Catholic News

The Diocese of Quilmes in Argentina announced that by decision of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the "nihil obstat" granted to the cause for the canonization of the Servant of God Bishop Jorge Novak has been revoked.

The decision, communicated by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the dicastery, stems from "a possible canonical procedure not carried out by Bishop Jorge Novak, SVD, regarding the conduct of a priest of the diocese," the Diocese of Quilmes clarified.

Furthermore, the diocese clarified that this decision expresses "no moral judgment regarding the life, virtues, and pastoral ministry" of Novak and that consequently he is still recognized as a servant of God even though his cause will not proceed.

The Diocese of Quilmes and the Society of the Divine Word — co-sponsors of the canonical cause initiated on Dec. 11, 2017 — announced the news "with sorrow," while simultaneously expressing their confidence that "God, in his immense goodness, has granted the beloved and fondly remembered Father-Bishop Jorge Novak, SVD, the joy of eternal life, even if he is not inscribed in the canonical register of the blessed and saints officially proclaimed by the Church."

Novak, who died in 2001, was the first bishop of the Diocese of Quilmes, which was established in June 1976. His episcopal consecration took place on Sept. 19, 1976, and he remained at the helm of the diocese until his death.

He is remembered for his staunch defense of human rights during the military dictatorship in Argentina and for his care for the poor. Novak also promoted the "Mass of Hope," which continues to be celebrated to this day.

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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The number of births in the United States fell by 1% in 2025, according to provisional data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There were 3,606,400 live births last year, down from 3,628,934 in 2024, the National Center for Health Statistics reported.

The general fertility rate dropped 1% to 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44, continuing a long-term decline of 23% since its 2007 peak.

The most notable decline came in teenage births, which reached another historic low. The birth rate for females ages 15–19 fell 7% to 11.7 births per 1,000 — the lowest rate ever recorded.

In total, 125,933 babies were born to teen mothers in 2025, an 8% decrease from the previous year.

Rates dropped for both younger teens (ages 15–17) and older teens (ages 18–19), with both age groups setting new record lows.

The provisional figures are based on nearly all (99.95%) birth records received and processed by the CDC as of early February. Final 2025 numbers, expected later this year, are not anticipated to change significantly.

The report reflects the ongoing gradual decline in U.S. births that has persisted for most of the past two decades, interrupted only by a modest uptick in 2024.

Experts continue to link the broader trend to factors such as abortion, biotechnology, economic pressures, and shifting social and political priorities.

"There is no single driver of declining birth rates, and yet what is undeniable is that due to anti-life technologies, economic pressures, bad policies, and cultural movements such as girl-boss feminism, more and more women are delaying or forgoing children," said Emma Waters, a senior policy analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation.

"Increasingly, it is women without a college degree who are opting out of children, in part because it feels like a luxury or elite enterprise to get married and have kids, and sadly our elite class only continues to fuel this lie," she said.

Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, also expressed concern about the broader trend.

"The continuing decline in birth rates in the U.S. is very worrisome," Mosher said. "We seem to be going the way of Old Europe, that is, entering an extended period of low fertility that puts us, as a country, in danger of entering into an irrecoverable demographic decline."

He pointed to multiple possible factors, including "the increasingly widespread use of the abortion pill" and high numbers of abortions reported by Planned Parenthood.

According to the group's 2024-2025 annual report, Planned Parenthood performed an all-time high of 434,450 abortions in 2023-2024.

The record number of abortions is an 8% increase, or about 32,000 more abortions, from the previous year. The number does not include telehealth chemical abortions, which are a growing percentage of all abortions, especially for teenagers and young adults.

A recent report, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, found that young adults (ages 18–24) order abortion medication at much higher rates than older adults and that more teenagers order abortion pills in states with parental notification or consent laws around abortion.

The report found a "growing demand among adolescents and young adults in legally constrained environments."

Mosher also attributed part of the decline in births to stricter immigration enforcement.

"Another part of the decline is surely related to the now-closed border and the crackdown on 'birth tourism,' which means that fewer and fewer babies [of foreign-born parents] are being born in the U.S.," he said. "Ten percent of all births in the U.S. in 2024 were to illegal aliens, a percentage that is undoubtedly lower in 2025 as deportations and remigration reduce their numbers."

