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ACI MENA, May 27, 2025 / 17:18 pm (CNA).

To mark the World Day of Eastern Christians, held every year on the sixth Sunday of Easter and organized by the association L'Œuvre d'Orient, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, presided over the Divine Liturgy in the Chaldean rite at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sunday, May 25.

The celebration brought together bishops and faithful from various backgrounds. According to Vatican News, the World Day of Eastern Christians is for prayer, encounter, and communion between Eastern and Latin Christians.

This year's liturgy was distinguished by the blessing of eight icons painted by both French and Middle Eastern artists depicting the first saints from the early centuries of Christianity. 

These icons were anointed with chrism and will be placed on Wednesday in the newly dedicated St. George Chapel — a space within the cathedral set aside for Eastern Christians.

In his opening remarks, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris described icons in the Eastern tradition as "true windows into eternity, a faithful witness to the faith of the entire Church. They are not mere pictures but an entryway into God's holiness. To pray before them is a profound spiritual act." 

Ulrich expressed his hope that many Eastern Christians would come to St. George Chapel to pray, noting that the diocese had decided to consecrate it upon the cathedral's reopening.

Expressing his deep admiration for the cathedral's restoration, Sako said that the East "formed the roots of Christianity, while the West, through its missionaries, became its beating heart."

He added: "The dedication of this chapel for Eastern Christians is of great significance, as it reveals the Church's universality and unity. It is a source of pride for us. We are deeply grateful to the Church in France, which stood with us during the horrors we endured under ISIS."

Speaking to ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, Syrian artist Neemat Badwi explained that the eight icons portray early Eastern saints according to the Churches and regions they are associated with. These include Andrew of Constantinople, James of Jerusalem, Mark of Alexandria, Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia, Thomas of India, Addai and Mari of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Iraq, Frumentius of Ethiopia, and Ignatius of Antioch. It was the icon of Ignatius that L'Œuvre d'Orient commissioned Badwi to create.

Badwi mentioned that he did not copy the icon from an earlier model but created an entirely new design. The work took him nearly three months to complete. He delivered the icons last month after arriving in Paris from Aleppo, accompanied by his brother, artist Bashir Badwi. Both were in the city to attend the conference titled "In Flesh and Gold" at the Louvre's Michelangelo Gallery, which focused on the art and restoration of sacred icons.

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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National Catholic Register, May 27, 2025 / 19:06 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed as head of the Vatican's bioethics think tank Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, the longtime deputy of its outgoing president, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, signaling a desire to continue the course set under Pope Francis.

Until his appointment on Tuesday, Pegoraro, 65, had served since 2011 as chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, acting as a close aide to Paglia throughout his turbulent term as president, which was marked by the appointments of pro-abortion members and problematic statements regarding assisted suicide and contraception. Paglia is retiring after turning 80.

Dr. Thomas Ward, who is founder of the U.K.'s National Association of Catholic Families, expressed concern about the appointment, saying he never recalled Pegoraro "disassociating himself from any of the egregious positions and comments of Archbishop Paglia."

He continued: "Millions of Catholic parents throughout the world, whose children are threatened by the lies of the culture of death, urgently need to hear the unequivocal defense of Catholic truth on human sexuality and life."

Founded by St. John Paul II and Professor Jerome Lejeune in 1994 to promote and defend human life and the dignity of the person, the Pontifical Academy for Life has historically aimed to provide interdisciplinary dialogue and research on complex bioethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, procreation, and gene therapy. The goal was to ensure that these topics were addressed in light of Catholic moral theology.

As chancellor, Pegoraro was the senior executive of the academy, which is an autonomous body within the Holy See. He shared in its leadership, worked closely with the president, and ensured the smooth operation of its activities. He served first under Spanish Opus Dei Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, who was academy president from 2010 to 2016, and then under Paglia.

A native of Padua, Italy, Pegoraro graduated in medicine and surgery from the city's university in 1985 and was ordained in 1989. He then earned a license in moral theology and a diploma in advanced bioethics. He taught bioethics and nursing ethics, has been a member of centers of medical philosophy and ethics, and served as president of the European Association of Centres for Medical Ethics from 2010 to 2013.

