Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Pope Francis with Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako in 2020. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2025 / 17:55 pm (CNA).

The Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, said with emotion that most of the Iraqi population has been distressed by Pope Francis’ extended hospitalization and that even “Muslims are praying for his recovery.”

Sako revealed that both the current Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudan, and Mustafa Abdellatif Mshatat, a politician who was in office when the pope traveled to the country in March 2021, have personally called him to inquire about the Holy Father’s health.

“They were very concerned and asked me to convey their closeness to him; I did so through the secretariat of state,” the cardinal explained in a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Sako said with emotion that all the Chaldean churches and convents pray for Pope Francis every day. “He is also our father, not only of the Latin Church, and every day we await the medical report,” he explained.

The cardinal emphasized that Muslims, too, have wanted to show their closeness to him.

“Many Muslims contact me every day to find out how he is,” he continued, adding that they hold dear the memory of the Holy Father’s visit to this country four years ago, in March 2021.

“No one forgets it. Those were three days when we were like in paradise, without attacks, bombs, or deaths from war,” he recalled.

The prelate also noted that Al-Kadhimi went all out for Pope Francis’ visit, having “the streets decorated and music played to create a festive atmosphere.”

“Everywhere there were pictures of the Holy Father and the Vatican flag,” he added.

Sako was on a pilgrimage last week to Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, the common father of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This town in southern Iraq is considered one of the most important sacred sites for Christianity in ancient Mesopotamia.

“We made the Stations of the Cross for Pope Francis, all the priests from Baghdad together with about 20 nuns, and there were also some Muslims with us. It was truly a beautiful moment,” he related.

South Sudan is also praying for the Holy Father

South Sudan is another country that fondly remembers Pope Francis’ visit in early 2023 and continues to pray for him during these difficult times.

The bishop of the Diocese of Bentiu, Christian Carlassare, who was in charge of some of the preparations and organized a 250-mile pilgrimage with the country’s youth to prepare for the pope’s arrival, assured that the South Sudanese “love him very much.”

“They didn’t just warmly embrace him when he visited them two years ago. They know that the pope’s heart is in South Sudan and all the peripheries of the world,” he noted.

Likewise, no one will forget the gesture of peace Pope Francis made in April 2019 when he organized a spiritual retreat at the Vatican with the then-president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, and his opponent, Riek Machar.

During his trip to the country, the second stop on his journey to Central Africa after spending three days in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the pope vehemently criticized the violence, which has been seared into that society’s conscience.

“These are years of wars and conflicts that seem to have no end. Violent clashes have even recently been recorded, while reconciliation processes and promises of peace remain unfulfilled,” Pope Francis said upon landing in Juba.

All the parishes in the country are praying for his recovery. “All the churches are praying the rosary, remembering the Holy Father especially in this time of fatigue and illness,” he said.

Carlassare said the people feel the pope’s “strong presence despite the weakness of his body.”

“It is the light of a person who is spontaneous, who is present, who loves Christ and loves his Church,” he concluded.

Indonesia: interfaith prayers for pope’s health

In addition, young Indonesians of different faiths have also wanted to join the prayers arriving from around the world to the 10th floor of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where the pontiff remains hospitalized with double pneumonia.

“In a gesture of unity and hope, young people and leaders of different religions gathered at Hati Indonesia, the geodesic dome of the Scholas Occurrentes center created by young people from the movement, to offer interfaith prayers for the health of Pope Francis,” the movement said in a statement.

This space, inaugurated by the Holy Father in September 2024 during his apostolic visit to Indonesia, has become a symbol of the encounter between cultures and religions.

On this occasion, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists gathered to pray together for the Holy Father’s “speedy recovery.”

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

null / Credit: sergign/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 12, 2025 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

A federal judge has ordered the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to make foreign aid payments to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for completed work but gave administration officials some limited authority in deciding how money will be spent moving forward.

Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office to halt spending for most foreign aid programs established through Congress. Several Catholic NGOs that do humanitarian work overseas — including Catholic Relief Services and Jesuit Refugee Service — immediately lost access to funds and subsequently laid off thousands of workers.

Although NGOs must be paid for work they have already completed, the court order does not guarantee that any of those specific organizations will receive additional funds moving forward.

U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, ordered the administration to pay about $2 billion for work that was finished before Feb. 13. He ordered the government to make 1,200 payments over a four-day period, which is about 300 payments per day.

