Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro is the new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. / Credit: ACI Stampa

National Catholic Register, May 27, 2025 / 19:06 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed as head of the Vatican’s bioethics think tank Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, the longtime deputy of its outgoing president, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, signaling a desire to continue the course set under Pope Francis.

Until his appointment on Tuesday, Pegoraro, 65, had served since 2011 as chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, acting as a close aide to Paglia throughout his turbulent term as president, which was marked by the appointments of pro-abortion members and problematic statements regarding assisted suicide and contraception. Paglia is retiring after turning 80.

Dr. Thomas Ward, who is founder of the U.K.’s National Association of Catholic Families, expressed concern about the appointment, saying he never recalled Pegoraro “disassociating himself from any of the egregious positions and comments of Archbishop Paglia.”

He continued: “Millions of Catholic parents throughout the world, whose children are threatened by the lies of the culture of death, urgently need to hear the unequivocal defense of Catholic truth on human sexuality and life.”

Founded by St. John Paul II and Professor Jerome Lejeune in 1994 to promote and defend human life and the dignity of the person, the Pontifical Academy for Life has historically aimed to provide interdisciplinary dialogue and research on complex bioethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, procreation, and gene therapy. The goal was to ensure that these topics were addressed in light of Catholic moral theology.

As chancellor, Pegoraro was the senior executive of the academy, which is an autonomous body within the Holy See. He shared in its leadership, worked closely with the president, and ensured the smooth operation of its activities. He served first under Spanish Opus Dei Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, who was academy president from 2010 to 2016, and then under Paglia.

A native of Padua, Italy, Pegoraro graduated in medicine and surgery from the city’s university in 1985 and was ordained in 1989. He then earned a license in moral theology and a diploma in advanced bioethics. He taught bioethics and nursing ethics, has been a member of centers of medical philosophy and ethics, and served as president of the European Association of Centres for Medical Ethics from 2010 to 2013.

From 2016 until the present, he was Paglia’s key collaborator at a time when the pontifical academy was accused of drifting from John Paul II’s original mission to defend the sanctity of life and instead accommodating heterodox and secular ethical arguments, changing its statutes, and undermining its credibility as a pro-life institution.

On at least two occasions as chancellor, Pegoraro added his voice to this perceived drift away from the academy’s mission by publicly supporting dissenting positions that had won sympathy during Pope Francis’ pontificate.

In 2022, he told the Wall Street Journal that he believed contraception might be permissible “in the case of a conflict between the need to avoid pregnancy for medical reasons and the preservation of a couple’s sex life.”

The Church has always prohibited all forms of artificial birth control (except for medically necessary treatments not directly intended to cause infertility), teaching that contraception violates the intrinsic connection between the unitive and procreative aspects of the marital act.

In a second incident, also that year, Pegoraro appeared to support two members of the academy who publicly favored assisted suicide as a tactic to prevent the legalization of voluntary euthanasia in Italy.

“We are in a specific context, with a choice to be made between two options, neither of which — assisted suicide or euthanasia — represents the Catholic position,” Pegoraro told the French Catholic newspaper Le Croix.

But stating that he believed some kind of law was a foregone conclusion, he said that of the two possibilities, “assisted suicide is the one that most restricts abuses because it would be accompanied by four strict conditions: the person asking for help must be conscious and able to express it freely, have an irreversible illness, experience unbearable suffering, and depend on life-sustaining treatment such as a respirator.”

Cardinal Willem Eijk, also a qualified medical doctor and a member of the academy, firmly rejected such argumentation, saying there was “no significant moral difference” between medically assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia, “neither from the patient’s side nor from that of the physician,” as both bear “the same moral responsibility” in carrying out termination of life.

The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, asked Pegoraro if he still held such positions on these issues and why he did not speak out during the controversies of Paglia’s tenure, but he had not responded by publication time on Tuesday.

Radical changes

The Pontifical Academy for Life was generally admired by pro-life groups worldwide for inspiration and guidance during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI until it was hit by multiple scandals, first in 2009 during the brief presidency of Archbishop Rino Fisichella and what was known as the “Recife Affair,” involving a contested 2009 abortion case in Brazil, but then more frequently when Paglia and Pegoraro were at the helm.

