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Vatican City, Jun 24, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV in a message to the Order of Malta underlined the order's religious character, stressing that without evangelization, the knights' service to the poor is merely philanthropy.

"Do not limit yourself to helping the needs of the poor, but announce to them the love of God with words and testimony. If this were to be lacking, the order would lose its religious character and would be reduced to being an organization with philanthropic purposes," Leo wrote in a message to the order on the feast of its patron saint, St. John the Baptist.

The pope also met for the first time with the order's grand master, Fra' John Dunlap, at the Vatican on June 23.

In his June 24 message, Leo pointed multiple times to the order's important dual purpose of "tuitio fidei and obsequium pauperum." (Latin for "protection of faith" and "service to the poor.")

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is both a lay religious order of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state subject to international law.

The order adopted a new constitution in 2022, after a long reform process, initiated by Pope Francis in 2017 and fraught by concerns of threat to the group's sovereignty.

Pope Leo addressed the Order of Malta's "path of renewal," stressing that it "cannot be simply institutional, normative: It must first of all be interior, spiritual, because this gives meaning to changes in the rules."

He supported changes to the order's constitutional charter and law as "necessary, as several things needed to be clarified, especially the nature of the religious order."

The Holy Father's message also talked about the means — economic and personnel that the order relies on in order to carry out its charitable work — and the importance of these aligning with the group's mission.

"To achieve a good goal the means must be good; but in this field temptation can easily present itself under the guise of good, as an illusion of being able to achieve the good goals that one sets out with means that could later prove not to be in accordance with the will of God," he said.

The order's international importance and position as a sovereign body, Leo continued, must never be a pretext for succumbing to temptations to worldliness.

The Order of Malta's overhaul was also marked by years of changing leadership, beginning with the dismissal of Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager in December 2017.

The grand chancellor's dismissal followed revelations that the order's charitable branch, under Boeselager's leadership, had been involved in distributing condoms in Burma to prevent HIV. The order said the reasons for Boeselager's dismissal was "much more complex than just the point on contraception," and one factor was the concealment of "severe problems" within the order during his tenure.

The grand chancellor is one of four high offices — grand commander, grand chancellor, grand hospitaller, and receiver of the common treasure. These positions, which hold five-year terms, make up part of the government of the order, together with councilors of the Sovereign Council, and the grand master, who is elected for 10 years.

Much of the leadership was renewed during elections held in an extraordinary chapter general convened by Pope Francis in January 2023.

Dunlap, a Canadian lawyer who was elected prince and 81st grand master of the Order of Malta in May 2023, had led the order as lieutenant grand master since the year prior when he was appointed by Pope Francis following the sudden death of his predecessor, Fra' Marco Luzzago.

The Order of Malta had not had a grand master since the death in 2020 of Fra' Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto.

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Vatican City, Jun 24, 2025 / 13:47 pm (CNA).

More than 2,500 seminarians from 57 countries converged on Rome this week to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, receive a blessing from Pope Leo XIV, and celebrate their vocations in the Jubilee of Seminarians. 

"Thank you for courageously accepting the Lord's invitation to follow him, to be disciples, to enter the seminary. You have to be courageous and not be afraid," Pope Leo XIV told the young men gathered in St. Peter's Basilica on June 24. 

"As Christ loved with the heart of man, you are called to love with the heart of Christ!" the pope said in his catechesis to the seminarians, urging them to "love with the heart of Jesus." 

Over two days, the jubilee pilgrims prayed the rosary together at the tomb of St. Paul, passed through the Holy Doors of the basilicas in Rome, and knelt before the Eucharist in adoration. Among them were seminarians from Albania to Argentina, India to Italy, and the United States to Ukraine — each carrying his own story of how God called him to the priesthood. 

Here are nine seminarians who shared how they heard the call to the priesthood: 

Thomas Hammen, 28, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida 

"I think a key message is that we're made to give ourselves away in love, while the culture says to only live for yourself… In my college years specifically, I experienced having everything the world told me that would make me happy and like Pope Leo has been saying over and over again, quoting St. Augustine, 'my heart was restless.'

"Thankfully at Florida State University, I had an awesome friend who invited me on a retreat, and it was on that retreat where there was Eucharistic adoration that I heard the truth that my heart is made for God and when I live for him I come fully alive and I'm able to step into the mission that he has for me. 

"I'd say my vocation is a result of God showing me mercy … and from knowing that I'm loved, that comes a great conviction that I'm chosen for something great and that's really the source of my entire vocation to be a priest." 

Hammen hopes to be ordained in 2030. 

Joseph Mlawa, Archdiocese of Agrigento, Italy 

"I'm from Tanzania and now I'm a seminarian in Sicily." 