The CDC also found that the cesarean delivery rate rose slightly to 32.5%, the highest since 2013, while the preterm birth rate held steady at 10.41%. Early preterm births (less than 34 weeks) saw a small 1% decline.

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As the United States enters negotiations with Iran during a two-week ceasefire, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan is urging President Donald Trump to help facilitate humanitarian aid to the people in Lebanon.

Zaidan, a native of Lebanon and chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, issued a statement on April 9 conveying his gratitude for the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire but also expressing his concerns about Lebanon, which he says the agreement does not cover.

Shortly after the ceasefire, Israel launched its deadliest attack on Lebanon since the start of the war, killing more than 300 people, according to the Associated Press. The attack outraged Iran, with officials claiming Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. American officials asserted Lebanon's inclusion was never promised.

"I am grateful for the ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran, and pray for all sides to engage in effective dialogue to end this devastating war," Zaidan said in his statement. "I am disappointed, however, to learn that the agreement does not cover Lebanon, and thus falls short of encompassing the entire region where the conflict has been raging."

On April 9, Lebanese and Israeli officials both expressed an interest in beginning peace talks.

Zaidan acknowledged the Israeli people "have the right to live in peace," as do "the innocent Lebanese civilians who are currently suffering from lack of food, medical supplies, and from paralyzing fear."

"Distressingly, over 1 million people, including 370,000 children, have been displaced by the fighting in what is becoming one of Lebanon's most acute internal displacement crises in recent history," he said.

As EWTN News previously reported, several Catholic organizations are operating in Lebanon seeking to provide shelter, food, medical services, and other forms of aid to people harmed or displaced by the conflict. This week, a Vatican humanitarian convoy in southern Lebanon was forced to turn back after it was caught in the crossfire between Hezbollah and Israel.

Father Pierre al-Rahi, a Catholic priest, was killed in Israeli strikes in late March. Some Catholic communities in southern Lebanon were ordered to evacuate, but some have refused to leave the war zone out of fear their land and homes could be permanently occupied. The majority of southern Lebanon is Shia Muslim, but it has pockets of Catholic, Sunni, and religiously mixed communities.

In total, more than 1,700 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 5,500 have been injured.

"As the United States seeks a negotiated end to the war in Iran, I call on President Trump and the international community to ensure that the people of Lebanon receive greater access to humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies, especially in the south," Zaidan said in his statement.

For a long-term peace, Zaidan said "it is imperative that all parties work toward the full and immediate disarming of Hezbollah," which is an Iranian-backed Shia militant group operating throughout southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah joined the war against Israel following the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, prompting Israel to fire rockets and launch ground incursions in Lebanon.

The Lebanese government has sought to disarm Hezbollah previously and attempts to disarm them are part of the Lebanon-Israel peace negotiations.

Zaidan also called for "the implementation of the U.N. resolutions concerning Lebanon," adding that "hopefully, after that, the governments of Israel and Lebanon can sign an agreement for lasting peace."

The bishop quoted Pope Leo XIV's Easter message, in which the Holy Father said: "May you, in the midst of feelings of pain, anxiety, and mourning, come to know in your hearts a deeper joy: Jesus has gloriously triumphed over death. It is a joy that comes from heaven and that nothing can take away."

"May Our Lady of Lebanon, Queen of Peace, pray for her children in Lebanon and for the peace of the entire world," Zaidan concluded.

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A Vatican humanitarian convoy carrying the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, was forced to turn back Tuesday, April 7, after becoming trapped in heavy crossfire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

"The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel was intense. We waited a long time three kilometers from the village while hearing gunfire and explosions, but we could not continue and had to suspend the mission," Monsignor Hugues de Woillemont, general director of l'Oeuvre d'Orient, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

De Woillemont traveled to Lebanon as a representative of the French Catholic aid organization and of the Church in France "to celebrate Easter, to show support and friendship, and also to thank Christians for their witness."

Although the convoy was under the protection of soldiers from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, he said "security conditions were not sufficient for us to carry out our visit or deliver the aid, which was a great disappointment for the Christians we wanted to visit."

The aid was headed to Debel, a village just over a mile from the southern border with Israel in the Maronite Diocese of Tyre, where nearly 10,000 Christians live in about 20 parishes.

Residents there remain under an evacuation order issued by the Israeli army, but many Lebanese Christians have chosen to stay in their homes.

