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For more than a quarter-century, popes have periodically visited Islamic mosques as part of official voyages and papal visits.

The tradition began with Pope John Paul II, who in 2001 became the first pope in history known to have entered a mosque when he visited the Great Mosque of Damascus in the capital of Syria.

The subsequent Popes Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV have all paid visits to mosques to hold ecumenical dialogues and host diplomatic meetings.

Yet the practice is not without some controversy. Indeed, Leo XIV's visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers on April 13 drew some backlash on social media by critics incredulous over the leader of the Catholic Church visiting a major Islamic holy site. (This was Leo's second visit to a mosque; he also visited the famed "Blue Mosque" in Istanbul in late 2025.)

So why do popes make visits to mosques, courting controversy and criticism for making a point to go to holy sites of another religion?

'We can live together in peace'

Pope Leo XIV himself addressed criticism directed toward him on April 15 on board the papal plane after leaving Algiers bound for Cameroon.

"I think the visit to the mosque was significant [and showed] that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can [still] live together in peace," the Holy Father said. 

"I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today," he said, arguing that such visits show that "together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage."

Gabriel Said Reynolds, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame who has written multiple works on the Quran and its relationship to Christianity, told EWTN News that interpreting papal visits to mosques should include an understanding of "the Church's vision of God in the world."

"What is God's relationship to the world? That's been important to all of the recent popes," he said.

Reynolds pointed out that an Islamic mosque is "fundamentally different from a church."

"A Catholic church is a sort of temple in which God is present in the tabernacle — body, blood, soul, and divinity," he said. "It's a sacred space in the deepest sense of the word."

"What Muslims would say of a mosque is fundamentally different," he said. "A mosque is for communal prayer, but the communal prayer that takes place in a mosque is no different than the ritual prayer that's more often done at home."

He likened a mosque to a "gathering place" with just a few features that set it apart as a distinct site — such as a pulpit for occasional sermons and an alcove that denotes the direction of Mecca to which Muslims orient themselves during prayer.

Reynolds said popes visit mosques in no small part as a "pastoral concern" for Christians living in majority-Muslim countries, such as Algeria.

"Algerian society is thoroughly Islamic," he said. "It's not generally marked by notions of rights and responsibilities and citizenship in the same way the U.S. is. Cultivating positive relationships with Muslim leaders is absolutely essential for Christians."

Reynolds said the Church's view about human dignity has "fundamental implications with its relationship toward non-Christians." He pointed out, for instance, that the pope "could show up at an atheist convention and meet the people there and have dialogue with them."

"John 3:16 says God loves the world," he said. "It's not that God loves believers and doesn't love the unbelievers. All people are children of God, according to Catholic teaching."

The declaration Nostra Aetate, meanwhile — issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 to address Catholicism's relationship with non-Christians — affirmed that the Church "regards [Muslims] with esteem."

The document points out that although Muslims "do not acknowledge Jesus as God," they still "adore the one God" and "revere [Jesus] as a prophet" while giving honor to the Virgin Mother as well.

The Second Vatican Council acknowledged that "in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen" between Christians and Muslims, but the document "urge[d] all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding."

It further called on religious adherents to "preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom."

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ROME — It is "intolerable" that Christians are being targeted for persecution in Nigeria, said U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch during an event in Rome on Friday.

The group Solidarity with the Persecuted Church (SPC) and the Embassy of the United States to the Holy See organized the April 17 conference at the embassy on threats to religious freedom in Nigeria.

Burch spoke to EWTN News on the sidelines about the stance of the U.S. on religious violence in Nigeria. He described the current situation as a "conflict between radical Islamic groups and Christians because of their faith."

"The United States is the greatest friend of religious liberty," Burch said. "The purpose of this event is to call attention to the plight of Christians who are being targeted and killed in Nigeria. Unfortunately, there are extremist Islamic groups that have been targeting Christians specifically in their churches and their homes, and the scale and size of the persecution of Christians there is intolerable."

Asked about the denial by some Nigerian government officials that Christians specifically are being targeted, Burch insisted that the current violence against Christians is alarming, citing U.S. President Donald Trump, who designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern in 2025.

"The president has said that Christians face an existential crisis in Nigeria, and thanks to his leadership, he is now acting to bring an end to this. We have called on the Nigerian government to take necessary steps to protect Christians, and the United States government is now working in partnership with the Nigerian government to assist them in doing just that," he said.