However, Ali wrote in his order that the court intends to avoid “dictating operational decisions” and will not prevent the executive branch from reviewing or terminating individual contracts. He wrote that the court “is mindful of limitations on its own authority” and will not grant any requests from NGOs that “would unnecessarily entangle the court in supervision of discrete or ongoing executive decisions.”

“The court must be careful that any relief it grants does not itself intrude on the prerogative of [the executive] branch,” Ali ruled.

Although Ali granted the executive branch discretion on how foreign aid money appropriated by Congress will be spent, the order put significant restrictions on Trump’s plan to completely end spending on 83% of programs run by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Courts have the authority to resolve “disputes between Congress and the president over foreign policy power,” the order states, and adds the Constitution “explicitly vests in Congress the power to spend” and the administration has not cited “any precedent or history allowing the president to dictate whether to spend foreign aid for the statutory purposes here.”

“The executive not only claims his constitutional authority to determine how to spend appropriated funds but usurps Congress’ exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place,” Ali wrote.

“The constitutional power over whether to spend foreign aid is not the president’s own — and it is Congress’ own,” he added.

For this reason, Ali found that Trump likely exceeded his executive authority in violation of the separation of powers because “the appropriations laws reflect an exercise of Congress’ own, core constitutional power to determine whether and how much money is spent.”

The order states that the administration must stop “unlawfully impounding congressionally appropriated foreign aid funds.” It adds that the administration must spend the foreign aid money in a way consistent with the rules set by Congress.

Apart from the broad mandate that the administration must act according to Congress’ intent, the order does not provide any specific mandates on what entities should receive the funds, where the money should go, or when the government must spend it.

Catholic NGOs that had contracts terminated or suspended might not receive any more foreign aid funds from the United States during Trump’s term unless the president changes course and revives the old contracts or decides to enter into new partnerships with those organizations.

Both sides have the opportunity to appeal the court order.

Sebastian Lai speaks to “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol about his father’s imprisonment on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 12, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Sebastian Lai, son of Hong Kong Catholic democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, said this week his father is “still fighting for his beliefs” while he remains imprisoned in “inhumane” conditions and his national security trial drags on. 

Jimmy Lai, the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and a human rights activist, has been on trial since December 2023 for allegations of colluding with foreign forces under a national security law put in effect by the communist-controlled Chinese government. 

He was originally arrested in 2020 and has been convicted on several other charges over the course of his detainment. 

The 77-year-old has been in solitary confinement in Hong Kong for more than four years, where “he doesn’t get to see anybody. He doesn’t get natural light, and he’s denied the Eucharist as well,” Sebastian Lai said at a press conference on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. 

Trial subject to ‘disgraceful’ monthslong delay

Sebastian Lai explained that the trial just finished cross-examinations. In the courtroom, Jimmy Lai was reported to be “skinnier” but “still very sharp.”

The trial was supposed to last 18 days, Sebastian said, but has now run for well over 100. “He’s not going to get sentenced until either end of this year or the start of next year,” he said. 

The lead of Jimmy Lai’s international team, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, further explained the trial timeline and the anticipated outcome.

“We’re waiting for the closing submissions, and disgracefully, there’s a very, very long delay until early August before the closing submissions,” Gallagher said. “That’s a gap of almost five months in the middle of a trial when you’re dealing with an elderly man who’s diabetic, who’s already been in prison and in solitary confinement for over four years.”

“After that, there’ll be a pause, we don’t know how long before the judges give their verdict. But we think that’s only going one way,” she said. “We think it’s going to be a guilty finding, because he’s being tried under a law which essentially criminalizes dissent.”

“Really, what we’ve seen playing out is a trial for conspiracy to commit journalism, a conspiracy to raise concerns about democratic values.”

“We’re really here to sound the alarm bell,” Gallagher added. “We think this is an absolutely key moment.”

Lai facing ‘heightened risk to life’

Sebastian Lai said there is “a real fear that [my father] might pass away at any time, especially given that we have summer coming up.” 

Hong Kong will experience 100-degree temperatures, he said, and his father is “in a little concrete box with everything blocked off.”

“We’re very, very worried about Sebastian’s father,” Gallagher said. “He’s 77, he's diabetic. There is a very strong evidence base that when people spend an extended period of time in solitary confinement, there is a heightened risk to life.”

