The Church "is a steadfast voice against human trafficking and other forms of exploitation, as well as a longtime provider of services and pastoral care to victims of these crimes," the bishops wrote.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated its unwavering support for legislation that advances "our nation's commitment to eradicating the sin of human trafficking."
In an April letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, and Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, expressed their support for the legislation (S. 2241 / H.R. 4307) on behalf of the USCCB's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and Committee on Migration.
The bill, which the House passed in March, would require the Department of Labor to train its employees to detect human trafficking, identify suspected victims, and refer potential cases to the Department of Justice or other appropriate authorities.
"The Catholic Church is a steadfast voice against human trafficking and other forms of exploitation, as well as a longtime provider of services and pastoral care to victims of these crimes," the bishops wrote.
Under the bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, the Labor secretary would tailor training for the department's Wage and Hour Division by taking into account the needs of those operating in states where oppressive child labor has recently surged. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who is Catholic, introduced the Senate version of the measure with one cosponsor, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan. No committee action is scheduled.
"We urge the committee to report the bill favorably to the full Senate and for the chamber to join with the House in passing this measure to bolster the U.S. Department of Labor's important role in combatting human trafficking," the bishops said.
"We appreciate the bill's specific mention of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, which plays such an instrumental role in detection and thwarting labor exploitation by unscrupulous employers, especially for children," the bishops said.
As Congress has begun the appropriations process for fiscal 2027 and funding for the Department of Labor, "we renew our previous calls for the long underfunded agency to receive increased support to address its pervasive staffing and resource shortages, particularly given its role in thwarting child labor exploitation, as S. 2241 acknowledges," they wrote.
Further support
The bishops also recently voiced support for H.R. 1144, a bill introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, that would reauthorize a 2000 anti-trafficking bill.
"This is another important, bipartisan anti-trafficking measure that warrants immediate action as a further step to counter the scourge of human trafficking in our country and beyond," the bishops wrote in a March letter to U.S. representatives.
The bill would update elements of the federal framework to prevent international trafficking, and establish and reauthorize anti-trafficking programs across the State Department, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Among other actions, the bill would authorize HHS to carry out a program to help victims of trafficking integrate or reintegrate into society. It also would require the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report to include information about trafficking for the purposes of organ removal.
"I … want to recognize and thank the amazing, heroic, and extraordinarily compassionate survivor-leaders who helped write this bill," Smith said at a press conference on April 23. "Their courage, strength, tenacity, wisdom, and, above all, their love for the vulnerable not only inspires but helped us get it right."
"This legislation is of, by, and for them — to help heal, restore, and empower," said Smith, who is Catholic.
Reauthorizing the bill "is essential to sustaining a comprehensive, prevention-focused response to human trafficking," Katie Boller Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, an anti-trafficking organization founded and supported by U.S. Catholic sisters, told EWTN News.
"The bill strengthens the systems that protect those most at risk while ensuring survivors have access to the services and support needed for long-term stability and healing. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking urges Congress to act without delay to move this legislation forward in both the House and Senate and ensure its swift passage."
The expert estimates that a majority of the country's population opposes the current regime. He says 10-15% support the government, while another 30% are "politically neutral."
Kian Tajbakhsh, a geopolitical expert and former political prisoner in Iran, shared his testimony regarding what life is like in Iran as well as his hopes for the future of the country, where he says "religious freedom does not exist."
Iran is a country with a population of over 90 million inhabitants, where only "between 10% and 15% support the current regime or government" amid the current war, the specialist stated in an interview with "EWTN Noticias," the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.
"Perhaps half of them are true believers — religious fanatics or even extremists — while the other half are people who depend on the regime for their livelihoods, their children's schools, hospitals, pensions, etc.; they depend on the government and the regime," he observed.
In his view, another 30% "are politically neutral," and their "primary interest is the safety of their children and families." The remaining 50% or 60%, he estimated, "oppose the regime and would like to live under a free, liberal, secular, and Westernized government."
Life for each of these groups is different, the expert explained.
