Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Pope Francis greets His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales at the canonization of St. John Henry Newman at the Vatican on Oct. 13, 2019. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2025 / 18:35 pm (CNA).

King Charles and Queen Camilla postponed their visit to the Vatican at the advice of Pope Francis’ doctors, who say the Holy Father needs more rest time following his recent illness. 

The royal couple was set to visit the Vatican in early April to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee but announced the postponement of their visit on Tuesday due to Pope Francis’ health. Their audience with Pope Francis, now canceled, would have been on April 8. 

The postponement was mutual, according to a March 25 statement from Buckingham Palace.

“The king and queen’s state visit to the Holy See has been postponed by mutual agreement, as medical advice has now suggested that Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation,” read a post on X by the royal family.

The royal family also shared their good wishes for Pope Francis’ recovery.  

“Their majesties send the pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in the Holy See once he has recovered,” the statement continued.

Pope Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis. More than a month later, he was discharged from the hospital, making his first public appearance in 38 days this past Sunday. 

The initial visit, according to the palace, was designed to “mark a significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England.”

The visit would have included an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel focused on the theme “Care for Creation.”

As part of the visit, King Charles was also set to visit the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, “with which English kings had a particular link until the Reformation,” according to the palace press release.

King Charles would have also met with a reception of British seminarians, while Queen Camilla had been set to meet with Catholic religious sisters from the International Union of Superiors General, which highlights girls’ education, health care access, and prevention of human trafficking. 

The royal couple will go ahead with the other components of their April state visit to Italy.

Zachary Liberto, 30, was arrested March 22, 2025, and charged with commissioning an act of terrorism for allegedly sending an email to a member of the staff at St. Louis Catholic Church in Memphis, Tennessee, expressing his intent to “butcher” Catholics with a machete. / Credit: Shelby County Sheriff’s Office

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) last week arrested a 30-year-old man who is accused of sending a threatening email to a local Catholic parish expressing his intent to “butcher” Catholics with a machete.

Zachary Liberto, who lives in Memphis, was charged with commissioning an act of terrorism for allegedly sending the email to a member of the staff at St. Louis Catholic Church, which is on the eastern side of the city. If convicted, he could face between 15 and 60 years in prison.

According to a police report provided to CNA, Liberto is accused of sending an email to the parish’s music director on March 20 containing the threat against parishioners.

Liberto had reportedly requested video footage of an unrelated incident as part of the threat. “I need a video of [the unnamed person] getting slapped by you in 24 hours before I butcher people in that church with a machete,” the email sent to the music director read, according to the MPD report.

The music director forwarded the email to the unnamed person mentioned within it, who subsequently filed a complaint with the MPD.

According to the report, the complainant said Liberto is known to have a machete, which he allegedly nicknamed “chete.” The complainant also claimed Liberto has mentioned in the past that he owns a firearm.

The person who filed the complaint told police that Liberto lives in a homeless encampment in the city. The complainant and the music director both told police that Liberto has an unknown mental illness.

According to the police report, the music director said he and Liberto had communicated by email before. It also stated that neither the music director nor the unnamed person know what prompted Liberto to allegedly send the threatening email.

The suspect has a mental evaluation hearing scheduled for the morning of April 7, according to police.

Rick Ouellette, a spokesman for the Diocese of Memphis, told CNA that the parish also found garbage placed in the baptismal font on the same day as the threatening email. Both of these incidents combined prompted the parish to alert the authorities immediately.

Ouellette said Liberto was known to some members of the parish staff and that he had come to the church before.

“Our St. Louis staff notified authorities immediately of the incident,” Ouellette added. “The parish thanks the authorities for their quick response in apprehending a suspect. The incident is also a reminder to everyone that our St. Louis parish has a solid safety and security plan in place as does our 46 parishes and 13 schools in West Tennessee.” 

Ouellette said there were not any physical or verbal confrontations between Liberto and parish staff or parishioners.

“We’re praying for everybody involved,” Ouellette added.

