St. Andrew Catholic Church

Flag of Mozambique. / Credit: hyotographics/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

A major U.S. HIV/AIDS relief program is facing potential blowback amid reports that the program was used to fund abortions in southeast Africa.

Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch said in a statement last week that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revealed that funds for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) were spent on abortions in Mozambique.

PEPFAR was launched in 2003 during George W. Bush’s first term. The U.S. Department of State says the program is “the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history.” It works to treat AIDS patients and prevent infections of HIV as well as supporting countries to achieve “HIV epidemic control.”

The program says it has saved more than 25 million lives since its inception. But it is also barred from using funds to help procure abortions. The 1973 Helms Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act bars federal funds from being used to bankroll abortion in foreign countries. 

Reuters reported that “three U.S. officials” briefed Congress last week on reported violations of that rule in Mozambique. Specifically, “four nurses performed a total of 21 abortions since January 2021,” according to the news wire. 

Risch in his statement said the “future of the PEPFAR program is certainly in jeopardy” given the reported violations. 

“I will not support one dollar of American money going towards abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again,” Risch said. He called for the CDC to be investigated over the allegations. 

Risch was not the only congressional figure to call for an investigation. Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast in a statement described the reported violation as “disgraceful and unacceptable.” 

“The State Department and CDC must investigate to ensure that not one penny of PEPFAR goes toward abortion,” Mast said. 

Democrats called for more oversight of the program while hailing its years of work in addressing the AIDS crisis. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Lois Frankel said in a joint statement that the violation “appears to be an isolated incident in Mozambique” and that it should not “undermine the overwhelming success and integrity of PEPFAR’s mission.” 

“A commitment to compliance and transparency is an absolute requirement, and we have seen swift actions by program administrators to address this issue,” they said. “By strengthening oversight and reaffirming our commitment to PEPFAR, we can protect the global progress this program has achieved.”

In a statement last week, meanwhile, PEPFAR said it identified the reported violation and “took immediate corrective action with the partner” in Mozambique. 

The organization said it was “implementing new, additional preventive measures, including requiring an annual signed attestation by PEPFAR-funded clinical service providers to ensure compliance with U.S. funding restrictions.” 

The group said it would work with both the Mozambique government and “all PEPFAR partner countries” to ensure future compliance.

On its website, the U.S. Embassy in Mozambique says the country has the second-largest HIV epidemic in the world with upwards of 2.2 million Mozambicans infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is the “leading cause of mortality for Mozambicans over the age of 5,” the embassy says. 

PEPFAR has “managed to make significant progress towards the response to HIV/AIDS,” the organization says, with efforts including millions of HIV tests, the delivery of antiretroviral medication, and interventions with pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, among other measures.

Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivers the invocation during the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th U.S. president in the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. / Credit: SAUL LOEB/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 20, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and Father Frank Mann of the Diocese of Brooklyn opened and closed the prayers of invocation and benediction, respectively, at the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Dolan kicked off the prayers of invocation and was followed by the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late renowned American evangelist Billy Graham and current head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

In his prayer Dolan, who was also tapped to offer the invocation at Trump’s 2017 inauguration, called on Americans to pray that the incoming administration be guided by and aligned with the will of God and for the new president, especially, that he be instilled with wisdom.

“We, blessed citizens of this one nation under God, humbled by our claim that in God we trust, gather indeed this inauguration day to pray for our president Donald J. Trump, his family, his advisers, his Cabinet, his aspirations, his vice president,” Dolan prayed.

As the inauguration also fell on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the United States, Dolan also invoked the memory of the slain civil rights activist, stating: “Observing the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King, who warned: ‘Without God, our efforts turn to ashes.’”

Calling especially upon God for the gift of wisdom, Dolan prayed: “If wisdom, which comes from [God] be not with him, he shall be held with no esteem. Send wisdom from the heavens that she may be with him, that he may know your designs.”

“Please, God, bless America,” he concluded: “You are the God in whom we trust, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.”

Following Dolan, Graham centered his prayer on gratitude, saying: “We come to say thank you, O Lord our God! Father, when Donald Trump’s enemies thought he was down and out, you and you alone saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by your mighty hand.” 

Graham prayed in particular for continued safety for Trump and his wife, Melania. 

Notably, Graham also prayed for Vance, that he may stand beside Trump and “hold his arms up like Aaron held up the arms of Moses in the midst of battle.” 

“We know that America can never be great again if we turn our backs on you,” he concluded. “We ask for your help. We pray all of this in the name of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, your Son, my Savior, and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.” 

After Trump and Vance were sworn in, African-American Pastor Lorenzo Sewell and Rabbi Ari Berman offered two of the three prayers of benediction. 