"Since I was little, I wanted to become a priest. However, it was a bit difficult because my parents died in 2006. But in 2015, there were missionaries who came to my parish and they helped me to come here to Italy to fulfill the calling of my vocation … They helped to pay my tuition for the nine years." 

Thomas Stanczak, 35, Archdiocese of Milwaukee

A recent convert from Protestantism, Stanczak said he "read" his way into the Church.  

"I think, as St. John Henry Newman says, 'to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant,'" he said. 

"I really felt a very strong call from the Lord during Mass … and when the Lord says for you to do something, it's hard to say no." 

In Rome, he has had a "wonderful experience" going to the churches from "the different ancient martyrs and saints that we pray in the Roman canon, seeing Cosmos and Damien's church, John and Paul, Agnes and Lucy." 

"All these different wonderful saints have really helped me connect in a special way to the universal Church."? 

He hopes to be ordained in 2030. 

Pietro, 24, Diocese of Locri-Gerace, Calabria, Italy 

"I have to say that like St. Peter, I gave the Lord a lot of resistance. Finally, he somehow 'pulled me by the ears,' as we say… Slowly, with his strength, [the Lord] showed me day by day what is the meaning of my vocation, not only my vocation to the priesthood, but also to follow him with all my heart, as far as he will lead me, even to the point of giving my life."

"There are so many challenges, as there always have been, and so I think if the Church continues to trust and rely on the Holy Spirit, then she will overcome them all."

Carlos Bárcenas, 26, Archdiocese of Panama

"The restlessness was already within me from my mother's womb," Bárcenas joked. 

While studying mechanical engineering, he "realized that [God] was asking me for something more.

"I want to be above all credible, acceptable, and consistent with Christian life," he said. 

Pepe Zinkewich, 26, Archdiocese of Los Angeles 

"I'm No. 9 of 10 kids. I grew up in a very heavily Catholic family … but I didn't really feel called to the priesthood until I went away for college. It was there that I got in contact with a very holy priest who loved the Eucharist and would die for it. And that really inspired me to follow Christ and devote myself to his Church."

"Through prayer and spiritual direction, I found my vocation to the diocesan seminary, and I've loved every minute of it. Ever since I entered, I thought the priesthood was going to be quiet and simple, but it has turned out to be the adventure of a lifetime!"

Zinkewich hopes to be ordained in 2029.

José Ylef Felicidad, 22, Diocese of Arecibo, Puerto Rico 

"I felt the call when I was 20 years old. It was through a priest friend of mine. Literally, the Lord was transfigured in him and he told me a phrase that moved me: 'He needs you.' His face changed to that of Jesus, but without ceasing to be him. It was extraordinary." 

Felicidad's greatest aspiration is to leave behind "everything for the Lord and for the holy people of God."

Randy Marfo, 25, from Ghana 

Marfo discovered his vocation at a young age when he was serving as an altar boy. This experience motivated him to follow a vocation to the priesthood. 

"The biggest problem that my country is facing is that the population of Catholics is decreasing in these days because some of the priests are not doing what is expected of them, so Church members are leaving to other denominations, like Pentecostals or the Baptists." 

He hopes to be ordained in 2030.

William Iván Sánchez Velázquez, Diocese of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 

"I have been in the seminary for seven years now," he said. "I met with the bishop and, as soon as I finished school, I went straight to the seminary."

His hope is to become a priest who resembles "the Good Shepherd" and to be "dedicated to serving my sheep."

"The Lord himself said: 'Pray to the Lord of the harvest.' The Lord provides. I firmly believe that the Lord answers the people who kneel to pray. We should not stop praying for vocations. That's the only thing to do: pray, pray, pray."

The Rome Experience 

The American seminarians taking part in the jubilee are in Italy this summer for the "Rome Experience," a six-week program to study, pray, and walk in the footsteps of the saints. These seminarians are taking classes on Church history and Christian art and architecture while also making pilgrimages to churches and holy sites throughout Rome.

"While I've been here, it's been so amazing to encounter the saints — to visit where they are buried, to hear their stories," Hammen said. "My hope is to return to the United States and share what I've experienced here." 

The Jubilee of Seminarians is just one of many spiritual celebrations taking place in Rome during the holy year. Beginning Wednesday, the Vatican will also host a Jubilee of Bishops and a Jubilee of Priests.

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ACI MENA, Jun 24, 2025 / 14:17 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in an exclusive interview with ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, emphasized that the Catholic Church in the Holy Land is "more active than people might think," noting that many of its initiatives and efforts take place away from the spotlight "so that we can be more effective."

His remarks came in response to the recent escalation of violence between Iran and Israel.

The cardinal also stressed the importance of openness. "The Church must remain open and accessible to all. This is absolutely essential," he said. "Everyone must be able to reach us; we must be a point of connection for everyone."