From 2016 until the present, he was Paglia's key collaborator at a time when the pontifical academy was accused of drifting from John Paul II's original mission to defend the sanctity of life and instead accommodating heterodox and secular ethical arguments, changing its statutes, and undermining its credibility as a pro-life institution.

On at least two occasions as chancellor, Pegoraro added his voice to this perceived drift away from the academy's mission by publicly supporting dissenting positions that had won sympathy during Pope Francis' pontificate.

In 2022, he told the Wall Street Journal that he believed contraception might be permissible "in the case of a conflict between the need to avoid pregnancy for medical reasons and the preservation of a couple's sex life."

The Church has always prohibited all forms of artificial birth control (except for medically necessary treatments not directly intended to cause infertility), teaching that contraception violates the intrinsic connection between the unitive and procreative aspects of the marital act.

In a second incident, also that year, Pegoraro appeared to support two members of the academy who publicly favored assisted suicide as a tactic to prevent the legalization of voluntary euthanasia in Italy.

"We are in a specific context, with a choice to be made between two options, neither of which — assisted suicide or euthanasia — represents the Catholic position," Pegoraro told the French Catholic newspaper Le Croix.

But stating that he believed some kind of law was a foregone conclusion, he said that of the two possibilities, "assisted suicide is the one that most restricts abuses because it would be accompanied by four strict conditions: the person asking for help must be conscious and able to express it freely, have an irreversible illness, experience unbearable suffering, and depend on life-sustaining treatment such as a respirator."

Cardinal Willem Eijk, also a qualified medical doctor and a member of the academy, firmly rejected such argumentation, saying there was "no significant moral difference" between medically assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia, "neither from the patient's side nor from that of the physician," as both bear "the same moral responsibility" in carrying out termination of life.

The National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, asked Pegoraro if he still held such positions on these issues and why he did not speak out during the controversies of Paglia's tenure, but he had not responded by publication time on Tuesday.

Radical changes

The Pontifical Academy for Life was generally admired by pro-life groups worldwide for inspiration and guidance during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI until it was hit by multiple scandals, first in 2009 during the brief presidency of Archbishop Rino Fisichella and what was known as the "Recife Affair," involving a contested 2009 abortion case in Brazil, but then more frequently when Paglia and Pegoraro were at the helm.

In November 2016 and soon after taking up his role as president, Paglia changed the academy's statutes, resulting not only in the sudden dismissal of 172 members of the academy (with some subject to possible renewal) and many with impeccable pro-life credentials, but also the removal of a requirement that academy members sign a statement promising to defend life in conformity with the Church's magisterium. The new members could also belong to any religion, as long as they promoted and defended life "in a way that conforms to the magisterium of the Church."

Paglia said the decisions were made "in the context of the Holy Father's general reorganization of the Roman Curia" and that he has had to make logistical adjustments to the academy to cooperate closely with the Curial bodies, particularly the then-newly created Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

But in 2017 and 2022, Paglia and Pegoraro appointed new members to the academy, some of whom publicly supported abortion or were self-declared atheists. One was Dr. John Nkengasong, a Cameroon-born U.S. citizen who, when appointed head of then-President Joe Biden's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2021, was congratulated by the CEO of Planned Parenthood for working to expand abortion services.

Another Paglia and Pegoraro appointment was Sheila Dinotshe Tlou, a former health minister of Botswana, who served on the oversight committee for a group that offered "supplies for safe abortion and post-abortion care."

Ward, a former member of the academy, said after the 2022 appointments that the leadership of the academy was continuing the "enforcement of a paradigm shift on sexual morality in the Vatican."

Judie Brown, also a former academy member and current president of the American Life League, called the appointments an "outrage" that were "made worse when we recognize that the academy was established to fight against abortion." The principles held by the academy's first members "were once the bedrock upon which we all stood," she said, but have now "disappeared from view."