In November 2016 and soon after taking up his role as president, Paglia changed the academy’s statutes, resulting not only in the sudden dismissal of 172 members of the academy (with some subject to possible renewal) and many with impeccable pro-life credentials, but also the removal of a requirement that academy members sign a statement promising to defend life in conformity with the Church’s magisterium. The new members could also belong to any religion, as long as they promoted and defended life “in a way that conforms to the magisterium of the Church.”

Paglia said the decisions were made “in the context of the Holy Father’s general reorganization of the Roman Curia” and that he has had to make logistical adjustments to the academy to cooperate closely with the Curial bodies, particularly the then-newly created Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

But in 2017 and 2022, Paglia and Pegoraro appointed new members to the academy, some of whom publicly supported abortion or were self-declared atheists. One was Dr. John Nkengasong, a Cameroon-born U.S. citizen who, when appointed head of then-President Joe Biden’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2021, was congratulated by the CEO of Planned Parenthood for working to expand abortion services.

Another Paglia and Pegoraro appointment was Sheila Dinotshe Tlou, a former health minister of Botswana, who served on the oversight committee for a group that offered “supplies for safe abortion and post-abortion care.”

Ward, a former member of the academy, said after the 2022 appointments that the leadership of the academy was continuing the “enforcement of a paradigm shift on sexual morality in the Vatican.”

Judie Brown, also a former academy member and current president of the American Life League, called the appointments an “outrage” that were “made worse when we recognize that the academy was established to fight against abortion.” The principles held by the academy’s first members “were once the bedrock upon which we all stood,” she said, but have now “disappeared from view.”

Other problems also occurred under the leadership of Paglia and Pegoraro. In 2022, the academy published a book titled “Theological Ethics of Life,” which bioethics experts roundly criticized for spreading “misleading and confusing” theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.

That same year, Paglia drew further controversy when he asserted that Italy’s abortion law was a “pillar of society” resulting in the academy issuing a statement saying his comments had been “taken out of context.” The Italian archbishop again found himself in hot water when he gave a speech in 2023 in which he appeared to declare that the decriminalization of assisted suicide was “the greatest common good” possible in the current political circumstances of Italy. The academy again had to clarify his comments, saying that he remained opposed to euthanasia.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Paglia came under further fire for ignoring the ethical concerns over the vaccines and for zealously promoting, despite safety concerns, the inoculation of children even if they showed no symptoms and the fact that the chances of children becoming seriously ill from the disease were “extremely low.”

Political pragmatism

Overall, Paglia was criticized for prioritizing political pragmatism over prophetic witness, with detractors claiming he often started from the political situation and then sought to fit the Gospel and Catholic tradition into it, rather than the other way around.

In a 2020 interview with the Register, Paglia defended himself by saying his vision for the academy was to address a “broad range of issues that today affect life at its most basic level” and to “free our discussions from simplistic assumptions.”

Following the radical changes to the academy, in 2017 some of its former members formed the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family as an alternative to the pontifical academy, with the aim of carrying on the work that it appeared to be abandoning.

Calling St. John Paul II’s vision for the Pontifical Academy for Life “inspired,” former member Christine de Marcellus Vollmer, now president of the Venezuelan pro-life organization PROVIVE, said: “We pray that our Holy Father will task Monsignor Pegoraro with returning the Pontifical Academy for Life to its original mandate, cut short when closed and reorganized in 2016.” She also hoped Pegoraro had “done further research since his years differing from the prophetic Humanae Vitae and seemingly approving assisted suicide.”

It’s not clear to what extent Pegoraro will continue the line of Paglia, although it seems he will retain many of the changes his predecessor put in place.

In a May 27 statement, he said it was his intention to “work in continuity with the themes and methodology of recent years, making the most of the specific competences of our large and qualified international and interreligious group of academicians.”

He added that he would like to highlight in particular the issues of “global bioethics,” dialogue with various scientific disciplines, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and “the promotion of respect and dignity for human life in all its stages.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, presides over a celebratory liturgy at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on the occasion of the World Day of Eastern Christians on May 25, 2025. / Credit: L’Œuvre d’Orient

ACI MENA, May 27, 2025 / 17:18 pm (CNA).

