union that purports to be a marriage or to an extramarital sexual practice," nor to those who claim "the legitimation of their own status."

In light of this, Fernández's letter notes that the German "vademecum" "speaks of a union and of an 'official regulation' on the part of pastors of couples who love one another outside of marriage" and even of an "acclamation," a "gesture normally prescribed in the marriage rite." In this regard, the Vatican states that such an act legitimizes "the status of such couples, in a manner contrary to what was affirmed by Fiducia Supplicans."

Why the Vatican is publishing it now

The November 2024 letter began circulating widely on the internet this week, causing confusion as it was presented as if it were a recent pronouncement.

"The Holy Father stated on the return flight from Africa that the Holy See had already sent a response regarding this matter to the German bishops, and many were asking where that response was or what it said. For that reason, we decided to make it public," Fernández explained in a statement to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

The Holy See 'does not agree'

During his return flight to Rome following an 11-day tour of Africa, Pope Leo XIV stated to journalists on April 23 that the Holy See "does not agree with the formal blessing of homosexual couples."

The pontiff was responding to a question from a journalist regarding a directive issued by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, who had urged priests and pastoral workers to offer blessings in a uniform manner to same-sex couples or to divorced and remarried individuals within his archdiocese.

Before responding directly, Leo XIV emphasized that "the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters" and lamented the tendency to reduce Christian morality solely to that area. "In reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues, such as justice, the equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue," he stated.

Nevertheless, the pope noted that "the Holy See has already addressed the German bishops and has made it clear that it does not agree with the formal blessing of same-sex couples."

"When a priest gives the blessing at the end of Mass, or when the pope gives a blessing at the end of a great celebration, like the one we had today, there are blessings for all people," he noted, recalling the famous expression of his predecessor, Francis: "Tutti, tutti, tutti" ("everyone, everyone, everyone").

Going beyond this, Leo XIV warned, "can cause more disunity than unity." "Everyone is invited to follow Jesus, and everyone is invited to seek conversion in their own lives," he explained.

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.

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More than 300 faith leaders from at least 17 faith traditions, including Catholics, sent a letter to members of the Ohio General Assembly urging lawmakers to bring an end to the death penalty in their state.

"As people of faith, we are committed to policies rooted in justice and grounded in the promise of redemption," the May 4 letter said.

"While we come from varied backgrounds and political stances, we stand together against state-sanctioned murder," it said. "Instead, we are motivated by the restorative power of empathy and investments in transformation."

The letter, led by the single-issue organization Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE), comes as Ohioans await a statement on the death penalty by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. Last month, the governor said he would issue a statement in the week after the primary election, which is May 5.

DeWine, a Catholic, has delayed several executions as Ohio has had difficulty in obtaining the drugs needed to administer lethal injection.

In the letter, the faith leaders state that "now is the time for Ohio to rid itself of its outdated and immoral death penalty."

"As people who are motivated by faith and sparked by profound love for the common good, we are calling on you to endorse the bipartisan, multi-faith effort to abolish the death penalty in Ohio," they said.

The faith leaders affirmed they "hold deep care and respect for victims and co-victims of crime, and we most certainly are not opposed to accountability for rightfully convicted persons," however: "We believe that the death penalty serves no moral purpose."

"Instead, it is a hollow instrument of death that offers no redemption, no closure, and no transformation for anyone involved," the letter said. "The death penalty monopolizes human and financial resources that would be better spent if applied to the co-victims whose glaring list of needs often goes unmet."

The signatories included parish priests, Protestant pastors, and Catholic religious sisters. It also includes non-Christians, such as rabbis, Muslims, Zoroastrian, and unitarian universalists.

Marsha Forson, associate director of Social Concerns at the Catholic Conference of Ohio, spoke during a news conference to announce the letter, noting the continued celebration of the Easter season.

"What does this mystery grant us but the hope of life — life eternal," she said. "Hope that one day all things will be placed in proper order by justice and peaceful reign and every tear will be wiped from our eyes."

Forson said "each person's fundamental identity and value is renewed not in the good or evil [that the person] has done but in the invaluable self-sacrificing love of one." She said "there is no longer any value that can be placed on a human life other than the inestimable price of Christ's sacrifice."

The bishops did not sign onto the OTSE letter but instead sent their own separate letter in late March, which also urged Ohio lawmakers to abolish the death penalty.

Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said in a statement to EWTN News that lawmakers have "the unique opportunity" with House Bill 72, under consideration in a House committee.

That bill, he explained, would "end state-sanctioned death in Ohio by abolishing the death penalty while also ensuring state funds will not pay for abortion or assisted suicide."

"We are actively meeting with Ohio legislators and urging them to stand against the culture of death and defend the sanctity of life in all stages and circumstances, as Pope Leo XIV continues to urge Catholics and all people of goodwill to do," he said.

On April 24, Leo provided a message to activists at DePaul University celebrating the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois, in which the Holy Father offered his "support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world."

"I pray that your efforts will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the dignity of every person and will inspire others to work for the same just cause," Leo said.

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