Pope Francis waves to the gathered faithful from the balcony at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, March 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media/Screenshot

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican Press Office reported that Pope Francis’ convalescence at St. Martha’s House, his Vatican residence where he returned after being discharged from the hospital on Sunday, continues “under the terms prescribed by the doctors at the time of his discharge from the Gemelli Hospital.”

Thus for the time being, both the general audience scheduled for this Wednesday and the Angelus on Sunday will remain suspended, and the Vatican will release the text prepared by the pontiff, as it has done during the nearly six weeks he was hospitalized in Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

Furthermore, he is not expected to meet with large groups of faithful until at least the end of May. In fact, the greatest fear of the medical team treating him for double pneumonia is that he could become infected with another virus or bacteria that could compromise his health again.

In this regard, the doctor who coordinated the Gemelli team, Sergio Alfieri, requested “everyone’s help” in a press conference on Saturday afternoon to avoid “visits and meetings” and thus speed his recovery.

At the St. Martha residence, the pontiff has a Vatican medical team available 24/7 in case of any emergency. During the day, the pope also does respiratory and motor physiotherapy exercises and continues his drug therapy.

According to the Holy See Press Office on Tuesday, Pope Francis concelebrated Mass and performed some work-related tasks that did not require much effort.

In this regard, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, assured that, for the time being, in order to be respectful of this recovery period, they will only take care of the most important matters “that require his decision, also so as not to tire him out too much.”

“I will meet with him when he has gotten situated a bit,” the prelate explained yesterday outside the conference titled “Vatican Longevity Summit: Challenging the Clock of Time.” The doctors have said he should take it easy for a while, he added.

In any case, the Vatican confirmed that this period of convalescence is different from that of hospitalization. In fact, he can receive visitors, but they should be kept to a minimum.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri answers questions from the media at a press conference regarding Pope Francis’ health on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Gemelli Hospital in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

The head of the medical team that treated Pope Francis during the 38 days he spent at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, revealed that one of the most critical moments of his hospitalization was when they had to choose between continuing the therapy or letting the pope die.

“We had to choose whether to stop and let him go, or push it and try every drug and therapy possible, running the extremely high risk of damaging other organs,” he said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.

In the interview, Alfieri described in detail the doctors’ response to the respiratory crisis suffered by the pope on Feb. 28.

According to the medical report published that day, Pope Francis suffered an isolated attack of bronchospasm, a severe coughing fit that suddenly worsened his clinical condition, after days of moderate optimism at the Vatican.

Although the pope never lost consciousness and cooperated with the specialists’ therapeutic maneuvers, the alarms went off, and doctors opted to place him on a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe.

‘I saw tears in the eyes of some people who were close to him’

“For the first time, I saw tears in the eyes of some people who were close to him. People who, I’ve come to understand during this period of hospitalization, truly love him, like a father. We were all aware that the situation had worsened further and there was a risk that he might not make it,” Alfieri explained.

However, despite the risk of causing irreversible kidney and bone marrow damage due to the medical treatment he underwent, they decided to act. “We really thought we wouldn’t make it,” he said.

It was a difficult decision, as Alfieri recounted, ultimately supported by the decision of the pope himself, who, through his personal health assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal nurse at the Vatican, gave a clear order: “‘Try everything, let’s not give up.’ And no one gave up.”

In the end, Pope Francis responded to the treatment. However, after his recovery, there was another moment of intense concern.

While eating, the pope suffered an episode of vomiting, and the gastric juices ended up entering his lungs.

“We were just coming out of the toughest period, and while eating, Pope Francis vomited and inhaled it. That was the second truly critical moment because, in these cases, if you don’t act quickly, there’s a risk of sudden death, in addition to complications in the lungs, which were already the most compromised organs,” Alfieri related.

He might not survive the night

The doctor explained that, despite the seriousness of the situation, Pope Francis was always fully aware, “even when his condition worsened.”

“He was aware, like us, that he might not survive the night,” the doctor stated.

He added: “We saw the man who was suffering. However, from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth and wanted us to tell the truth about his condition.”