Other problems also occurred under the leadership of Paglia and Pegoraro. In 2022, the academy published a book titled "Theological Ethics of Life," which bioethics experts roundly criticized for spreading "misleading and confusing" theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.

That same year, Paglia drew further controversy when he asserted that Italy's abortion law was a "pillar of society" resulting in the academy issuing a statement saying his comments had been "taken out of context." The Italian archbishop again found himself in hot water when he gave a speech in 2023 in which he appeared to declare that the decriminalization of assisted suicide was "the greatest common good" possible in the current political circumstances of Italy. The academy again had to clarify his comments, saying that he remained opposed to euthanasia.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Paglia came under further fire for ignoring the ethical concerns over the vaccines and for zealously promoting, despite safety concerns, the inoculation of children even if they showed no symptoms and the fact that the chances of children becoming seriously ill from the disease were "extremely low."

Political pragmatism

Overall, Paglia was criticized for prioritizing political pragmatism over prophetic witness, with detractors claiming he often started from the political situation and then sought to fit the Gospel and Catholic tradition into it, rather than the other way around.

In a 2020 interview with the Register, Paglia defended himself by saying his vision for the academy was to address a "broad range of issues that today affect life at its most basic level" and to "free our discussions from simplistic assumptions."

Following the radical changes to the academy, in 2017 some of its former members formed the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family as an alternative to the pontifical academy, with the aim of carrying on the work that it appeared to be abandoning.

Calling St. John Paul II's vision for the Pontifical Academy for Life "inspired," former member Christine de Marcellus Vollmer, now president of the Venezuelan pro-life organization PROVIVE, said: "We pray that our Holy Father will task Monsignor Pegoraro with returning the Pontifical Academy for Life to its original mandate, cut short when closed and reorganized in 2016." She also hoped Pegoraro had "done further research since his years differing from the prophetic Humanae Vitae and seemingly approving assisted suicide."

It's not clear to what extent Pegoraro will continue the line of Paglia, although it seems he will retain many of the changes his predecessor put in place.

In a May 27 statement, he said it was his intention to "work in continuity with the themes and methodology of recent years, making the most of the specific competences of our large and qualified international and interreligious group of academicians."

He added that he would like to highlight in particular the issues of "global bioethics," dialogue with various scientific disciplines, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and "the promotion of respect and dignity for human life in all its stages."

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, May 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

"Godfather, we love you! Long live the pope!" Mildred exclaimed as she shared her moving testimony about Father Robert Prevost, who was a young Augustinian priest in Chulucanas, Peru, when she was born and who today leads the Church as Pope Leo XIV.

Mildred, a 29-year-old Peruvian mother of two daughters and a devotee of St. John Paul II, is justifiably proud of her godfather: "I would love to tell him that I have admired him since I was little, that it's not just a recent thing," she said in an interview with EWTN Noticias, the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.

The connection between the two began decades ago, when her father, Héctor Camacho, was a teenager serving as an altar boy at the cathedral in Chulucanas in the Piura district of the country. At that time, then-Father Prevost had just arrived in Peru as an Augustinian missionary, where he worked from 1985 to 1986.

"He always instilled in us the importance of believing in God, having faith, being respectful, polite, and trying to excel in life," Camacho told EWTN News.

Some time later, Camacho moved to Trujillo to study, where he met Prevost again. The priest gave him spiritual guidance and encouraged him to do charitable work. When Prevost had to travel to the United States due to the death of his mother, Camacho asked his permission to name his daughter Mildred after her. Later, he also asked him to be her godfather.

The baptism took place at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chulucanas, and it forever marked Mildred's life. Although she doesn't have that many memories because they didn't see each other much, her godfather's teachings and example were always present.

She treasures the messages that then-Father Prevost sent her by email. She also remembers that whenever she attended a Mass or event where he was present, her godfather always made time to greet her family.

The last time she saw him was on her birthday, Aug. 10, 2024, when as Cardinal Prevost he returned to Chulucanas to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the diocese. On that occasion, he let her know that it might be many years before they would be able to communicate. 

