Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 25, 2025 / 18:16 pm (CNA).

A Maryland district court judge this week ordered Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to pay a former employee $60,000 for its refusal to provide spousal health care benefits to the man’s civilly married “husband.”

The union is recognized under Maryland state law and federal law but is not recognized by the Catholic Church. The Church teaches that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman and does not recognize homosexual civil “marriages” between two men or between two women.

In an April 21 ruling, U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin ruled that CRS violated state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on a person’s sex and his or her sexual orientation. The judge rejected CRS’ argument that the organization was covered under state and federal religious exemptions to the discrimination laws.

Rubin also rejected CRS’ argument that enforcing the antidiscrimination laws against the religious charity in this instance would violate the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.

The dispute came down to the court’s interpretation of the “ministerial exception,” which is a legal doctrine in the United States that exempts religious entities from some antidiscrimination laws. 

It allows exemptions when an employee works in a position that furthers the religious mission of the entity in cases when the antidiscrimination provision would hamper its religious mission.

According to the ruling, the former employee, who is named “John Doe” in the lawsuit, worked as a program data adviser; a data quality and analytics adviser; a global monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning adviser; a program manager; and a gateway manager.

The judge ruled that these positions were not integral to advancing the religious mission of CRS and therefore did not qualify for a religious exemption under federal law or the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act.

“Doe did not directly further a CRS core mission in any of his five positions held during his employment by CRS,” the ruling states.

“Because the court concludes that none of Doe’s five full-time positions with CRS directly furthered a CRS mission and that each of his positions was one or more steps removed from taking the actions that affect CRS goals, the court … concludes that CRS has not met its burden to show that [the state’s] religious entity exemption applies here,” the ruling adds. 

A spokesperson for CRS told CNA on Friday that the organization did not have a comment at the time and is currently “reviewing the judge’s ruling.”

The former employee issued a statement through his lawyers at Gilbert Employment Law in which he said he was “very happy with Judge Rubin’s ruling.” 

“[I] am honored to be part of such a precedent-setting case that has helped clarify, for employers and employees alike, the legal protections Maryland law provides, especially for LGBTQ+ workers,” the plaintiff said.

Ryan Tucker, who serves as senior counsel at the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, expressed concern about the judge’s ruling in a statement to CNA. 

“Now and always, every religious organization has the right to hire people who share its faith,” he said. “The government should never penalize a religious nonprofit just because it’s religious. This ruling, however, is deeply concerning due to the implications it may have for the First Amendment rights of religious organizations and employers.”

CRS primarily provides humanitarian aid around the world. According to its mission statement, the organization is “motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cherish, preserve, and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching.”

Thousands of Catholics said their last goodbyes and paid their respects to Pope Francis on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, as the late pope lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 25, 2025 / 17:56 pm (CNA).

Among the more than 250,000 people who made their way to the Vatican this week were the nocturnal pilgrims wanting to catch a final glimpse of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica before his Saturday funeral.   

To host the streams of pilgrims in mourning to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican extended opening hours — with the support of thousands of jubilee and Civil Protection volunteers — to allow visitors to pay their last respects to the late pontiff past midnight. 

Throughout the week several mourners gathered at various entry points surrounding the Vatican after sundown during the week to pay their final respects to the late leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

“When it became known that it would be possible to pray before the pope in St. Peter’s on Wednesday, I immediately thought of going that same day in the evening, after work, because I assumed that as the days went by, more and more people would arrive,” Isabel Troconis told CNA on Friday.

After passing through the Vatican’s security checkpoints and a two-hour wait within St. Peter’s Square, Troconis said she was moved to see so many people come to see the Holy Father on the first day and evening of his public viewing.

“What impressed me most was the variety of people gathered there: families, workers, and tourists from Italy and all over the world; business people and immigrant workers; ordinary and extravagant people; even non-Christian religious figures like a group of Buddhist monks who were walking in silence and very recollected,” she shared. 

Reflecting on the legacy of Pope Francis and the diversity of people who have come to see him “has reminded us that God’s love is not only universal but also concrete and personal: that he is always concerned about each person, especially those most in need,” Troconis said. 

For Laura Pérez, St. Peter’s Basilica is “more beautiful” at night and the evening darkness creates a more conducive atmosphere for prayer and contemplation, she said.

Coming to St. Peter’s Basilica after work on Thursday was the only time she and her group of friends could pass through the jubilee Holy Door and say goodbye to the “joyful and humble” pope who “lived the Gospel” and inspired others to do the same. 

“At some point we started reading the reflection that Pope Francis made for the World Youth Day in Lisbon, like ‘Mary arose and went with haste (Lk 1:39),’” she told CNA on Friday.   

“We were meditating on his words because it was a way of honoring him,” she said. “For young people, he left a lot of messages that are very encouraging, that are very comforting, and that speak to us.”

“It spoke a lot to me to be there [at St. Peter’s Basilica] at night,” she added.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter pay their respects to Pope Francis at an early viewing on April 22, 2025, before the late pope is transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica to lie in state. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2025 / 17:36 pm (CNA).

The following leaders from around the world are among the dignitaries who have announced they will attend Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, April 26, at the Vatican:

Javier Milei, president of Argentina, homeland of Pope Francis

Donald Trump, president of the United States, and his wife and first lady, Melania Trump

Former U.S. president Joe Biden and his wife, former first lady Jill Biden

Bajram Begaj, president of Albania

Joâo Manuel Gonçalves, president of Angola

Vahagn Khachaturyan, president of Armenia

Sam Mostyn, governor general of Australia

Christian Stocker, chancellor of Austria

Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of Bangladesh

Bart De Wever, prime minister of Belgium

Froyla Tzalam, governor general of Belize

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil

Zeljka Cvijanović, chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mary Simon, governor general of Canada

Jose Maria Neves, president of Cape Verde

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, prime minister of Qatar

Faustin-Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic

Manuel José Ossandon, senator of Chile

Chin-Jen Chen, former vice president of China

Zoran Milanovic, president of Croatia

Salvador Valdés Mesa, vice president of Cuba

Nikos Christodoulides, president of Cyprus

Petr Fiala, prime minister of the Czech Republic

Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic

Jose Ramos-Horta, president of East Timor

Daniel Noboa, president of Ecuador

Félix Ulloa Garay, vice president of El Salvador

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, vice president of Equatorial Guinea

Alar Karis, president of Estonia

Alexander Stubb, president of Finland

Emmanuel Macron, president of France

Brice Nguema, president of Gabon

Mikheil Kavelashvili, president of Georgia

Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Olaf Scholz, president and chancellor of Germany

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece

Xiomara Castro, president of Honduras.