Steven Wagner, president of SPC, underscored the importance of Nigeria for Christianity in Africa and the need for the Holy See to be involved in raising awareness.

"As Nigeria goes, so goes Africa. More Christians are martyred for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country on earth. There is a huge crisis of internally displaced persons. We are calling on the Vatican to increase public awareness of the problem and to continue to encourage the government of Nigeria to make progress in protecting its people," Wagner said.

Burch responds to Trump's comments on the pope

In his opening remarks at the conference, Burch commented for the first time on the recent tensions between Trump and Pope Leo XIV. He emphasized their difference in approach to armed conflicts and their shared goal of eliminating evil.

"In recent days, President Trump and Pope Leo have exchanged, shall we say, sharp words. We must not pretend there is no disagreement. But both men are driven by an unshakable belief in protecting the innocent. One leads with the sword and shield of American power, the other with the cross of sacrificial love. But both are saying in their own languages, 'Evil must not triumph and innocents must not be abandoned,'" Burch said.

Papal trip in Africa

The pontiff is currently on his first apostolic journey to Africa — visiting Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.

Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization and a presenter at the conference, described the trip as a moment of profound unity for all Africans.

"This is Africa, and much of the divisions, according to countries in Africa, are artificial divisions that were imposed on the continent," Nwachukwu told EWTN News. "Africans quite often feel united even beyond the boundaries. So the pope's message to these churches and these populations will also be a message to the population in Nigeria and to the Church in Nigeria."

Many of the issues the pope is addressing on his trip "are shared in common in Nigeria," Burch added. The Holy See and the United States "certainly share this deep, fundamental commitment to religious liberty."

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The U.S. Coast Guard has agreed to a slate of religious protections for service members, including committing to individualized reviews of personnel who request religious accommodations for Coast Guard policies.

The Thomas More Society, a Catholic law firm that focuses on religious liberty and civil rights, said on April 16 that it had settled a lawsuit with the Coast Guard in an agreement that "permanently reforms how the Coast Guard evaluates, trains on, and reports religious accommodation requests."

The yearslong case was first filed in September 2022 as a federal class action lawsuit, one that claimed the Coast Guard was in violation of both the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act for "categorically denying virtually all religious accommodation requests from the Coast Guard COVID-19 vaccine mandate."

That mandate has since been rescinded, but the settlement announced on April 16 still serves as a "model for every branch of the military," attorney Peter Breen said.

One of the provisions in the settlement includes a requirement that the Coast Guard intensively review religious accommodations requests and, in cases where a request is denied, show that granting it would "seriously harm a critical military interest."

The Coast Guard will also institute "command-wide training" in leadership courses and chaplain instruction. The branch must also publicly affirm its commitment to religious liberty as well as post public data about religious accommodations on its website for three years.

The primary plaintiffs in the suit were Lts. Alaric Stone and Mack Marcenelle as well as Boatswain's Mate First Class Eric Jackson.

Marcenelle in the announcement said the team had been "wrongly accused of violating lawful orders" but that the settlement "sets things right once and for all and recognizes the lawful religious freedoms of all Coast Guard service members."

The government will also pay $750,000 in attorney's fees and expenses as part of the settlement, the Thomas More Society said.

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ROME — Catholic students in Rome on Thursday bore witness to the Eucharist during a solemn procession to commemorate 25 years of its student-led adoration program.

During the April 16 procession on the campus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas — "the Angelicum" — students and clergy offered visible testimony to faith in the Real Presence.

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, led the procession. In his homily beforehand, Mamberti referenced the soon-to-be Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen, calling adoration an experience that "mysteriously transforms our heart." He later spoke to EWTN News about the need for such practices to be developed in the wider Church.

The cardinal said it is beautiful when youth gatherings dedicate a part of their time to adoration of the Lord in the Eucharist. "We recognize him as truly present, under the Eucharistic species, and this is an integral part of our faith," he said. "Otherwise our faith is in vain … Because if Christ is not present in the bread and in the Eucharist and in the wine of the Eucharist, it means that he is not resurrected, as St. Paul says."

Faith amid challenges

Amid challenges in Eucharistic faith, Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White, rector of the Angelicum, described the procession as indicative of a revival among the young. The Angelicum established student-led adoration in 2001 in response to the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Paul II.