Commenting on the region's complex political landscape, the cardinal sent a clear message to political leaders: "The path forward does not lie in military action but in dreaming of the future and building hope for it," he said. "Force, violence, and war do not build anything. They destroy people, land, relationships, and wipe out hope in the future."

As regional tensions escalate, the cardinal warned that the suffering in the Holy Land, especially in Gaza and the West Bank, risks being forgotten amid the noise of larger global crises. "We've been speaking out. Even yesterday, the pope said this war is making us forget about Gaza's tragedy and that of the West Bank."

"We must keep speaking, writing, and maintaining ties with churches around the world to remind them that the situation here is extremely complex and that we cannot forget the weakest and the poorest," he said.

Addressing the daily challenges in the Holy Land, Pizzaballa highlighted the growing obstacles Christian families face in reaching their churches due to military checkpoints and repeated closures, which make pastoral activities nearly impossible.

"The first obstacle, above all else, is the state of emergency. Transportation has become a serious issue — no one knows when roads will be open or closed," he said. With a sense of sadness, he added: "We invested so much effort and money to send our youth to Rome for the jubilee, and now everything has been frozen, suspended, and canceled."

Despite these challenges, the cardinal affirmed the Church's ongoing humanitarian work in both the West Bank and Gaza. "We've created hundreds of job opportunities, and we're distributing food vouchers and aid. We're present in a strong way, even in Gaza; we try to get in the essentials, despite how difficult it is," he said.

When asked how, as patriarch of Jerusalem, he personally continues to cope with the crisis, Pizzaballa replied: "Most of the time lately, I feel helpless. I want to do so much, to write, to visit, to be present, but not everything is possible." 

He continued: "Our primary concern is our community in Gaza: to support them, to be present for them, to not abandon them. This is of utmost importance." 

Pizzaballa said the Christians in Gaza "have become a symbol of our Christian community." 

"So too is the unity of the Church," he said. "These geographic divisions, the separation, the barriers, they isolate us. So how can we preserve connection and unity? Because without unity, there is no true sense of belonging."

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 24, 2025 / 14:47 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said he was "deeply saddened" by the terrorist attack on a church in Damascus, Syria, and assured his prayers for those mourning the 25 people who were killed.

On Sunday, June 22, the solemnity of Corpus Christi, eyewitnesses reported that two armed men stormed the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias in Douailah on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.

One of them remained outside, firing at worshippers and into the church's stained-glass windows, eyewitnesses said, while the second tried to enter the church and detonate a grenade, according to ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.

Two parishioners intervened and managed to wrestle the explosive device away from the second man, preventing an immediate detonation. However, while being dragged outside, the attacker activated his suicide belt, resulting in a massive explosion.

The attack left at least 25 dead and a total of 63 wounded.

The Holy See Press Office released a telegram of condolence from Pope Leo XIV on June 24 signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

In the message, the pontiff expressed his profound sadness after receiving news of "the loss of life and the destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Mar Elias in Damascus."

In light of the brutal attack, the first since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the Holy Father also expressed "his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected."

"In entrusting the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of our heavenly Father, His Holiness likewise prays for those who mourn their loss," the telegram read.

Leo XIV also assured his prayers "for the recovery of the injured" and invoked "the Almighty's gifts of consolation, healing, and peace upon the nation."

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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Portland, Ore., Jun 24, 2025 / 15:17 pm (CNA).

Over 3,000 Catholics filled the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday for a Eucharistic procession led by Archbishop Alexander Sample.

To encourage broad participation from clergy and the faithful across the archdiocese, a special Mass was offered at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass was added to the regular Sunday Mass schedule to allow more local Catholics to participate in the procession after attending their own parish Masses. The procession through the streets followed immediately afterward.

Confessions were also offered from 1 to 3 p.m. in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean. By noon, hundreds were already lined up, well before the scheduled start time. Though not part of the formal schedule, over a thousand of the faithful gathered in prayer inside the cathedral after the final Benediction.

St. Mary's Cathedral is designated as a local pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year, and this event was structured to allow the faithful to receive a full plenary indulgence by fulfilling all the necessary conditions in a single day.

In his homily at the Mass, Sample framed the day as a turning point for the archdiocese. 

"The Eucharist has to be at the forefront and center of evangelization and mission renewal. To see you all here today fills my heart with hope for the future. So many people see the Pacific Northwest as a center of darkness. I wish they could see this. I wish the Church across the United States could see this. I wish Pope Leo could see this," the archbishop said.

"God is on the move here in western Oregon. The Holy Spirit is igniting a fire, and you're all part of that. I predict that today is a turning point for the renewal of Christ's mission in western Oregon."

As the Blessed Sacrament was brought out after Mass, the cathedral's bell tower rang out across the city. The sound could be heard up to a mile away and marked the beginning of the procession. Forty minutes later, the bells rang again to welcome the return of the faithful and the Eucharistic Lord.