Tamas Sulyok and Viktor Orbán, president and prime minister of Hungary

Halla Tómasdóttir, president of Iceland

Droupadi Murmu, president of India

Nechirvan Barzani, president of Kurdistan Region in Iraq

Micheal D. Higgins and Micheal Martin, president and prime minister of Ireland

Sergio Mattarella and Giorgia Meloni, president and prime minister of Italy

Yaron Sideman, ambassador of Israel

William Samoei Ruto, president of Kenya

Edgars Rinkevics, president of Latvia

Joseph Khalil Aoun, president of Lebanon

Gitanas Nauseda, president of Lithuania

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, president of Macedonia

Andry Rajoelina, president of Madagascar

Myriam Spiteri Debono, president of Malta

Rosa Icela Rodríguez, secretary of the interior of Mexico

Maia Sandu, president of Moldova

Jakov Milatović, president of Montenegro

Aziz Akhannouch, prime minister of Morocco

Daniel Chapo, president of Mozambique

Dick Schoof, prime minister of the Netherlands

Christopher Luxon, prime minister of New Zealand.

Mohamed Mustafa, prime minister of Palestine

Raúl Latorre, president of the chamber of deputies of Paraguay

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., president of the Philippines

Andrzej Duda, president of Poland

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Luis Montenegro, president and prime minister of Portugal

Ilie Bolojan, interim president of Romania

Denise Bronzetti, captain regent of San Marino

Duro Macut, prime Minister of Serbia

Wavel Ramkalawan, president of Seychelles

Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone

Peter Pellegrini, president of Slovakia

Natasa Pirc Musar and Robert Golob, president and prime minister of Slovenia

Ulf Kristersson, prime minister of Sweden

Karin Keller-Sutter, president of Switzerland

Philip Isdor Mpango, vice president of Tanzania

Faure Gnassingbé, president of Togo

Numan Kurtulmus, speaker of the national assembly of Turkey

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine

Keir Starmer, prime minister of the United Kingdom

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations

Constantino Chiwenga, vice president of Zimbabwe

Foreign ministers 

The foreign ministers from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Japan, Mali, Mongolia, Namibia, Norway, Peru, South Sudan, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zambia will attend.

Monarchs 

Royals include: 

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium

Queen Mary of Denmark

Prince William of Wales will attend in place of his father, King Charles III of England

King Abdullah II of Jordan

King Letsie III of Lesotho

Prince Alois and Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will attend on behalf of King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Swede

Leaders of international institutions

Bjorn Berge, secretary-general of the Council of Europe

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission

Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament

Antonio Costa, president of the council of the European Union

Kaja Callas, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs

Álvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development

Pia Kauma, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the United Nations

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

Father Brian Thomas Beckett Mullady, OP, speaks to Father Mitch Pacwa on “EWTN Live,” Wednesday, July 31, 2019. / Credit: EWTN

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 25, 2025 / 17:16 pm (CNA).

EWTN television and radio show host, author, and devoted teacher Father Brian Thomas Becket Mullady, OP, passed away on the evening of Tuesday, April 22, following health complications. He was 78.

Mullady will be remembered for his strong media presence teaching the Catholic faith in an understandable and relatable manner. Throughout his career he hosted seven television series on EWTN and published seven books with EWTN Publishing. 

The priest hosted several programs centered on Christ and the Church, including “God’s Blueprint for a Happy Life” with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers. The show was created to “provide a step-by-step guide for getting the most out of the Ten Commandments and to show how faithfully following them leads to a rich and rewarding life in Christ.”

Mullady’s many articles and books explored a wide range of topics and theological questions, from “Grace Explained: How to Receive — and Retain — God’s Most Potent Gift” to “St. Thomas Aquinas Rescues Modern Psychology.”

The priest also personally connected with everyday people to spread the Catholic mission on his popular EWTN radio show “Open Line Thursday with Fr. Brian Mullady.” During the program, people called in to ask Mullady faith-related questions and he would answer and discuss the topics in real time.

Prior to his media work, Mullady was committed to several other jobs including working as a parish priest, high school teacher, retreat master, mission preacher, and professor at colleges and seminaries. He entered the Dominican order in 1966 and was ordained in 1972.

“Father Mullady was one of my favorite hosts when I used to watch EWTN before coming to work here, and I was very proud of the fact that I brought him back to do additional TV and radio programs for us,” EWTN President and COO Doug Keck wrote on social media.

“He had a marvelous gift of conveying the faith in an interesting and understandable way and had a great sense of humor. He will be greatly missed,” Keck said.

EWTN Chaplain Father John Paul Mary, MFVA, reflected on a retreat Mullady held that he attended prior to becoming a priest. He said he remembers and appreciates how Mullady discussed the topic of grace.

He said Mullady “really wanted to know what grace does when we cooperate with God’s grace. That grace can transform us. It transforms in nature when we live the virtues.”

“For me, as a priest and as a friar,” Father John Paul said, Mullady “influenced the way that I think about God’s grace, how I experience it, and how I want to live according to the grace of God.”

“Throughout nearly my entire 20 years at the Register, it was a blessing and privilege to know Father Mullady, who I consider one of the foremost authorities on the documents of the Second Vatican Council and their implementation,” Tom Wehner, the print editor for CNA’s sister news partner, the National Catholic Register, told CNA.

Wehner described Mullady as “a straight shooter” and said he “didn’t sugarcoat his remarks about the hits and misses on the implementation of the council.”

“And those who were the recipients of his wisdom during the many Lenten missions and retreats he gave received an immeasurable gift.”

“On a personal note,” Wehner added, “when we would share a meal during his semesters at nearby Holy Apostles College and Seminary, our long conversations were just as formative as they were a dialogue between friends.”

Pope Francis arrives in Uganda. / Martha Calderon / CNA.