"Eucharistic adoration has become more prominent in at least areas of the Church in recent decades. Some of that had to do with initiatives at the time of the pontificate of John Paul II when [student adoration] began here," White said.

"St. Thomas understood this mystery [of the Eucharist] deeply; he contemplated it, he wrote about it, and studying his thinking about the Eucharist here leads our students into a deeper appreciation of the Eucharist," the priest said. It also helps students to pray more deeply "and explain the mystery of the Eucharist to the world today as missionaries of the 21st century."

Impact of program on students

Marcia Vanderstraaten, who is from Singapore and studying for a theology licentiate (similar to a master's degree), described the student adoration program as a blessing, giving students the opportunity to pray between classes.

Students "take great comfort in being able to see Jesus during their breaks, praying and reflecting. Having the Eucharistic presence in the midst of our community is something that really matters to a lot of us," she said.

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YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Pope Leo XIV on Friday encouraged Catholic university students in Cameroon to let their study be informed by "the light of faith, joined to the truth of love" as St. John Henry Newman taught.

"Professors and students are called to embrace as both their aim and their way of life the common search for truth, for, as St. John Henry Newman wrote, 'All true principles run over with God, all phenomena converge to him,'" the pope said during an encounter at the Catholic Academic Institution of Central Africa (UCAC) in Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital.

UCAC, founded following an agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Cameroon in 1989, serves more than 2,000 students from the six countries of central Africa: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad.

To mark the pope's visit April 17, the university inaugurated a square on campus, naming it after St. Augustine in honor of Leo.

Plans are also underway for the construction of a university hospital dedicated to the pope: It will become the Leo XIV Catholic University Center.

Upon Pope Leo XIV's arrival, songs of joy and jubilation filled the air. A celebration of music and chanting erupted as the pope arrived at the campus, where many of the young people were wearing yellow and green T-shirts, the colors of Cameroon. Authorities say 8,000 people were in attendance.

In his address, the pontiff responded to the concerns of many young people, emphasizing that universities — Catholic universities in particular — can become "true communities of life and research," introducing "students and professors alike to a fraternity in knowledge."

Through knowledge — which above all means dialogue — it becomes possible to set aside individualism, superficiality, and hypocrisy: "The university stands out as a privileged place of friendship, cooperation, and, at the same time, of interiority and reflection," Leo underscored.

What makes a university truly significant, he recalled, is the shared search for truth. Quoting from Pope Francis' encyclical Lumen Fidei, he said, faith, in this way, succeeds in "illuminating" the gaze of science: "Faith encourages the scientist to remain constantly open to reality in all its inexhaustible richness. Faith awakens the critical sense by preventing research from being satisfied with its own formulae and helps it to realize that nature is always greater."

Speaking about the African continent, he added: "Today, moreover, there is an urgent need to think about faith within the framework of contemporary cultural contexts and present challenges, so that its beauty and credibility may emerge in diverse settings, especially in those most marked by injustice, inequality, conflict, and both material and spiritual degradation."

AI and a new humanism

"Christians, and especially young African Catholics, must not be afraid of 'new things,'" the pope said, a reference to Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum.

He invited African youth to become pioneers of "a new humanism in the context of the digital revolution."

"While the African continent is well acquainted with its alluring aspects, it also knows the darker side of the environmental and social devastation caused by the relentless pursuit of raw materials and rare earths," Leo said. "Do not look the other way: This is a service to the truth and to all humanity. Without this demanding educational effort, passive adaptation to dominant paradigms will be mistaken for competence, and the loss of freedom for progress."

He said the spread of artificial intelligence systems, "like every great historical transformation," call for not only "technical competence but also for a humanistic formation."

He warned against superficial misunderstandings of this new digital tool: "When simulation becomes the norm, it weakens the human capacity for discernment. As a result, our social bonds close in upon themselves, forming self-referential circuits that no longer expose us to reality. We thus come to live within bubbles, impermeable to one another."

"Feeling threatened by anyone who is different, we grow unaccustomed to encounter and dialogue," he said. "In this way, polarization, conflict, fear, and violence spread. What is at stake is not merely the risk of error but a transformation in our very relationship with truth."

Hence, he invited Catholic universities to "assume a responsibility of the highest order. For it does not merely transmit specialized knowledge but shapes minds capable of discernment and hearts ready for love and service."

