At a symposium titled "Synodality and Praedicate Gospel" at the University of Bonn, the cardinal said he used to be more conservative on this issue but changed his mind.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the former general relator of the Synod on Synodality, has publicly called for the ordination of women, arguing that the Church cannot long endure if half of the people of God lacks access to ordained ministry.
"I cannot imagine in the long run how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffers because they have no access to ordained ministry," Hollerich said Thursday at a symposium on synodality and Praedicate Evangelium at the University of Bonn, according to news agency KNA.
The archbishop of Luxembourg, who previously described himself as more conservative on the question, said his views had changed. "I have also learned as a bishop that this is not just a desire of a few left-wing women's associations," he claimed.
While calling for patience with other cultures who may see the ordination debate as an "artificial problem," Hollerich cited what he asserted was widespread support for women's ordination in his parishes.
"When I speak with the women in the parishes, 90% among us have the same opinion," he said, adding that bishops are obliged to listen to such voices.
Church's definitive teaching
In his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II declared definitively that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful."
Since holy orders is a single sacrament with three degrees, that ruling covers the diaconate and episcopate equally.
Curia reform and papal succession
Hollerich also praised the late Pope Francis' impact on the Roman Curia. Through his apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Francis — who served as pope from 2013 until his death in 2025 — opened leadership positions in the Vatican to women. Hollerich said this trajectory would continue under Pope Leo XIV. "It would be my deepest wish that the whole Church rejoices in this," he said.
The symposium was organized by the University of Bonn's Department of Moral Theology under theologian Jochen Sautermeister. Also speaking were Cardinals Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga and Oswald Gracias, along with Bishops Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, and Klaus Krämer of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany.
This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Dani Dayan spoke after meeting Pope Leo XIV, saying antisemitism is "bigotry" independent of Israeli policy.
Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, said that remembering and honoring the Holocaust is essential to combating rising antisemitism worldwide.
Dayan, who met with Pope Leo XIV on March 23 together with Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, said their conversation focused on "two issues: the historical remembrance, the need to remember, to know about the Holocaust — but not just for the sake of history, also for the sake of the present and the sake of the future."
We have to make sure that an "atrocity like this cannot happen again — not to the Jewish people, not to any other people," he said.
He added that antisemitism is "raising its ugly head again all over the world" and that the two issues are closely linked.
"I think that knowing about the Holocaust, learning about the Holocaust, remembering, honoring the Holocaust is one of the tools to combat antisemitism," Dayan said.
"I think antisemitism should not have palliative reasons. Antisemitism is bigotry, antisemitism is racism, and it's completely independent of anything that Israel does or does not," he said.
He described antisemitism as a unifying force among otherwise opposed extremist groups.
"In many sectors in the world, antisemitism has become the common denominator, the lingua franca of all the extremists in the world — left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists, religious extremists, Islamist extremists, and many others," he said.
"They hate each other on any other issue… [but] they don't only agree, they even collaborate."
"Antisemitism should not be understood. It should be combated without any reservation," he added, noting he found "full agreement" with Pope Leo XIV on the point.
Memory, politics, and responsibility
Dayan emphasized the distinction between Holocaust remembrance and contemporary political debates.
"The policy and Holocaust remembrance are two completely different things," he said, while noting that the Holocaust remains "omnipresent in the back of our minds" for many Jews and continues to shape collective identity.
He said the obligation to remember the Holocaust is "threefold": for the future, to build a world free of bigotry and genocide; for the present, amid resurging antisemitism; and as a moral duty to the victims.
"Six million victims that were massacred by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Shoah deserve to be remembered," he said. "It's a debt that we have to maintain."
A shared history and a future visit?
Reflecting on relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, Dayan pointed to the significance of papal visits to Yad Vashem.
He presented Pope Leo XIV with a painting by Jewish artist Carol Deutsch, created during the Shoah, depicting the biblical question "Adam, where are you?"
He linked the image to Pope Francis' address at Yad Vashem, in which the late pope asked: "Where was humanity?"