"In the current war, those who support the regime are in the streets; they support the war, they support the fight against the United States, the continuation of nuclear programs, etc.," while opponents of the government "mostly fear speaking out because in doing so they are brutally repressed and even killed by the regime," much like the thousands of people who died in the January demonstrations.
Prisons in Iran
The Iranian political scientist said the country's prisons fall "somewhere in between" those in Europe and those in some parts of Asia where everything "is very dangerous, there are no medical facilities, and there is no access to the rule of law."
"The problem in Iran is that there are no civil rights; there's no access to lawyers. I lived in a cell barely 6 feet across, perhaps 2 meters by 3 meters [about 6 inches by 10 inches] for over a year in solitary confinement," he recounted.
Tajbakhsh pointed out that if one is in prison for "peaceful political activism" as happened to him, what happens is that "you don't have access to a lawyer until very, very late in the process. They interrogate you for many, many hours for many months." Consequently, "the biggest problem is that in Iran there is no fair judicial system for political prisoners."
Hope for Iran
The expert commented that since 1979, "the majority of the Iranian people have attempted to reform the government by transforming it into a freer, more liberal, and democratic government that respects all religious values, religious freedom, as well as political and social freedom."
"While it is deeply tragic that war and conflict are part of this process, I fear that it is the government of Iran that is waging a war not only against Americans and Israelis, but also against the majority of its own people, who long to live in a freer society," he said.
"Islam," he concluded, "is imposed as the state religion, and so my hope for the future of Iran is political, social, and religious freedom."
Edy Rodríguez Morel de la Prada contributed to this story.
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.
The Diocese of Stockholm's justice and peace commission published a document urging Catholics to consider candidates' positions on abortion and euthanasia.
STOCKHOLM — The Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm has published a document urging Catholics and "all people of goodwill" to engage actively in Sweden's general elections on Sept. 13 in what observers describe as a notable intervention in a largely secular Nordic political climate.
The text presents political participation as a legitimate expression of Christian responsibility while encouraging the faithful to be informed, take part in public life, and vote in line with the principles of Catholic social teaching.
Distinguishing between moral absolutes and matters of prudence
The document's approach rests on a crucial distinction between two categories of values. On matters of "practical wisdom," including policy issues such as the economy, climate, crime, and migration, the document acknowledges legitimate disagreement among believers. Democracy, it explains, functions as "not a community of opinion but a system for the peaceful resolution of conflicts of values." On these contested issues, Catholics are encouraged to apply principles such as solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good while ultimately retaining freedom of judgment.
However, the document takes a different stance on what it identifies as nonnegotiable moral issues. It asserts that "every human being's right to life from conception to natural death" constitutes a foundational "absolute value," describing abortion and euthanasia as "serious violations of human dignity."
The timing of this moral clarity is significant. In Sweden, several political parties have proposed a constitutional amendment to guarantee access to abortion. Because constitutional changes in Sweden require approval by two successive parliaments with a general election in between, the proposal's future depends on whether the next Riksdag maintains support. If adopted, the amendment could take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. Simultaneously, the government is modernizing the nation's abortion framework by updating its language, adding advances in abortion procedures, and expanding access to at-home chemical abortion.
Young people pose at a youth pro-life event organized by the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm in Sweden. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Stockholm
While acknowledging that abortion enjoys broad political support across parties, the document frames euthanasia as a still contested issue, positioning it as part of a wider cultural struggle against what Church teaching describes as a "culture of death."
A careful balance between conviction and pluralism
Despite these firm moral positions, the document concludes with a call for restraint and pluralism among believers. It cautions against equating any particular political stance with Catholicism itself, noting that "two equally good Catholics, who have allowed their practical wisdom to be guided equally by faith, may and can therefore arrive at entirely different party-political conclusions in all fields of practical wisdom." This nuanced approach reflects an attempt to guide conscience without dictating votes.