ACI Africa, Apr 25, 2025 / 16:56 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ more than 12-year pontificate — characterized by an emphasis on mercy and compassion, the need to care for creation, and attention to the marginalized and “peripheries” of the Church and society — deeply resonated with the people of God in Africa, according to ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, with one exception related to the release of a controversial Vatican document.

In his 47 apostolic journeys outside Italy, Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88, visited 68 countries — 10 of them in Africa. 

He began with Kenya in November 2015 in what was a three-nation pastoral trip that saw him also visit Uganda and the Central African Republic and concluded with South Sudan in February 2023, after visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The late pontiff also visited Egypt in April 2017 and Morrocco in March 2019. In September 2019, he embarked on a three-African-nation trip to Mozambique, Madagascar, and Mauritius.

In these pastoral trips and throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis demonstrated a deep knowledge and great love for Africa, particularly expressed in his frustration over foreign exploitation of Africa’s resources and the need for peace across the continent. He sought to validate Africans’ dreams and to align with some of the traditional values of the continent.

A great love for Africa

Multiple times and on various occasions, Pope Francis made it clear that he had Africa’s best interests at heart. 

When, due to health reasons in July 2022, he had to postpone his pastoral trip that had been scheduled to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, he made clear his love for the people of God in the two African countries, where protracted violent conflicts have occasioned much suffering. 

“Dear Congolese and South Sudanese friends, at this time words are insufficient to convey to you my closeness and the affection that I feel for you. I want to tell you this: Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! Think, you who are so dear to me, of how much more you are precious and beloved in the eyes of God, who never disappoints those who put their hope in him!” the pope said on July 2, 2022, the day he was to start what would be his last African pastoral visit.

Much earlier, in what was described as a “dramatic gesture” of love for the people of God in South Sudan, on April 11, 2019, Pope Francis knelt and kissed the feet of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar, among others. This was after a spiritual retreat that brought together the South Sudanese president, the opposition leader, and the widow of South Sudanese leader John Garang, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, among other political and religious leaders from South Sudan. 

Pope Francis’ dramatic gesture would inspire peace campaigns in the world’s youngest nation. For instance, in April 2022, a campaign dubbed “Remember Pope Francis’ Kiss for Peace” was launched and continued to challenge political leaders in South Sudan to foster “peace and stability.”

Pope Francis’ desire to connect with the people of God in Africa in his pastoral visits demonstrated his great love for Africa. He planned to and encountered some of the poorest of the poor during his visits. 

In Kenya, Pope Francis visited the Nairobi slum community of Kangemi. In his speech there, he thanked the slum dwellers “for welcoming me to your neighborhood,” adding: “I feel very much at home sharing these moments with brothers and sisters who, and I am not ashamed to say this, have a special place in my life and my decisions. I am here because I want you to know that your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows, are not indifferent to me. I realize the difficulties which you experience daily! How can I not denounce the injustices which you suffer?”

Similarly, in South Sudan, Pope Francis had an encounter with some 2,500 people living in refugee camps after being forced to leave their homes because of violent conflicts or flooding. In a show of love, he told them: “You are the seed of a new South Sudan, a seed for the fertile and lush growth of this country.”

He continued, encouraging hope among the refugees and the internally displaced: “You, from all your different ethnic groups, you who have suffered and are still suffering, you who do not want to respond to evil with more evil. You, who choose fraternity and forgiveness, are even now cultivating a better tomorrow ... Be seeds of hope, which make it possible for us already to glimpse the tree that one day, hopefully in the near future, will bear fruit.” 

Pope Francis demonstrated an understanding of Africa by delivering messages that people on the continent resonated with. For instance, his May 2015 encyclical letter on care for our common home, Laudato Si’, inspired multiple initiatives on the continent, which various entities spearheaded, including the Laudato Si’ Movement-Africa. His decision to establish the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in January 2021 was lauded in Africa. 

Many Africans, including theologians, have lauded Pope Francis for the multiyear Synod on Synodality. This initiative “became a very exciting moment for the whole Church,” Father Ambrose John Bwangatto recalled in a get-well-soon message to Pope Francis through ACI Africa. 

Alluding to the Synod on Synodality initiative, the director of programs at the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN), Sister Jane Joan Kimathi, shared: “Pope Francis is a prophetic voice in a wounded world, a shepherd who embodies compassion, justice, and inclusivity. His leadership reflects the African spirit of ‘Ubuntu’ (I am because we are), emphasizing community over exclusion, mercy over judgment, and solidarity with the marginalized.” 

Pope Francis, the Kenyan Sister further said, “is a bridge-builder, much like the African elders who mediate conflicts, seeking not division but reconciliation. His call for a synodal Church, one that walks together, resonates deeply with African traditions of communal decision-making, where wisdom is not imposed from above but discerned in dialogue.”

Sharp words of caution on exploiting Africa

Pope Francis’ great love for Africa was also demonstrated by his caution against exploitation of the continent’s people and resources. The pope demonstrated a great understanding of this problem and tried to show Africans they can unchain themselves from abuse. 

In his speech in DRC on Jan. 31, 2023, Pope Francis spoke plainly to the international community: “This country and this continent deserve to be respected and listened to; they deserve to find space and receive attention,” he said, and amid cheers added: “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa! Stop choking Africa: Africa is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered.” 

He continued: “May Africa be the protagonist of its own destiny! May the world acknowledge the catastrophic things that were done over the centuries to the detriment of the local peoples, and not forget this country and this continent.”

Encouraging African youth

Earlier, speaking during a virtual dialogue with Catholic youth from universities in Africa that the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) organized on the solemnity of All Saints’ Day 2022, Pope Francis cautioned Africa’s youths against enslavement. 

“Please continue working, striving for your future; don’t allow yourselves to be enslaved; be cautious and make sure you stay alive,” Pope Francis said on Nov. 1, 2022. He encouraged African youth to believe in themselves. 

Reaction to Fiducia Supplicans 

Pope Francis allowed the African Church a certain degree of autonomy, and it was in that context that misgivings about a controversial Vatican document, Fiducia Supplicans (FS), were expressed. Africa’s Catholic bishops’ decision not to implement FS was a low moment in the pope’s relationship with Africa.

Fiducia Supplicans permits members of the clergy to bless same-sex couples and couples in other “irregular situations.” For weeks, reactions poured in from Catholic leaders in Africa about the document that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released in December 2023. 

Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Malawi’s Karonga Diocese called upon the people in his diocese to “forget and ignore this controversial and apparently blasphemous declaration in its entirety.” 

In Kenya, Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru of Wote Diocese said that FS “should be rejected in totality.” In a letter he issued on Dec. 27, 2023, he faulted the DDF prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, for not consulting “widely” before releasing the document. Fernández, he said, “should have widely done enough consultation before releasing such a controversial declaration. His idea and thought that cardinals and bishops cannot prohibit what Pope Francis has permitted with Fiducia Supplicans is mistaken.”

The leadership of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) was strategic in handling the reactions to FS. Just two days after its release, SECAM president Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo reached out to colleagues across the continent through the presidents of the Catholic bishops’ conferences to provide “unequivocal clarity” on the issue and mend the deep division FS had caused. 

While gathering feedback from the dozens of bishops’ conferences across Africa, Ambongo also engaged the Vatican. In an audio recording, he recalled his decision to travel to Rome that was preceded by a seven-page letter to Pope Francis. In the recording, he recounted the process that resulted in the statement in which he declared that FS would not be implemented in Africa. 

“With the prefect [Fernández], myself in front of the computer, a secretary writing, we prepared a document … in dialogue and agreement with Pope Francis, so that at every moment we called him to ask him questions, to see if he agreed with that formulation.”

Ambongo said he signed the document as president of SECAM on behalf of the entire Church in Africa and that Fernández signed it. The document was not made public but kept in the archives. It is titled: “No to the Blessing of Homosexual Couples in the Catholic Churches.”

Although the text appears to have been signed in Accra, Ghana, the headquarters of SECAM, in reality, “I signed it in Rome,” Ambongo said. “The episcopal conferences of all Africa, which have strongly reaffirmed their communion with Pope Francis, believe that the extra-liturgical blessings proposed in the declaration Fiducia Supplicans cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals.”

“This is to express our position today in Africa and we do it in a spirit of communion, of synodality with Pope Francis, and with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: In Africa there is no place to bless homosexual couples. Not at all,” he stressed.

The SECAM statement cited a previous DDF Declaration on homosexuality, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the sacred Scriptures, and the language used in FS as additional reasons for rejecting the DDF declaration on the continent. 

Were the misgivings resolved? 

On Jan. 13, 2024, Pope Francis was quoted as explaining that FS was not to be implemented in Africa “because the culture does not accept it.” Much more seems to have been omitted in Pope Francis’ explanation in his closed-door meeting with 800 priests from the Diocese of Rome in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran as Italian media outlets, including the Italian news channel, Sky TG24, reported. The “consolidated summary” of the responses of the Conferences of Catholic Bishops in Africa, which Ambongo had issued on Jan. 11, 2024, went beyond cultures in Africa.

The SECAM statement aimed to put an end to the misgivings in the relationship between Pope Francis and the African Church. Rather than impart blessings upon same-sex couples and couples in other “irregular situations” as FS proposed, the African bishops underscored the need “for the conversion of all.” 

On his part, Pope Francis allowed the Church in Africa to contextualize the document he endorsed.

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA's African news partner, and has been adapted for CNA.

Pope Francis’ coffin is sealed prior to his funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica on Friday, April 25, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 25, 2025 / 16:26 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ coffin was closed and sealed in St. Peter’s Basilica in a private ceremony on Friday evening after more than 250,000 people paid their final respects to the late pope over three days of public visitation.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, presided over the rite of the closing and sealing of the coffin, which was attended by cardinals of the Roman Curia, the pope’s secretaries, and several of his relatives.

Priests of the Chapter of St. Peter, a group responsible for the liturgical and sacramental care of St. Peter’s Basilica, will keep vigil over the late pontiff’s coffin during the night of April 25 until the funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square on the morning of April 26.

The liturgy, which lasted one hour, began with the reading of the “rogito,” a two-page summary in Latin of Francis’ life and papacy.

The choir chanted the Canticle of Zachariah, there was a moment for silent prayer, and then Farrell read a prayer in Latin asking the Lord that Pope Francis’ face, “which scrutinized your ways to show them to the Church, now see your fatherly face.”

Following the prayer, Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, the Vatican’s lead master of ceremonies for papal liturgies, covered Pope Francis’ face in a white silk veil. Farrell sprinkled holy water on the late pontiff’s body, and then Ravelli placed inside the coffin a copy of the “rogito,” rolled up inside a metal cylinder and sealed, and a bag with the coins minted during Francis’ pontificate.

First the interior coffin of zinc was closed and sealed. A cross, Pope Francis’ coat of arms, and a plaque with his papal name, the length of his life — 88 years, four months, and four days — and the length of his pontificate — 12 years, one month, and eight days — was visible on the outside of the zinc coffin. 

Then, the outer wooden coffin, which featured a cross and the coat of arms of Francis, was closed.

The rite concluded with the singing of psalms and antiphons, including the Marian antiphon for the Easter season, the Regina Caeli.

After the funeral Mass on April 26, Pope Francis’ remains will be brought from the Vatican through Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he will be buried in another private ceremony.

The Colorado capitol in Denver. / Credit: robert cicchetti/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2025 / 15:51 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders in Colorado this week decried a new state law signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday that will mandate taxpayer funding for elective abortions.  

Colorado was already one of the most permissive states in the country in terms of abortion. Voters in November 2024 approved Amendment 79, which enshrined in the state constitution the state laws already in place that allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. 

One of the two new laws Polis signed April 24 — passed by the Legislature as Senate Bill 183 — implements Amendment 79, setting the date for it to ultimately take effect at the beginning of 2026. 

As part of the new law, an earlier provision in the state constitution that prohibited public funds for abortion has now been repealed; the new law requires abortion coverage for Medicaid patients and Child Health Plan Plus program recipients using state money. 

Public employees’ insurance plans will also have to cover abortion, the Denver Post reported. 

Bishops: Public funding of abortion violates ‘dignity of human life’

In an April 24 statement, the Colorado Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, said the new law will force Coloradans to “fund elective abortion up to birth using our tax dollars.” 

The conference had strongly urged all people to vote no on Amendment 79 during last year’s campaign, noting that among other things, it would open the door for direct taxpayer funding for abortion.

“The allocation of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to subsidize the deliberate ending of innocent life and harm of women is a tragedy for Colorado,” the bishops wrote April 24. 