“Prolonged solitary confinement is when you spend 15 days in solitary confinement, and he spent over 1,500 days,” she said.

Gallagher bluntly said: “We are worried that we will see Jimmy Lai die in prison unless urgent action is taken.”

International support for Lai’s release

Sebastian Lai and the legal team met with the State Department in Washington this week and plan to meet with the National Security Council and a number of senators. 

Gallagher and Sebastian highlighted that right now there is increased support for Jimmy’s release. “There’s a real sense, both in America and internationally, that my father needs to be released,” Sebastian said.

He explained that the U.S. was the first to call for Lai’s release and now his father’s case has received support from the U.K., Canada, and Australia. With this attention, he said, “the time is now” to get his father released. 

He said the new U.S. administration makes him “a lot more hopeful.” 

“President Trump was the first president in the United States that mentioned my father by name,” he said. 

“We’re acutely conscious that President Trump has shown such leadership on bringing people out from captivity who shouldn’t be there, and we’re very grateful for that,” Gallager said. 

With that said, Gallagher explained, “there is no legal avenue to get him out of prison.” 

The team’s hope is that Jimmy Lai is let out of prison for clemency or a compassionate release due to his failing health.

Lai’s faith as a ‘pillar’

After the press conference, in an exclusive interview with “EWTN News Nightly,” Sebastian Lai discussed how his father’s Catholic faith has been “a real pillar” in getting him through his time in prison. 

Sebastian said that when the national security law was placed Jimmy Lai had the opportunity to leave Hong Kong, but, he said, “that’s not the man he is. He knew that by leaving, he would be abandoning his beliefs and his people. And so he stayed and risked his life to protect his people.”

“It’s a tremendous story … of how faith has given such strength and direction in a man’s life," he told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol. “I think faith is why even after having gone through so much with the Hong Kong government trying to break him, he’s still strong.”

Sebastian concluded the interview by sharing a story from the trial. “In one of the heated exchanges with the national security law judges … my father said, ‘[At] the end of the day, the truth will come out in the kingdom of heaven, in the kingdom of God, and that’s good enough for me.’”

“Tell this truth and pray for him because I think in his little cell in a standing maximum security prison, it gives him a lot of strength, and it makes him know that he’s not alone,” Sebastian said. 

Hundreds of people gather to pray the rosary for Pope Francis’ health on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflected Tuesday on the great challenge of illness and suffering for Pope Francis as he approaches a month’s hospital stay amid a series of health crises.

Before leading Tuesday evening’s recitation of rosary, held inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, Koch drew parallels in the lives of Pope Francis and St. Peter.

“Truly, truly, I say to you when you were young, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go,” Koch said, citing John 21:18.   

Commenting on the Gospel account when the resurrected Jesus asked Peter, the first pope, to follow him until the end, Koch asked: “How can we not recognize in these words, in fact, what our Holy Father — the successor of Peter — is also experiencing and struggling with?”

“Of course the situations are different, but also the suffering of a serious illness is a great challenge,” he said before starting Tuesday’s contemplation of the rosary’s sorrowful mysteries.  

Since Feb. 24, a cardinal has presided over the daily recitation of the rosary for the pope’s health. Hundreds of local Catholic faithful and jubilee pilgrims from around the world have come to St. Peter’s Square to join the evening prayers open to the public.

“We ask for the intercession of Mary, the mother of hope, for the health of Pope Francis,” Koch prayed.

The 88-year-old pontiff has undergone various medical therapies to treat bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia as well as mild kidney problems since being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital almost one month ago on Feb. 14.

Over the weeks, several Catholic faithful from Rome and abroad have also gathered outside Gemelli Hospital to pray for the Holy Father and have left behind written notes with well wishes, candles, and flowers before the St. John Paul II statue outside the facility.

Wednesday evening’s rosary at the Vatican was held at 6 p.m. local time and led by Cardinal ​​George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

Family members of Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli hostages gather in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 12, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Over a dozen family members of Israeli hostages shared the stories of their loved ones in Hamas captivity and asked for continued prayers during an emotional gathering that included several Christian groups in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. 

An intimate group of about 20 people attended the panel, including several representatives of the Philos Project, an ecumenical Christian nonprofit organization that advocates for pluralism and Israel’s peaceful existence in the Middle East. 

Organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Defense Forces, the panel included family members of Oct. 7, 2023, hostages Matan Angrest, 24, Manny Godard, 73, Guy Ilouz, 26, Tamir Nimarodi, 20, Evyatar David, 24, Idan Shvtivi, 28, Rom Brasvlavski, 21, and Omri Miran, 47. 

“We are living for more than 16 months with a big hole in our heart,” said Ilan Dalal, whose son Guy Gilboa-Dilal was taken from the Nova Music Festival by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and is believed to be among the 24 remaining live hostages. 

Thirty-five hostages in Gaza are presumed dead. “We are going from place to place, and I am trying to talk to everybody that’s willing to listen and trying to achieve the goal that all the hostages will be free, and until then, we will not rest,” Dalal said.

“Everything [has become] an issue of interest, a political interest, in this world,” said Michel Ilouz, whose son Guy Ilouz is now known to have died in the tunnels under Gaza from injuries he sustained on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants shot and abducted him at the Nova festival. 

“When I educated my oldest son, I always tried ... to educate him, to be in the right place, and to have the right values, and always try to stand behind the truth about what is right and what is wrong,” Ilouz said, adding: “This is wrong.” 

During his testimony, Ilouz played a recording of the last phone call he had with his son on Oct. 7, which featured the sounds of machine gun bullets and his son repeating the phrase “Father, I love you,” in Hebrew. 

“I remember I told him, ‘Guy don’t dare you, don’t dare you try to separate from us, please,’” Ilouz said. “And then everything finished.” 

Reports of Guy’s death did not surface until January. Ilouz told the small gathering on Tuesday that he does not care if his son’s body comes back last, so long as a negotiation for the release of all hostages is achieved somehow. 

During his testimony, Eli Shvtivi stood from his seat on the panel and walked in front of the table as he spoke in a mixture of English and Hebrew of his son, Idam Shtivi, who he said had gone to the Nova Music Festival “for peace and love.” 

Shvtivi explained that his son did not have a gun and was “a good person.” He then held up his phone with a video depicting his son being shot in the head four times and killed by Hamas before he was dragged into the Gaza Strip. 

“I don’t know what to do now,” Shvtivi said, sitting back down.  

Naama Miran recounted the story of her brother Omri Miran’s abduction from Nahal Oz, a kibbutz at the southern Israeli border, which took place in front of his wife and two young daughters. She said Omri’s wife, Ishael, managed to tell him three things before he was taken away: “I love you, I’ll take care of the girls, and don’t be a hero.” 

“Every time that I fly with this group of families, I feel how strongly this family is connected,” Naama said, describing the other family members as a “support group.” 

“But I can see also the suffering and the pain and how it gets harder each time, and every day,” she added. 

Each family member urged those in attendance to utilize any connections with elected officials or the Trump administration to advocate for their loved ones. 

At the end of the panel, Philos Catholic Director Simone Rizkallah addressed each of the family members assuring them of prayers and support from the Catholic community.

Rizkallah, who is behind the launch of the Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism, hosts the “Beyond Rome” podcast and is of Armenian-Egyptian descent. 

“There’s so much love and support for you from our community, and I wanted you to know that we’re doing everything we can to educate so many Catholics who have no idea of our history, but they’re open to learning and educating and spreading awareness,” she said.

She noted the thousands of Catholics who signed up to pray novenas for Israel through the Avila Foundation and on the Hallow app.

“This is what we’re praying for,” she said, adding: “There’s more people who are supporting you than you even are aware of, and certainly in the Catholic community.”

A Planned Parenthood facility in Indianapolis. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Two Republican senators sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to demand answers about why the Planned Parenthood Federation of America received more than $100 million in COVID-19 relief funds, which the lawmakers allege was “unlawful.”

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who chairs the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to request documents and records related to Planned Parenthood’s receipt of funding through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

According to the letter, Planned Parenthood affiliates received about $120 million in PPP loans in 2020 and 2021.

Lawmakers have inquired about the funding for the past few years, though they reportedly did not receive the information from the previous administration. 

“The Biden administration obstructed our investigation of potentially illegal applications of PPP loans to Planned Parenthood entities, and we are confident the Trump administration will provide the transparency the American people deserve,” Paul said in a statement provided to CNA.

Ernst said in a statement to CNA that the PPP loans were “designed to help Americans struggling during the pandemic, not to go to ineligible recipients fueling abortion on demand.” 

“The Biden administration stonewalled my oversight efforts at every turn and prevented the American people from learning how Planned Parenthood cashed in on COVID,” she added. 