This marked the first time the city of Portland has permitted a public Catholic procession through the main streets of downtown in several decades.

The crowd was striking in both size and diversity. More than half of the attendees came from Latino, Asian, and African communities.There was also a strong representation of more recent Catholic communities in the archdiocese such as Burmese and Swahili-speaking Catholics.

Hymns were sung in Latin, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and more. At its full length, the procession filled four city blocks, moving through the Pearl District and drawing the attention of many onlookers who paused to watch in amazement and ask what was happening.

Many bystanders were visibly moved. Some knelt and prayed along the sidewalks, a powerful sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in a city often labeled secular or indifferent to faith.

"The Holy Spirit has chosen Portland, and he is doing something great here," Sample said earlier this year at the archdiocese's chrism Mass.

Joining the archbishop were more than 20 priests, eight deacons, over 100 altar servers and seminarians, 50 religious brothers and sisters, the Knights of Columbus, and the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher.

The event concluded with solemn Benediction on the cathedral steps, with the faithful filling the surrounding four blocks.

Visibly moved, the archbishop turned to the crowd and said, "Wow, this is amazing. What more can I say?" Then he exclaimed, "Viva!" and more than a thousand Latino Catholics joyfully responded, "Viva Cristo Rey!" ("Long live Christ the King!")

The atmosphere throughout the event was filled with joy and reverence. People smiled and sang along the route, and at the conclusion, the crowd burst into applause along with local onlookers. Several attendees expressed their hope that this grand Eucharistic procession might become an annual tradition in Portland.

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Vatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 13:41 pm (CNA).

"The Chosen" actor Jonathan Roumie said Monday coming to the Vatican is a "humbling honor" and a confirmation for him of the TV show's continued mission of bringing Jesus Christ to the world.

Roumie, other "The Chosen" castmates, and series creator and director Dallas Jenkins are at the Vatican this week after having just wrapped up three weeks of filming in southern Italy for the Crucifixion scenes of Season 6, out next year.

"The fact we're here now, sitting at the Vatican… is a testament to, I think, how God wants to continue to further this mission to bring more people to Jesus and to bring Jesus to them," Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series on the Gospels, said during a press conference at the Vatican on June 23.

Season 5, Episode 4, "The Same Coin," will be streamed at the Vatican's Filmoteca theater on the afternoon of June 23 in anticipation of the entire season being available for streaming in Italy in July.

Roumie will also present Pope Leo XIV with a gift from "The Chosen" during the Wednesday general audience on June 25, a meeting he said would be "extraordinary for so many reasons."

"When [Pope Leo XIV] was elected, I wept, because I never thought I'd see an American pope in my lifetime," the Catholic actor said. To get "to communicate to him in our native language this week is just something I never thought I would see in my life."

Series director Jenkins, an evangelical Protestant, said it was "a tremendous honor" to be at the Vatican. He added that being surrounded by the beautiful art of Rome and the Vatican reminded him how much he wants the show to make the events and people depicted in religious artwork feel real to viewers.

"Jesus is more than a painting, and the church is more than just a building," he said. "Jesus and the apostles were not just stained-glass windows, but Jesus became man … and these men and women actually lived and actually had a relationship with Jesus … something we can have today."

Roumie and Jenkins were joined at the Vatican press conference by Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), George Xanthis (John the Apostle), and Vanessa Benavente (Mother Mary).

They all talked about the emotional impact of getting to portray their characters, in their humanity and their growth, across five seasons so far.

Roumie said that "in the process of making this show, we didn't know we would ever go beyond four episodes of the first season."

"And then to fast forward seven years, and thousands of stories later about how this show has been used by God to change people's lives — and in some unique, distinct cases, to save people's lives — humbling doesn't even come close to describing the understanding of that, the feeling of that: It's profound," he added.

The cast and crew on June 22 finished filming Jesus' crucifixion in Matera in the Italian region of Basilicata, the same location used for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."

Jenkins called the three weeks "the most challenging and difficult we had in filming," requiring him to surrender everything to Christ.

Roumie noted that since starting the show, many people have asked him if he was looking forward to getting to the Crucifixion scenes, but he would answer, "I can't think about that, I can't think about the cross, because we're not there yet."

He preferred to stay in the present, concentrating on Jesus' active, public ministry, and the intimacy between Jesus and his followers. "And if there was anyone in the whole history of the world who was present at all times, it was Jesus Christ," the actor said.

Talking about Season 5, which is focused on the events of Holy Week, is a welcome break from the intensity of the past three weeks of filming, Jenkins told journalists.

The show's latest season features some of the most well-known scenes in Scripture, he said, including Judas' betrayal, when Jesus flips tables in the Temple, the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, and, most importantly, the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist.