To mark the World Day of Eastern Christians, held every year on the sixth Sunday of Easter and organized by the association L’Œuvre d’Orient, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, presided over the Divine Liturgy in the Chaldean rite at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sunday, May 25.

The celebration brought together bishops and faithful from various backgrounds. According to Vatican News, the World Day of Eastern Christians is for prayer, encounter, and communion between Eastern and Latin Christians.

This year’s liturgy was distinguished by the blessing of eight icons painted by both French and Middle Eastern artists depicting the first saints from the early centuries of Christianity. 

These icons were anointed with chrism and will be placed on Wednesday in the newly dedicated St. George Chapel — a space within the cathedral set aside for Eastern Christians.

In his opening remarks, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris described icons in the Eastern tradition as “true windows into eternity, a faithful witness to the faith of the entire Church. They are not mere pictures but an entryway into God’s holiness. To pray before them is a profound spiritual act.” 

Ulrich expressed his hope that many Eastern Christians would come to St. George Chapel to pray, noting that the diocese had decided to consecrate it upon the cathedral’s reopening.

Expressing his deep admiration for the cathedral’s restoration, Sako said that the East “formed the roots of Christianity, while the West, through its missionaries, became its beating heart.”

He added: “The dedication of this chapel for Eastern Christians is of great significance, as it reveals the Church’s universality and unity. It is a source of pride for us. We are deeply grateful to the Church in France, which stood with us during the horrors we endured under ISIS.”

Speaking to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, Syrian artist Neemat Badwi explained that the eight icons portray early Eastern saints according to the Churches and regions they are associated with. These include Andrew of Constantinople, James of Jerusalem, Mark of Alexandria, Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia, Thomas of India, Addai and Mari of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Iraq, Frumentius of Ethiopia, and Ignatius of Antioch. It was the icon of Ignatius that L’Œuvre d’Orient commissioned Badwi to create.

Badwi mentioned that he did not copy the icon from an earlier model but created an entirely new design. The work took him nearly three months to complete. He delivered the icons last month after arriving in Paris from Aleppo, accompanied by his brother, artist Bashir Badwi. Both were in the city to attend the conference titled “In Flesh and Gold” at the Louvre’s Michelangelo Gallery, which focused on the art and restoration of sacred icons.

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

Season 2 of the EWTN web series “James the Less” premieres June 9, 2025. / Credit: EWTN YouTube channel

CNA Staff, May 27, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA).

The second season of the award-winning online EWTN series “James the Less” will be released on Monday, June 9. 

The first season introduced viewers to James Little, a student fresh out of college desperate for a job. James is an atheist. However, a “help wanted” sign on the church bulletin board catches his eye and entices him to interview for the position: handyman.

James accepts the position at St. James the Less Church and starts to encounter Catholicism. Soon, James finds his ideals challenged by the no-nonsense pastor Father Lambert Burns and through his romantic pursuit of parishioner Anne-Marie.

EWTN Director of Studio Operations Stephen Beaumont told CNA that the idea for the series came from his desire to “create a series of short videos about a character growing in virtue.”

“The idea for the title came from a Mass I attended at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, probably in 2019. I was in Rome on business and decided to attend a daily Mass at St. Peter’s. At St. Peter’s, there are always pilgrimage groups having Masses at the many side altars, and I ended up participating in a Mass with a group from a parish in England called St. James the Less,” he explained. “That name interested me, because you usually hear ‘St. James the Lesser’ or ‘St. James the Younger.’ Also, it reminded me of a saints book I got for my first Communion, which listed the apostle as St. James the Less. I thought it would work well as the title.”

Season 2 will consist of five episodes. “There will also be some new characters introduced, and most of all, you will see development of the relationship between James and Anne-Marie,” Beaumont shared.

James is played by Catholic artist and missionary Tanner Kalina. He has been a part of ministries such as FOCUS, Ascension Presents, NET, and others. He also hosts a podcast with several of his friends called “Saints Alive.”