One of the many challenges facing Cameroon is the "understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found," the pope said.

The Holy Father instead invited young people "to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens."

This, he said, is the very reason for the existence of a major African university like the one he is visiting today.

Addressing the university's faculty and leadership, he said: "Spiritual and human accompaniment constitutes an essential dimension of the identity of the Catholic university."

"Whatever our role or our age, we must always remember that we are all disciples — that is, fellow learners with one Teacher, who so loved the world that he gave his life," the pope concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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A Catholic composer has lost his copyright infringement lawsuit against a fellow songwriter and a publishing company after a jury found that he did not prove that his work had been unlawfully copied by either defendant. 

Jury documents obtained by EWTN News show that a jury found Vincent Ambrosetti did not "prove by a preponderance of the evidence" that Bernadette Farrell and Oregon Catholic Press had copied his 1980 song "Emmanuel" with the 1993 hymn "Christ Be Our Light."

The suit was originally filed in 2020 but dismissed in March 2024, with U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut arguing that Ambrosetti had not shown that the defendants had had "access" to his song prior to writing their own song or that there was a "striking similarity" between the two works.

An appeals court, however, revived the suit in August 2025. The appeals court noted that in 1985, Oregon Catholic Press then-publisher Owen Alstott allegedly met Ambrosetti at a convention, where Ambrosetti gave Alstott a copy of "Emmanuel." Alstott would go on to meet and eventually marry Farrell.

In March, a jury was played selections of both songs, while New York University music professor Lawrence Ferrara said in a court filing that there was "strong objective musicological evidence of copying" between the two songs.

Yet the jury found otherwise, ruling in favor of both Farrell and of Oregon Catholic Press and against Ambrosetti's claim of infringement.

In a status report filed after the jury's verdict, Ambrosetti urged the court to "enter a judgment based on the verdict returned by the jury," after which he said he would "proceed from there," suggesting he may intend to appeal the case.

The jury debated for less than a day before returning its verdict against Ambrosetti's claims.

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On April 16, the Vatican released a message from Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of the Second National Meeting of Local Representatives for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults of the Italian Bishops' Conference being held in Rome April 16–18 under the theme "Forming Authentic Relationships."

In his message, addressed to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Bishops' Conference, and signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, the Holy Father warned that a lack of respect for and recognition of the dignity of every person "may cause serious harm."

He clarified that respect is "a demanding form of charity, expressed in safeguarding others without possessing them, accompanying them without dominating them, and serving them without humiliating them."

He pointed out that the protection of minors and vulnerable adults "cannot be understood merely as a set of rules to apply or procedures to follow" but instead requires a wisdom "that shapes the style of communities, the exercise of authority, the formation of educators, vigilance over contexts, and transparency of behavior."

For the Holy Father, the presence of the youngest and most vulnerable "challenges the conscience of the Church and measures its ability to express authentic care."

Leo XIV urged that special attention be paid to those who have suffered abuse. "Their wounds," he noted, "call for sincere closeness, humble listening, and perseverance in seeking what is right and possible for repair."

The pope emphasized that a Christian community lives out evangelical conversion "when it does not shield itself from the pain of those who have suffered but allows itself to be questioned by it; when it does not minimize evil but acknowledges it; when it does not become closed in on itself in fear of scandal but accepts the demanding paths of truth, justice, and healing."

According to the pontiff, the meeting being held in Rome reminds the Church of the need "to grow in a culture of prevention that is, above all, a culture of evangelical care."

Finally, he encouraged the participants to continue their work with confidence, "that communities may grow in which the most fragile are welcomed, protected, and loved."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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SYDNEY — An Australian diocese north of Sydney is building the country's first purpose-built Catholic cathedral in more than 100 years, appointing an award-winning architect to design a sprawling precinct that will house everything from the bishop's seat to a parish hall and disability services.

The Diocese of Broken Bay announced April 14 that it has appointed London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects to design the new cathedral and surrounding campus at Waitara, on Sydney's upper north shore. The diocese describes the project as the first Roman Catholic cathedral in Australia in more than a century to be master-planned from inception as a complete, integrated complex.

The announcement was the final major project decision taken under Archbishop Anthony Randazzo before his expected relocation to Rome.