EWTN News spoke to Father Thomas Idergard, SJ, chairman of the commission. He framed the document as a response to a recurring pastoral need rather than a political intervention. "With elections approaching, the faithful request some guidance on how to apply faith in their choices as voters," he explained. Beyond pastoral concern, he noted a broader social rationale: Christians must be equipped with the "necessary tools to participate in public life," doing so in a way that employs "secular language and secular arguments for universality" while remaining transparent about faith as a "driving force."
Idergard said the document's framework for discernment operates in two stages. "The first step considers the effect my vote will have on legislation in matters regarding absolute values," particularly those concerning life and death, "where faith binds the conscience." The second step, he added, "considers all issues for practical wisdom where faith informs," while allowing room for personal and secular judgment.
Within this framework, Idergard identified euthanasia as the primary pro-life issue where voters may have tangible impact in the next parliamentary term, noting that "there are different positions among the political parties" across the spectrum that could influence legislation. Regarding abortion, by contrast, "all are on the same line," he observed, a reality that highlights the document's significance in a political landscape where the issue has achieved unusual consensus.
Idergard said the document does not signal a new direction for the Catholic Church in Sweden but rather reflects an ongoing commitment. "The Catholic Church in Sweden has always been visibly active on pro-life issues," he noted, citing initiatives such as the annual "Respect for Life Sunday."
A bold voice in secular Sweden
Benedicta Lindberg, secretary-general of Respekt, the pro-life organization of the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, described her reaction to the document as reflecting "a significant and, in the Swedish context, a rather bold step." She pointed to the country's political and cultural landscape, where abortion is widely regarded as a settled matter beyond political contestation.
Attendees listen to a presentation at a Respekt event on the beginning of life in Sweden. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Respekt
Lindberg noted that Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius had observed in 2024 that no parliamentary parties currently seek to challenge what is commonly referred to as a "right" to abortion in any substantial way. This consensus, she suggested, has contributed to hesitation among Swedish Catholics to engage visibly in party politics.
"Issuing such a document in an election year is meaningful because it makes a distinctly Catholic voice more visible in public debate," Lindberg said. She added that the guidance "could help encourage a more visible pro-life presence, although probably not a mass political movement in the short term."
The document's release arrives as Swedish society confronts fundamental questions about the scope of abortion access and the legal status of euthanasia. By grounding its argument in Catholic social teaching while respecting democratic pluralism, the Diocese of Stockholm has attempted to offer guidance that is both morally clear and pastorally sensitive, a balance that may prove instructive for Catholic communities navigating secular political contexts elsewhere in Europe and beyond.
More than 12 years after twin suicide bombings at All Saints Church in Peshawar, survivors say government aid is too little and too late.
LAHORE, Pakistan — Catholic groups have joined victims of one of Pakistan's deadliest church attacks in voicing concern over delayed compensation, even as authorities begin disbursing aid more than 12 years later in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The reactions followed a May 2 ceremony by the provincial Department of Endowments, Hajj, Religious and Minority Affairs, which distributed checks to 37 victims from minority communities affected by terrorism in the province bordering Afghanistan.
The beneficiaries included 11 widows, 24 orphaned children, and two persons with disabilities, who received payments ranging from 1 million to 2 million rupees ($3,588 to $7,175).
Some recipients were linked to All Saints Church, where at least 96 people were killed and more than 150 injured in twin suicide bombings on Sept. 22, 2013.
Among them was Zubair Zafar, who lost his father in the attack claimed by a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Now working as an office assistant at the civil secretariat, Zafar said he plans to use the 2 million rupees to support his siblings' education and arrange his younger sister's marriage.
"I wanted to join the military, but I could not leave my family as the eldest of five children," he said. "I started working after my grade 12 exams to support my mother, who works as a kitchen in-charge at an orphanage run by the Peshawar Diocese of the Church of Pakistan."
He said government officials, in their speeches, promised laptops, scholarships, and profit-sharing from minority funds for widows and orphans. "Given the pace, we have little hope," he added.
Delayed disbursements
While provincial governments in Sindh and Punjab provided compensation ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 rupees to victims soon after the attack, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government delayed disbursements despite court interventions and repeated appeals.