"What he always told me was: 'Live with joy, live happily.' And I always remember him saying: 'Keep me in your prayers, as I keep you in mine,'" Mildred recalled.

About her godfather, she said: "He always told us that faith isn't just about going to Mass but about living with charity, loving one's neighbor, and being a light for others. He always inspired me to have hope and not give up in the face of difficulties."

Mildred dreams of seeing her godfather again. If Pope Leo XIV comes to Peru, she is willing to camp on the street where he passes by just to be able to see him up close, hug him, and say: "Godfather, we love you!"

Where the young missionary lived

In Chulucanas, Prevost lived at St. Joseph the Worker Parish, where he slept in a small, humble room. A servant of God, Father Juan Magnif, an Augustinian who lived to the age of 85 and won the affection of the people for his charity, also lived at this same parish.

According to the Andina news agency, Magnif was the only American Augustinian Fidel Castro allowed to remain in Cuba after the revolution. Now, a mausoleum is being built next to the parish where his remains will rest, which will be transported from the United States.

Pope Leo XIV could be the one to declare him blessed.

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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Paris, France, May 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The 16th annual Vigil for Life was held in the newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on the evening of May 21 as the French Parliament continues to debate legislation that would legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Organized by the bishops of the Île-de-France region, the vigil has taken place annually since 2009. The 2025 edition, which gathered approximately 2,000 faithful, centered on the theme?"Builders of Love, Let Us Live in Hope!"

The 2024 edition, also marked by the national conversation on end-of-life issues, carried the theme "When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong"?(2 Cor 12:10).

This year's gathering featured a series of testimonies from individuals with diverse personal and professional backgrounds, offering reflections on the ethical and human dimensions of end-of-life care and the responsibilities society bears toward the most vulnerable. 

The French Church hierarchy has expressed deep concern over the legislative developments, describing them as a potential "anthropological rupture" that threatens the inherent dignity of human life, from conception to natural death.

The bill on end-of-life, currently under parliamentary review, introduces the concept of "assistance in dying," a term meant to encompass both euthanasia — where a third party directly administers the lethal substance — and assisted suicide, in which the patient takes the final act.  

Adults suffering from a serious, incurable condition causing physical or psychological suffering deemed unbearable would be eligible, subject to medical evaluation. A formal vote on the bill is scheduled for May 27.

Meanwhile, members of Parliament also approved on May 24 the creation of a new offense?for hindering access to assisted dying. Such an offense would criminalize any attempt to prevent either the act itself or access to information about it. The provision was modeled on the existing offense of obstructing access to abortion in the country.

Critics of the bill, including Catholic leaders and bioethicists, argue that the vague terminology — particularly surrounding the assessment of "unbearable suffering" — poses serious risks to the value placed on life. They warn that the law could pave the way toward the normalization of assisted death as a standard response to illness or vulnerability.

"If adopted on May 27, this text, among the most permissive in the world, would threaten the most fragile and call into question the respect due to all human life," the French Bishops' Conference warned in a statement published last week.

Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours, the vice president of the bishops' conference, described the proposal as a "distortion of fraternity" and called for support for palliative care as the ethical and humane alternative.

During the vigil in Notre-Dame, Auxiliary Bishop Emmanuel Tois of Paris also urged Catholics not only to pray but also to take concrete action: "There are many ways and places where Christians can become more engaged," he said, encouraging the faithful to write to their lawmakers and engage in dialogue with those around them. 

In his homily, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris denounced the "illusion" of a "soft, chosen death." 

"It is by twisting the meaning of words that we want people to accept this perspective," he continued. "To call natural death that which results from the voluntary act that provokes it." 

"Calling the gesture that kills or the word that leads to it fraternal help. Invoke a right to die when death is an inescapable fact. … To add an offense of obstruction to this right to die; while for decades and still today we have been multiplying driving regulations to avoid fatal accidents on the road, or to protect our brothers and sisters from desperate and suicidal gestures." 