Dayan expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV would visit Yad Vashem in the future, "when circumstances allow it."
'Peace is an imperative'
Asked about the role of believers in promoting peace, Dayan said the memory of the Holocaust underscores the urgency of that mission.
"To yearn for it and to act for it," he said. "Learning about the Holocaust… is one of the greatest motivations a person can have to understand that peace is an imperative."
He acknowledged that he once believed the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust would end war and antisemitism.
"Unfortunately… I was very naive in that respect. We have to work harder, all of us, in order to make that a reality in the future," he said.
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.
Eleven years after twin suicide bombings struck two Pakistan churches, survivors of mass arrests still bear the scars as a young martyr who died stopping the attack moves toward sainthood.
LAHORE, Pakistan — Every year during Lent, Sunil Masih remembers his elder brother as churches in Youhanabad — Lahore's largest squatter settlement for poor Christians — mark the anniversary of the 2015 church bombings.
The four Catholic brothers were among more than 150 Christians arrested by police days after twin suicide attacks on St. John's Catholic Church and Christ Church on March 15, 2015, which killed at least 19 people and injured hundreds. The attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, an offshoot of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The bombings sparked mob violence that mistakenly killed two Muslim men, who were later identified and detained through raids and video evidence.
Sunil Masih stands beside his vegetable cart in front of his family's former
milk shop in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025. | Credit:
Kamran Chaudhry
Masih, now 28, said the trauma of prison changed him forever.
"They hurled abuses at us, beat us with strips cut from vehicle tires, and in jail we were given old dried roti [flat bread]," he told EWTN News. "Water from the greasy toilet taps was served for drinking. Family meetings were allowed only after a month. It was a hellhole on earth."
He and his brother Sadaqat Perwaiz — popularly known as Monty — were released after six months in Central Jail Lahore. One brother, however, remained among 42 Christians and one Muslim charged in the lynching case.
Devastation beyond prison
The protracted court proceedings devastated the family's four-decade-old milk business, saddled them with mounting debts, and forced the sale of their 680-square-foot home.
Their worries deepened after two Christian inmates, Inderyas Masih, 36, and Usman Shaukat, 29, died in custody under suspicious circumstances during the trial. Police claimed tuberculosis and a heart attack, respectively, while families and the British Pakistani Christian Association reported bruises and unexplained injuries.
Pakistani police stand guard outside St. John's Catholic Church in
Youhanabad, Lahore, on March 15, 2025. Posters of Servant of God Akash Bashir flank the entrance gate on the 10th anniversary of twin suicide bombings that struck the neighborhood. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry
In January 2020, an anti-terrorism court acquitted the remaining 39 accused after blood money (Diyat) of 25 million rupees ($89,800) was paid to the victims' families by Pastor Anwar Fazal, a prominent Christian televangelist.
Under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance 1990, introduced during Gen. Ziaul Haq's Islamization process, courts calculate compensation based on the financial capacity of the convict and the victim's heirs, with a minimum value linked to 30,630 grams of silver.
Monty died of a heart attack in 2022, leaving behind two children aged 10 and 14. His faded poster still hangs in front of the family's closed milk shop.
"He was a stout man, known for his strong community ties and friendly nature in our neighborhood. Prison left him very lean and weakened by an infection that caused his legs to swell beneath the knees and bleed," Masih said.
Today, Sunil Masih sells vegetables from a wooden cart in front of the same shop, now leased to a real estate dealer. He hopes to marry once his new business stabilizes.
'The gift of a hero'
On March 15, police guarded churches in Youhanabad, which houses more than 150,000 Christians, as the community observed the 11th bombing anniversary.
At St. John's, parishioners lit candles and placed flowers beneath a banner honoring Akash Bashir, the 20-year-old security volunteer who died preventing a suicide bomber from entering the church during that Sunday Mass.