“Now that Administrator Loeffler has ushered in a new era of transparency at the SBA, I look forward to working with her to uncover the truth and stop the flow of these funds.”

The senators are requesting all records related to Planned Parenthood facilities requesting PPP funds, along with any communications with affiliates. They also asked for information about efforts to recover funds that were improperly given to Planned Parenthood and an explanation for why funding was approved. 

According to the letter, the SBA under the first Trump administration told Planned Parenthood affiliates that they had wrongfully applied for 38 PPP loans totaling $80 million and informed them they needed to return the money. 

However, in 2021 under the Biden administration, the SBA approved $40 million in additional funding and allowed at least 44 affiliates to have their loans forgiven. 

“Borrowers who made incorrect or false eligibility certifications on their PPP application are subject to severe penalties,” the senators’ letter states. 

The senators asked the SBA to investigate whether any Planned Parenthood affiliates “made a knowingly false certification on their applications” and to “pursue all appropriate penalties for any unlawful participation in the program.”

Katie Glenn Daniel, the director of legal affairs and policy council at Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America, alleged in a statement provided to CNA that the Biden administration “illegally” gave Planned Parenthood forgivable loans for which they were not eligible, calling it “one of many lawless pro-abortion overreaches the Trump-Vance administration is now dismantling.” 

“We commend Sens. Ernst and Paul for demanding accountability, and we are optimistic that under this new administration of transparency and common sense, the American people will get the answers Biden refused to give, and hopefully, our money back,” Daniel said.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment.

Cardinal Robert McElroy gives his first homily as the shepherd of the Archdiocese of Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on March 11, 2025. / Credit: Patrick Ruddy/CNA

Washington D.C., Mar 11, 2025 / 20:25 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Robert McElroy emphasized the importance of Christian hope, mercy, and respecting human dignity in a homily in the nation’s capital during his solemn installation Mass in which he assumed the role as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

More than 100 priests, bishops, dozens of religious sisters, and hundreds of Catholic laity attended the Mass on Tuesday afternoon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The basilica sits adjacent to the campus of The Catholic University of America in the Brookland neighborhood of the city.

McElroy is replacing Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who is retiring from his position at the age of 77. 

“With jubilant hearts, we say ‘welcome,’” Gregory said during a brief speech before the Mass began, which yielded a round of applause from Mass-goers.

McElroy devoted his first homily as the archbishop of Washington to highlight the need for Christian hope, which is the theme of the 2025 Jubilee Holy Year. He also spoke at length about the importance of mercy, compassion, and respect for human dignity.

The cardinal called on Catholics to be “pilgrims of hope in a wounded world” and pointed to the hope displayed by St. Mary Magdalene in the Gospel reading. John 20:11-18 recounts Magdalene’s arrival to Christ’s empty tomb, where she weeped when she saw his body was gone but maintained hope in Christ before ultimately encountering the resurrected Christ.

“She realized that every presupposition that she had about her life, her mission, her purpose in the world needed to be changed,” McElroy said and urged the faithful to “embrace the same risen Lord that Mary Magdalene encountered in the garden.” McElroy referenced Francis’ emphasis on mercy and compassion, saying the pontiff understands that “all of us are wounded, all of us are in pain, [and] all of us are sinners in need of mercy and forgiveness.” 

“Mercy and compassion must be our first impulse when confronted with sin and human failure,” McElroy said. 

“For hope arises when we confront ourselves as we truly are, understanding that the bountiful, merciful love of God is without limit, and undertake the call to live out the teachings of the Church and be sacraments of mercy to others,” he added. “We are a Church which believes that love and truth do meet. That is precisely our glory as the children of God.” 

The cardinal stressed the human dignity of every person, such as the unborn, migrants, and the poor. 

“The search for genuine encounter and unity lie at the heart of God’s vision for our world, alongside special care for those who are most vulnerable among us,” he said. “What hope we could bring to our world as the Church of Washington if we could truly help our society to see others more as God sees them: beloved children, brothers and sisters.”

The Mass was multilingual, including some prayers and readings in English and Spanish. The intercessions included several additional languages, including Haitian Creole, Tagalog, Igbo, and Chinese. The intercessions included prayers for Pope Francis, civil and political leaders, unborn children, migrants and refugees, and increased vocations.