In this regard, the director of the medical-surgical department at Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital expressed the desire for transparency that prompted the Vatican to report on Pope Francis’ health.

“We communicated the medical information to the secretaries, and they added other information that the pope later approved. Nothing has ever been modified or omitted,” he noted.

The power of prayer

In the interview, Alfieri also highlighted the pope’s incredible strength, both physical and mental: “In the past, when we spoke, I would ask him how he managed to keep up this pace, and he always replied, ‘I have a method and rules.’ Beyond a very strong heart, he has incredible resources.” 

In addition to the pope’s stamina, the Gemelli medical coordinator added that the prayers offered by faithful around the world in recent days also contributed to his recovery.

“There is a scientific publication that says prayer strengthens the sick. In this case, the whole world began to pray. I can say that twice the situation was lost, and then it happened like a miracle. Of course, he was a very cooperative patient. He underwent all the therapies without ever complaining,” he stated.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Rody Sher, editor-in-chief of ACI MENA, speaks on the second anniversary of ACI MENA in 2024 at the Catholic University in Erbil, Iraq, where the agency is based. This year marks three years since ACI MENA began its mssion to report on the Church and the lives of Christians in the Middle East. / Credit: ACI MENA

ACI MENA, Mar 25, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

March 25 marks the third anniversary of ACI MENA, the Association for Catholic Information in the Middle East and Northern Africa, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

A service of EWTN News, ACI MENA was established in 2022 and currently operates from the Catholic University in Erbil, a city in northern Iraq. 

Since its founding, ACI MENA has established itself as a trusted news source, committed to shedding light on the struggles of Middle Eastern Christians. In a short time, the news agency has become their voice, highlighting their resilience, creativity, and determination, showcasing their rich religious and cultural heritages.

Gaza, where Christians weep twice

Last year was marked by dramatic events across the region, and ACI MENA provided in-depth coverage of the suffering of Christians in Gaza and the Holy Land. The agency drew attention to the prayers of the Church and its faithful for peace and their unwavering hope, despite the devastating toll of war. It also shed light on the efforts of Catholic relief organizations to support those who remain amid a sharp decline in the Christian population.

The agency captured the moment when Gaza’s Christians breathed a sigh of relief at the announcement of the ceasefire, weeping twice — once in joy for the war’s end and once in sorrow for its victims. ACI MENA also followed Pope Francis’ continuous calls for peace and his unwavering spiritual support for the Church in Gaza, even as he battled illness.

Syria and Lebanon

ACI MENA closely followed the developments during the war in Lebanon, covering the hardships faced by Christians in the south and the Maronite Church’s firm stance advocating for the country’s neutrality in any futile war. It reported on the ceasefire agreement and later, the presidential election after years of vacancy.

In Syria, the agency documented the struggles of Christians following recent political changes, the challenges they faced, the tragedies, the massacres, and the sorrows. It also highlighted the Church’s role in searching for guarantees for its people amid unpredictable challenges.

Joint documentary

ACI MENA crowned its extensive coverage of Iraqi Christians’ resilience in their ancestral homeland with the launch of a joint documentary in collaboration with EWTN News. The documentary recounts “the suffering of Iraqi Christians, 10 years after ISIS,” and delves into the hardships they endured, their rituals, and their spiritual and educational activities. The agency shed light on the ongoing reconstruction of churches and monasteries damaged during ISIS’ occupation.

Trusted source

ACI MENA has provided extensive and accurate coverage of Vatican affairs, particularly regarding Pope Francis’ health and during his recent health setback. The agency became a credible reference for Middle Eastern Catholics seeking reliable updates on the Holy Father amid a flood of misinformation.

Beyond reporting on diocesan and monastic activities leading up to the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, the agency continues to offer spiritual and educational content, featuring interviews with clergy and laity from Eastern Catholic Churches. It also shares the biographies of saints and inspiring testimonies of faith.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Credit: Cassiohabib/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Catholic nurse practitioner Gudrun Kristofersdottir recently agreed to a settlement in a religious discrimination case against CVS, her lawyers have announced. 