The director said he hopes the season will provide an "opportunity for many new viewers to come to the show because they recognize these famous moments."

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Vancouver, Canada, Jun 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A government-ordered euthanasia facility, operated by the British Columbia, Canada, government's Vancouver Coastal Health Authority on the downtown campus of the Catholic-run St. Paul's Hospital, is now fully operational.

A six-month investigation into the impact of the New Democratic Party government's MAID (medical aid in dying)-imposition edict also uncovered that planning is underway for another euthanasia facility to be operated by Vancouver Coastal on the site of the new St. Paul's Hospital on False Creek Flats, which is being built a little less than two miles east of the existing hospital.

Vancouver Coastal is also currently operating MAID rooms in the same buildings that house two Catholic-run hospices in Vancouver.

Providence Health Care, which operates all these Catholic facilities and is under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, has long maintained pro-life policies that prohibit abortion and euthanasia from being performed on its premises. However, it was powerless to block these developments.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has deep concerns about the imposition of MAID units alongside pro-life Catholic facilities.

"This is incredibly sad news," Schadenberg said in an interview. "It's sad that the unit is now operational. And I'm also incredibly saddened by the fact that the new St. Paul's will also have a euthanasia clinic attached to it."

The provincial government forced the euthanasia facility onto the current site of St. Paul's Hospital in November 2023 in response to persistent death-on-demand activism and mainstream media pressure.

The MAID facility, about the size of a laneway home — a type of detached secondary suite in Canada built on preexisting lots — constructed by Vancouver Coastal at an undisclosed cost, is in an interior courtyard of the hospital, founded 131 years ago by the Sisters of Providence.

The facility opened Jan. 6, a Vancouver Coastal spokesperson said in an email dated April 17.

"The new space provides patients with options for specialized end-of-life care in a way that supports and respects them, their loved ones, and health care providers," he said.

Called the "Shoreline Space," the facility is attached to an exterior wall of the western section of the hospital's Providence Building, facing the courtyard. Public access to the facility from the courtyard is blocked by a locked gate and a 2-yard-high, black chain-link fence.

There is no exterior signage that would give pedestrians using the hospital's nearby Thurlow Street entrance any hint of the purpose of the green-metal-clad facility, equipped with security cameras and floodlight fixtures.

Inside the hospital, there is also no indication that MAID is provided behind a locked door that has the signage "Shoreline Space. Vancouver Coastal Health." 

Vancouver Coastal emails, obtained through a freedom of information request, indicate the health authority launched a planning process to insert a euthanasia facility at the new St. Paul's Hospital, scheduled to open in 2027.

No agency — the British Columbia government, the Ministry of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Providence Health, or the Archdiocese of Vancouver — has announced publicly that the new St. Paul's is being forced to accommodate a MAID facility.

Yet, the text of a Nov. 15, 2024, email from Laurel Plewes, operations director of the Assisted Dying Program at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) to Jennifer Chan of Providence Health Care (PHC) indicates that such planning is taking place.

Under the subject heading, "Preliminary VCH requirement for MAID space at the new SPH [St. Paul's Hospital]," Plewes wrote: "Here is a list of preliminary requirements, subject to refinement and additions."

That list, in bullet form, reads:

"— Internal 2,800 square feet

— We suspect PHC requirement will still remain, and VCH agrees, that the pathway must allow for patients to remain in their PHC bed.

— 5 minutes or less travel time from pharmacy located in SPH

— Ramp or ground-level entry — ramp is not included in square footage above

— Require connections for sewage, water, electricity, and IT connections similar to what is listed in previous partial agreement

— At least two parking spots for staff, easy access for transfer van

— Physical address to support emergency services knowing where to go"

Most emails received in response to the freedom of information request were almost completely redacted, but one with the subject line "Future Planning: MAID spaces," was sent by Nina Dhaliwal, a "senior project manager" at Vancouver Coastal, to four of her colleagues on Nov. 27, 2024.

It describes the need to connect all the parties to ensure that "future planning for MAID spaces" is being done efficiently. Dhaliwal also asks whether "the MAID team" had an "SOA" (presumably meaning service-oriented architecture) and a "Functional Program."

Although the email does not mention the new St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver Coastal released that information in response to a request for the communications regarding the possible construction of a MAID unit at the new hospital.

Neither Vancouver Coastal nor Providence Health has commented in response to questions about MAID facilities at the new or old St. Paul's.

Providence Health's service contract with the provincial government guarantees that it can prevent abortions and euthanasia from taking place within Providence facilities. Patients seeking such procedures are discharged from Providence and transferred to a Vancouver Coastal facility.