"That is why we wanted to bring a truck of humanitarian aid and, above all, to show our friendship and closeness to the Christians there," De Woillemont said.

The region south of the Litani River makes up about 15% of Lebanese territory. Christian communities there are trying to remain in their villages despite the threat of Israeli annexation, and their situation reflects the long-standing vulnerability of Lebanon's Maronite Christians, who often bear some of the conflict's heaviest consequences.

L'Oeuvre d'Orient has distributed tons of humanitarian aid throughout Lebanon, but De Woillemont said the group, like other humanitarian and religious organizations, is reaching its limits.

"The situation is untenable," he said.

The convoy he joined was the seventh sent to villages in southern Lebanon.

"We are determined to return as soon as conditions allow," he said, while praising the courage and resilience of Christians in the land once walked by Christ.

On Wednesday, De Woillemont was able to visit three other villages with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai, where they delivered 30 tons of humanitarian assistance — mainly food and hygiene kits — without incident.

"We were able to show our support and admiration for those who remain in their homes," he said.

"For us it was a moment to measure up close the restrictions and dangers they — the living stones — experience every day," he added after spending another night listening to the sound of detonations.

He said that in recent hours, the fall of about 100 Israeli projectiles in just 10 minutes overwhelmed hospitals and makeshift shelters.

"Recent Israeli bombings have affected more than 100 cities, causing more than 100 deaths and 800 injuries, including in Beirut. The situation is terrible and requires urgent help," De Woillemont said, lamenting that the ceasefire with Iran does not apply to Lebanon.

Lebanon is also facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with 1.2 million internally displaced persons — about 20% of the country's population of 5.5 million.

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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Planned Parenthood performed an all-time high of 434,450 abortions of unborn babies in 2023-2024, according to the organization's annual report.

Almost half of Planned Parenthood's revenue came from taxpayer dollars, even as abortion services increased and other services dwindled, according to the group's 2024-2025 annual report. Notably, Planned Parenthood also registered a net loss of revenue for the first time in recent years.

In response to the report, advocates for unborn children are renewing their call to permanently defund Planned Parenthood.

Abortion a priority for Planned Parenthood

The all-time high abortion count is an 8% increase from the previous year, about 32,000 more abortions than the previous year. The number does not include telehealth chemical abortions, which are a growing percentage of all abortions.

Planned Parenthood's other services like preventative care, pap tests, and cancer screenings all decreased from the previous year, continuing a decade-long trend, according to a report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research and education group that advocates for unborn children and mothers.

The recent annual report is "consistent with long-term trends," Michael New, a Charlotte Lozier Institute scholar and Catholic University of America assistant professor, told EWTN News.

"During the past 10 years, the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood has increased by over 34%," New said. "Meanwhile, cancer screenings fell by more than 42% and prenatal services declined by more than 55% during the same time period."

"They perform nearly 40% of the abortions that take place in the United States," New added. "Abortion is a very large revenue source for them so it is unsurprising they prioritize abortions while cutting back on some health care services."

Tessa Cox, another senior research associate at the institute, noted that "over the past decade, abortions, government funding, and total revenue soared, even as the number of clients served has declined and total services have stagnated."

Dr. Christina Francis, who heads the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that "an organization that touts death as health care and a main driver of their services can hardly be expected to be taken seriously as a health care provider."

"With each annual report, Planned Parenthood proves it's more concerned with planning abortions than promoting the beauty and strength of motherhood," Francis told EWTN News.

Advocacy goals: Defunding Planned Parenthood

In spite of the decline in other services, more taxpayer funding continues to go to Planned Parenthood.

In 2023-2024, the abortion provider received more than $830 million in government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements — about $40 million more than the previous year. This was a 50% increase from 2014, or 10% when adjusted for inflation.

New noted that "Planned Parenthood is heavily dependent on taxpayer funding."

"It is unsurprising that after they were made ineligible for federal Medicaid money starting in fiscal 2026, approximately 50 Planned Parenthood facilities ceased operations," New noted.

Advocates for unborn children agree: Defunding Planned Parenthood is a priority, especially in light of the report.

"Defunding Planned Parenthood remains an important policy goal for pro-lifers," New said.

Though the movement to defund Planned Parenthood saw some success last year, President Donald Trump's budget only defunds abortion providers for one year.