Frustration deepened after the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the Auqaf Department converted an earlier 200 million rupee compensation package earmarked for Christian victims into a broader endowment fund for minorities, a move families say diluted targeted relief.
On April 1, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi approved increasing the fund's allocation from 200 million to 400 million rupees and directed authorities to expedite payments.
But survivors say the process remains opaque and slow.
Khuram Yaqoob Sahotra, who lost his right eye in the blast, returned from the distribution ceremony disheartened.
"I was told the compensation would be given before July 1. I expected the checks the same day. Now we are told to wait again for approval," he said.
The 40-year-old father of three, a former school clerk who lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, still carries ball bearings lodged in his spine.
"Doctors have advised me against lifting heavy objects. I cannot sit or stand for long periods," he said, adding that his extended family now supports him.
He continues to undergo treatment for complications related to his artificial eye. "Initially, support came from across the country, but it later dried up. Now there is no clear plan. There is no transparency," he said.
Habib Khan, additional secretary of the Auqaf Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said at least 100 more minority victims would receive compensation this month.
"The data is being verified. Those with incomplete documents are being contacted. No one will be left out," he said, declining to comment on the prolonged delay.
'A mockery of justice'
Rights advocates say the payments come too late for many families.
The Cecil and Iris Chaudhry Foundation, a Catholic charity that provided vocational training to 80 orphaned girls and widowed mothers after the attack, said many victims died over the years due to inadequate medical care and financial hardship.
"More than a decade has passed, during which many injured victims lost their lives and families lost their sole breadwinners," said Michelle Chaudhry, president of the foundation. "Disbursing funds in installments now amounts to a mockery of justice."
She urged the government to release full compensation in a single payment "with dignity and respect."
All Saints Church
Built in 1883 inside Peshawar's Kohati Gate, All Saints Church is widely regarded as Pakistan's only church designed in a mosque-inspired architectural style, with domes, minaret-like towers, and Persian and Pashto biblical inscriptions. The Christian community rebuilt it at a cost of 4 million rupees ($14,349) without government support.
Peshawar remains on the front line of militancy in Pakistan.
In 2022, Church of Pakistan lay pastor William Siraj, 70, was shot dead and another pastor injured after Sunday prayers at Shaheedan (Martyrs)-e-All Saints Church in Peshawar.
In 2016, security forces foiled a suicide attack on a Christian neighborhood in the city's Warsak area after four suicide bombers attempted to enter the colony.
Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, the new general director of the Legionaries of Christ, speaks about transparency, renewal, and the long road of healing after the crimes of founder Marcial Maciel.
Can a religious congregation survive after its founder turns out to have been a sexual abuser and a liar who lived a double life for years? The Legionaries of Christ have spent 20 years answering that question with actions.
They were pioneers in publishing the cases of their abusive priests — an unprecedented step in consecrated life — and in submitting 80 years of a dark history to public scrutiny. Today, they are an ecclesial reference point for transparency. Now, Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, 51, the new general director elected in February, speaks with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, about the road that still lies ahead.
It is a path of expiation that began in 2006 but reached a turning point in 2019 with the publication of the "1941–2019 Report," the first of its kind to include all cases from the congregation's founding to the present day and throughout the world. Since then, it has been updated each year through the "Truth, Justice, and Healing" reports.
"Since we began facing this reality, although it was very painful, it also opened our eyes: There was a lot of work to do," Gutiérrez López said. "In recent years we have been working hard to meet standards, following the documents issued by the Church, collaborating with canonical and civil authorities. We have been putting a certain order in place so we can attend to and respond to the needs of victims and provide comprehensive care in different areas."
Father Carlos Gutiérrez López at the Legionaries of Christ headquarters in Rome. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
His priestly vocation, marked by the wound left by Maciel
His own vocational story was marked by the scandal that shook the congregation because of its founder, Mexican priest Marcial Maciel, who was responsible for extremely serious sexual abuse. Gutiérrez López was ordained a priest in 2009, just as the magnitude of Maciel's crimes was coming to light: Maciel had sexually abused dozens of minors over several decades and had lived, as the Vatican confirmed in 2010, "a life devoid of scruples and genuine religious sentiment."