At the end of the Mass, McElroy led the congregation in a decade of the rosary to pray for the continued recovery of Pope Francis, who has spent weeks in the hospital.

McElroy is taking charge of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., less than two months after President Donald Trump’s inauguration for his second nonconsecutive term. Days after his appointment in January, the cardinal wished Trump success in the White House but also criticized his plans for mass deportations of immigrants who entered the country illegally.

“We are called always to have a sense of the dignity of every human person,” McElroy said on Jan. 6. “And thus, plans which have been talked about at some levels of having a wider indiscriminate massive deportation across the country would be something that would be incompatible with Catholic doctrine. So we’ll have to see what emerges in the administration.”

McElroy mostly avoided a discussion of politics during his homily but spoke about concerns he has with division in the country.

“God is the Father of us all, and God sees us as equal in dignity and moral worth,” he said in the homily. “How deeply that contrasts with the world that we have made. Divisions of race and gender and ideology and nationality flourish in the world of politics, religion, family life, and education.”

Pope Francis announced in early January that the 71-year-old McElroy would leave his post at the Diocese of San Diego to assume his new role in the Church. McElroy, who holds a doctorate in sacred theology and a doctorate in political science, was made a cardinal by Francis in 2022.

Other concelebrants included Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop emeritus of Washington. Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich were also in attendance.

Former Philippines president Rodrigo R. Duterte has been arrested on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. / Credit: Ace Morandante, Wikipedia Public Domain

CNA Staff, Mar 11, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines who was rebuked by Catholic leaders for overseeing thousands of extrajudicial killings, has been arrested on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. 

Duterte, 79, was detained shortly after landing at Manila’s international airport on a flight from Hong Kong, NPR reported. The outspoken former mayor of the city of Davao won election to the presidency in 2016 in large part because of his pledge to be tough on crime, especially the illegal drug trade. 

As president, Duterte reportedly dispatched police “death squads” nationwide to carry out extrajudicial executions of suspected drug dealers and drug users, which attracted worldwide attention and criticism. 

The United Nations investigated Duterte’s tactics during his drug war beginning in 2018 and concluded in 2020 that young men in poor and urban areas were being routinely gunned down in the street by police without any due process. Testimonies and reports gathered over the years suggest that the police were incentivized to carry out the extrajudicial killings with financial rewards. 

Estimates vary widely, but the Philippine government has officially acknowledged just 6,248 deaths due to the anti-drug campaign. However, the ICC prosecutor has said the death toll could be as high as 30,000, Reuters reported. 

Duterte in 2019 withdrew the Philippines from the treaty that created the ICC in order to avoid an investigation into the drug war, but the ICC has reiterated that it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed when the Philippines was still a member, AsiaNews reported. 

The country’s Catholic bishops had long been vocal in their opposition to Duterte, including his “war on drugs,” and opposed his call in 2020 to reinstate the death penalty for illegal drug use and other crimes. 

In a March 11 statement, Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, welcomed the developments in the ICC case against Duterte. The group appealed to Duterte’s supporters and political allies to “set aside personal loyalty and choose to stand with the rule of law” over and above partisan interests.

“These killings were not random; they were part of a policy that violated the fundamental right to life,” emphasized Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice president of Caritas Philippines. 

“The families of the victims deserve truth, reparations, and justice. As a nation, we must ensure that such crimes never happen again.”

Duterte was openly hostile to religion and to the Catholic Church — to which the vast majority of Filipinos belong — during his time in office. Just prior to his election as president, Duterte called Pope Francis a “son of a wh-re” after a papal visit caused increased traffic in Manila. Duterte later apologized to the pontiff in a letter. 

In June 2018, Duterte called God “stupid” and a “son of a b-tch” during a speech. He also claimed that the majority of Philippine priests were homosexual.

Later that month, Duterte said he was willing to enter into a dialogue with the country’s bishops’ conference in an effort to repair relationships, and the president’s spokesperson announced that a committee would be created to better collaborate and communicate with the Catholic hierarchy.

But then, later that same year, Duterte said citizens should “kill and steal” from Catholic bishops, stating that “this stupid bunch serves no purpose — all they do is criticize.”

In a September 2021 pastoral message, the archbishops of Nueva Segovia, Lingayen-Dagupan, and Tuguegarao in northern Luzon lamented the spate of drug-related killings in the country and attacks on journalists, members of the political opposition, lawyers, activists, and priests. The bishops urged the faithful to resist the “culture of murder and plunder.” 