During the celebration, prayer intentions were placed before the altar, and the liturgy included readings and hymns reflecting the Church's commitment to defending life. The Eucharistic Prayer for Special Circumstances provided a spiritual focus.? 

"Open our eyes to all distress, inspire us with the right word and deed to support our neighbor in sorrow or trial; grant us to serve him with a sincere heart according to the example and words of Christ himself," the prayer says. 

"Make your Church a place of truth and freedom, of justice and peace, so that all humanity may be reborn to hope.

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CNA Staff, May 24, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, will significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, said is a bid to "promote the concord and unity of the Church."

Martin issued a statement on Friday announcing the new policy, directing that the ancient liturgy would henceforth be celebrated in an as-yet-unnamed chapel in the town of Mooresville.

Martin in his statement said the measure was meant to bring the Charlotte Diocese in line with Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which greatly restricted the Latin Mass "in defense of the unity of the body of Christ."

The pope said at the time that he was saddened that the celebration of the extraordinary form was characterized by a rejection of the Second Vatican Council and its liturgical reforms. To doubt the council, he said, is "to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church."

Martin on Friday noted that his predecessor, Bishop Peter Jugis, requested an extension on the directive in order to prepare for the transition. The extension expires this year, Martin noted, and he is "now ready to finish the diocese's implementation of the norms established."

Starting on July 8, no parish churches will be permitted to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass in the diocese, Martin said. In accordance with Traditionis Custodes, the bishop said he was "designating a chapel in the diocese" that will be permitted to use the Roman Missal of 1962 and where "faithful adherents may gather for the celebration of the Eucharist" only on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

"A priest of the diocese will be appointed as chaplain, to be responsible for celebrating two Sunday Masses and holy day Masses using the 1962 Roman Missal at this site," the bishop said.

"Those who are interested in participating in the Eucharistic celebration in this form will remain active members of their current parishes, where they may continue receiving the sacraments," he added.

Citing the Gospel of John, Martin expressed hope that the new rule "will further 'promote the concord and unity of the Church' among the people of God in the Diocese of Charlotte so that, as Jesus prayed to his Father, we 'may all be one.'"

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CNA Newsroom, May 24, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina will significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Bishop Michael Martin OFM Conv. said is a bid to "promote the concord and unity of the Church."

Martin issued a statement on Friday announcing the new policy, directing that the ancient liturgy would henceforth be celebrated in an as-yet-unnamed chapel in the town of Mooresville.

Martin in his statement said the measure was meant to bring the Charlotte diocese in line with Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which greatly restricted the Latin Mass "in defense of the unity of the Body of Christ."

The pope said at the time that he was saddened that the celebration of the extraordinary form was characterized by a rejection of the Second Vatican Council and its liturgical reforms. To doubt the Council, he said, is "to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church."

Martin on Friday noted that his predecessor, Bishop Peter Jugis, requested an extension on the directive in order to prepare for the transition. The extension expires this year, Martin noted, and he is "now ready to finish the diocese's implementation of the norms established."

Starting on July 8, no parish churches will be permitted to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass in the diocese, Martin said. In accordance with Traditionis Custodes, the bishop said he was "designating a chapel in the diocese" that will be permitted to use the Roman Missal of 1962 and where "faithful adherents may gather for the celebration of the Eucharist" only on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.

"A priest of the diocese will be appointed as chaplain, to be responsible for celebrating two Sunday Masses and Holy Day Masses using the 1962 Roman Missal at this site," the bishop said.

"Those who are interested in participating in the Eucharistic celebration in this form will remain active members of their current parishes, where they may continue receiving the sacraments," he added.

Citing the Gospel of John, Martin expressed hope that the new rule "will further 'promote the concord and unity of the Church' among the People of God in the Diocese of Charlotte so that, as Jesus prayed to His Father, we 'may all be one'."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 23, 2025 / 15:51 pm (CNA).

A federal court in New York has ordered the state to halt its enforcement of a law against a Christian photographer and blogger that would force her to express ideas on human sexuality that conflict with her religious faith.