"Salute and gratitude to the martyrs of Youhanabad," read the banner near the Marian grotto. In January 2022, the Vatican recognized Bashir as a servant of God, making him the first Pakistani Catholic on the path to canonization.
Father Akram Javed (fifth from right), parish priest of St. John's Catholic Church, lights a memorial candle for Servant of God Akash Bashir at a commemoration in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025. |
Credit: Kamran Chaudhry
Father Akram Javed, parish priest of St. John's, thanked police for security.
"A group of 30 local volunteers carry on Akash's mission, protecting the church and worshippers. The bombings were a terrible tragedy, but in that darkness, we received the gift of a hero," he told EWTN News.
'The bombing was a national tragedy'
Pentecostal politician Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra, who spent five years in prison, sees the anniversary as a moment of reflection for Pakistan's 3.3 million Christians, many of whom continue to face discrimination, economic hardship, and lingering trauma.
A man prays outside a church in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025, during commemorations marking the anniversary of the twin suicide bombings. Banners honoring Akash Bashir are visible in the background. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry
"The bombing was a national tragedy from which the authorities learnt nothing. We continue to suffer losses due to terrorism, with sporadic attacks targeting minority communities and security forces," said the 65-year-old head of the Massiha Millat Party (Christian Nation Party).
He alleged prison authorities tried to manipulate him, introducing Muslim prisoners to persuade him to stay passive.
"Despite back pain from four displaced vertebrae, my time in prison strengthened my faith and resolve for activism. The trend of arresting Christians for alleged blasphemy to appease angry crowds will continue unless investigations are conducted on merit," he added.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its 2025 annual report, said religious freedom in Pakistan continued to deteriorate, recommending it be designated a "country of particular concern," citing blasphemy-related prosecutions, mob violence, and forced conversions targeting Christians and other minorities, and a growing climate of fear and impunity.
Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed allegedly by an immigrant in the country illegally, according to police.
The Loyola University Chicago student who was shot and killed last week was a "beautiful person" and a "genuine soul," campus leaders said amid mourning over the 18-year-old's murder.
Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed early on March 19 while walking with her friends near the Jesuit university's campus, officials said last week.
Law enforcement has alleged that 25-year-old Jose Medina carried out the killing. Medina had reportedly been observed acting strangely in the area; witnesses said he opened fire on Gorman and her friends when they walked nearby.
Medina was living in the country illegally, police said. Federal immigration officials have placed a detainer against him in order to arrest him if he is released from police custody, while local officials in Chicago are moving to prosecute him for the murder.
'Compassionate, selfless, kind'
The Catholic university mourned the news of Gorman's passing, with leadership lamenting the loss of the New York state native who was just finishing up her freshman year there.
Loyola Cru, a Christian campus ministry at the school, said in an Instagram post that Gorman was "an absolute delight."
The group described her as "compassionate, selfless, kind, generous, joyful, willing, and so much fun. A beautiful person and a genuine soul."
The Christian student organization said it was "heavy with grief" but that it was "hold[ing] that in tension with the reality that Jesus is our refuge and shelter."
"The darkness of this world does not overshadow the light of Christ's love," the group wrote.
Gorman's obituary said she "loved [her faith] fiercely" along with "her family, her friends, [and] her community." A native of Yorktown Heights, New York, she is survived by her mother, Jessica, and father, Thomas, as well as her sister, Madelon.
A GoFundMe set up to raise money for a memorial scholarship in Gorman's honor said she "loved Jesus, her family ... her lifelong friends, and the simple, beautiful moments that made up her life."
"She had a way of making everyone feel special, seen, and loved," the fundraiser said. "To know her was to be changed by her."
In a letter to the school's community, university President Mark Reed described Gorman's death as a "tragic loss" for the school.
Reed urged the school to petition St. Joseph "to intercede for our grieving community and for the family of our beloved student Sheridan." The school also hosted a memorial vigil for Gorman on March 19.
At an event at City Club Chicago on March 23, meanwhile, Cardinal Blase Cupich said he had spoken with Gorman's parents amid their grief.