"It was definitely something very strong, something that left all of us very perplexed, frightened, and also disillusioned," he said in an interview with ACI Prensa. "And that meant for me a very deep process of reflection in which I had to ask why I was giving my life to God and also the question: Why remain here?"
Maciel died in 2008 without acknowledging his crimes or asking for forgiveness, even though a Vatican investigative commission had already revealed his criminal activity beyond any doubt.
After the scandal, Gutiérrez López explained, the figure of the founder ceased to be a reference point: "Definitely, the founder is no longer a spiritual reference point, a moral reference point for us. And for me, that reference point, I saw, had always been Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we seek to imitate and with whom we also seek to have that personal relationship."
Benedict XVI saw the light that was in them
Despite all the evil committed by the founder, Benedict XVI never failed to recognize in the Legionaries of Christ "a healthy community" made up of "young people who want to serve the faith with enthusiasm," as the pontiff himself emphasized in the book-length interview with Peter Seewald "Light of the World."
From the beginning, the Vatican established that the congregation's review should be built around three fundamental axes: the redefinition of its charism or spirituality; the review of the exercise of authority — whose abusive control of consciences allowed Maciel to live a double life for years — and the guarantee of adequate formation for seminarians and priests. In addition, to complete the long process of purification, a constant dialogue was opened with victims inside and outside the Legion.
"The Church accompanied us throughout a whole process of renewal. We reviewed constitutions, we reviewed many of the norms we had been living in the congregation, the style of apostolate we carried out — in short, it was an entire review that lasted many years," Gutiérrez López said.
For many Legionary seminarians and priests, the support of the Church was decisive; like a "mother," the Church "showed the way," he emphasized.
"Seeing how the Legion was responding, I said: Well, I also want to help the Church with my priesthood to move this congregation forward, because the congregation can also contribute and give much to the Church in evangelization. In the end, we are here to serve God Our Lord, in the Church, and in this call that he made to me. As I have gone step by step, I have felt very happy, and that has also been my experience," he said.
First meeting with Pope Leo XIV
During the audience the Legionaries had with Pope Leo XIV in February, the pontiff returned to several key points of the deep renewal they have carried out in fidelity to the Church. For example, he emphasized to them that authority in the Church must be lived as fraternal and spiritual service, not as a form of domination.
For the Mexican priest, this is a demanding but profoundly evangelical ideal.
"Yes, I really liked that part of the audience," Gutiérrez López said.
Pope Leo XIV with the former superior general of the Legionaries of Christ, Father John Connor. | Credit: Vatican Media
He especially highlighted the moment when the pope invited the Legionaries to approach people "with a respectful and compassionate gaze," aware that every encounter means entering "a sacred space."
Drawing on his own experience as a superior and as territorial director in northern Mexico and Colombia, Gutiérrez López said he has always been clear that authority is above all a service: "For my brothers, I am offering them a service. … What they share with me is something sacred, and I have to respect that sacredness," he said.
Gutiérrez López is not naive. He knows well that many people may wonder how it is possible to separate the deplorable actions of the founder, who was responsible for so many crimes, from the charism that the Legionaries of Christ embody today.
"It is a valid question," he said.
In this regard, he noted that it was the Church herself that "from the beginning," when she asked the Legionaries to "review our constitutions," placed the fundamental question before them: "What is your charism? What is the charism and the contribution that the Legion makes?"
"The charism, I believe, is something we have been discovering, and it is nothing other than forming apostles to transmit the love of Christ, to form apostles and also send them to evangelize the world and help the Church in this evangelization," he said.
According to the congregation's statistics, updated as of Dec. 31, 2025, the Legionaries of Christ have 1,327 members worldwide, including 52 religious with perpetual vows and 151 with temporary vows.
Despite the wounds of the past, they continue to attract vocations: Currently, 250 minor seminarians are being formed in vocational centers, reflecting the continued weight of initial formation within the congregation.