U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci wrote in his Thursday decision that a New York law guaranteeing "equal access to publicly available goods and services" in the marketplace regardless of a person's sexuality cannot be used to force a business to provide services that convey ideas about human sexuality with which the provider disagrees.

Emilee Carpenter, who operates Emilee Carpenter Photography, sued the state over the law, arguing that it would force her to produce photographs and blogs for same-sex civil weddings and polyamorous engagements despite her religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Violations of the law could land Carpenter up to one year in jail, with fines of up to $100,000, and a revocation of her business license. 

The judge wrote in his decision that Carpenter provides "a customized, tailored photography service that is guided by her own artistic and moral judgment." He added that her services "are expressive activity protected by the First Amendment."

Geraci stated in his ruling that Carpenter "believes that opposite-sex marriage is a gift from God, and she uses her wedding photography business to celebrate such marriages." He emphasized that the law seeks to compel "an expressive activity" and that "such expressive activity is 'her own.'"

His ruling is narrow and only prevents the state from enforcing the law against Carpenter for now while the litigation against the law continues.

The May 22 ruling is a reversal of Geraci's own previous ruling from Dec. 31, 2021, on the same question. He explained in the new ruling that he is reversing his own decision based on the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which addressed identical concerns about a Colorado law.

In that 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that Colorado could not force a web designer to create websites that promote same-sex marriage, which was in conflict with her religious beliefs.

Geraci wrote that, contrary to his previous ruling, the Supreme Court "held that the free speech clause of the First Amendment bars states from applying their public accommodations laws to 'expressive activity to compel speech.'"

Bryan Neihart, who works as senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), praised the decision. ADF and Raymond Dague of Dague Law represent Carpenter in her lawsuit. ADF also represented 303 Creative in the precedent-setting Supreme Court case.

"Free speech is for everyone, and more courts are ruling consistent with that message," Neihart said in a statement. "As the Supreme Court reaffirmed in 303 Creative, the government can't force Americans to say things they don't believe."

"The U.S. Constitution protects Emilee's freedom to express her own views as she continues to serve clients of all backgrounds and beliefs," he added. "The district court rightly upheld this freedom and followed Supreme Court precedent. Emilee can now enjoy the freedom to create and express herself, a freedom that protects all Americans regardless of their views."

New York Attorney General Letitia James' office is representing the state in court. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.

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CNA Staff, May 23, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).

Alasdair MacIntyre, a towering figure in moral philosophy and a Catholic convert credited with reviving the discipline of virtue ethics, died on May 21 at age 96. His seminal 1981 work "After Virtue" reshaped contemporary moral and political philosophy, emphasizing virtue over utilitarian or deontological frameworks. 

Known by many as "the most important" modern Catholic philosopher, MacIntyre's intellectual and spiritual journey spanned atheism, Marxism, Anglicanism, and ultimately Roman Catholicism. 

MacIntyre's striking intellect, razor-sharp wit, and exacting teaching profoundly influenced generations of students and academics.

"A great light has gone out," wrote Patrick Deneen, a political philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame, in response to the news of MacIntyre's death.

"I have never met, nor do I ever expect to meet, a philosopher as fascinating as the author of 'After Virtue,'" said Christopher Kaczor, one of MacIntyre's former students and a visiting fellow at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, where MacIntyre was a permanent senior distinguished research fellow until his death. 

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1929 to Eneas and Greta (Chalmers) MacIntyre, he earned master of arts degrees from the University of Manchester and Oxford. His academic career began in 1951 at Manchester, followed by posts at Leeds, Essex, and Oxford. 

In 1969, he moved to the United States, becoming an "intellectual nomad" with appointments as professor of history of ideas at Brandeis University, dean at Boston University, Henry Luce professor at Wellesley, W. Alton Jones professor at Vanderbilt, and McMahon-Hank professor at Notre Dame.

Though he never earned a doctorate, he received 10 honorary doctorates and appointments during his life, quipping at one point: "I won't go so far as to say that you have a deformed mind if you have a Ph.D., but you will have to work extra hard to remain educated."