"Tom and Jessica ... are taking this very hard," the cardinal said.
The Chicago archbishop said Tom Gorman said to him on the phone: "Every parent says that their kid is the best in the world. But mine was."
Conference organizers said they hope "to spread the word on Oreste Brownson" through his 19th-century writings' message to present times.
A conference will highlight Orestes Brownson with the hopes of making him "a household name" among Catholics, organizers said.
The "Orestes Brownson and the Mission of America" conference will be held at The Catholic University of America (CUA) on April 16 for "all those seeking a vision of the United States to carry us into the next 250 years," according to conference organizers.
Brownson was an American intellectual, activist, writer, and a Catholic convert. He had little formal schooling but rose from poverty in Vermont to become one of the original Transcendentalists.
Brownson worked as the editor of the Boston Quarterly Review and then the Brownson Quarterly Review, an influential 19th-century American publication edited and written by the philosopher and theologian.
He wrote about many of the constitutional and political debates of his day, notably in his work "The American Republic," which was published just after the Civil War and received praise from both Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
The groups are hoping "to spread the word on Orestes Brownson," Tom McDonough, co-founder and president of The American Family Project, told EWTN News. As the motto of the conference and of the Orestes Brownson Studies foundation says: "What Aquinas was to Aristotle, Orestes Brownson is to our American founding."
The conference is intended to raise Brownson's profile "particularly among Catholics, because he has so much to say about modernity," McDonough said.
While his works were written 150 years ago, "he's dealing with the same issues that we're dealing with today — progressivism, increase in the federal government, collapse of the family, and we the people being replaced by private interests," McDonough said.
"He was dealing with this back in 1865. So he's got a lot to say about us today, and particularly from a Catholic's perspective," McDonough said. "He was one of the finest minds of the 19th century. Even Arthur Schlesinger, no fan of conservatives or the Catholic Church, regarded him as the premier intellectual of the 19th century."
The groups organizing the event have also been working on other ways to spread Brownson's message. Over the next year or two, they plan to build a library of every essay written by Brownson in searchable text.
"We're trying to make his work more available, more accessible to people … and to build up a library of all of the scholarly work that's been done over the last century," McDonough said.
They also hope to create written and visual content on his works, form a bibliography of all the best Brownson scholarship, and hold at least one annual conference on Brownson's insights.
The organizations will also continue to conduct the Orestes Brownson Essay Contest for college students. The first contest was held this year, which invited students to enter their work on the American writer.
Conference schedule
The conference program will include multiple keynote addresses, panels, and other discussion among organizers and attendees.
Peter Kilpatrick, CUA president, will give a keynote called "Orestes Brownson and the Mission of America." Seth Smith, clinical associate professor of history at CUA, will present a talk called "Orestes Brownson's Place in American History." The last keynote will be led by Rick Santorum, attorney and former U.S. senator, who will speak about "Brownson and the Family."
A number of panels will also address Brownson's contributions and approaches to matters including constitutional thought, post-Civil War democracy, American Catholics, and church and state.
Panel speakers will include academics and professors from a number of universities including CUA, University of Massachusetts School of Law, Purdue University, Belmont Abbey College, and Benedictine College.
Other panelists from organizations including The Heritage Foundation and the Orestes Brownson Studies Foundation will also offer insight on Brownson and the mission of America.
Cardinal Ernest Simoni, 97, was able to pray before the remains of St. Francis, celebrate Mass at the Protomonastery of St. Clare, and pray before her tomb. He was imprisoned in communist Albania.
On March 19, Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni at the age of 97 was among the last people to venerate the remains of St. Francis of Assisi before their return to a tomb in the crypt of the 13th-century Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, where the saint's small skeleton has been contained in a plexiglass case since 1978.
Despite his mobility issues, Cardinal Ernest Simoni did not want to miss the immense grace of venerating the skeletal remains of St. Francis of Assisi. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Cardinal Ernest Simoni
St. Francis' bones were on display in the church from Feb. 22 to March 22, when they were returned to the stone tomb in the crypt, located at the foot of the altar in the lower church.