“Rather than using state resources to support life-affirming alternatives, SB25-183 prioritizes public funding of abortion at the expense of the lives of preborn children, the health of their mothers, and the conscience rights of millions of Colorado taxpayers who morally object to abortion.”

In an open letter sent earlier this month — co-signed by Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Denver, Bishop James Golka of Colorado Springs, and Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo — the bishops said the proposal “violates the dignity of human life” and “disregards the safety of women.”

They urged the governor “to consider the millions of Coloradans who do not want their hard-earned tax dollars to be used in the destruction of human life.”

State analysts have estimated the cost of public coverage of abortion at nearly $5.9 million per year, with some savings — perhaps only as much as $573,000 — realized for the state because of the lower cost of covering abortion rather than supporting the babies’ births. 

However, the Colorado bishops disputed the state’s analysis, noting that according to data published in 2024 from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 62% of abortions in Colorado are paid for using Medicaid. 

The cost of the state expanding taxpayer payment to virtually all abortions, including more expensive late-term abortions — especially given a likely loss of federal support — will potentially cost the state closer to $8.5 million per year.

Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America, called the arguments for the bill “bad economics and even worse ethics.”

In his analysis of the bill for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, New found that when state Medicaid programs cover abortions, the number of abortions increases. The Colorado bill will increase the number of abortions in Colorado by more than 1,800 annually, New said.

“[T]he federal government subsidizes other health services covered by Colorado’s Medicaid program. Colorado taxpayers pay for only a fraction of the cost of Medicaid births,” New wrote at National Review earlier this month.

“Indeed, contrary to the assertion of Colorado Democrats, covering elective abortion would cost Colorado taxpayers money.”

The other law Polis signed, passed as Senate Bill 129, will ramp up the state’s 2023 shield law to guard abortion providers and patients, and their data, from out-of-state investigations and other actions, the Denver Post reported.

Twenty states and Washington, D.C., now allow Medicaid programs to use state taxpayer dollars to cover elective abortions.

Members of Civil Protection at the Vatican. / Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

Vatican City, Apr 25, 2025 / 15:19 pm (CNA).

More than 1,800 Italian Civil Protection volunteers are currently deployed around St. Peter’s Basilica and throughout central Rome to coordinate and facilitate the flow of pilgrims paying their final respects to Pope Francis.

“Our task is to provide assistance to the pilgrims, information on where to go, access routes to the basilica, distribute bottles of water if the sun is out, and help people as much as possible,” explained volunteer Alessandro Saletta.

Italy is preparing extensively to welcome monarchs, heads of state and government, and other political representatives from around the world who will attend the funeral in St. Peter’s Square.

More than 130 international delegations have confirmed their attendance. In addition, 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs are expected.

“We at Civil Protection are assisting mostly in the Vatican area, while Italian security forces, such as the Carabinieri, the army, and the fire department, are monitoring the most sensitive areas, such as Termini station and Fiumicino airport,” Saletta explained.

The impressive security measures for Pope Francis’ funeral include the deployment of some 4,000 police officers as well as snipers, agents with expertise in detecting explosives, a no-fly zone, and exhaustive checks at airports and train and bus stations.

According to the latest figures released by the Vatican, since Wednesday nearly 250,000 people have filed through St. Peter’s Basilica where the pope, who died on Monday at the age of 88, lies in state. The public viewing ended at 7 p.m. Rome time Friday.

The funeral Mass will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26. Once completed, the Vatican has scheduled a procession of the coffin with the pope’s remains, which will leave St. Peter’s Basilica and proceed to St. Mary Major Basilica, where the pontiff will be buried at ground level in a tomb designed with great simplicity.

The route for the funeral cortege, which represents one of the greatest organizational challenges for the Italian authorities, will pass by iconic sites such as the Roman Colosseum and will be cordoned off on both sides of the road to safely allow the faithful who wish to do so to pay their last respects.

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

Pope Francis. / Credit: Vatican Media

Lima Newsroom, Apr 25, 2025 / 14:47 pm (CNA).

The death of Pope Francis marks the end of an era for the Catholic Church in Latin America. As the first Latin American pontiff, his legacy in the region is complex, according to analysts consulted by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

His 12-year pontificate coincided with multiple challenges in the region, including dictatorial regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, mass migration, and sexual abuse scandals within the Church.

He created 149 cardinals, 32 of whom are Latin American, and 23 of them will be electors in the upcoming conclave.

The 2013 election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope generated a wave of hope and enthusiasm in Latin America. However, over the years, the positive perception of the pontiff among Latin American Catholics fell from its early stratospheric heights. 

According to a Pew Research Center survey published in September 2024, Pope Francis’ popularity in the region slipped considerably over the decade, with Argentina being the most notable case: There his approval rating fell from 98% in 2013 to 74% in 2024.

Other countries surveyed that registered declines were Colombia (from 93% to 88%), Brazil (from 92% to 84%), Mexico (from 86% to 80%), Peru (from 83% to 78%), and Chile (from 79% to 64%).

A Church of the Americas for the world

As pope, Bergoglio brought his Latin American pastoral experience to Rome, transforming the Church on the continent from being “‘a Church reflective of European characteristics’ to beginning the process of becoming a ‘source Church,’” emphasized Rodrigo Guerra, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, he explained that “this can easily be seen by looking closely” at Francis’ first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, or the Synod on Synodality, which “have the air of a Latin American ecclesial family.”

Guerra also highlighted Francis’ legacy in his social teaching, which “recovers and matures many of the most cherished insights of the Latin American Catholic Church’s experience,” such as “the preferential option for the poor, understood as a Christological rather than a partisan option,” his “strong criticism of all ‘ideological colonization,’” and “‘popular spirituality’ as the true theological action of God in the faithful.”

Jorge Trasloheros, who holds a doctorate in Latin American studies, explained that the pastoral guidance Bergoglio would apply to the world can be seen in the Aparecida document — in which the then-Argentine archbishop played a significant role — and whose “main theme is that every Catholic must be a missionary disciple of Christ.”

This is a document in which “there is no political slogan per se, as in fact there may have been in previous meetings of bishops,” but rather it encourages Catholics to go in “search of the peripheries” of humanity.

Furthermore, another Latin American characteristic of Pope Francis was his challenge to people and “the issue of synodality.” Aparecida calls “for learning to walk in community, and synodality is this walking in community,” he said.