While playing James, it has inspired Kalina “to look at the faith with fresh eyes,” he told CNA in an interview.

“He’s reminded me of how attractive our faith is and how we need to do a better job of owning it,” he said. “There’s so many people out there in James’ shoes who are aching for what we have as Catholics.”

“It’s been a great joy and a testament to the goodness and creativity of God. He’s so good,” Kalina added. “After I left Hollywood a number of years ago for ministry, I didn’t know if I’d ever have the chance to act again. When this fell in my lap, it felt like God was saying, ‘I see you. I know you. I love you. Enjoy!’”

Kalina shared that in Season 2 viewers will also see “what happens after James opens his heart ever so slightly to our Eucharistic Lord.”

When asked what he hopes people are taking away from the series, Kalina said: “I honestly just hope people are enjoying it. It’s just good ol’ wholesome fun, which is hard to find nowadays without an agenda attached.”

“Primarily it is a romantic comedy and a fish-out-of-water story, so most of all, we hope that people will find it entertaining,” Beaumont added. “There are some teaching moments along the way, but these moments flow naturally from the characters and the situations.”

The series will not be broadcast on television. Watch exclusively on EWTN’s YouTube channel:

Pope Leo XIV greets Buddhist monks in a meeting with representatives of other Christian churches, ecclessial communities, and other religions on May 19, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, May 27, 2025 / 15:36 pm (CNA).

The Vatican commenced its eighth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium on Tuesday in Cambodia, bringing together representatives of both religions to discuss the promotion of peace in Asia.

Prefect for the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinal George Koovakad delivered a short speech on the first day of the May 27–29 conference on “Buddhists and Christians Working Together for Peace through Reconciliation and Resilience,” highlighting the significance of the two religions’ common commitment to peace, Vatican News reported.

“Together, as Buddhists and Christians, let us explore how reconciliation and resilience can help shape peaceful and compassionate societies,” Koovakad said on Tuesday.

Approximately 150 people from Cambodia and abroad are participating in the three-day meeting organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh, Saint Paul Institute, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, and the MAGGA Jesuit Research Center.

Among the Catholic conference participants are bishops and priests from 16 Asian nations, including Mongolia, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka.

Throughout the three-day conference, Christians and Buddhists have the opportunity to reflect on the stories of peace, reconciliation, and resilience found in the Bible’s Old and New Testaments and in Buddhist writings, including the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka and the Mahayana Sutras.

A statement released by the dicastery earlier this week said this year’s meeting is a “timely reminder of the power of religion” in fostering healing and hope in a world ravaged by conflict and violence.

According to the dicastery’s statement, Cambodia was chosen to host the international interreligious gathering to honor the legacy of the late Maha Ghosananda, a Buddhist monk who spiritually ministered to refugees during the country’s 1975–1979 Khmer Rouge communist regime led by Pol Pot.

Since 1995, the Vatican has held a series of Buddhist-Christian meetings in different countries to advance mutual understanding and collaboration between the Church and non-Christian religions in the spirit of Pope Paul VI’s Second Vatican Council declaration Nostra Aetate released in 1965.

The last Buddhist-Christian Colloquium in 2023 was held in Bangkok and focused on the theme of “healing a wounded humanity and the earth.”

Catholic Relief Services distributed humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier in the spring and has asked Israel to allow it to resume its work. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Relief Services

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 27, 2025 / 15:06 pm (CNA).

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is calling on Israel to resume allowing its humanitarian aid teams access to the Palestinian Gaza Strip to deliver food and other supplies to civilians as a partial blockade continues.

Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance into Gaza in early March just before it launched new military offenses on the territory. Starting this month, Israel began allowing limited amounts of aid into Gaza, but CRS and other humanitarian organizations — as well as the United Nations — have said the limited aid is insufficient.

“CRS’ priority is the well-being of innocent civilians in Gaza, especially the vulnerable who continue to suffer most,” the organization said in a May 26 statement.