The bones are not usually visible to the public. Pilgrims can visit and pray at the tomb itself, but the actual skeleton stays sealed inside the sarcophagus (protected within the nitrogen-filled plexiglass case since 1978).
According to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, more than 370,000 pilgrims from all over the world were able to pray before his bones during that month.
Simoni, who studied at a Franciscan seminary from 1938 to 1948, was described by Pope Francis as "a living martyr" of the bloody communist persecution in Albania during the era of communist dictator Enver Hoxha.
The cardinal said: "I give thanks to the Lord for having allowed me to be a pilgrim in Assisi and to pray for peace and fraternity in the world before the remains of the great St. Francis — for me, a protector, father, and teacher whom I have always looked up to from my beloved Albania," Vatican News reported.
Cardinal Ernest Simoni celebrates Mass at the Protomonastery of St.Clare. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Cardinal Ernest Simoni
The cardinal, who will celebrate the 70th anniversary of his ordination on April 7, described the day as "moving, seeing thousands of pilgrims of all ages, as well as so many young people who represent the hope and future of the Church arriving from all over the world to the city, which is par excellence a symbol of peace and faith, to pray and encounter the seraphic St. Francis, his great disciple St. Clare, and St. Carlo Acutis, a saint of our own times."
Simoni, who was secretly ordained in 1956, 12 years after the rise of communism in Albania, personally endured the regime's brutal persecution.
The priest was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted to forced labor. He spent 18 years in prison and was released in 1981. However, still considered "an enemy of the people" he was afterward forced to work cleaning out the sewers in the city of Shkodrë. He carried out priestly ministry clandestinely until the fall of the communist regime in 1990.
Ingenious ways to celebrate Mass in prison
During his imprisonment, the priest celebrated Mass daily, employing ingenious subterfuges to outwit the prison system in Albania,the world's first officially declared atheist state, which prohibited all religious practice.
He offered Mass in Latin and his jailers believed he was merely babbling nonsense. His testimony moved Pope Francis to tears during his visit to Albania in 2014. Two years later, the pope named him a cardinal.
Despite his mobility issues, Simoni did not want to miss the immense grace of venerating the skeletal remains of St. Francis of Assisi in the year marking the 800th anniversary of his death. The cardinal recounted that this was one of the first pilgrimages he has undertaken.
Cardinal Ernest Simoni stands before the tomb of St. Carlo Acutis. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Cardinal Ernest Simoni
Simoni was only 10 years old the first time he crossed the threshold of the Franciscan convent in Shkodër, taking the name Friar Enrico, thus fulfilling his desire to live in poverty, following St. Francis' example. During the communist regime, Simoni's Franciscan formators and superiors were shot — accused of being enemies of the people — often right in front of the young novices.
In Assisi last week, Simoni celebrated Mass at the Protomonastery of St. Clare, prayed at the saint's tomb, and met with the nuns inside the cloistered monastery.
370,000 pilgrims venerate remains of St. Francis
During the four weeks St. Francis' body was on display, small groups of pilgrims filed beneath the frescoes of Giotto and Cimabue in the dim light to venerate the saint's remains.
"We have been a fraternity gathered around Francis," stated Friar Marco Moroni, custos of the Sacred Convent. "A fraternity of 370,000 people gathered here, and of many others throughout the world. A serene and prayerful fraternity, which sought to discover in the sign of a few poor and fragile bones, the full power of a life animated by the Spirit, which continues to bear fruit."