Pro-euthanasia groups criticized the arrangement when MAID was legalized in 2016 and then ramped up pressure when, as revealed in an article published in The B.C. Catholic in May 2022, the British Columbia branch of Dying with Dignity Canada launched a multiplatform public relations campaign aimed at forcing the British Columbia government to amend the service agreement in order to compel Providence to allow MAID.

Dying With Dignity called the "forced" transfer of patients to MAID-allowing facilities "cruel and unusual."

The pressure peaked the next year when news media seized on the case of a Vancouver woman, Sam O'Neill, whose family complained that she was forced to transfer from St. Paul's to access MAID. In response, the British Columbia government announced what observers called a "workaround" or "end-run" solution in November 2023.

The arrangement called for the province to take land at the St. Paul's campus on which to create a "clinical space" for MAID to be performed. The space would be staffed by Vancouver Coastal health care professionals and was to be connected by a corridor to St. Paul's Hospital.

"Patients from St. Paul's Hospital accessing MAID will be discharged by Providence Health and transferred to the care of Vancouver Coastal Health in this new clinical space," the release said. The MAID facility was originally scheduled to open in August 2024.

Then-Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver was quoted at the time as saying the directive "respects and preserves Providence's policy of not allowing MAID inside a Catholic health care facility," and the new patient discharge and transfer protocols would be consistent with existing arrangements for transferring patients at other Providence facilities.

However, that did not end the matter. In June 2024, O'Neill's mother, Dying with Dignity Canada, and a doctor launched a lawsuit against Providence, Vancouver Coastal, and the provincial government, alleging they had denied O'Neill her constitutional right to access MAID.

They seek to have MAID conducted within all provincially funded facilities, such as those of Providence Health Care, which relies on provincial funding for its operating costs. Providence owns the hospitals.

In a formal response to the claim, Providence not only described the St. Paul's arrangement but also disclosed that at two hospices it operates, May's Place and St. John, "patients who choose to receive MAID are provided with MAID by a VCH health care provider in a space operated by VCH which is located down the hall from the Providence operated hospice rooms in the same building that houses the hospice."

But that does not mean MAID is actually being performed within a Catholic facility, said Shaf Hussain, a communications officer with Providence.

Hussain said in a May 30 email to Canadian Catholic News (CCN) that both St. John Hospice and May's Place Hospice are in buildings and on lands that are not owned by Providence. He said he believes the whole building in which St. John Hospice is located "is leased by VCH."

"Since September 2013, Providence has been operating a 14-bed hospice in the building and continues to do so," he said. "In 2021, VCH took some space in the building for its Vancouver Community palliative programming. A room in that space is used for MAID."

Providence also leases space to operate a six-bed hospice in a building in which "VCH also leases space," he said. "This space, which they use for MAID, is separate and away from our hospice operations."

In a follow-up email to CCN on June 17, Hussain said Providence does not present MAID as an option to its patients.

"To clarify, no, we don't proactively mention MAID as an option to consider," he said. "We never initiate an offer of MAID."

"If a patient enquires about it, we contact the VCH MAID team," he said. "From PHC's perspective, we ensure the patient is provided information about all [non-MAID] end-of-life options, so the patient can make an informed decision."

Hussain explained the process Providence staff follow if a patient enquires about MAID, which includes assessing for MAID eligibility by two doctors or nurse practitioners; discussing the patient's medical condition with them; and discussing services and treatments that are available to relieve suffering, which "may include adjusting a current treatment plan, engaging palliative care services, community support services, or other options."

"A person does not have to accept any of these services, but it is legally required for a person requesting MAID to be offered care options to address the person's suffering," he said.

Dr. Will Johnston, who heads the Euthanasia Resistance Coalition of B.C., said he believes the British Columbia government's decision to force MAID into previously life-affirming health care settings is a form of totalitarianism.

"This is another example of zealots who won't allow the population any freedom from euthanasia," Johnston said. "They obviously control the provincial government … I think it's totalitarianism, and it shows none of their claimed virtues of inclusion and diversity."

This story was first published by Canadian Catholic News on June 19, 2025, and has been reprinted here with permission. 

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Los Angeles, Calif., Jun 22, 2025 / 23:23 pm (CNA).

The 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage completed its 3,300-mile journey across the western United States Sunday, having traversed 10 states, stopping in 20 dioceses and encountering thousands of enthusiastic parishioners.

The trek started May 18 in Indianapolis, the site of the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress in 2024, and concluded 35 days later at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The pilgrimage was an outgrowth of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) three-year Eucharistic revival designed to promote belief in and devotion to the Eucharist among Catholics.

"We've had a wonderful reception, and the pilgrimage has borne much good fruit," remarked Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC).  "The pilgrims who have turned out have been in good spirits."