Kristofersdottir initially filed a lawsuit in 2024 following her termination from a Florida CVS MinuteClinic after she refused to prescribe contraceptives or drugs that could cause abortions.

The nurse practitioner was originally granted a religious accommodation from 2014 to 2022 that allowed her to refuse to prescribe contraceptives and abortifacients.

First Liberty Institute, which represented Kristofersdottir in the suit, said that when patients sought out contraceptives from Kristofersdottir, she would simply refer them to a different provider who would prescribe the medication. 

In 2021, CVS announced it would revoke all such religious accommodations. Kristofersdottir was subsequently fired in April 2022. 

Upon filing the lawsuit, First Liberty Institute attorney Stephanie Taub described it as “illegal to issue a blanket revocation of all religious accommodations when CVS can accommodate its employees.”

“CVS is sending a message that religious health care workers are not welcome and need not apply,” Taub said at the time.

The pharmacy “could have accommodated Ms. Kristofersdottir in several ways,” the suit argued, including by “transferring her to a virtual position, a larger clinic, an education or training position, or a location specializing in COVID-19, or continuing to honor the religious accommodation that worked successfully for years.”

In her lawsuit, Kristofersdottir said she believes the teachings of the Church regarding human dignity and marriage, and therefore that “the procreative potential of intercourse may not be subverted by device or procedure.” 

“Further, Ms. Kristofersdottir believes that abortion constitutes a moral evil in violation of humanity’s obligation to protect life with the utmost care from the moment of conception,” the suit said.

On March 21, First Liberty announced a settlement between the two parties. “We are happy to announce that we were able to reach a resolution of the case,” Taub said. 

The details of the agreement have not been made public, but Taub said Kristofersdottir “is pleased with the settlement.”

This is not the only instance of a medical official suing CVS over religious accommodations. Robyn Strader, a Texas-based nurse, sued CVS in 2023 after losing her religious exemption from prescribing contraceptives or abortion-causing drugs.

Similar to Kristofersdottir, Strader also had a long-standing accommodation that was honored for more than six years before the company dismantled it. Her case was settled with CVS in 2024.

Bishop Mark Seitz speaks at a rally for immigrants and refugees at the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, on Monday, March 24, 2025. / Credit: Father Miguel Briseño, OFM

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of El Paso, Texas, held a march and vigil in solidarity with migrants and refugees in the city center on Monday evening, with Bishop Mark Seitz criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement as a “war on the poor.” 

“I am very grateful that we have come together this evening as a borderland community,” Seitz said during remarks delivered at the vigil. “How wonderful it is to have moments when we can celebrate and recommit to who we are, and to do so in the presence of God.” 

The event fell on the 45th anniversary of the killing of St. Oscar Romero, an El Salvadoran bishop who was assassinated at a hospital chapel in 1980 amid a civil war between leftist guerrillas and the right-wing government that eventually left about 75,000 dead.

“We place ourselves and our community under [Romero’s] protection this night,” said Seitz, who also serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration.

Several bishops from across the country and from Mexico and Canada attended the march and vigil, including Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, New Mexico; Bishop Emeritus Noel Simard of Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada; Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio; Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky; and Cardinal Fabio Baggio, undersecretary for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Faith leaders of various other traditions were also present.

In his remarks, Seitz reflected on what he described as Romero’s Christ-like disposition of sacrifice for his country, quoting an interview the saint gave before his death, during which he said: “If they kill me, I will rise again in the people of El Salvador. If they manage to carry out their threats, as of now, I offer my blood for the redemption of El Salvador.” 

“We are here tonight to celebrate our community. Community is an exchange of gifts, where we gift our lives to one another, for the benefit of one another; we grow together, and we bear one another’s burdens,” Seitz said. “Jesus offered his life in sacrifice for that body. Romero offered his life in sacrifice for that body.”

“When we look around the world right now, it is that sense of community for which Jesus and Romero gave their lives that is under attack,” the bishop continued. “This is what the denial of asylum and the threat of mass deportations represent. A fundamental attack on human community. On the body. On Jesus’ vision of a fully reconciled humanity.”