The Legionaries of Christ belong to Regnum Christi, which also includes the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, with 479 consecrated women in 53 communities around the world; the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, with 47 lay consecrated men in eight communities; and lay members: 21,712 lay young people and adults older than 16 and 14,353 lay members younger than 16.
The new superior general of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, speaks with ACI Prensa in an interview. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
In Regnum Christi's educational work — 139 schools and 14 universities — 153,219 students are being educated.
The new general director explained that one of the keys to eradicating abuse from within the congregation has been swiftly applying standards for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults in the 23 countries where it is present.
"In recent years we have been very strict in applying these standards and in perfecting them so they can be lived well. In each of the countries where we are working, we have sought to have the necessary teams that can respond, made up of professionals. These are things that we priests cannot do alone. We need specialists — psychologists, lawyers, and so on — to help us truly be very serious in complying with these standards," he said.
An engineer-priest with broad international experience
Affable and approachable, Gutiérrez López is used to moving in international settings. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum as well as industrial and systems engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology. He also holds a master's degree in psychology from Divine Mercy University in the United States.
He has carried out his ministry in Chile, Italy, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico.
"It has been a great richness to have that experience, to be in contact with different cultures, to know the needs of each country, to learn to listen, to adapt to what a society and a culture are like, to understand them in order to offer and bring them the message that leads to the Church, which is knowing Christ and living one's faith," he said.
"I believe that has also been personally enriching, now that my Legionary brothers have elected me to this role, so that I can respond and accompany the different territories," he added.
Until his election as general director, he served as territorial director of northern Mexico, a region deeply wounded by violence, poverty, organized crime, and migration flows toward the United States. The Legionaries also try to be a balm for migrants — many of them deportees — amid their suffering.
"The whole situation of migrants and organized crime truly causes suffering for many families affected by this reality. What we seek, above all, is to form young people and families, to instill values in them, precisely so they can begin to change their social environment," he said.
In this context, he explained that alongside the private schools the congregation operates in cities in northern Mexico, there are also the Mano Amiga schools, intended for families with limited resources and supported through subsidies and scholarships.
The goal is to offer these children an education that will allow them to enter a profession and pursue university studies — "a way to change the destiny of their lives, open horizons for them, and, above all, form them in values so they can transform their environment."
With his election at the most recent general chapter, the Legionaries of Christ have entrusted Gutiérrez López with the task of continuing the congregation's process of renewal and strengthening its evangelizing service, with special attention to the existential peripheries.
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.
The mayor of Yaroun, a village in southern Lebanon, and the Melkite Greek Catholic bishops have reacted to the alleged demolition of a monastery and school by Israeli forces.
In southern Lebanon, the village of Yaroun has drawn widespread attention after images and video circulated showing the demolition, allegedly by Israeli forces, of a monastery and Catholic school belonging to the Salvatorian Sisters.
Yaroun's mayor, Adib Ajaka, rejected claims by the Israeli army that it did not know the buildings were religious places, and the Council of Melkite Greek Catholic Bishops in Lebanon urged the Lebanese government and the United Nations "to protect the property of civilians and religious institutions, citing in particular the village of Yaroun," according to the Associated Press.
Speaking to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Ajaka clarified that some media outlets have been recirculating images of a destroyed church as if they were from the latest incident, but the church itself had already been targeted multiple times since 2024. He stressed that the most recent incident concerns the demolition of the monastery and the school.
Responding to the Israeli army's claim that "there were no indications that it was a religious building," Ajaqa rejected the statement as unconvincing, noting that the site was clearly identifiable, bearing a cross and a statue of the Virgin Mary.
He also pointed out that the church had been targeted previously and that footage from 2024 showed the deliberate destruction of a statue of St. George.
Adib Ajaka, mayor of the village of Yaroun, is pictured with the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Adib Ajaka
Ajaka said images published by Israel showing the diocese and a nearby clinic were used to suggest that the monastery had not been destroyed, but in reality they referred to a separate building housing a clinic run by the Order of Malta. He suggested that the presence of the organization's flag may have contributed to it being spared so far.