The culminating event at the Cathedral included Mass celebrated by U.S. apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, a homily by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, and a procession through the Cathedral plaza.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who led the USCCB's Eucharistic revival program, and the auxiliary bishops of Los Angeles participated. The Cathedral, which seats 3,000, was full, and the procession ended with Archbishop Gomez blessing the City of Los Angeles in four directions, Shanks said, "which I hope will bring hope and healing to the city," the scene of recent civil unrest.

The pilgrimage visited multiple sites of prominence in the archdiocese, including Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades and Sacred Heart Parish in Altadena, both of which are in the zones of wildfire destruction in Los Angeles' Jan. 7 Palisades and Eaton fires (Corpus Christi was destroyed, Sacred Heart survived). The pilgrimage also stopped at the first and the last missions established in the Los Angeles area by St. Junipero Serra, Mission San Gabriel (founded in 1771) and Mission Basilica San Buenaventura (established in 1782.)

Father Parker Sandoval, vice chancellor and senior director of ministerial services for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, was the main point of contact for the archdiocese and coordinated Los Angeles events with the NEC. He noted that each site at which the pilgrimage stopped was significant, such as of historical importance because they were 18^th century missions, or because they were in the wildfire disaster zones.

 "The archdiocese has been pleased to participate in the pilgrimage, and our hope and prayer is that the Eucharistic revival spreads far and wide," he said.

Archbishop Gomez, Cardinal Pierre, Bishop Cozzens and the auxiliary bishops participated in other events Friday through Sunday, including the events in the wildfire areas.

"We were there to pray for people and be part of the revival of life in those areas," Cozzens said. "The people I spoke to told me that they were grateful of God's presence in the midst of tragedy, and for their faith which has help sustain them in this time of trial."

Pilgrims reflect on their journey

The pilgrimage traveled with eight young adults, known as perpetual pilgrims, traveling in a van with a trailer. Each diocese in which they made their stops acted as host, offering housing and food. The pilgrims found themselves spending the night in parishioners' homes, retreat centers, religious houses, and hotels.

Ace Acuna, a perpetual pilgrim active in campus ministry with The Aquinas Institute on the campus of Princeton University in New Jersey, said he became passionate about the Eucharistic revival after attending the Indianapolis Congress last year. 

"Everywhere we go people are excited to see us and give us a warm welcome," he said. "They're elated that Jesus is coming."

Like Acuna, perpetual pilgrim Leslie Reyes-Hernandez was moved by her experience at the Indianapolis Congress.  Her experience on the pilgrimage this year has been "transformative," she said, adding that she believes that Eucharistic adoration has the power to draw many young people like herself to the Lord.

"Young people are hungry for an encounter with God, and we've been blessed to meet many during this pilgrimage," she said.

Activities at the diocesan stops included Mass, adoration, talks about the Eucharist, and processions. Many also took the opportunity to go to confession.  

Pilgrims had to deal with protests

Attendance has been strong at many stops, Acuna related, including a Eucharistic procession to Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa which drew 1,800.

The spiritual journey was not without controversy; as many as 50 protestors from the Church of Wells protested the pilgrimage along the route, with their biggest turnout in Oklahoma City.

"They were using megaphones to tell us Catholics were wrong in their beliefs and confronting our participants individually about Catholic practices such as the Rosary," Shanks recounted. "They said they were looking to put the 'protest' back in Protestant."

While additional security was added to protect perpetual pilgrims and surround the Blessed Sacrament, Shanks believes the group's hostility did not adversely affect the pilgrimage.

"For us, this persecution was our Way of the Cross," he said. "We were allowed to experience in a very small way the suffering of Christ."

The pilgrims took side trips to sites of service or suffering along the route, such as a soup kitchen or to participate in prison ministry, and to the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. Other stops included a visit to the tomb of Bishop Fulton Sheen and the Shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother.

Although the pilgrimage has ended, the work of the National Eucharistic Congress continues, Shanks said. He hopes to do more annual pilgrimages, as well as an 11^th National Eucharistic Congress in 2029. The NEC is also working to train Eucharistic missionaries who can return to their parishes to share their enthusiasm for Christ in the Eucharist.

Bishop Cozzens believes the USCCB's Eucharistic revival program has been "a beautiful evangelistic moment," adding that he hopes "the essential work of Eucharistic revival will continue through the Congress movement."

The revival has exceeded his expectations for success, he said.

"I said we wanted to start a fire, not a program," the bishop said. "And, today that fire of the Holy Spirit is burning brightly."

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Vatican City, Jun 22, 2025 / 08:22 am (CNA).

Reacting to what he called the "alarming news" of U.S. airstrikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday pleaded with the international community "to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss."

"Today more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace," the pope said, in remarks following his Angelus reflection June 22, adding that the cry "must not be drowned out by the roar of weapons or by rhetoric that incites conflict."