In 2020, four bishops and two priests were accused of attempting to overthrow Duterte, but the charges were dropped. And several Catholic priests and Catholic laypeople who were arrested under Duterte’s administration for criticizing the drug war were later acquitted in 2023. 

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Most Holy Mary of Guadalajara after the International Women’s Day march on March 8, 2025. / Credit: Archdiocese of Guadalajara

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 11, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

During marches held March 8 to commemorate International Women’s Day, various Catholic cathedrals and churches in Mexico were vandalized with graffiti on their walls and damage to their structures.

In the state of Jalisco, the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Most Holy Mary in Guadalajara was tagged with graffiti on its walls with slogans in favor of abortion and attacking the Catholic Church.

In central Mexico, San José Cathedral in Toluca was another of the churches attacked by feminist groups, who placed a green cloth — the color adopted by the abortion movement — on its exterior gate. Some of the statues in niches in the cathedral’s outside walls were also vandalized.

In Morelos, also in the central region, videos were posted on social media showing people trying, without success, to tear down the protective fencing in front of the Cuernavaca Cathedral.

In Oaxaca, in the country’s southeast, participants in the march sprayed graffiti on the walls of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. A video posted on social media shows an attempt to set fire to the main door.

Archbishops call for respect and dialogue

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Expectation in the state of San Luis Potosí also suffered damage during the demonstrations. 

In a press conference, Archbishop Jorge Alberto Cavazos Arizpe lamented what happened; however, he pointed out that the Catholic Church is even more grieved by “the mistreatment of people.”

“It definitely grieves us a lot that buildings and emblematic areas should be mistreated, and this should not be, but as the Lord Jesus shows, offending a person is more serious,” Cavazos said.

The BBC reported that according to the Secretariat for Citizen Security of Mexico CIty, 81 women were injured during disturbances, of whom 62 were female police officers and 19 were civilians. Nine of these officers and one civilian were taken to the hospital and were listed in stable condition.

Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara, acknowledged that protest is a legitimate right but pointed out that it must be carried out with “respect for society, respect for the buildings that are part of the nation’s heritage, respect for people’s property.”

At the same time, he asked the authorities to prevent, as far as possible, “these things from happening.”

Infobae reported that 200,000 marchers participated in the event in Mexico City, that government buildings in various cities were also attacked, and that the women were protesting crimes such as domestic violence, femicide, and rape.

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

Usha Vance visits the 2025 Special Olympics Winter Games in Turin, Italy, on March 10, 2025. / Credit: Emily Higgins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Mar 11, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

More than 1,500 athletes from 100 global delegations are competing in Turin, Italy, in the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2025, which runs from March 8–15. One of the largest inclusive sports events of the year, the games mark the first World Winter Games since 2017.

Eight sports are included in this year’s Special Olympics World Winter Games: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, dance sport, figure skating, floorball, short track speed skating, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. 

Under the theme of “The Strength of Kindness,” the opening ceremony took place on March 8 with four athletes carrying the Special Olympics flag into the arena: Luca De Pierie, snowboarder from Special Olympics Italy; Meena Almazrouei, snowboarder from Special Olympics United Arab Emirates; Shirnel Swarts, speed skater from Special Olympics South Africa; and Yueming Dong, cross country skier from Special Olympics China.

One notable figure in attendance was Usha Vance, wife of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who flew into Turin with the American delegation.

The Special Olympics Flame of Hope was brought into the arena by seven athletes, each representing one of the seven regions of the Special Olympics. The Flame of Hope was lit in a ceremony in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 25 and from there went on a journey, passing through several Italian cities before arriving at the opening ceremony in Turin.

Along its journey, the Flame of Hope made a stop at the Vatican, where it was blessed by Monsignor Orazio Pepe, secretary of the Fabric of St. Peter, the office that deals with renovations and monuments in the famous basilica.

During the opening ceremony, Tim Shriver, Special Olympics Board chairman, said: “These athletes want to change your life and make you more joyful, tougher, and more brave than you ever imagined. Let them rub off on you! They will not fail.”

Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Sargent Shriver Global Messenger Gilmour Borg added: “We will not leave these competitions just as athletes but as champions ready for the next challenge — to show everyone outside of Special Olympics that they should believe in us too.” 

In the United States, the Special Olympics World Winter Games can be watched on ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN3, and on ESPN Sports Center.