“Our teams on the ground are ready to deliver humanitarian assistance through appropriate modalities to civilians in need throughout the Gaza Strip,” the statement added. “We advocate for unimpeded humanitarian access and the entry of humanitarian supplies at scale. CRS is committed to our operational independence, to neutrality and impartiality, and to the safety and dignity of those we serve.”

The statement referenced Pope Leo XIV’s call for people to use dialogue to solve problems and advance the common good. In his first general audience, Leo also called the war “increasingly worrying and painful” and urged “the entry of decent humanitarian aid” and an end to hostilities, saying the “heartbreaking price is paid by children, the elderly, and the sick.”

CRS’ statement added that the group is “ready to discuss appropriate additional measures to ensure aid accountability” but warned “the innocent people in Gaza cannot wait” and “food and other supplies must be allowed in immediately through existing mechanisms.”

“CRS calls urgently for an end to the war, the return of the hostages, and full facilitation of accountable humanitarian response throughout the Gaza Strip,” the statement continued.

Cindy McCain, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the people of Gaza “are extremely food insecure and could be on the verge of famine” if even the partial blockade continues.

According to McCain, the U.N. was getting about 600 humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza every day during the temporary ceasefire, which was halted in March. With Israel permitting limited humanitarian aid to enter this month, she said the U.N. has only been able to get about 100 aid trucks into the territory daily.

“We need to get in, and we need to get in at scale, not just a few dribbles of the trucks right now; as I said, it’s a drop in the bucket,” McCain said.

Concerns about the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

As part of its effort to scale back the full blockade on humanitarian aid, Israel is now allowing an American- and Israeli-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to deliver limited aid to Gaza. However, the U.N., CRS, and other humanitarian groups are not currently working with GHF and have expressed concerns about its operations.

“In the spirit of dialogue, we have sought to learn more about proposed approaches connected to [GHF],” the CRS statement read. “We have had many fundamental and practical questions about their proposal which remain unaddressed. We have not agreed to work or collaborate with GHF.”

GHF announced that it began delivering aid to Gaza this week, but it is unclear how much aid the group has provided. According to the BBC, the group operates at four distribution sites that are secured by American contractors and Israeli military personnel to ensure aid does not get into the hands of Hamas, which Israel and the United States classify as a terrorist organization.

Earlier this month, Dorothy Shea — the acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N. — said the GHF was established “to provide a secure mechanism capable of delivering aid directly to those in need without Hamas stealing, looting, or leveraging this assistance for its own ends.”

“Safeguards are in place to ensure Palestinian civilians in Gaza will have access to aid, preventing diversion by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and criminal organizations — and ensuring Israel can remain secure,” Shea said.

However, Tom Fletcher — the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator — said at a U.N. security council briefing earlier this month that the Israeli plan excludes people, forces displacement, and exposes thousands to harm.

“It restricts aid to only one part of Gaza while leaving other dire needs unmet,” Fletcher said. “It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”

Jake Wood resigned from his position as executive director of GHF over the weekend amid concerns, saying: “It is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”

Palestinian health officials reported this week that more than 54,000 people have died in Gaza since the start of the war in late 2023.

The Servant of God Matthew Makil (center) appears in this 1896 photo flanked by apostolic vicars Aloysius Pazheparambil (left) and John Menachery (right). / Credit: kirchlicher Fotograf, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, May 27, 2025 / 14:36 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decrees recognizing three new venerables, including two missionaries and an Indian bishop.

In his first audience since beginning his pontificate with the prefect of the Vatican dicastery, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the Holy Father approved the “offering of life” of the Servant of God Alejandro Labaca Ugarte of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

Alejandro Labaca, a bishop martyred in the Ecuadorian jungle

Labaca was born on April 19, 1920, in Beizama, Spain. After being expelled from communist China, this Capuchin missionary arrived in Ecuador, where he served as titular bishop of Pomaria and apostolic vicar of Aguarico.

Labaca dedicated himself to evangelizing in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador until he gave his life on July 21, 1987, in the Tigüino region of the country after being struck by spears from the Tagaeri, a tribe threatened by oil exploitation in the area, which the prelate opposed.

Inés Arango, a missionary dedicated to the Huaorani people

Dying in the same incident with Labaca, Inés Arango Velásquez, a missionary of the Capuchin Tertiaries of the Holy Family, was declared venerable by Leo XIV on May 22.