The bishop went on to describe the Trump administration’s border closure as a “war on the poor” and mass deportation efforts as “another tool to keep people afraid, to keep people divided, to extinguish the charity and love that keep a people alive.” 

“To my people here tonight and to all across our country who live in fear of deportation and family separation: know of our love and commitment, which like the love of Jesus, goes all the way down, to the limits. The Church stands with you in this hour of darkness,” he said. 

“And to those in a position of responsibility for our country, who steward our common good, I make this urgent plea: Stop the asylum ban! Stop the deportations!” 

Additional participating organizations and community leaders included the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande; Iglesia Delta; Trinity First United Methodist Church; Abara; Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino of the Diocese of El Paso; Ruben Garcia of Annunciation House; Melissa Lopez of Estrella del Paso; and other faith and civic leaders from El Paso.

A poster of “polysexual” flags is displayed at Upper Elementary School in North Hanover Township, New Jersey, and is plaintiff Angela Reading’s exhibit attached to the complaint of a now-federal lawsuit. / Credit: Screenshot/Thomas More Society

National Catholic Register, Mar 25, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

A New Jersey woman who complained about student-made posters with flags labeled “polysexual,” “pansexual,” “nonbinary,” and “genderqueer” at a public elementary school is suing state and federal agencies, saying they are punishing her by making it harder for her to travel by airplane. 

Angela Reading of North Hanover Township, New Jersey, said she lost her “trusted traveler status” that allowed her to avoid certain aspects of security screening at airports and that on seven domestic flights in 2023 and 2024, she was “subjected to repeated and unusual requests by TSA agents for additional identification and photographing.”

Reading, whose lawyers describe her as a devout Christian, said the agencies and certain individuals violated her First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion because she publicly opposed what she considers inappropriate material at the school. 

Her opponents say her actions undermined the safety of students and families by exposing them to what one called “right wing extremists.” 

Reading says in court papers that her problems began in November 2022 when she posted on a Facebook group page about posters she saw displayed on the wall. 

“Last night, I attended an elementary ‘Math Night.’ My 7 YO daughter, while reading posters at the school’s main entrance, asked me what ‘polysexual’ means. To say the least, I was livid,” Reading wrote in the Facebook post. “Why are elementary schools promoting/allowing elementary KIDS to research topics of sexuality and create posters? This is not in the state elementary standards (law) nor in the BOE [board of education]-approved curriculum. It’s perverse and should be illegal to expose my kids to sexual content.” 

The superintendent of schools confirmed the content in a December 2022 message to parents, saying that students made posters as part of grades 4–6 Upper Elementary School’s “Week of Respect” and that “some included content that was supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.” 

“On a couple of the posters, this included flags that were labeled for various groups like transsexual, bisexual, lesbian, pansexual, polysexual, etc., along with messages that all people were accepted at their school,” wrote Helen Payne, superintendent of North Hanover Township School District, according to court papers. 

At the time, Reading was an elected member of the Northern Burlington County Board of Education, which has oversight over a grades 7–12 regional school district that includes North Hanover Township, while her husband was an elected member of the local school board that has oversight over the elementary school. 

Both school districts include parents and children associated with a military facility known as Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Email messages included as exhibits in Reading’s complaint show that officials who work at the base contacted local and federal authorities about Reading. The first was Maj. Christopher Schilling, a member of the United States Army Reserve, who said in one online post that Reading’s Facebook posts complaining about the posters had “caused safety concerns for many families.”  

“The Joint Base Security Forces are working with multiple law enforcement agencies to monitor the situation to ensure the continued safety of the entire community,” Schilling wrote in an undated online post included among the exhibits with Reading’s complaint. 

His efforts had an effect. 

In one email message dated Nov. 30, 2022, the local police chief, Robert Duff, said he contacted the administrator of a Facebook group page with “concerns about the post” from Reading and that the administrator “respectfully removed the post from Facebook” — after, according to court papers, he told the administrator of the page “that students could die if she did not remove the post, drawing parallels to the devastating incidents at Uvalde Elementary School and the Colorado Springs nightclub,” mass shootings that occurred in May 2022 in Texas and in November 2022 in Colorado, respectively. 