MacIntyre's wit shone in his claim to have "broken up the Beatles" by lending his upstairs neighbor, Yoko Ono, a ladder in 1966, leading to her meeting John Lennon.

He also taught at Duke, Yale, and Princeton, and is the former president of the American Philosophical Association. His many accolades include the 2010 Aquinas Medal and memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1985), British Academy (1994), Royal Irish Academy (1999), and American Philosophical Society (2005).

MacIntyre's "After Virtue," deemed a 20th-century philosophical classic, critiqued modern moral fragmentation, advocating a return to Aristotelian ethics. His other works, including "Marxism and Christianity," "Whose Justice? Which Rationality?," and "Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry," explored moral traditions and rationality. 

His spiritual journey was as dynamic as his intellectual one. Initially considering becoming a Presbyterian minister in the 1940s, he became Anglican in the 1950s, then an atheist in the 1960s, famously calling himself a "Roman Catholic atheist" because the Catholic God was "worth denying." 

In 1983, at age 55, he embraced Roman Catholicism and Thomism, inspired by his favorite 20th-century theologian, Joseph Ratzinger (the late Pope Benedict XVI), and finally convinced by the Thomist arguments he first encountered as an undergraduate, "not in the form of moral philosophy, but in that of a critique of English culture developed by members of the Dominican order."

"Widely regarded as the most important philosopher in modern virtue ethics," Jennifer Newsome Martin, director of the University of Notre Dame's de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture (dCEC), said in a statement to CNA, "Alasdair MacIntyre demonstrated scholarly rigor and an alpine clarity of thought. He was also a generous friend of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture as our permanent senior distinguished research fellow in residence; what an honor it was that he chose the dCEC to be the locus of his scholarly work after retiring from the philosophy department at Notre Dame. We are all bereft at his passing. His tremendous legacy, however, will continue to reverberate in the life of the center."

Robert P. George, Princeton's University's McCormick professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, remembered MacIntyre's "pugnacious wit" and recalled that "a striking thing about Professor MacIntyre was that he was impossible to classify ideologically. Was he a progressive? Not really. Was he a conservative? No. A centrist? Not that either. He was 'sui generis.' Requiescat in pace."

He is survived by his daughters Jean and Toni from his first marriage and his wife, Lynn Joy.

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CNA Staff, May 23, 2025 / 17:14 pm (CNA).

EWTN officially launched the first authoritative biography of Pope Leo XIV, which is available for purchase now, during an event at the Vatican on May 22.

"Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope," written by Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director at EWTN News, tells the story of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was elected the new Holy Father on May 8.

Bunson, a Church expert and longtime Vatican journalist who has written over 50 books, said at the book launch at the Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome that Leo's diverse experience as a pastor, prior general, missionary and bishop in Peru, and as a cardinal have given him a profound understanding of the global Church.

Pope Leo XIV, in his first weeks as pope, has also proven to be a unifying figure who has brought with him an "uncompromising emphasis on the divine person of Jesus Christ," Bunson continued. 

"He is a universal person. He is someone in the world, but not of the world. He is somebody who, by his call to the priesthood and to the life of the Augustinians, embarked on an absolutely stunning journey," Bunson said May 22. 

"And what is so remarkable about it is that as time progressed leading up to the conclave, more and more cardinals came to appreciate exactly who he is and why he was, at this moment in time, the person that they felt they could trust with the keys of Peter."

The biography paints a picture of Pope Leo XIV as a Christ-centered, Augustinian-influenced, and competent leader who is expected to prioritize unity, clarity, and the application of Catholic social teaching, particularly concerning the dignity of the human person in an era of rapid technological change.

Bunson has previously said that he hopes the book will help inform readers about the importance of Pope Leo's membership in the venerable Order of St. Augustine, and the fact that he is both a mathematician and canon lawyer will help him address the Vatican's financial woes.