Trasloheros clarified that the pontificate was not about “making the universal Church a Latin America but rather that the contributions of the experience of the Latin American episcopate served to inspire many initiatives within a totally depleted European Church.”

His trips to the region

During his 12-year pontificate, Francis visited 61 countries on 47 trips. In Latin America, he visited Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Panama. But paradoxically, he never officially visited his native Argentina. 

Regarding this, Guerra recalled that “many times” the Holy Father declared “his interest in visiting his beloved Argentina,” a country whose people this past week have flocked to churches to pray for his eternal rest.

However, he explained that the decision regarding which countries to visit “is always a prudential one and involves weighing many factors.”

“The social and political reality of the people, of course, is one of those factors. However, it’s not the only one, and often, it is not the main one.” 

Pope Francis was constantly “attentive to the life and ups and downs of the Latin American region.” Guerra noted that “the only region in the world that has a pontifical commission within the structure of the Roman Curia is Latin America,” home to 48% of the world’s Catholics.

Pope Francis’ first trip was to Brazil for World Youth Day in Rio in 2013.   

Subsequently, in Ecuador, Francis dedicated himself to promoting the protection of the family, rejecting the throwaway culture, and reminding everyone that evangelizing “is our revolution.”

During his visit to Bolivia in July 2015, he said that some powers are determined to erase Catholicism from the Latin American peoples “perhaps because our faith is revolutionary, because our faith challenges the tyranny of the idol of money.”

The then-Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi stated that when the pope spoke of “processes of change, of revolutionary faith,” he was referring to “a revolution founded on love.”

“There is no vocabulary of struggle or violence, it is a vocabulary of love and compassion,” he explained.

That same year, he traveled to Paraguay. In a meeting with civil society, he said that it is useless to take an “ideological view” of the poor because they end up being exploited “for other political or personal interests” to the detriment of their human dignity.

In September 2015, he became the third pope to visit Cuba, where he had an informal meeting with Fidel Castro. He also called for freedom and for room to operate so that the Church could fulfill its mission.

The following year, he traveled to Mexico and visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, where he prayed for a moment before the Marian image. He also celebrated Mass with Indigenous people in Chiapas and another in Ciudad Juárez, across the border from the United States.

At this Mass, he denounced forced migration as “a human tragedy” that has reached global levels. “This crisis, which can be measured in numbers, we want to measure in names, in stories, in families. These are brothers and sisters who are being forced out by poverty and violence, by drug trafficking and organized crime,” he said.

Pope Francis visited Colombia in 2017, the year after the peace agreement was signed between the government and the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, by its Spanish acronym). During that trip, the pope encouraged Colombians to continue working for reconciliation, in addition to calling for a solution to the crisis in Venezuela.

He also beatified two Colombian martyrs: Jesús Jaramillo, the bishop of Arauca, and Father Pedro Ramírez, the priest of Armero.

His trip to Chile in January 2018 marked a turning point in the fight against sexual abuse. After defending the appointment of Bishop Juan Barros as bishop of Osorno, he subsequently took into account the accusations against the prelate for allegedly covering up sexual abuse and decided to order an investigation into how the Church responded to the abuse allegations.

That same month, he visited Peru, where he met with the Amazonian peoples, whom he urged to fight against illegal mining, deforestation, prostitution, and human trafficking.

Panama was the last Latin American country visited by Pope Francis, on the occasion of World Youth Day 2019. During the Mass of Commissioning, he encouraged young people to follow the example of Mary, who, with her “fiat,” said yes to the mission God had entrusted to her.

In addition, he gave the continent 11 saints: the three child martyrs of Tlaxcala, José Sánchez del Río, Mother Laura Montoya, Mother María Guadalupe García Zavala, Mama Antula, Artímedes Zatti, José del Rosario Brochero, Nazaria Ignacia, and Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero. 

He also prepared the canonizations of the first two Venezuelan saints: Dr. José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Elena Rendíles Martínez, founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus. 

Liberation theology or theology of the people?

As a priest and later archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio addressed Latin American social reality, marked by poverty and migration, as he experienced it in the shantytowns of the Argentine capital.

As Trasloheros sees it, the same radicalism that Francis displayed in defending life “from the first moment until natural death” he displayed in protecting the dignity of migrants. 

“But when he starts talking about defending migrants, ‘Oh, of course, he’s on the left!’” For Trasloheros, these are attempts by groups to confuse “faith with politics” to manipulate it toward “their interests, rejecting or presenting a pope who doesn’t exist.”

For his part, Guerra said that “the political geometry of those on the ‘right’ and the ‘left’ fails to appreciate the irreducibility of the [the life and mission of Jesus Christ]” and that “every time the popes fail to please the powers of the world, they try to label them with reductive categories.”

“The pope,” the Vatican official affirmed, “is the guarantor of the correct interpretation of the deposit of faith, and his teaching on the social dimension of the Gospel is also part of his magisterium. Losing sight of this quickly engenders mentalities that explicitly or tacitly break with proper ecclesial communion.”

One of Francis’ actions that was questioned at the time was the canonization of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 in El Salvador, allegedly a supporter of liberation theology. 

However, this connection was rejected by Monsignor Jesús Delgado, who served as secretary to the Central American saint. He asserted that “[Archbishop Romero] knew nothing about liberation theology, and he didn’t want to learn about it. He was a faithful adherent of the Catholic Church and, above all, of the doctrine of the popes.”

But there were other gestures that also fostered this perception, such as the letter the pope sent to Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, considered the father of liberation theology, on his 90th birthday. “I thank you for all you have contributed to the Church and to humanity,” the pope wrote, “through your service to theology and your preferential love for the poor and the outcasts of society.”

In addition, he lifted the suspensions “a divinis” that Pope John Paul II had imposed on Miguel D’Escoto, Fernando Cardenal, and Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priests of that movement, for their political participation in the Sandinista government.

The Vatican reported that Francis granted D’Escoto’s request to “return to celebrating the Holy Eucharist before his death” and Ernesto Cardenal’s request to “be readmitted to the exercise of the priestly ministry.”

In January 2017, Pope Francis told the Spanish newspaper El País that “liberation theology was a positive thing in Latin America. The part that opted for a Marxist analysis of reality was condemned by the Vatican.”