The same day as the police chief’s email message, the anti-terrorism program manager of the 87th Security Forces Squadron at the military base, Joe Vazquez, sent an email message saying he was contacting “our partners with N.J. Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness as well as the N.J. State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center,” explaining:  “Both agencies’ analysts keep an eye on far-right/hate groups.”

Reading resigned from the regional school board Dec. 7, 2022, during the uproar over her online posts about the posters. Her husband also resigned from the local school board. 

In March 2023, lawyers from the Thomas More Society, a conservative public interest law firm in Chicago, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Reading in U.S. District Court in New Jersey claiming civil rights violations and naming as defendants the township, the superintendent, the police chief, six officers at the base, and a civilian U.S. Air Force employee. 

Earlier this month, on March 12, Reading’s lawyers filed an amended complaint bringing federal agencies into the case. The newly named defendants, sued in their official capacity, are U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem; Adam Stahl, the senior official performing the duties of administrator of the federal Transportation Security Administration; and Laurie Doran, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. 

The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Friday contacted spokesmen for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the federal Transportation Security Administration, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness but did not hear back by publication of this story. 

Lawyers for the other defendants — including Schelling, Vazquez, Payne, and Duff — also did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. 

The lawsuit is pending. In December 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected Reading’s request for a preliminary injunction against several government officials to prevent them from censoring her speech but found that “much of the government actors’ behavior was beyond the pale.” 

“Reading’s allegations are serious and raise important questions under the free speech clause of the First Amendment,” the panel said in its decision. “Reading expressed concern about whether her 7-year-old daughter was being exposed to sexual topics that have no place in an elementary school. Regardless of whether one agrees with Reading’s concern, the record suggests that defendants’ response to her blog post was, to put it mildly, disproportionate.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, on March 24, 2025, and has been adapted by CNA.

“Let this cross guide you as it once guided Constantine,” said Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America upon presenting President Trump with a holy cross at the White House on March 24, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of the White House/Screenshot

Seattle, Wash., Mar 25, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America kicked off this year’s Greek Independence Day event at the White House on Monday by thanking President Donald Trump for protecting Christian communities in the Middle East.

Using Emperor Constantine’s famous vision of the cross, he presented Trump with a holy cross, calling it a symbol of “divine guidance” for the nation’s leaders.

“You remind me of the great Roman Emperor Constantine, who founded and built the magnificent city of Constantinople — my birthplace, known today as Istanbul,” the archbishop said.

“Let this cross guide you as it once guided Constantine,” he added. “May it make America invincible!”

The archbishop also praised the administration’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias — a February executive order — as a big step toward religious freedom at home and abroad.

“My prayer is that this task force will help ensure the law truly protects believers, so they can practice their religion in peace.”

Trump accepted the cross and cited his executive order to end government overreach and hostility toward Christians.

“We will not tolerate the targeting or intimidation of people of faith,” he said, referencing the language that says to eliminate “any unlawful anti-Christian policies” from the previous administration. The White House directive creates a Justice Department task force to review and fix alleged anti-Christian bias.

Immediately after, Trump signed a proclamation making March 25, 2025, “Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.”

He referenced Greece’s 1821 independence from the Ottoman Empire and how Hellenic ideals have shaped Western institutions. He also highlighted Greek Americans’ contributions to American culture, business, and public life.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Greece, was in attendance and said she looks forward to deepening the partnership between Washington and Athens. “This partnership has never been more important,” she said, “and we’re going to do even more.”

“Today, we celebrate and cherish our rich history and our enduring bond, the United States and Greece,” Guilfoyle said on Instagram.

Elpidophoros concluded by noting how the democratic roots of Greece and America both support their shared commitment to freedom. He thanked the president for having faith leaders through the White House Faith Office and said the new task force is a “real commitment to upholding America’s founding principle of religious liberty.”