"Pro-lifers should encourage President Trump and congressional Republicans to pass a 2027 budget that prevents Planned Parenthood from receiving federal Medicaid dollars," New continued. "That said, cutting funding to Planned Parenthood may not have a large impact on the incidence of abortion in the short term due the increasing prevalence of telehealth abortions."

Noah Brandt, a spokesman for Live Action, a human rights group that advocates for unborn children, said that "32,000 more innocent children were killed than the year before."

"These tragic numbers show exactly why we can't settle for a one-year pause of the abortion giant's federal funding, which expires on July 4, 2026," Brandt told EWTN News.

"Congress needs to extend the defund and make it permanent to shut down the flow of public dollars to an organization that's killing nearly half a million American children every year," he continued.

Francis noted the importance of cultural change and legal safeguards for chemical abortion pills.

"The pro-life movement has two battles: fighting the anti-motherhood narrative that's infected American society and the abortion pill epidemic flooding the internet thanks to the Biden administration's reckless policies and the Trump administration's unwillingness to restore safeguards for abortion drugs," Francis said.

Cox added that "women deserve better alternatives," noting that these alternatives "outnumber Planned Parenthoods by 15 to 1 nationwide."

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

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U.S. officials are continuing to defend ongoing military actions in the Middle East amid criticism from top Catholic leaders around the world and after media reports that the Pentagon demanded the Vatican throw its support behind its ongoing military maneuvers.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin this week stressed the need for "more voices of peace, more voices against the madness of the rush toward rearmament" after several weeks of U.S.-led strikes against Iran have reportedly resulted in thousands of casualties and have raised the specter of a sustained global war.

The two countries agreed to a temporary ceasefire on April 7 while negotiations play out, but the agreement has been marred by subsequent Israeli strikes in Lebanon as well as disputes over Iran's reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route whose closure upended global markets and sent oil prices skyward.

Before the ceasefire, U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened the annihilation of the "whole civilization" of Iran if the country failed to accept U.S. terms — a vow that drew an explicit rebuke from Pope Leo XIV.

"Attacks on civilian infrastructure [are] against international law [and are] also a sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction that the human being is capable of," the pope said after Trump's threat. "We all want to work for peace. People want peace."

"I would invite citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen, to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war," the Holy Father said.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Paul Coakley also condemned the threat, arguing on April 7 that such rhetoric "cannot be morally justified."

Coakley at the time "call[ed] on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost."

'A victory for the United States of America'

Amid rebukes from Catholic leaders around the world, U.S. leadership has celebrated both the military action and the ceasefire that came after Trump's apparent willingness to destroy Iran, a threat that critics said pointed to the potential deaths of millions of civilians.

In a release on April 8 after the ceasefire was announced, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the ongoing actions in Iran a "decisive military victory."

"President Trump forged this moment," Hegseth said. "Iran begged for this ceasefire — and we all know it."

The terms of the ceasefire are themselves in dispute, leaving open the question of whether military action will resume before the two-week window expires.

Iran has argued that the Israeli strikes in Lebanon violated the agreement. The U.S. government, meanwhile, said Iran agreed to reopen the critical Hormuz Strait amid ongoing peace negotiations, but United Arab Emirates industry minister Sultan Al Jaber said on April 9 that the strait has not been fully reopened.

Still, U.S. officials have continued to boast of the success of the mission. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said on April 8 that coalition forces "achieved the military objectives" they set out to accomplish in Iran, including the destruction of much of Iran's military forces.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt similarly called the campaign "a victory for the United States of America," one that "the president and our incredible military made happen."

The putative victories after sharp criticism from Catholic leadership come as tensions between the U.S. and the Vatican appear to be strained.

Disputed report

On April 6 the Free Press reported that the government in January summoned then-Apostolic Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre to the Pentagon, allegedly delivering to the diplomat a "bitter lecture" demanding that the Holy See "take [the United States'] side" in global military conflicts.

An official with the Department of Defense told EWTN News in a statement on April 9 that the Free Press report was "highly exaggerated and distorted."

"The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion," the statement said. "We have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See."

The apostolic nunciature in the United States of America on April 9 also confirmed the meeting, saying in a statement that Pierre visited the Pentagon on Jan. 22 and that the cardinal "discussed current affairs" with U.S. officials.