According to Ajaka, the bulldozing operations took place after the ceasefire came into effect. At first, residents did not grasp the scale of what was happening, as they remained in contact with nearby towns such as Rmeish and Ain Ebel, where no strikes or shelling had been reported from Yaroun. This created the impression that the village had not been directly targeted. It later became clear, however, that what had taken place was not bombardment but the widespread bulldozing of homes.
Yaroun is home to about 60 Melkite Catholic families — all of whom fled at the outbreak of the war in 2024. Seventeen families returned during the initial ceasefire period, but many others were unable to do so due to the destruction of their homes. Today, residents remain unable to return, scattered between rented accommodations, monasteries, and relatives' homes, while some have relocated to nearby Christian villages in the south.
Ajaka noted that assistance to residents has so far been limited, emphasizing that the most urgent need is direct financial support to help cover rent. At the same time, he expressed gratitude for the support provided by the Vatican and for the continued efforts of the apostolic nuncio through regular visits and follow-up on the situation of displaced families.
The historic stone presented to Pope Leo XIV during his visit to Lebanon in December 2025. | Credit: Romy Haber
/ACI MENA
He also recalled that during the pope's visit to Lebanon in December 2025, a historic stone from the village church dating back to 1872, engraved with an image of St. George, was presented to him in the hope of drawing attention to Yaroun and its people.
Today, the fate of this stone remains unknown, as the church has been destroyed and residents are unable to return to see what remains. Ajaka stressed that the destroyed homes of the Catholic families there are over a century old and are purely civilian properties.
Church vandalism across Lebanon
The alleged demolitions in Yaroun come amid recent and varied incidents of church vandalism in Lebanon, with multiple places of worship targeted and their contents deliberately damaged.
Among them, the Church of Mar Shalita in Qobeiyat was stormed and vandalized. And in Ajaltoun, the Church of Our Lady was targeted, with intruders stealing items, destroying furniture, and leaving bullets scattered on the floor.
Taken together, these incidents reflect a broader climate in which Lebanese Christians increasingly feel under pressure, facing different forms of intimidation and attack from multiple actors.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.
Hezbollah supporters have reportedly used AI-generated manipulated images to attack Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.
Hezbollah supporters have reportedly used AI-generated manipulated images to target Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai, the Maronite patriarch of Antioch and All the East.
The patriarch described the digital attack on him as "a war of words, not freedom of opinion, but a worrying decline in the standards of language and values, and a violation of human dignity that no one has the right to infringe upon, regardless of its source or form."
The digital attack involved the circulation of altered images portraying the patriarch in mocking and degrading ways.
Jowelle M. Howayeck, a Lebanese civic activist and 2022 parliamentary candidate, argued that the campaign is neither spontaneous nor ambiguous in its intent. "It is both intimidation and sectarian provocation, and it is deliberate," she said.
Jowelle M. Howayeck, a Lebanese civic activist and 2022 parliamentary candidate. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Jowelle M. Howayeck
For Howayeck, the timing is not accidental. She links the campaign to a broader political context in which Hezbollah is "losing political ground," prompting what she describes as a predictable shift in strategy: "Divert attention from the core issue and construct a new confrontation that can be framed as a symbolic victory."
In her view, "this is not political engagement. It is crisis management through fear, distraction, and division."
The campaign, she added, also reflects a deepening rupture between Hezbollah and the Christian community.
Digital confrontations of this kind are not new in Lebanon's political landscape, but they carry particular risks in a country built on a fragile and strained social contract.
The patriarch himself has been targeted before "because the patriarch represents a form of authority that cannot be coerced or absorbed: moral legitimacy anchored in national identity," Howayeck said. "Whenever his positions align with state sovereignty, they expose a structural contradiction within the opposing project."
Just war is "a very complex problem. You have to analyze it on many levels," Pope Leo XIV said.
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV said violence must always be a last resort and rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that he supports Iran having a nuclear weapon.
The American president has repeatedly said he doesn't want a pope who thinks Iran should have a nuclear weapon, even though the pope has never endorsed that view and has consistently spoken against nuclear arms.