“Cardinal [Joseph] Ratzinger issued two instructions when he was prefect of the [then-Congregation for the] Doctrine of the Faith. One was very clear about the Marxist analysis of reality. And the second took up positive aspects. Liberation theology had positive aspects and also had deviations, especially in its Marxist analysis of reality,” he noted.

Jesuit Father Juan Carlos Scannone, one of Bergoglio’s formators, affirmed that the pontiff never shared the tenets of Father Gustavo Gutiérrez but rather was guided by the Argentine current of liberation theology, which “does not use Marxist social analysis but rather prefers a historical-cultural analysis, without discarding the socio-structural, but not based on class struggle as the determining principle for interpreting society and history.”

“The Argentine line of liberation theology, which some call ‘theology of the people,’ helps us understand Bergoglio’s pastoral work as a bishop as well as many of his statements and teachings,” Scannone explained.

The secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Rodrigo Guerra, explained that Scannone created “a typology to classify the various ‘theologies of liberation,’” which includes the “Río de la Plata school” and is also known as “theology of the people,” “a non-Marxist way of creatively developing a non-conformist, critical, and liberating theology with a strong cultural focus,” he noted.

“Pope Francis subscribes in part to this tradition, but he goes beyond it in more than one respect. Pope Francis, in some ways, represents the creative maturation of the ‘theology of the people,’ of the Latin American episcopal magisterium, and of the truly lived pastoral experience of many communities in the region,” he added.

Trasloheros also emphasized this point, because while Marxist liberation theology “is ideologized, identifies with political parties, and rejects popular religiosity because it is considered alienating,” the line followed by Francis supports popular religiosity and understands the culture that is unique to the people.

“That’s why he was a ‘shantytown pope,’ as they called him, and was so supportive of the priests [ministering in] the slums, the forgotten inner city, the marginalized areas,” he noted.

For David Lantigua, adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame, “today, liberation theology has multiplied into several other themes, such as Indigenous and ecofeminist theology.”

However, “Pope Francis doesn’t speak of liberation theology but of the theology of poverty, a theology of the people from the ‘sensus fidei,’ which includes the wisdom of human beings, grassroots movements, and the environment,” Lantigua told ACI Prensa.

“The Gospel of Christ, who ‘though he was rich, became poor’ (2 Cor 8:9), proclaims the word of God to the poor, and from the poor it has a social and liberating dimension. The exhortation Evangelii Gaudium is like a document from Aparecida, which was led by Bergoglio, for the universal Church,” he added.

In 2015, on the flight from Cuba to Washington, D.C., the pope was told that some considered him a communist pope. To this, Francis noted that he had never said “one more thing that wasn’t in the Church’s social doctrine.”

“Things can be explained. Perhaps one explanation has given the impression of being a little more leftist, but that would be a mistake. No, my doctrine on all this, on Laudato Si’, on economic imperialism, all of this, is that of the Church’s social doctrine,” he affirmed.

For Trasloheros, the theology of the people “is neither left nor right. Through pastoral experience, he tries to proclaim Christ and live Christ; therefore, he has no political spectrum and cannot be ideologized.”

The Mexican expert said that taking this position caused Bergoglio to be marginalized by a “radical group” of Jesuits inclined toward Marxist theology, who sent him “to a very remote place, where his main mission was to hear confessions. He was not allowed to teach young people or have contact with them.”

This was until the then archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, was able to get him appointed as auxiliary bishop.

Deficit of democracy in Latin America

During the years of Francis’ pontificate, Latin America continued to be a continent facing great challenges, including the lack of democracy in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Francis visited Cuba in 2015. A year earlier, the pope played a crucial role in achieving a thaw in the relationship between the communist regime and the United States during the Obama administration, although this was reversed by the first Trump administration. 

But through his diplomatic representatives, he also advocated for the release of political prisoners, especially those imprisoned during the peaceful protests of July 2021. Furthermore, although the Cuban government has not yet completed the release of 553 prisoners promised in January, it has noted that this promise was made through the mediation of Pope Francis.

In the case of Venezuela, in his early years, the pope provided mediation between the socialist regime and the opposition through the Vatican secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

Although the process was cut short by the government’s lack of will, Francis remained committed to efforts to bring about democratization in Venezuela, whether through private letters or through his representatives, such as Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

But the most difficult and dramatic case has been Nicaragua, where the Catholic Church continues to be openly persecuted by the regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and “co-president,” Rosario Murillo, with the expulsion of bishops, priests, and religious orders, and the expropriation of Catholic properties.

Since the current crisis began in 2018, the pope supported the Church’s mediation through the apostolic nunciature. However, the Ortega regime expelled the nuncio, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, in March 2022.

Despite this, the pontiff closely followed the life of the Church in Nicaragua. His criticism of the Sandinista dictatorship prompted Ortega to respond by requesting the closure of the Vatican embassy in Managua.

Unlike Nicaragua, the Vatican still maintains diplomatic missions in Cuba and Venezuela.

For Guerra, “complex political scenarios, such as those in Venezuela, Cuba, or Nicaragua, require the practical wisdom of the pastor, that is, what St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle, called ‘prudence.’”

“Prudence,” he clarified, “is not a clever calculation of means and ends. Much less is it timidity. Prudence is the ‘charioteer of virtues,’ that is, it’s the operative habit that guides stable dispositions for morally good decisions,” he said.

For the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the pope promoted “the ‘possible good’ in every scenario.”

“Unlike heads of state, the pope is primarily a pastor who seeks the good of the people and the necessary freedom of the Church so that it can exercise its evangelizing mission.”

Synod for the Amazon

The Synod for the Amazon took place Oct. 6–27, 2019, at the Vatican. Pope Francis convened the event to reflect on pastoral care in this vast region of South America.

However, the event was not without its controversial aspects, such as the alleged cult of Pachamama (Mother Earth) and by some sectors pushing for women priests and married priests, proposals that were rejected.

Trasloheros affirmed that the convening of this synod was a pastoral initiative by Francis toward his home continent, bringing together not only bishops but also “many pastoral experiences that are being carried out by Indigenous communities” and by missionaries.

Guerra asserted that at the ceremony held in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 4, 2019, “there was no act of worship of ‘Pachamama’” but rather “gifts brought from the Amazon were displayed, although it was difficult to interpret for the observer accustomed to a Eurocentric perspective.”