Pope Leo XIV named Randazzo, 59, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Legislative Texts on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, also granting him the personal title of archbishop. He continues to serve as apostolic administrator of Broken Bay until the move.

"While my responsibilities have expanded to serve the universal Church in Rome, my commitment to this vision is unwavering," Randazzo said in a statement issued through the diocese. "The appointment of Níall McLaughlin Architects signals we are moving ahead with confidence to create a community legacy for generations to come."

The 7.7-hectare Cathedral Precinct Project will succeed the diocese's current cathedral, Our Lady of the Rosary, which was designated as the bishop's seat in February 2008 after succeeding the smaller Corpus Christi Church at St. Ives.

The new precinct will rise on the same Yardley Avenue site and integrate the existing St. Leo's Catholic College campus, a pastoral center, parish hall, a new home for the diocesan charity CatholicCare, residences for the bishop and clergy, and diocesan offices.

Erected as a diocese in April 1986 by Pope John Paul II, Broken Bay this year marks its 40th anniversary and serves around 250,000 Catholics across 26 parishes spanning Sydney's North Shore, the Northern Beaches, and the upper Central Coast — a territory of 2,763 square kilometers (1,067 square miles).

A 'virtuous circle' of faith and education

In its own communications, the diocese has framed the project around what it calls a "virtuous circle" of Catholic life — the integration of liturgy, formation, and education on a single site, from baptism through secondary schooling.

The architectural concept draws on the natural setting of the Hawkesbury River, which unites the diocese's parishes, and on the local sandstone bluffs of the surrounding bushland.

Renderings released by the practice show twin slender sandstone-clad spires rising above a public forecourt, with a timber-framed entrance portal centered on a cross. Inside, an exposed lattice of cross-braced timber members vaults the length of the nave, with raw sandstone walls and geometric stained glass.

The diocese said the design draws explicitly on the spirit of Laudato Si', the 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis on care for creation, prioritizing sustainable timber and stone and preserving the existing Blue Gum High Forest on the site as a public amenity.

A practice known for sacred architecture

Níall McLaughlin Architects, established in 1990, was selected following an invited international design process. Its founder, the Irish-born and London-based Níall McLaughlin, received the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal in January — one of the discipline's highest international honors, awarded annually in recognition of a lifetime contribution to architecture.

The practice has built several sacred and contemplative spaces, including the Bishop Edward King Chapel for Ripon College in Oxford, a 2013 Stirling Prize finalist; the New Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; and the Auckland Castle Faith Museum in northern England.

In February the firm was announced as winner of the international competition to design the Museum of Jesus' Baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the UNESCO World Heritage site on the east bank of the River Jordan traditionally identified as the place of Christ's baptism. That museum is targeted to open in 2030 to mark the bimillennial of the baptism of Jesus.

McLaughlin spoke about the Broken Bay project on April 14 at the Rothwell Public Lecture series at the University of Sydney. "We are delighted to work on this significant project to help create an enduring spiritual, civic, and cultural precinct that places the faithful at its center," he said.

The Australian firm Hayball has been appointed as executive architect on the project. Funding will be drawn from a combination of institutional capital and a dedicated philanthropic appeal, and the diocese said design work will now move into approval pathways that will determine the construction timeline.

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MIAMI — "We ask the U.S. government to reconsider the cancellation of an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities, given the immediate and long-term impact on services for unaccompanied minors and the broader humanitarian mission of the archdiocese," said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami at a press conference on April 15.

For decades, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has partnered with the federal government to serve vulnerable children and families. The sudden termination of this contract ends a more than 65-year relationship that began with Operation Pedro Pan, which resettled approximately 14,000 Cuban children who were fleeing the Castro regime in the United States.

Wenski called for a review of the decision to cut funding for the Unaccompanied Minors Program of Catholic Charities.

"It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores," he said.

The U.S. government oversees the care of unaccompanied minors and partners with organizations such as Catholic Charities to provide services.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has long funded Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami through the Unaccompanied Minors Program since 1960 to provide shelter and services to thousands of unaccompanied minors.

Federal spending data shows that Catholic Charities received $11 million from HHS in fiscal year 2025, but the award ended March 31. The abrupt end will force the organization to shut down services within three months.

The decision comes as President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pope Leo XIV. However, Wenski said the funding decision is unrelated to those tensions.