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday night that the U.S. had "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites massive bunker busting bombs. Iran responded by launching a volley of missiles at Israel. Scores of civilians were wounded in a missile strike in Tel Aviv, Reuters reported.

Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square from a window in the Apostolic Palace, Leo framed the attacks, which have escalated the conflict between Israel and Iran, within the broader context of regional conflicts.

"In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population — especially in Gaza and other territories — risks being forgotten, even as the urgency for proper humanitarian support becomes ever more pressing," he said.

"There are no distant conflicts when human dignity is at stake," he said. "War does not solve problems — on the contrary, it amplifies them and inflicts deep wounds on the history of nations that take generations to heal."

The pope also evoked the most heartbreaking human toll of violence. "No armed victory can make up for a mother's grief, a child's fear, or a stolen future."

Finally, he renewed his call for diplomacy and commitment to peace: "Let diplomacy silence the weapons; let nations shape their future through works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflict."

In his catechesis prior to the Angelus on Sunday, the feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Leo XIV focused on the deep meaning of the Eucharist and the value of sharing.

Reflecting on the day's Gospel, which recounts the miracle of the loaves and fishes (cf. Lk 9:11–17), he said that "God's gifts, even the smallest, grow whenever they are shared."

Pope Leo XVI noted that the supreme act of sharing was "God's sharing with us."

"He, the Creator, who gave us life, in order to save us asked one of his creatures to be his mother, to give him a fragile, limited, mortal body like ours, entrusting himself to her as a child," the pope said. "In this way, he shared our poverty to the utmost limits, choosing to use the little we could offer him in order to redeem us."

God's generosity is especially manifested in the gift of the Eucharist, the Holy Father said.

"Indeed, what happens between us and God through the Eucharist is precisely that the Lord welcomes, sanctifies and blesses the bread and wine that we place on the altar, together with the offering of our lives, and he transforms them into the Body and Blood of Christ, the sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world," Leo said.

 "God unites himself to us by joyfully accepting what we bring, and he invites us to unite ourselves to him by likewise joyfully receiving and sharing his gift of love," he added. "In this way, says Saint Augustine, 'just as one loaf is made from single grains collected together ... so in the same way the body of Christ is made one by the harmony of charity.'"

The pope was scheduled to celebrate Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi at 5 p.m. Sunday, followed by a eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome.

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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jun 21, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The cause for canonization of Venerable Enrique Shaw, an Argentine husband, father, and businessman remembered for his vocation of service and his close ties to the working class, took another step forward at the Vatican this week.

In January, the miracle attributed to his intercession passed a medical review of its authenticity, and on June 17 the commission of theologians also unanimously approved it, the vice postulator of the cause, Bishop Santiago Olivera, confirmed to the AICA news agency.

"The cause of Enrique Shaw has already passed the initial stage of medical consultation, and now the theological experts, who are studying the prayers addressed to the 'candidate' and their fruits, have expressed their unanimous opinion this Tuesday regarding the prayer asking for the grace of healing," the prelate explained, encouraging people to continue praying "with renewed faith and confidence."

Olivera is in Rome where, prior to the theological commission's verdict, he had a private audience with the Holy Father, with whom he was able to discuss Shaw's cause for canonization. In an interview with the program "En Clave Grote," the bishop for the military diocese of Argentina gave details about the meeting.

"I was able to talk about several of our causes, and I told [the Holy Father] about Enrique Shaw, which gave me great joy. I told him that the theological commission was meeting today ... I told him: Later, God willing, it will go to the ordinary commission of cardinals and bishops, and then you, if you see fit, will have to sign, and we will have a new blessed, and [the pope] smiled," the prelate recounted.

Who was Enrique Shaw?

Shaw was born on Feb. 26, 1921. His mother died when he was 4 years old and following her request, his father entrusted his son's education to a priest.

Shaw completed his primary education at La Salle School in Buenos Aires and then entered the Naval Military School, where he discovered his apostolic vocation.

In 1943, he married Cecilia Bunge, and they had nine children. After retiring from the Navy in 1945, he decided to become a laborer, but a priest advised him and he leaned toward entrepreneurship, a vocation that would bear great fruit.

He was not only the general manager of Cristalerías (glassworks) Rigolleau, demonstrating exemplary concern and closeness to his employees, but he was also one of the founders and the first president of the Christian Association of Business Leaders, which continues to this day, bringing a human perspective to work.

Shaw served on the first board of directors of UCA (Catholic University of Argentina), worked to establish Argentine Catholic Action and the Christian Family Movement, and promoted the passage of the Family Allowance Law, a living wage based on family size or children's disabilities. 

While still very young, he fell ill with cancer, and when he needed blood transfusions, it was his own workers who offered to donate blood for him. He died on Aug. 27, 1962, at the age of 41.

In April 2021, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the venerable businessman, faithful layman, and father of a large family.

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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