“Freedom, democracy, and the inalienable right of all people to practice their faith without fear — these are values shared by both our peoples,” the archbishop said in his closing remarks.

Many lawmakers, diplomats, and Greek American leaders were in attendance. The White House’s focus on Christian communities in the Middle East draws on a growing recognition of groups such as Copts (which Trump notably posted about last year), Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Maronites, whose increasingly active voting presence has captured attention in recent elections.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, speaks during a presentation of the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act, which protects pregnancy care facilities, at a March 24, 2025, press conference in the U.S. Capitol. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 25, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

U.S. Reps. Chris Smith, Claudia Tenney, and Michelle Fischbach and other pro-life leaders at a March 24 press conference at the U.S. Capitol unveiled the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act to protect pregnancy care facilities. 

Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, noted that “there are more than 2,700 pregnancy care centers throughout the United States. Each and every one of them [is] an oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and quality care for both mothers and their precious children.”

“Yet,” he continued, “state governments like my own state of New Jersey and some lawmakers seek to discriminate against pregnancy care centers by violating fundamental conscience rights to compel complicity in abortion.”

The Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2025 aims to “prohibit discrimination against entities that do not participate in abortion and to strengthen implementation and enforcement of federal conscience laws,” Smith explained. 

According to the text of the act, “the federal government and any individual or entity that receives federal financial assistance … may not penalize or retaliate against an entity because the entity offers life-affirming support and resources to women facing unexpected pregnancy, offers life-affirming alternatives to abortion, or refrains from abortion action.”

“For many women, finding out that they’re expecting comes with fear, and abortion feels like the only option, and that is exactly what the abortion industry wants those women to believe,” Fischbach said. “Crisis pregnancy centers offer women options and support.”

Fischbach highlighted how these centers help mothers, babies, and families. She said they “provide treatment, counseling, ultrasounds, parenting and prenatal education, diapers, clothing, referrals for housing and transportation, and so much more.”

“Make no mistake,” Fischbach continued, “conservatives are here for unborn babies, children, and their mothers, and we want to ensure that these mothers and their babies are supported. This bill helps to make sure that women have that opportunity.”

“The bill will also provide pregnancy care centers facing discrimination with a private right of action. I am proud to stand here today, supporting efforts to empower women with the knowledge and resources they need to choose life.”

Other pro-life leaders who work for or directly with the centers spoke to express their support for the bill and to detail the care the organizations provide. 

Jo Ann Gerling, chairwoman of the Life Choices Resource Center in Metuchen, New Jersey, shared that the organization also provides free pregnancy tests, a 24-hour hotline, breastfeeding consultations, adoption information, and abortion pill reversal information. 

It will even supply mothers with material aid including strollers, car seats, and cribs. “Whatever they need, we find it for them and we help them,” Gerling said.

Anne O’Connor, an attorney for the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), said the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act “is absolutely essential at this time in history. We must halt the targeted harassment and abuse by governmental agencies against life-affirming pregnancy centers.”

She said NIFLA represents 1,800 centers across the nation and has “been fighting government harassment for decades.”

“If their tactics are successful and pregnancy centers cease to exist, abortion would literally be the only option for women in unplanned and unsupported pregnancies,” she continued. “At community-supported nonprofit and life-affirming centers, women receive free care and any support they need so no one ever feels like abortion is their only choice.”

“So let’s just let pregnancy centers serve. It’s that simple,” O’Connor concluded.

Lisa Bourne, managing editor of Pregnancy Help News and a writer at Heartbeat International, pointed out that in 2022 pregnancy care centers “provided families with material goods and services valued at $367 million, served nearly 1 million new clients, and maintained higher than a 97% client satisfaction rate.”

“No woman should ever feel alone, coerced, or so hopeless that she ends her child’s life through abortion,” she added.

“By ensuring these organizations are protected from coercive mandates and legal threats, the Let Pregnancy Center Serve Act of 2025 empowers them to continue offering compassionate care to women and families in need at no cost,” Bourne continued.

“We urge policymakers to stand for a true choice by prioritizing and passing this legislation to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of life-affirming pregnancy health services,” she concluded.