"Meetings with government officials are a standard practice for the nuncio, who serves as the Holy See's ambassador to the United States," the nunciature said. "The apostolic nunciature is grateful for the opportunities to meet and dialogue with government officials and others in Washington to discuss areas of mutual concern."

Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, likewise wrote on X on April 9 that Pierre told him the reports of a "bitter" meeting were "fabrications" that were "just invented."

"It was a frank and cordial meeting," Pierre said, according to Burch.

The Department of Defense's rapid response team similarly wrote on X on April 9 that the report was "grossly false and distorted." The account also shared images of the meeting between Pierre and government officials.

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Vice President JD Vance, himself a Catholic, was asked about the report on April 8 while in Hungary. He told media he would "like to talk to Cardinal Christophe Pierre and, frankly, to our people, to figure out what actually happened."

"I think it's always a bad idea to offer an opinion on stories that are unconfirmed and uncorroborated, so I'm not going to do that," the vice president said at the time.

Pierre retired in March; Pope Leo XIV subsequently appointed Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia to replace him. Caccia has thus far been silent about the Iran conflict, though in the recent past he has been an open critic of war and an outspoken proponent of peace.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, he told the United Nations Security Council in October 2023 that war "is always a defeat," and he lamented the "lasting end to the cycle of violence that has engulfed" the Holy Land.

U.S. leaders have justified the Iranian conflict by alleging that the Middle Eastern country represents a threat to the U.S. and to global peace. Ahead of the ceasefire, Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that Iran was "violating every law known" by allegedly striking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

He described the country as "a regime that doesn't believe in laws or rules or anything like that."

Parolin, meanwhile, this week called for "more voices raised in favor of our poorest brothers and sisters" and urged the Catholic world — including Catholic universities — to seek out "new economic models inspired by justice."

"I am struck by how much determination ... with which the military option is presented as decisive, almost inevitable," the cardinal said.

This story was updated at 2:50 p.m. ET on April 9, 2026, with remarks from U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch and the Department of Defense's rapid response X account.

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Indiana's five bishops are urging Catholics to adopt an integral "faith-filled" approach to the challenge of caring for both creation and the poor.

"The social, economic, and political reality of human life and poverty is not disconnected from environmental issues concerning polluted air, water, and land, decreasing biodiversity, and habitat destruction," the Indiana Catholic Conference of Bishops wrote in a pastoral letter released April 8.

"Human ecology and natural ecology are united in what Pope Francis called 'integral ecology,'" the prelates said.

The pastoral letter, signed by Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop Robert McClory of Gary, Bishop Timothy Doherty of Lafayette, and Bishop Joseph Siegel of Evansville, was written during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, according to a press release from the bishops.

The prelates emphasized "Christian hope" amid ecological and societal challenges and called the faithful "to live Eucharistic lives as we care for both our human community and for God's good world."

They explained that integral ecology "recognizes that we are both ecological citizens and ecclesiological citizens. We belong to the earth and to the Church."

The letter encourages sustainable farming, enhanced development of renewable energy sources, and care for the state's water sources.

The Indiana faith leaders highlighted farming as "a vocation from God to feed the human community," noting that "our state is an agricultural leader in that regard." They called for the prioritization of "safe, affordable, and sustainable food supply" that "treats people, land, and animals in accord with their God-given way of being."

"At the core of the ecological and social crises is a human heart enclosed in upon itself, alienated from God, our neighbor, and creation," the bishops said. "The Sacred Heart of Jesus seeks to draw each human heart into communion with himself and through him into communion with the Trinity."

Beyond care of creation and the poor, the bishops encouraged Catholics to seek healing in relationships with God, oneself, and each other by restoring commitment to observing the sabbath, unplugging from the virtual world, and seeking encounter with each other and creation.

They further suggested that the faithful could take up gardening in order to become closer to God's world.

"Biblically, our human life originated in the Garden of Eden, a paradise of holy and just relationships among God, ourselves, and creation," the bishops said.

"Gardening is a way of life that requires humility, attentiveness, gratitude, and faithful obedience to cooperate with the ways of soil and plants."

Cardinal Michael Czerny, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, praised the bishops' letter in a separate message.

He called the letter a "thoughtful contribution to the Church's ongoing reflection on the relationship between integral human development and care for creation."