"Many have asked me," added Friar Giulio Cesareo, director of the communications office of the Sacred Convent, "whether I expected such a significant turnout, and I must say that I did: I had no doubt that there would be a great many of us. However, something I did not expect was the atmosphere — at once recollected and joyful: silence, patience, mobile phones in pockets"
Franciscans pray on March 22, 2026, before the remains of St. Francis of Assisi were returned to the crypt. | Credit: Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
"The only explanation is that none of us came to see Francis; rather, it is he who, being alive, has called out to us to speak to our hearts and minds. This is therefore an opportunity to express our gratitude — also on behalf of the press office team at the Sacred Convent — to our many journalist colleagues and communications professionals: We have experienced a high degree of collaboration and immense professionalism. One of the keys to the exhibition's success has been precisely this transparent, far-reaching, free, and organized work by the communication media," he noted.
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 pope cautioned that AI risks dulling young people's intelligence, relationships, and creativity.
Pope Leo XIV warned that children must not come to see artificial intelligence chatbots as substitutes for real friendship, cautioning that such reliance could harm their intellectual and emotional development.
"We must not allow children to end up believing they can find in artificial intelligence chatbots their best friends or the oracle of all knowledge, dulling their intelligence and their capacity for relationships, and numbing their creativity and thinking," the pope said.
Leo made the remarks in a message published Sunday in Popotus, the weekly supplement of the Italian newspaper Avvenire dedicated to children, marking its 30th anniversary.
In that context, he urged adults to "safeguard" childhood and guide "the growth of children so that they may become protagonists of a renewed world."
The pope has consistently highlighted artificial intelligence as a central concern of his pontificate, framing it as an ethical challenge comparable to the industrial revolution addressed by Pope Leo XIII.
On May 10, 2025, in an address to cardinals in the New Synod Hall, he stressed the need to "respond to another industrial revolution — the digital one — and to developments in artificial intelligence, which pose new challenges in defending human dignity, justice, and work."
In recognition of his engagement on the issue, Time magazine included him on Aug. 29 in its list of the 100 most influential people in the field of artificial intelligence, following several notable interventions on the topic in the early months of his pontificate.
In his message to Popotus readers, Leo encouraged children to rediscover the beauty of the world.
"I want to tell you that restoring the world's beauty is possible and that you can help adults to see it — precisely through this newspaper designed for you — with renewed wonder, to think about it with trust, and to build it without prejudice," he said.
He also emphasized fundamental values to be preserved in childhood: "Trust in those who love you, the universal language of love, the disarming power of a smile, the courage to ask forgiveness, the beauty of making peace."
The Holy Father expressed "great concern" over wars threatening humanity's future and underscored the need to recover a pure way of seeing reality.
Quoting Jesus' words — "Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" — the pope explained that becoming like children does not mean going backward but rather "safeguarding a key to seeing what is essential in everything, to finding surprising answers even to the most difficult questions."
"Perhaps only by looking into the lost eyes of children in the face of the barbarity of war can we be converted. We must learn again to look into one another's eyes and to see the world with pure eyes," he added.
Addressing parents and educators, Leo thanked them for "the care and love with which they educate children," helping them "to draw out the beauty within them and to express it in ever new ways."
"Today especially, in the digital age and the age of artificial intelligence, we all need ongoing education. And to remain human, we must preserve a childlike way of looking at reality," he concluded.
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 state of Aguascalientes passed a measure promoting prenatal care and preventive measures for the benefit of early childhood development.
The state of Aguascalientes in Mexico marked a milestone in the defense of life by becoming the first state to establish a specific date as the "Day of the Unborn Girl and Boy," an initiative aimed at promoting public policies in support of maternal health and child development.
Passed on March 19 by the unicameral state Legislature, the measure was introduced by state legislator Humberto Montero de Alba of the National Action Party in collaboration with the citizen signature-gathering platform Actívate ("Get active").
Pro-life legislators speak at the Aguascalientes Legislature. | Credit: Actívate
The declaration designates March 25 as a day dedicated to promoting "the early initiation of prenatal care" as well as promoting campaigns for improved maternal nutrition and fostering "shared paternal and family responsibility."
In a statement, the state Legislature said the legislation is not symbolic but rather is "a strategic instrument of preventive public policy, aligned with the constitutional mandate for the progressive protection of human rights and with international best practices in providing health care information."