Additionally, Bunson's book touches on some of the moral and theological issues currently being debated in the Church and public arena, and also discusses the significance of the choice of the name "Leo" and what that says about the pope's vision for his pontificate.

Michael Warsaw, EWTN's CEO and chairman of the board, told CNA that he is "excited that EWTN Publishing is releasing this biography of Pope Leo XIV so soon after his election."

"As the leading Catholic media platform, our aim is to share the Holy Father's story with the world, starting with his early life, to help people connect with the man now serving as the vicar of Christ," Warsaw said.

"EWTN is uniquely positioned to publish this biography of the first pope born in the United States and the second pope from the Americas. Like Pope Leo, the EWTN family is global, but our roots are American."

The book about Leo's life is available to order on EWTN Religious Catalogue.

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Puebla, Mexico, May 23, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Amid a wave of violence that has shaken Mexico, including the murder this week of two high-ranking officials in the capital, the Catholic Church is redoubling its efforts to restore peace.

Through the National Dialogue for Peace and more than 300 initiatives across the country, bishops, priests, and laypeople are working to train mediators, provide mental health care, and support victims, taking risks and embracing hope, even though, as Church leaders themselves warn, "you can't dialogue with organized crime."

The bishops of Mexico, along with various organizations, launched the National Peace Dialogue initiative following the 2022 murders of Jesuit priests Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora. While various initiatives promoted by the Catholic Church already existed in the country, this proposal sought to strengthen all those efforts.

According to the National Peace Dialogue website, over a year and a half, input was gathered in a series of forums from thousands of people and institutions across the country. From this process, the National Peace Agenda was developed, which resulted in concrete commitments. Currently, the organization is working to implement action steps at the local, state, and national levels "to project a viable and shared future."

Catholic Church peace efforts

At a press conference in Mexico City, Father Jorge Atilano González, SJ, executive director of the National Dialogue for Peace, told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that about 300 initiatives are being carried out to reduce violence in the country.

He said, for example, that in the Sierra Tarahumara, in the north of the country, "the issue of mental health among Indigenous youth and families is being addressed."

In Oaxaca, he continued, "work is being done to train conflict mediators"; while in Monterrey, Nuevo León, work is being done on "evaluating the mental health situation among high school students, to develop proposals on how to address this situation," among other initiatives.

"Here in Mexico City, we are in conversations with the mayor's offices to promote processes that include rebuilding the social fabric, addressing addictions, and reintegrating people released from prison. These are examples of what the Church is doing," the Jesuit priest said.

All the proposals can be found on the National Dialogue for Peace website, which details that these 300 actions are divided into 14 local and seven national initiatives across the country.

During the conference, Atilano emphasized that, despite the danger this represents for members of the Catholic Church who are implementing these projects, "we take the risk of being close to the communities, of accompanying them, and of working to build community and family, so that we have the foundations that will allow us to restore peace to the country."

'You can't dialogue with organized crime'

At the same conference, Auxiliary Bishop Francisco Javier Acero of the Archdiocese of Mexico City made an urgent call to all of society to "work with community, closeness, listening, and concrete actions from the heart of the Gospel" to promote peace.

This exhortation comes in the context that from January through March alone, at least 1,321 "crimes of extreme violence that can be classified as atrocities" were committed in the country, according to the study titled "Gallery of Horror: Atrocities and High-Impact Events Reported in the Media," conducted by the organization Common Cause.

Faced with this reality, Acero urged parishes and communities to "create spaces for encounter, listening, training in nonviolence, support for victims, and prevention programs."

Asked whether bishops or priests in Mexico City are seeking to meet with organized crime groups as a way to reduce crime rates, Acero stated that "you can't dialogue with organized crime. When there's blood involved, there will be no dialogue."

However, he clarified: "We mediate. To stop them from killing, I, and the bishops, will get down on our knees. But from here we tell them: 'Enough is enough. Stop killing, leave the people in peace.'"

"We will mediate for the people of God, but we're not going to give in at gunpoint. We want echoes of peace and love, not the sound of gunfire," the prelate added.

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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