Czerny urged Catholics in Indiana to "continue fostering reflection and action regarding integral ecology in an attentive and balanced manner."

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As a ceasefire between the United States and Iran tentatively remains in place, President Donald Trump's rhetoric has sparked concerns from Catholic moral theologians about the safety of civilian populations if fighting resumes.

Trump announced a ceasefire agreement on April 7, hours after threatening the annihilation of the "whole civilization" of Iran if the country did not agree to U.S. terms.

Plans to destroy Iran's infrastructure by striking power plants and bridges were paused for two weeks. Yet disputes about the ceasefire's terms and the starting point of negotiations quickly raised tensions again.

William Newton, chair of the theology department at Franciscan University of Steubenville, told EWTN News: "It always seems best to sort out disputes by talking rather than fighting when this is possible."

He urged prayers "that a real peace can be established that makes the world safer and the people of Iran better off."

Joseph Capizzi, dean and ordinary professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News he is "glad" the ceasefire is in place and believes pushback against the war prompted it.

Taylor Patrick O'Neill, a theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College, told EWTN News the ceasefire is "a cause for hope" but "still far from lasting peace."

He urged both sides to negotiate "in the spirit of using force as an absolutely last resort."

Peaceful intention

On April 8, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, a Catholic, told reporters that Trump's threat to destroy the Iranian civilization "was not an empty threat by any means." The Pentagon, she said, had a list of targets if a deal was not reached.

When asked about the morality of the threats, Leavitt said it was "insulting" to suggest Iran had a moral high ground. She accused Iran of "atrocities" against Americans and the military.

Catholic doctrine recognizes war can be justified under some circumstances. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, war is justified only to confront grave evil, and even then its harm must not exceed the evil it seeks to end and there must be a real chance of success, with all alternatives to war exhausted.

St. Augustine — the architect of just war doctrine — wrote to the Roman general Boniface: "Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that God may by it deliver men from the necessity and preserve them in peace."

Augustine, writing in A.D. 418, told the general that "even in waging war, cherish the spirit of a peacemaker." The theologian cited Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:9: "Blessed are the peacemakers."

Capizzi said Trump's rhetoric "is utterly alien to a peaceful intention" and, even if war is justified, "the intention of war must always be peace."

"We Catholics do not pray to be merciless," he said. "We do not invoke God in vengeance against our enemies. When we pray to God for victory, Catholics do so with humility and a desire for peace, a peace that ought to include our enemies whom Our Lord taught us to love."

Capizzi said the notion that power plants are "dual use" because it "fuels both civilian homes and military arms production factors" does not make it a legitimate military target.

"There's significant gray area in this, but the idea is to limit the conduct of war to legitimate military targets and reduce the expansion of war in ways that increase civilian suffering," he said.

O'Neill said it is not intrinsically evil to destroy a power plant or bridge, but the question must be: "Why are we striking it?"

Military officials, he said, must also ask: "How do the proportion of innocent deaths caused (directly and indirectly, with a bridge out of service in the coming weeks) by the strike compare to the good sought?"

He said Trump's rhetoric shows "the intention and the means employed to achieve the fruition of those intentions." He argued Trump's intentions "explicitly and directly threaten mass casualty strikes that make no determination between combatant and noncombatant."

Trump's remarks "border on the genocidal," he argued.

"What the Church provides is a clear moral reasoning for making difficult judgments about how to defend yourself and your nation justly," O'Neill said. "These comments are more or less a rejection of any kind of moral reasoning beyond 'win at all costs.' Under no circumstances is it just to attempt to wipe a nation off of the face of the earth."

According to Newton, distinguishing between military and civilian targets can be complex, but he offered his opinion that "a proper military target is one which is proximately ordered towards a military goal. By this I mean that the facility exists — or exists in the mode it currently does — because of military needs."

To determine morality, Newton said, it "is not merely what you do but why you do it" and "something can be evil on account of either or both these elements."

He said the president's threats to destroy Iran "imply targeting elements of the country which go way beyond military targets and would be immoral," but he added the caveat that "not knowing the intention means we cannot really interpret these [words] accurately."

Principle of double effect

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that a moral act requires "a good intention," but a good intention does not justify an intrinsically evil act. A bad intention always "makes an act evil," it states.

St. Thomas Aquinas explains in the "Summa Theologica" that some acts can have several effects — some good and some bad. If the act itself is morally neutral, the act can be justified only if the good result is intended, and the bad consequence is unintended.