Pope Leo XIV said May 5: "I have already spoken from the very first moment of being elected, and now we are close to the anniversary. I said, 'Peace be with you,' and the Church's mission is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully."
"The Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there. And so I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God's words," Leo said to the press outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo before returning to Rome after a daylong stay there, two days before a scheduled meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump said May 4 on the "The Hugh Hewitt Show": "The pope would rather talk about the fact that it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don't think that's very good. I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess if it's up to the pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
"I don't want a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 12.
Leo has never said that Iran should have nuclear weapons, and he has spoken specifically against nuclear weapons:
"May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity," he said in a March 5 video message.
In June 2025, he called for a world free from nuclear threat in appealing for peace between Iran and Israel.
Pope Leo answered an EWTN reporter's question about whether his statement that "God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war" applies to all who take up arms, even in self-defense, or only to unjust aggressors.
"Self-defense has traditionally always been allowed by the Church," Pope Leo XIV said.
"To talk about just war today, it's a very complex problem. You have to analyze it on many levels, but ever since the entrance into the nuclear age, the whole concept of war has to be reevaluated with terms today," Leo said.
"I always believe that it's much better to enter into dialogue than to look for arms and to support the arms industry, which gains billions and billions of dollars each year, instead of sitting down at the table solving our problems and using money to solve humanitarian issues, hunger in the world, et cetera," he said.
For a war to be justified, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it must be waged to fight against a grave evil, the damage caused by waging the war cannot be graver than the evil it is meant to eliminate, there must be a serious prospect of success, and all alternatives to war must have already been tried. The decision to go to war must be made by a lawful authority responsible for the common good. All criteria must be met to qualify as a just war.
Meeting with Rubio
The pope's meeting with Rubio this week follows a period of tension between the Holy See and the Trump administration. In April, Trump attacked the pontiff on social media, calling him "weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy" in response to the pontiff's appeals for peace amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. The pope told reporters he "perhaps" may comment on the meeting with Rubio afterward.
Brian Burch, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was asked May 5 about the state of the U.S.-Vatican relationship.
"I don't accept the idea that somehow there's some deep rift," Burch said. "I think nations have disagreements and I think one of the ways that you work through those is, as the Holy See says, is through fraternity and authentic dialogue. I think the secretary is coming here in that spirit, to have a frank conversation about U.S. policy, to engage in dialogue, to better understand each other and to work through — if there are differences — certainly to talk through that."
The meeting will focus on "Middle East policy and our efforts there to bring about a more peaceful world," Burch said, areas of "deep cooperation, shared interests, and in many ways, I think, shared goals."
Burch said Rubio's visit "speaks to our deep desire to engage in exactly what the Holy See has called for: fraternity and authentic dialogue."
The Church's stance toward war is that it must be avoided. The Church has long held concerns about war to be a moral subject, with St. Augustine writing extensively about it in the early fifth century and popes and theologians both commenting on just war doctrine generally and speaking out about specific wars for centuries.
Popes seldom issue blanket rulings but Pope Benedict XV made clear World War I lacked moral legitimacy given its scale, civilian toll, and lack of proportionate ends. Pope John Paul II warned the Gulf War did not meet just war criteria. And the Vatican formally stated in 2003 that the invasion of Iraq failed just-war standards.
In his Easter Sunday urbi et orbi message, Leo asked people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence. He again asked people April 7 "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything," the pope said. "We have a worldwide economic crisis, energy crisis, situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world."
Pope Leo XIV in his Easter homily called for peace throughout the world, urging Christians to carry the hope of the Resurrection into a world wounded by war, violence, and injustice.
Javier Romero and Brian Schumacher contributed to this story.
In a homily before Ireland's 2026 March for Life, Bishop Kevin Doran demonstrated from both science and philosophy the humanity of the unborn child and opposed a new bill expanding abortion.
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.
A priest in Nicaragua details conditions in the country as the Catholic Church continues to operate under intense persecution, including surveillance of clergy and restrictions on activities.
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.
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."
"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.