The state also noted that the declaration represents "an affirmative action for maternal health" and seeks to promote "preventive measures for the benefit of early childhood development" in addition to constituting "an institutional recognition of the dignity of motherhood."
Defending life 'will never be a mistake'
During the debate, Rep. Arlette Muñoz of the National Action Party emphasized that "being a mother is not merely a role in life; it is a profound transformation" and underscored that every life "is unique, irreplaceable, and profoundly valuable."
Muñoz urged that the issue be approached with empathy toward women facing pregnancies under adverse circumstances, noting that "they do not need judgment; rather, they need love."
Furthermore, she argued that the declaration does not impose a particular viewpoint but rather calls for the development of public policies centered on support: "It's not about pointing fingers; it is about offering support."
Rep. Jedsabel Sánchez — also of the National Action Party — said speaking of human rights entails including "those who have no voice" and called for this date to become "not merely a commemoration but a commitment to life, to women, and to our future generations" while insisting that "defending girls and boys will never be a mistake."
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.
Catholic women religious at two hospitals in Bangladesh have spent decades treating tuberculosis patients whom the government and society have largely overlooked.
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Although very small in number, Catholics in Bangladesh are making an invaluable contribution to the care of tuberculosis patients in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh is an underdeveloped country and due to financial reasons, many people in this country do not go to the doctor at the primary stage of any health issue, only when the problem becomes big — and this is the case with tuberculosis patients," said Italian Sister Roberta Pignone, 55, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate, popularly known as the PIME sisters.
Sister Roberta has been serving tuberculosis (TB) patients at the Damien Hospital in the Khulna Diocese, in the coastal area of Bangladesh, for about 25 years. People in the coastal area constantly struggle with natural disasters and salinity to survive, and they often avoid seeking care for minor illnesses.
"On behalf of the hospital, we distribute awareness leaflets in various public places, and if someone has symptoms of TB, we bring their samples and test them. It is seen that about 90% have tuberculosis and they are not aware," Sister Roberta told EWTN News.
In this hospital, patients are provided with free accommodation and food, and if someone can afford it, they pay some expenses to the hospital.
Social stigma and late diagnosis
Sister Roberta said that although the Bangladesh government maintains there are not a lot of tuberculosis patients in the country, many cases still go undetected. She also noted that many doctors fail to recognize tuberculosis symptoms in patients because the disease is not given priority by the government.
Sister Roberta's friends and relatives from her home country, Italy, and from other countries provide financial support for the hospital's operations.
"I have not had any financial problems yet; I am continuing God's work in some way or another. As long as my community keeps me here, I will work happily," Sister Roberta added.
The Maria Bambina Sisters of Rajshahi Diocese run the Tuberculosis Shelter, which was established by the PIME Missionary Fathers in 1989. Initially, the shelter was run with funding from the PIME Fathers, but now it is operated entirely by the sisters.
Sister Augustina Tudu, 70, has been serving tuberculosis patients at this shelter for about 22 years. Initially, various groups of sisters and fathers would go to villages and bring tuberculosis patients for treatment, but now the patients themselves come for treatment with the help of parish priests and sisters.
Medicine, food, and shelter
In Bangladesh, tuberculosis and leprosy are still not given importance in the early stages. In many cases, these diseases, which are viewed differently by society, are not disclosed, Sister Augustina said.
"We used to provide free accommodation and food to tuberculosis patients, but now we are not able to do that anymore due to the economic crisis," Sister Augustina told EWTN News. "After the PIME Fathers left this hospital, we are going through a lot of financial crises; in that case, we have to take some money from the patients."
The TB shelter not only provides medicines but also nutritious food to the patients, "because TB is a disease that requires not only medicines but also nutritious food, and these patients are poor and they cannot eat that kind of food at home," Sister Augustina added.
Most of the Christian patients from the northern dioceses of Rajshahi and Dinajpur come to this TB shelter for treatment. Of the nearly 150,000 Catholics in these two dioceses, most are from the Indigenous community and are financially poor.