Capizzi said the principle of double effect often applies to war because hitting a legitimate target can result in hitting something that is not legitimate. When necessary, it may be moral to accept "collateral damage" as a secondary, unintended effect, he said.

"The proportionality of military actions is always important," he said. "The bad secondary effects should not outweigh the good associated with the act. Again, the general idea is that war should be borne by combatants to the war and not be civilians."

Yet because bad intentions and intrinsically immoral acts cannot be justified, Capizzi said "the intentional targeting of the innocent is never permissible, no matter how much good might come of it."

O'Neill said this applies in the context of civilian infrastructure, noting the justification cannot just be "Does this harm the Iranian military?" and "Will this help us win the war?"

He said Trump must consider proportionality and cannot actively will the harm to civilians.

"If part of your decision to blow up a power plant is to cause suffering to the civilian population that depends upon it so that they are more likely to organize a coup, you are seeking a good effect through the evil means of civilian suffering," he said.

Newton also noted the importance of proportionality: "One does need to make a prudential judgment concerning whether the good that one is seeking is really sufficiently good to tolerate the unintended but foreseen negative outcomes."

He noted any intention to harm civilians "does not square with the principle of double effect" and expressed concern that Trump's comments "are at least in danger of giving the impression that the approach taken to seeking the military defeat of the enemy is the demoralization of the population as a whole."

"I'm not saying that this is the only way to interpret those statements but they are statements which definitely open up the possibility of an interpretation which is not compatible with the principle of double effect," Newton said.

Iranian and American officials, including Vice President JD Vance, are scheduled to meet in Pakistan this weekend to negotiate long-term peace. Lebanese and Israeli officials have both expressed interest in peace talks as well.

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Christians are called to live the Easter message of peace, especially during times of war and violence, said a Comboni missionary priest once kidnapped in Uganda.

"On the very day of Jesus' resurrection, on Easter day, Jesus appeared to the apostles [and] the message he delivered to them was, 'Peace to you!'" Father Giulio Albanese, MCCJ, said in an exclusive interview with EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato.

"Peace, from a Christian perspective, is not simply a wish, it's a gift, and we must be aware that this is our vocation, to bring peace to the world. What is shameful is that nowadays we are doing exactly the opposite," he said.

Albanese, who was kidnapped in northern Uganda by armed rebels in 2002 and witnessed several atrocities of war firsthand, said today's Christians cannot turn a blind eye to people's sufferings.

"We have to be aware that we are living in a society, at an international level, where there are many, many contradictions," he said.

"There are many innocent people who are slaughtered out of human selfishness. Look at what is taking place in Iran, in the Middle East, in Africa," he continued.

In order to address the obstacles to peace, Albanese said it is necessary for Christians to undergo a conversion and to take Jesus' Easter message of peace to heart.

"During Easter day and even in the following days we have to pray for peace because if there is a lack of peace in the world it's because our Christianity has become meaningless," he said.

After witnessing the violent killings of a woman and her young children in Uganda, Albanese shared with Di Donato how his faith in the risen Jesus was put to the test.

"I must be sincere, in that very moment, I started screaming against the Lord, I said, 'Lord where are you? Why are you allowing innocent people [to be] killed like that in that way? Why do they have to suffer in such a way? Lord have you forgotten us? Have you forgotten these people?" he said.

But it was through the help of an elderly priest that Albanese was able to sense the presence of God, when he was told: "You should ask yourself where is man, not where is God."

Describing his heartfelt conversion as a "story of resurrection," the Comboni missionary said these days of Easter can help Christians renew their commitment to work toward peace.

"We have to believe that our life is in the hands of God," he said. "The Lord is faithful, and in the very moment you live an experience like this you understand also the significance of life."

During Holy Week, Pope Leo XIV made several pleas to world leaders to bring all conflict and violence to an end.

Describing Jesus Christ as the "King of Peace" during the Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father said God does not listen to those who "wage war."

"Just as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord's passion, we cannot forget those who today are truly sharing in his suffering," he said in his March 29 homily.

On Easter Sunday, the pope renewed his prayerful petition for peace during his "urbi et orbi" blessing delivered from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.

"The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons but the peace that touches and transforms the heart of each one of us!" he said. "Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the peace of Christ! Let us make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts!"