This religious sister, born in Medellín, Colombia, on April 6, 1937, had been in Aguarico for 10 years, dedicated to the apostolate among the Huaorani Indigenous people.

On July 11, 2017, the Vatican published Pope Francis’ motu proprio Maiorem Hac Dilectionem in which he established that “offering one’s life” knowing that death will surely follow is a new path to beatification for a member of the faithful.

The offering of one’s life is one of the paths to beatification along with heroic virtue and martyrdom.

Matthew Makil, Indian bishop

Leo XIV also approved the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Matthew Makil, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

He was born on March 27, 1851, in Manjoor, India, and died on Jan. 26, 1914, in Kottayam, also in India. He was also titular bishop of Tralles and the first apostolic vicar of Kottayam.

After being declared venerable, a miracle performed through his intercession must be approved for beatification, the first step toward possible canonization.

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

The bishops of Ghana are shown with Ghana President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House in Accra on May 23, 2025. / Credit: President of the Republic of Ghana

ACI Africa, May 27, 2025 / 13:59 pm (CNA).

Members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) have called on the government there to implement stringent measures against the ongoing illegal mining that is leading to loss of land in the West African nation.

In a May 23 meeting with Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama at Jubilee House in the country’s capital city, Accra, the president of the GCBC, Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, expressed concern that what began as a subsistence activity has turned into a national threat, noting that over 4,000 hectares of forest land have been lost and rivers like the Pra, Offin, and Ankobra have become symbols of environmental degradation due to illegal mining.

“We must act not only with force but with foresight. Enforcement must be balanced by credible and sustainable alternatives for those driven by desperation,” he said during the meeting. 

Kwasi, who leads the Diocese of Sunyani in Ghana, described the act of illegal mining as doing grave ecological damage, noting its dangers to both the environment and the moral values of the community. He presented recommendations from the Ghanaian bishops to the government aimed at curbing it.

The recommendations urge the government to audit and repeal the laws that allow illegal mining and to freeze licenses of new artisans and small-scale miners until a review of environmental and social impacts is fully completed.

They also call on the Ghanaian government to declare a limited state of emergency in most affected areas to suspend mining activities, deploy military engineers for land restoration, and restore local governance with decentralized oversight.

Kwasi outlined more of the recommendations from the bishops, encouraging the government to collaborate with the Church and the district-level mining task force to do eco-mining audits, monitoring, and reporting of those who commit breaches.

He urged the government to enforce mandatory reclamation bonds and establish an independent environmental restoration fund co-governed by state, church, and traditional authorities. He also emphasized the need for the government to use part of the mineral development fund to empower communities affected by illegal mining through vocational training programs.

Kwasi, on behalf of the bishops, also spoke about digital mineral traceability, urging the government to implement a national block-chain-based system for tracking all minerals from the sources of exports to prevent smuggling and ensure proper accountability.

Bishops also call for electoral reform

In the meeting with Mahama in attendance alongside other government officials and the bishops, Kwasi raised concerns regarding electoral violence, national unity, and declining public trust in the country.

He highlighted the decrease in electoral participation, which fell from 85% in 2016 to 60.9% in 2024, which he said indicates a growing sense of disengagement among the electorate, especially the youth.

“The reduced turnout reflects broader concerns about the efficacy of democratic processes in addressing pressing national issues,” he said, noting that many young Ghanaians remain dissatisfied with politics as a “vehicle for real change.”

“The perception that politics is transactional and exclusive must be confronted. We must make democracy work, not just periodically at the polls, but persistently through policy, equity, and inclusion,” Kwasi said.

Pointing out some of the national unity challenges that Ghana is facing — including intensified political polarization and deepening mistrust between ethnic, regional, and partisan lines — Kwasi said that land disputes, chieftaincy conflicts, and vigilantism persist in flashpoint areas.

He went on to condemn the persistent violence that has marked the electoral process in previous elections from 1992 to 2024, despite the peaceful transition of power from one government to another.