Referencing Trump’s near-assassination, Sewell centered his benediction on gratitude, declaring: “Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president a millimeter miracle.”

Also referencing Martin Luther King Jr., Sewell continued: “We pray that you use our president so that we will live in a nation where we will not be judged by the color of our skin but by the content of our character.” 

Berman prayed that Trump and Vance would unite the nation “around our foundational biblical values of life and liberty of service, of sacrifice, and especially of faith and morality, which George Washington called the ‘indispensable supports of American prosperity.’”

“May our nation merit the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s blessing,” he stated, “that like a tree planted by water, we shall not cease to bear fruit; may all of humanity experience your love and your blessing, may it be thy will, and let us say amen.” 

Father Frank Mann offers closing benediction

Lastly, Mann of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, concluded the prayers of benediction, offering a particularly personal prayer for the new president, with whom he is personally acquainted.

“As our president and vice president embrace their newly appointed roles,” he said, “we humbly implore that your everlasting love and wisdom will envelop them and grant them the clarity of mind to navigate the challenges that lie ahead and the compassion to serve all citizens with fairness and integrity.”

As CNA reported last week, Mann, who is a retired diocesan priest, originally struck up what the Tablet called an “unlikely friendship” with Trump after he came across the grave sites of Trump’s parents in a Queens cemetery.

“It was slightly overgrown,” Mann told the Tablet. “I thought this shouldn’t be. This is a historic site. So, I went and bought a weed whacker and some decorations and fixed up the plot.” The priest then sent a photo of the graves to the president.

When Trump learned of the priest’s actions, he called Mann personally saying the two should meet up. They have continued to remain in contact since, with Trump reportedly seeking Mann’s advice on winning the Catholic vote in this past election.

Mann concluded his prayer by giving special thanks for Trump’s parents, Mary and Fred Trump.

“Without [them], this day would never be the miracle that has just begun,” he reflected. “From their place in heaven, may they shield their son from all harm by their loving protection and give him the strength to guide our nation along the path that will make America great again.” 

Imam Husham Al-Husainy, who had previously been scheduled to offer a Muslim benediction at the ceremony, did not appear at the event. The Dearborn, Michigan-based Husainy had generated controversy for his past expressions regarding Hezbollah and Iran.

Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi is bishop emeritus of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas in Mexico. / Credit: Mexican Bishops’ Commission on Seminaries and Vocations

Puebla, Mexico, Jan 20, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas in Mexico, acknowledged the influence of organized crime in some areas of the country, thus partially backing recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump on the lack of security in the country.

“It’s disturbing that a foreigner claims that organized crime rules our country,” Arizmendi said in an article shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “Even though our authorities maintain the opposite, there are facts that confirm that this is what is happening in some places and sectors.”

The cardinal’s comment comes days after controversial statements by Trump, who earlier this month said that in Mexico “they are basically run by the cartels.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected Trump’s claim, insisting that “in Mexico, the people rule.”

Influence of organized crime

Arizmendi, who was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2020 and led the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas from 2000–2017, alluded to several aspects that, according to him, reflect criminal influence.

In the area of ​​local politics, the cardinal pointed out that public opinion is that in the last elections the criminals “authorized who could run for office. And once their candidates are elected, they demand a million-dollar monthly fee or to hold strategic positions” in the government.

“Municipal presidents [similar to county executives], local police, and other low-ranking officials must submit to their orders. They are not collaborators or accomplices, but they are oppressed by those who govern the region,” he charged.

Regarding the economy, Arizmendi said he has “firsthand data” that confirms that criminal groups “impose the price of almost everything, from tortillas and eggs to construction materials. This makes everything more expensive, and there is no one who can avoid and control it.”

Livestock traders “must buy the animals from whom these leaders order and at the price they impose,” he said, adding that something similar occurs in the timber industry, where members of organized crime “determine which trees must be cut down, and they are the ones who market the wood, which passes freely along our roads.”

Regarding extortion, the cardinal explained that businessmen “must pay them a fee; otherwise, they expose themselves to all kinds of reprisals, such as having their businesses burned down and those who refuse are murdered.” This widespread practice creates an atmosphere of fear and submission among local merchants and businessmen, according to the prelate.

Call to action

The cardinal urged the authorities, the Catholic Church, and civil society to “attack the causes of this violence by offering education, work, and social supports.” However, he warned that for many criminals, “what matters is to get as much money as they can.”

Arizmendi concluded by asking for prayer “that our authorities may be enlightened and do something more effective for social peace.”

Mexico is in a period of transition as Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico’s new president on Oct. 1, 2024, replacing Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during whose six-year term 199,621 homicides were recorded, the highest level in the modern history of Mexico.