Pope Leo will preside over a prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter's Basilica on April 11.

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The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic on April 1 found that parts of a treaty between the Czech Republic and the Holy See are inconsistent with the Czech constitution and therefore cannot be ratified.

"We disagree with the decision of the majority of judges at the Constitutional Court but accept it," the Czech Bishops' Conference wrote in a press release. The episcopate finds it "positive that the court did not reject the idea of the existence of a treaty with the Holy See but only limited itself to partial passages."

The agreement on certain legal issues was signed in 2024 by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and then-Prime Minister Petr Fiala. It was later approved by both chambers of the country's Parliament and was submitted to the president of the country for ratification.

However, a group of senators filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, which on April 1 stated that two parts of the accord are problematic.

The ruling says that the concordat would "give Catholic Church legal entities a powerful tool to prevent their documents (archive materials) from being made available." Church archives are important sources of cultural wealth and history, but the accord would "exempt Catholic churches from the obligation to respect the Archives Act, which would, however, continue to apply to all other churches," the court explained.

The second objection deals with the seal of confession, which would be enacted without any exceptions and would be "a clear violation of the neutrality of the state and the principle of equal treatment of different churches."

Each side of the treaty understood it differently, the ruling observed, adding that the seal of confession would be more protected than professional secrecy.

Dissenting opinions

Three out of 15 judges of the Constitutional Court presented a different position, arguing the court did not deal with an important part of the legal file presented by senators, such as objections to "the alleged privilege of the Catholic Church in the provision of pastoral care in various types of institutions and facilities."

However, they admitted that "the Holy See is a subject of international law, which the Czech Republic has recognized," and so it is "undoubtedly an objective reason for the different treatment of the Catholic Church in various issues." They further argued that the two problematic passages in the majority decision are not in conflict with the constitution.

Another two judges presented a different position each. One of them, Judge Tomáš Langášek, argued that "the dissenting opinions show that it was possible to adopt a rational interpretation of the concordat in good faith that would not in any way conflict with the constitutional order."

He said he considers the decision "a paradigmatic change in the role and function of the constitutional judiciary." The Constitutional Court opposed the intention of the Parliament "to take on an international legal obligation to maintain" the already existing and "legally guaranteed standard of protection of fundamental religious rights and freedoms in [the] future," Langášek opined.

"The court's concern for equal treatment among churches and religious communities is only a proxy problem," the constitutional judge added.

'A legal defeat for people who consider religious freedom an important value'

"It is a political victory for some, and a legal defeat for people, believers and nonbelievers, who consider religious freedom an important value," commented Jakub Kríž, a lawyer who teaches at the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague.

At the same time, he said he believes "the absence of a concordat is not a tragedy" either for religious freedom or "for Catholics who, after all, always benefit the most when the state does not get along with them."

The proposal "would have had no chance of success if" Czech President Petr Pavel "had not intervened and introduced new arguments," for example suggesting that "the agreement contradicts the sovereignty of the state and its secular and republican character," the scholar underscored.

The negotiated agreement was "poor in content, innocent, almost devoid of substance," and the Czech side did not try to "negotiate anything beyond what is already in force today," Kríž said, adding that it had "more a symbolic" value.

'A big disappointment'

The decision was a "big disappointment" and "a very unfortunate event," lamented Father Jirí Rajmund Tretera, a Dominican and professor of canon law at the Faculty of Law of Charles University.

On the seal of confession, there would be "no change to the current situation," as all believers "were guaranteed that the current legal provisions" regarding "confessional secrecy could not be so easily eliminated" if a religion-averse group "came to power in our democratic state," the priest said.

Tretera also said he believes the Constitutional Court committed "an unintentional attack against the ecumenical movement." It argued that the proposed agreement "was not in accordance with the principle of equality of all churches," yet "this is in conflict with the reality commonly recognized in non-Catholic churches."

Kríž clarified that "non-Catholic churches did not" oppose the treaty, and "many even welcomed it, seeing its role as a stabilizer of guarantees of religious freedom."

The only way to proceed is "to start negotiations from the beginning," as this is not "a bill where a sentence can be deleted," the lawyer warned.

Yet he said he is skeptical that the Holy See would risk another "embarrassment," as "the Czech Republic showed to be a rather unreliable international partner."

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