According to the Centre for Democratic Development in Ghana, there were 76 recorded incidents leading up to the 2024 general election, including 24 cases of destruction, vandalism, and invasion of public facilities as well as several injuries and six fatalities.

Kwasi recommended that the Ghanaian government work on economic equality and electoral integrity to prevent future incidences of electoral violence in the country. He called on the Ghanaian government to collaborate with the Church in ensuring civic education and engagement.

“By reinforcing the values of participatory governance and accountability, we can work towards revitalizing public trust and ensuring that democracy serves the prosperity of all Ghanaians,” he said, adding: “Let us build a politics that serves not itself but the people, a politics that is not about the survival of the fittest but about the flourishing of the weakest; a politics where governance is not performance but a moral vocation.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia in an address on May 22, 2025, told the U.N. Security Council that civilians are not “expendable.” / Credit: Kevin Jones/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 27, 2025 / 13:29 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia addressed the United Nations Security Council last week, underscoring the Holy See’s concern for the rising number of civilians impacted by armed conflicts across the globe.

“It is fundamental that, even in the midst of conflict, the protection of the human person and its inherent God-given dignity remain at the center of all collective efforts, also in order to avoid the scourge of war,” said Caccia, who serves as permanent observer of the Holy See to the U.N., in his May 22 address.

“The human person must never be treated as expendable or reduced to mere collateral damage,” the Italian archbishop continued, citing the “deliberate targeting” of civilians and civilian structures as a matter of “great concern.”

“While these violations are an immense human tragedy, they also represent a grave affront to the foundations of international security,” Caccia emphasized in his statement.

The Holy See became a non-member-state permanent observer to the United Nations in 1964. Its mission there is key to the Holy See’s diplomatic work, communicating the Catholic Church’s centuries of experience to assist the U.N. in realizing peace, justice, human dignity, and humanitarian cooperation and assistance.

In his capacity as head of the mission, Caccia urged the U.N. Security Council to continue its work to “put an end to the use of indiscriminate weapons, landmines, and cluster munitions, and to stop the deployment of explosive weapons in populated areas.” 

He also highlighted the importance of ending mass arms production and stockpiling as a concrete step toward protecting civilian lives. 

Finally, Caccia warned the council against emerging military technologies such as lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) and encouraged a legally-binding proposal to prohibit them by 2026. 

“Ensuring that decisions over life and death remain under meaningful human control is not only a matter of legal accountability but also a moral responsibility,” Caccia said. 

Caccia has served as permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York since his appointment by Pope Francis in November 2019. Prior to this, Caccia spent nearly 30 years in the Vatican’s diplomatic service working in nunciatures in Tanzania, Lebanon, the Philippines, and the Vatican’s Secretariat of State in Rome.

He studied at the Vatican’s Diplomatic School, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in sacred theology, and at the Pontifical Gregorian University for a licentiate in canon law. Prior to this, he served for three years as a parish priest in his home diocese, the Archdiocese of Milan.

Pope Benedict XVI ordained Caccia a bishop in 2009 and named him apostolic nuncio in Lebanon. His episcopal motto is “We have believed in the love God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16).

null / Credit: Andy - Rock News/Shutterstock

Vatican City, May 27, 2025 / 12:48 pm (CNA).

The official website of the Vatican for the first time has been refreshed since it was created in the 1990s, prominently featuring multimedia content and online links to other Vatican offices and ministries.

A banner image of a waving Pope Leo XIV against a simple light blue background can now be found spread across the top half of the revamped Holy See website’s homepage published earlier this week. 

Replacing the outdated dropdown mega menus found in the older version of the Holy See’s homepage is a large, clickable “Magisterium” button — which also features a small icon of the pontiff’s new coat of arms — to help online visitors find the pope’s prepared homilies and speeches and additional information about the Vatican.

Acquiring tickets for papal audiences and liturgical celebrations has also been made easier through the updated website. Earlier this year, the Prefecture of the Papal Household — which is one of four Vatican offices featured on vatican.va — launched its new website with digital registration forms for individuals and pilgrim groups wanting to see the pope. 

The other three Vatican ministries featured on the updated website are the Church’s charitable organization Peter’s Pence, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, and the yearlong 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.  