The surge in violence occurred under the previous administration’s controversial policy of “hugs, not bullets” against organized crime. This approach attempted to combat drug cartel violence by addressing the root causes of the drug trade, such as poverty, and softened the use of force by the military and police. 

As the Sheinbaum administration begins, Arizmendi said “there seems to be a change in the federal strategy to combat these crimes.” 

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

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible during the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. / Credit: Morry Gash/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 20, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

In tandem with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., is preparing to offer visitors an up-close glimpse of a uniquely personal element used during the presidential swearing-in ceremony.

Museum of the Bible Chief Curatorial Officer Robert Duke told CNA that beginning Tuesday, Trump’s personal Bible, which First Lady Melania Trump held while Trump took the oath of office on Monday, will be added to the set of U.S. presidential inauguration Bibles currently on display at the museum.

Given to him in 1955 to mark his Sunday Church Primary School graduation, Trump’s personal Bible is a 1953 Revised Standard Version published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in New York, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.

It is embossed with his name on the bottom corner of the front cover and is signed by church officials on the inside alongside an inscription with the details of when it was presented to him.

Trump was also sworn in with the revered Lincoln Bible, which he also used during his 2017 inauguration. The Lincoln Bible is unique in that Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, and Trump are the only presidents to have used it for their swearing-in ceremonies.

“The Bible’s played such a pivotal role in the history of presidential inaugurations,” Duke said. “So we thought, for this year, it’d be great on our first floor to have a mini exhibit on the inauguration.”

In addition to the Trump and Lincoln Bibles, other Bibles featured in the exhibit include the one used by the late President Jimmy Carter. His Bible is opened to Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, / And what does the Lord require of you? / To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God,” which he quoted during his 1977 inaugural address.

“We also have on display the Grover Cleveland Bible,” Duke pointed out, noting that Cleveland “was the only other president that had four intervening years between their two presidencies.”

Meanwhile, newly sworn-in Vice President JD Vance used a family Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother, which had been given to him in 2003 on the day he left home for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in South Carolina, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.

Holy Name Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Chicago. / Credit: Edlane De Mattos/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2025 / 11:55 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed two priests from active ministry as it investigates sex abuse allegations leveled against both of them.

The archdiocese announced the development on Saturday, writing to 14 different parishes at which the two priests, Father Matthew Foley and Father Henry Kricek, served over a series of years.

The allegation against Foley involved claims of abuse when he was assigned to St. Agatha Parish (now renamed St. Simon of Cyrene Parish) “approximately 30 years ago,” the archdiocese said, while those against Kricek concerned alleged abuse at St. John Bosco Parish “approximately 40 years ago.”

Both allegations involved abuse of a minor, the archdiocese said. Both priests have been removed from ministry while the archdiocese investigates the claims.

The archdiocese has reported the allegations to civil authorities and has offered the accusers access to the diocesan victim assistance ministry.

“After the civil authorities have finished their work, the archdiocese will complete its investigation and report the results to our Independent Review Board,” the archdiocese told parishioners of the respective priests.

Both priests have “strenuously” denied the allegations against them, the archdiocese said in its letters while noting that “those accused are innocent until proven otherwise.”

In November the archdiocese announced that archdiocesan priest Father Martin Marren, who had previously been accused of abuse of a minor, had been restored to ministry after the archdiocesan Independent Review Board “found that there [was] not a reasonable cause” to believe the allegations.

In September the archdiocese removed from ministry Father Martin Nyberg after allegations that he molested a child during a recent penance service that allegedly took place at a youth retreat. Nyberg denied the claims. That investigation is still underway.

Approximately 3,000 people came together for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ 11th annual OneLife LA event on Jan. 18, 2025. While previously held as a walk through the streets of Los Angeles, OneLife LA was moved to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown L.A. due to unhealthy air caused by the region’s wildfires and the acute need of police in other parts of the city. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 20, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).

Approximately 3,000 people gathered for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ 11th annual OneLife LA on Saturday. While previously held as a walk through the streets of Los Angeles, the event was moved to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown L.A. due to unhealthy air caused by the region’s wildfires and the acute need of police in other parts of the city.

Unlike the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco, which has its exclusive focus on ending abortion, OneLife LA lists a wide range of focus areas: pro-life issues, homelessness, human trafficking, end-of-life care, foster care and adoption, the environment, the disabled, and “racism immigration.”

The purpose of this year’s event, according to organizers, was to “unite in a sacred space as a family of God in prayer, healing, and hope as the devastating wildfires continue through Southern California.”  

Speakers and performances began at 2 p.m followed by a Requiem Mass for the Unborn celebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez.