The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children's Village, formerly known as Boys Town —established during the Pedro Pan exodus in the early 1960s — can house up to 81 children today.

"Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched. Yet Catholic Charities' services for unaccompanied minors have been stripped of funding and will be forced to shut down within three months," Wenski said.

Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez of Florida, both Republicans, also issued a letter to ORR urging the agency to reconsider.

"South Florida has always been the front line of humanitarian migration in our hemisphere," the April 3 letter stated. They also warned of potential future migration from Cuba and Haiti.

"Catholic Charities provides what cannot be quickly replaced: trained staff, proven infrastructure, and decades of expertise," they wrote. "Losing this capacity now will make future response efforts more costly, slower, and less effective."

For those who lived it, today's crisis is personal

Javier Llorens, first vice president of the Pedro Pan board of directors, arrived in the United States in 1962 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, years before his parents could join him. He spent five years in shelters run by the Catholic Welfare Bureau, the predecessor of Catholic Charities.

"It wasn't just shelter — it was care, education, and formation," said Llorens, now a dentist. "That model showed how to care for refugee children the right way."

With federal funding now cut for programs serving unaccompanied minors, Llorens warned today's children risk losing that support.

"I understand budgets can be evaluated," he said. "But what matters is the care of the children. Without it, they are left without assistance and without support to integrate into this country."

Graciela Anrrich, director of the Pedro Pan board of directors, shared a similar experience. She arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1961 with her sister and spent months in the program before reuniting with her parents.

"The care we received was extraordinary," said Anrrich, now a professor at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. "We were placed with a wonderful foster family and supported during a very difficult time."

Both say the program changed their lives — and fear others may now miss that opportunity.

"We have to call the attention of the government," Llorens said. "They are making a mistake. We only want to help the children."

Contract funded care for unaccompanied migrant children

Recently, the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children's Village shelter was housing five children.

Four minors were transferred to a new center, and the last one is expected to reunite with his or her family. After that, the facility will no longer house children.

Peter Routsis-Arroyo, executive director of Catholic Charities, said similar programs across the country are also being affected.

"Programs that received funding starting April 1 will continue. We are currently seeking a 90-day no-cost extension, not yet officially approved, to provide proper notice to staff, severance pay, and the transfer of cases dating back to the 1960s. We may request an additional extension if needed," he said.

Routsis-Arroyo said the organization received no warning.

"We were negotiating a new budget right up to the time of the cancellation letter. We were even approved for staff hiring the week before notification arrived," he said.

He added that the Administration for Children and Families' Office of Refugee Resettlement informed them by email March 24 that their application was not selected for funding.

"It appears we scored very well but were not awarded bonus points," he said.

Catholic Charities has no alternative funding to continue the program.

"Children are referred to us by ORR. Without a contract, ORR will not send children to us," Routsis-Arroyo said.

The Unaccompanied Minors Program has operated continuously since 1960, making it the longest-running facility of its kind in the country. Contracts are currently awarded every three years.

Routsis-Arroyo said no other agency has provided this level of care for more than 65 years, beginning with Operation Pedro Pan. The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children's Village was specifically designed, in collaboration with ORR, to provide optimal care for unaccompanied minors.

"If funding is not restored, we will have to transition to other residential programs. Once we do, ORR will lose our capacity to serve this population," he said.

The current federal process does not allow for an appeal, leaving reconsideration or legal action as the only options.

This story was first published by the Florida Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

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With President Donald Trump criticizing Pope Leo XIV for comments on the ongoing Iran war, Catholic Vice President JD Vance has taken a more nuanced tone — welcoming some input from clergy but discouraging them from wading into certain matters.

In an interview on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" on April 13, Vance said it's good the pope discusses what he cares about, but added: "In some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what's going on in the Catholic Church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy."

At a Turning Point, USA event the next day at the University of Georgia, Vance said he respects and admires Leo, likes "that the pope is an advocate for peace," acknowledging it as "certainly one of his roles." He disputed Leo's understanding of just war doctrine and said the pope should be "careful when he talks about matters of theology."

The comments come as Leo calls for peace and Church officials question the justification of the war on the basis of just war doctrine. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy have said they do not believe the war fits just war criteria.

Three Catholic theologians who spoke with EWTN News disputed the notion that public policy matters — especially as they relate to war — can be separated from "matters of morality" and affirmed the Church's role in these topics.