Regarding the figure of the pregnant woman, which was associated with the Pachamama, Guerra said that it was not “an effigy of the Andean ‘Pachamama’ but a simple sign of fertility, and that many of us appreciate because it invites us to ‘save both lives,’ that is, to respect the inalienable dignity of the unborn and the woman who carries [the baby] in her womb.”

“The Amazon Synod is now beginning to bear visible fruit, for example, through CEAMA, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon. This unprecedented experience is undoubtedly promising. Affection and patience will help it mature. The men and women who participate in it are well aware of the importance of their evangelizing mission, strongly embedded in the context of and guided by the Church’s teaching on integral ecology,” he stated.

Migration

During Francis’ pontificate, mass migration continued to rise from Latin America, particularly from Venezuela, with millions leaving that country. Hundreds of thousands of people crossed the dangerous Darien jungle in migrant caravans that traveled through Central America to reach the United States.

Panama reported that nearly 300,000 people crossed that jungle in 2024. However, following measures taken by President Donald Trump, the flow has been reduced by 98%.

The Argentine pope repeatedly opposed anti-immigrant policies and advocated for “welcoming migrants.”

In the case of the United States, he rejected the mass deportations carried out by the Trump administration. The pope’s stance caused a clash with Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism and one of the last people to meet with Francis before his death.

Abortion

Despite the pope’s vociferous opposition to abortion, during his pontificate the practice gained ground in the region. It was decriminalized in Chile in 2017, legalized in Argentina in 2020, liberalized in Colombia in 2022, and is currently permitted in most states of Mexico.

Abuse cases

During his pontificate, Francis strengthened the zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy.

Among the most high-profile cases was the episode in Chile, following accusations against the bishop of Osorno, Juan Barros, for alleged cover-up.

Following his apostolic visit to the country in January 2018, the pope sent a special mission whose report led the Chilean bishops to offer their resignations which the pope then used to begin the renewal of the country’s episcopate.

He also laicized Fernando Karadima, the Chilean priest who was convicted by the Vatican in 2011 of sexual abuse.

During his pontificate, he continued working to reform the Legionaries of Christ, following the abuse scandals committed by its founder and several members.

Likewise, an investigation was conducted into the Sodality of Christian Life for sexual abuse and the abuse of power, which culminated in the dissolution of that apostolic society founded in Peru.

Finally, in January, he approved the appointment of two papal delegates to the Institute of the Incarnate Word — which was founded in Argentina — to help it “bring about effective change,” given that its founder, who died in 2023, continued to be presented as an exemplary priest, despite being found guilty “of the crimes of which he was accused.”

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

German Bishops at Mass in the Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls during their visit in Rome, Nov. 17, 2022. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 25, 2025 / 13:15 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week:

German group slams bishops’ same-sex blessing guide issued after Pope Francis’ death

A small but influential Catholic group in Germany called “New Beginning” has issued a blistering statement protesting the release of a new handout, “Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other,” by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). 

The new instructions on the blessing of same-sex couples came just 48 hours after the death of Pope Francis. “Obviously, this document was ready in the drawer,” the group stated in its “Protest Note,” adding: “They probably only waited for the death of the pope and the interregnum to create facts in the time of weakened ecclesiastical legal power and to introduce exactly what was expressly prohibited in Fiducia Supplicans [the 2023 Vatican directive on nonliturgical blessings for couples in ‘irregular’ situations].”

The handout states that divorced couples and “couples of all sexual orientations and gender identities are a natural part of our society” and that “couples who do not wish to enter into a Church sacramental marriage or who are not eligible for one should be allowed to have blessing ceremonies.”

Diocese of Zambia declares period of mourning, suspends Easter celebrations

The Archdiocese of Ndola in Zambia has declared a period of mourning following the passing of Pope Francis and suspended major activities it had lined up before the Easter Monday news was made public, reported ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa.

The archdiocese’s pastoral director, Father Ephraim Mulenda Mapulanga, said the decision to suspend all activities and enter a period of mourning was a way of “showing respect to our late Holy Father.” He further noted that the pastoral office had seen fit that “all programs of entertainment be suspended in all our parishes and institutions.”

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India condemns terror attack in Kashmir 

The Indian Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement on Wednesday condemning a terror attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people and injured 17 others, according to a UCA News report. According to reports, a terrorist group known as the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

“We strongly condemn this heinous crime against humanity, which has targeted innocent lives, causing immense pain and suffering to families and loved ones,” the bishops said in an April 23 statement. “Violence only breeds more violence, and it is high time for us to choose the path of love, compassion, and understanding,” they added. The bishops further urged the militant group to lay down their arms.

Ecumenical Mass in Egypt for the soul of Pope Francis

In a solemn ecumenical gathering, Bishop Claudio Lurati of Alexandria, Egypt, presided over a memorial Mass for Pope Francis at St. Catherine Latin Cathedral in Alexandria, according to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

He was joined by bishops from the Maronite, Melkite, and Coptic Catholic Churches along with government officials, foreign diplomats, and representatives from Al-Azhar. Lurati praised Pope Francis as a man of deep love and service who brought hope and unity to a divided world.

Nigerian bishop laments exodus in episcopal see amid insecurity

Bishop Michael Gobal Gokum of the Diocese of Pankshin in Nigeria has expressed sorrow over the mass displacement of residents in his episcopal see as a result of insecurity. In an interview with ACI Africa on Tuesday, Gokum said violence in Bokkos and other parts of Nigeria’s Plateau state has left thousands of people homeless, with many now living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

“I feel very sad seeing my flock always on the road, carrying their belongings, crying and wailing because of the insecurity in their communities,” he lamented. “I cannot be an effective shepherd when the people are unhappy, when they are unsafe, and when they are forced to live in IDP camps.”

South Sudan’s president remembers day Pope Francis kissed his feet 

In wake of Pope Francis’ death, President Salva Kiir of South Sudan recalled an extraordinary moment when the Holy Father knelt and kissed his feet while begging him and other political leaders to end the country’s civil war. 

“It goes without saying that South Sudan had a special spot in the heart of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Kiir said. “His act of kindness and humility demonstrated during our visit to Rome in 2019, when he knelt down to kiss our feet, was a turning point for us, the peace partners.”