Daily news and calendar events related to Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican can also be viewed on the updated homepage in nine languages: Arabic, English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish. 

Additional information and Church documents that can be accessed from the new homepage include the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, codes of canon law, ecumenical councils, Catholic social teaching, and reports on the Church’s response to the abuse of minors.

The Lecceto hermitage near Siena, Italy. / Credit: LigaDue, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Stampa, May 27, 2025 / 12:18 pm (CNA).

The Augustinian nuns of Lecceto are a small community living in a hermitage 10 kilometers (a little more than six miles) from the city of Siena in Italy. The hermitage bears witness to an ancient and rich history that began in the 12th century and originates with the Augustinian order. 

Today, several Augustinian nuns live here, praying, working, and studying — a contemplative life that mirrors that of the new Pope Leo XIV, who knows the nuns of Lecceto well and has visited them on several occasions in their beautiful setting among the olive trees and vineyards of Tuscany. 

ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, asked Sister Sara Maria to share the activities of the nuns at the monastery and the nuns’ relationship with Pope Leo XIV.

ACI Stampa: As an Augustinian community, how did you receive the news of Cardinal Robert Prevost becoming the new pope?

Sister Sara Maria: Augustine always lived and professed a deep love for the Church, the “true mother of the faithful.” As daughters of Augustine and thus deeply devoted daughters of the Church, we followed the days of the congregations and then the start of the conclave with great prayerful participation. 

That ecclesial participation also included a human sentiment connected to the presence in the conclave of our beloved brother, Father Robert Prevost, whom we esteemed as someone who could be elected. Knowing his human and spiritual depth ... we feared for him, and when the cardinal protodeacon began to proclaim the name, the mere “R” of “Robertum” was enough to fill us with both joy and trepidation — joy for the Church, which had a new pope in such a short time, showing the world the power of the Spirit in the grace of unity; joy for an Augustinian pope who once again would bring to the world the charism of communion and unity of St. Augustine. Trepidation for the burden placed on our brother, as he himself said the next day to the cardinals: “You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission.”

Do you know him personally? We understand he has visited you a few times. Could you tell us about those moments?

We have known Father Robert since the years when he was prior general of the Order of St. Augustine and, due to his institutional role, he visited our community multiple times, presiding over important celebrations, elective chapters, and helping us through some difficult points in our journey. 

Every time we had the joy of welcoming him among us, we appreciated his fraternal presence, his warmth and capacity for listening, the simplicity of his manner, and the clarity with which he could express himself: a person capable of guiding and making decisions, starting from a real openness to others and to their situations.

What are your activities in the monastery? What do the Augustinian nuns do?

The Augustinian nuns, just like the Poor Clares for the Franciscans, or the Carmelites, or the Dominican and Servite nuns, are the contemplative branch of their respective mendicant orders. This means that ours is a cloistered life centered on prayer. But, as Augustinians, the life we lead is marked entirely by a yearning for communion: “Cor unum et anima una in Deum” — “One heart and one soul in God,” as St. Augustine loved to repeat.

We live a very simple daily life made up of prayer, work, and study (“Rise, seek, sigh, yearn with ardor, knock on the closed door. If we feel no desire, if we have no longing, if we do not know how to sigh, we will end up throwing pearls before anyone, and find only worthless pearls ourselves” — In Ev. Io. tr. 18,7), in communion and openness to anyone who knocks at our door.

Our main activity — after prayer — is the welcoming of men and women who are in search of God’s peace, who ask for a time of rest and the sharing of the experience of faith. 

What are your hopes for the new pope? Do you expect to hear from him or get in touch?

For Pope Leo we pray, asking for an abundance of the Spirit’s gifts and peace of heart for the heavy task he has undertaken. We know his balance and his humility, and we wish him to walk serenely along the path he has set for himself: to be a servant of the faith and the joy of the people of God who have been entrusted to him. 

In recent days we have sent him congratulatory messages, and we were also blessed with an audience granted to some Augustinian men and women: It was a great gift to be able to greet him, to receive his blessing ... and to witness firsthand his deep, abiding serenity.

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