EWTN News reached out to Vance's office to ask whether he believes justifications for entering a war or conduct in war are "matters of morality" but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

'Matters of morality'

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.

Joseph Capizzi, dean and ordinary professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that Vance is "just wrong" to draw a line between matters of morality and matters of public policy.

"For people to be moral, they need a good, healthy, stable political community," he said. "All of us, men, women, children, priest and religious, lay, and so on have a stake in the moral good of the political communities we inhabit."

The Church, Capizzi said, has been around for more than 2,000 years, and "her experience, her wisdom, her tradition are critical resources for helping us live in good communities."

"The plea that bishops and popes and priests should 'stick to morals and avoid politics' is old, and rightly rejected by all Catholics, lay or otherwise," he said. "It's what many relied on in the past to try to quiet Catholics about immigration, abortion, poverty, and many other issues. The overlap of politics and morality is expansive."

Taylor Patrick O'Neill, theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College, told EWTN News he thinks Vance's comment "was very uncareful."

"There is no amoral arena," he said. "There's no aspect to our … life where moral aspects don't come into play."

O'Neill said the pope's role to speak on matters of faith and morals "includes politics," adding: "It would be a mistake to think that public policy does not touch upon the moral."

The Holy Father's statements, he said, are part of his role "to guide and to teach," and if Leo were to avoid the Iran war, "it would be quite odd … and not in step with the tradition of the papacy" because it touches on "the faith and the morals of believing people worldwide."

O'Neill said the pope's role is not to "dictate public policy" like "directing the [government] in regard to what sort of military formations to use." But he said the pope's role is to explain that "certain policies are intrinsically contrary to human flourishing and dignity" and to comment on "moral truths that should affect policy."

Ron Bolster, dean of the School of Theology and Philosophy at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, told EWTN News he wishes Vance "hadn't taken his disagreement with the Holy Father publicly" and said it is not helpful to set up a dichotomy between the moral realm and the public policy realm.

"One would certainly hope that you would bring the Gospel to bear on public policy," he said. "I would like to think [Vance] knows better than that, but his position is not very uncommon."

A role of the pope, Bolster said, is to "try to bring public servants to a better appreciation for how the Gospel would be advanced in their policies" and to help and guide them "when they're out of line in that regard."

"The Gospel and morality [should] drive all policy and any action that we would take," he said.

Just war doctrine

At Tuesday's Turning Point event, Vance challenged Leo's understanding of just war doctrine in a response to the pope's post on X that read: "God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs."

Vance asked: "Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis?" and "Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated those innocent people…?" The vice president said: "I certainly think the answer is yes."

Capizzi said Vance "misses the point" because Leo is "aware of the Church's understanding of the just war." When Catholics must wage war, they should "pray in the hope that they are doing God's will … with humility and even a fear of God that they have rightly judged [the] situation," he said.

"They try to avoid praying with hubris or arrogance about their judgment, because they know God's judgment alone matters," he said.

Capizzi said Leo's comments are "about the rise in recourse to violence to attempt to solve problems" and "those who 'wage wars' are those turning to violence rather than looking for other solutions."

O'Neill said Catholics should not interpret Leo's comments as "throwing out" just war doctrine but understand it the same way they understand Christ saying that "all who take the sword will perish by the sword" in Matthew 26:52.

"Even when a Christian has to take up the sword, he doesn't live by the sword," O'Neill said.

Even when a Christian has to take up the sword, he doesn't live by the sword.

Taylor Patrick ONeill

Theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College

If a Christian must engage in war, O'Neill said, "he does so as if it's a tragedy." He said glee or indifference toward war is "not living in accordance with the spirit of Christ" and noted concerns with the administration splicing together videos of the war with action movies, treating it like "a joke" or like "it's cool."

"The spirit should always be turned away from warfare," he said.

Bolster said he read the pope's comment in the context of Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization: "The threats were made against the culture, the civilians, and the innocents." He said the pope "has a responsibility to all of the souls entrusted to him and to protect the innocents and call out an escalation that would go beyond the military targets."

Yet, he also said Vance is in a tough position because when someone "questions whether [the soldiers are] involved in something that's morally legitimate, you jeopardize their ability to do their job and you jeopardize their safety."

The U.S. and Iran entered a temporary two-week ceasefire on April 8. So far, a long-term peace deal has not been reached.

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