"The Indigenous are naturally in financial crisis and lead an ignorant life, as a result of which TB or tuberculosis is more common among them. We are doing what we can, but due to the financial crisis, we are not able to help them completely," Sister Augustina said.
According to the National TB Control Programme of the Bangladesh Health Department, 278,607 tuberculosis patients were identified in the country from January to October 2025.
The country's goal is to eliminate tuberculosis by 2035. Its data indicates that deaths from tuberculosis have been reduced by 90% since 2015.
After the World Health Organization declared tuberculosis a global emergency in 1993, the health department has been working with nongovernmental organizations to control the disease. Tuberculosis diagnosis, treatment, and medicines are all provided free of charge. Still, the tuberculosis situation in the country has not improved.
An exorcist group said growing occult practices and spiritual harm highlight the need for trained priests and better formation.
Representatives of the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) have asked Pope Leo XIV to ensure that every Catholic diocese worldwide has "one or more" trained exorcists, citing what they describe as a rise in cases linked to occult practices and spiritual distress.
The request was made during a private audience March 13 at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, where the pope met with Bishop Karel Orlita and Father Francesco Bamonte, president and vice president of the association. The meeting focused on what the group described as "unprecedented challenges" facing the ministry of exorcism.
During the half-hour meeting, the AIE presented the pope with a detailed report warning of a "painful and increasingly widespread situation of people seriously affected by the extraordinary action of the devil as a result of their involvement in occult sects," according to a statement released after the meeting.
The group's primary proposal was structural and educational. Given the "great suffering caused by the extraordinary action of the devil," it emphasized "the need for each diocese in the world to have one or more priest exorcists" who are properly trained.
To that end, the AIE called for expanded formation at multiple levels of Church life: instruction in seminaries on the "real existence and nature of the demonic world" in light of the Gospel; a brief course in exorcism ministry for newly appointed bishops so they can oversee it in their dioceses; and mandatory prior training for priests designated as exorcists, in line with the Church's official ritual.
In comments to ACI Prensa, Bamonte warned that ignoring the extraordinary action of the devil risks "leaving the faithful without defense against serious spiritual attacks," potentially prolonging suffering or leading people to seek inappropriate solutions.
"The spread of occultism in its various forms, and of Satanism, unfortunately opens doors and windows to the extraordinary action of the devil in today's world," he said. "This can cause grave suffering in those who imprudently turn to these practices, through possible cases of possession, vexation, obsession, or diabolical infestation."
Bamonte said it is "reasonable" to believe such cases are increasing, pointing to the rise of esoteric and magical practices in recent decades.
According to the group, this trend is also linked to a broader "turning away from God, the increase of sin, and the spread of esotericism and occultism."
The presence of authorized exorcists, Bamonte said, allows the Church to "continue Christ's mandate to cast out demons" and to assist those suffering from what it describes as extraordinary demonic influence.
"The Church, as the family of God, has the task of caring for its members in all their needs, even the most extreme at the spiritual level; the priest exorcist is a pastor who offers this help," he said.
He added that the absence of exorcists in a diocese constitutes "a harm" to the faithful, depriving them of specific sacramental assistance and weakening the Church's ability to function as a true "family of God."
For that reason, he stressed the importance of preparing clergy to address such cases. "The future priest must be prepared to face the real pastoral situations he will encounter in his ministry, including the growing number of faithful who request the intervention of exorcists," he said.
This formation, he added, should include criteria to discern when the intervention of an exorcist is necessary and should begin during seminary training.
One of the AIE's recent initiatives has been the publication of "Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism," a document reviewed by several Vatican dicasteries that offers doctrinal and practical guidance. The text was presented to the pope during the audience, along with an image of St. Michael the Archangel from the sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo.
During the meeting, Pope Leo XIV also told those present that he had known and appreciated Father Gabriele Amorth, the priest who founded the International Association of Exorcists in 1994.
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.