Two families who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires were featured at the event, joining the procession into the church. The Gonzalez family carried a cross and the Magallon family carried a statue of the Blessed Mother, which survived amid the rubble when their home burned down.

Diana and Rodrigo Gonzalez shared with attendees the story of how they lost their Altadena home they purchased just a year ago. “I was proud of that house,” Rodrigo told CNA. “It was on a large lot, a wooded, green area. It had a lot of history: I could show you the place nearby at JPL Laboratories where Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer walked and talked about the atom bomb.”

The family celebrated Epiphany on Jan. 7 and a local priest blessed the home. Due to its higher elevation, the property was swept by Santa Ana winds reaching 100 mph and authorities shut off the power in an effort to reduce the likelihood of sparking a fire. The couple fled with some of their belongings.

Rodrigo Gonzalez and his father-in-law made their way back to the Altadena home on the morning of Jan. 8. Rodrigo recalled: “I have never seen anything like it. On multiple streets houses were on fire, downed trees and power lines. There was hardly a fireman around anywhere, but some residents were doing what they could to douse the blazes.”

The Gonzalezes tried to save their house — ultimately 20 of 22 homes on their block would burn — but with water pressure near zero and no fire department personnel to be seen, they ultimately had to surrender their home to the flames.

“We are stunned and shocked, but also moved by the generosity of so many who have offered to help. And our faith has played an invaluable role in helping us get through this,” they said.

They expressed gratitude to OneLife LA for offering them a venue in which to share their story, noting that before moving to Altadena, the cathedral had been their home parish.

“When the archbishop invited us to offer the gifts at the Requiem Mass, it was like I heard Jesus say, ‘I didn’t abandon you.’ That was a message I needed to hear,” Diana Gonzalez said.

Listen to his voice

Gómez, joined by the auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese, welcomed those in attendance in English and Spanish. He observed that while it was difficult “trying to understand God’s will,” it was still “our challenge to try to listen to his voice.”

“God loves us with a love beyond telling,” he assured those gathered, and despite the devastation, “in everything God is working for the good of those who love him.” The fires are an important reminder, he continued, that “life is fragile … what we can lose, we can lose in a moment.” Our goal must be to “support one another, sacrifice for one another, take care of one another.”

Among the other speakers was Sister Maria Goretti of the Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ, a religious community headquartered in Brazil. She, along with her other sisters and local volunteers, feeds and offers support to the homeless and immigrants in the Skid Row area of downtown L.A. While sister touched on her work on Skid Row, her central message was one of hope amid the fire devastation.

“The gift of hope gives us encouragement amid the most difficult circumstances,” she said.  

Sister Maria Goretti has been a regular OneLife LA participant for years but said this was her first time addressing the group.

“It continually amazes me how many people, particularly young people, turn out in support of life, especially that of the unborn,” she said. “These participants are the light of Christ for those who are in darkness, this year especially those who have lost their homes.”

Another woman, Desiree Gentile, shared her story at OneLife LA of being abandoned by a 17-year-old mother, placed in foster care, and then adopted by a loving family. She described herself as an “abortion survivor; my mom chose life.” That choice, she said, “gave me a chance to fulfill my purpose. There is a reason for me.”

With her upbringing Gentile said she developed a strong Catholic faith, saying: “You’re not always intended for the family that birthed you. You’re intended for God.”

Two religious items drew attention during the OneLife LA event. The first was the Magallon family’s Marian statue, and the second was a tabernacle from Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades. Although the entire church was destroyed by fire, the tabernacle remained largely unscathed.  

Also recognized at OneLife LA was Maryvale, a San Gabriel Valley charity that provides child and family services for the underserved of the region and was the recipient of a Dr. Tirsio del Junco 2025 grant.

The 11th OneLife LA can be viewed here.

Pope Francis on Jan. 20, 2025, named Austin, Texas, Bishop Joe Vásquez as head of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. / Credit: Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Vatican City, Jan 20, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In an important move for the Catholic Church in Texas on Monday, Pope Francis named Austin Bishop Joe Vásquez to replace 75-year-old Cardinal Daniel DiNardo as head of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

DiNardo, who was made a cardinal in 2007 and who led the U.S. bishops’ conference as president from 2016–2019, turned 75 — the standard retirement age for Catholic bishops — in May 2024.

The 67-year-old Vásquez is returning to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, where he served as an auxiliary bishop from 2002–2010. The bishop is coming back to the archdiocese almost exactly 15 years after moving 160 miles to the northwest to lead the Diocese of Austin.

The Mexican-American bishop also served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Tyler from November 2023 to December 2024, after Pope Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland. 

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston serves 1.7 million Catholics in 146 parishes across 10 counties in southeastern Texas. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the U.S.

According to the archdiocese, the local Church is multicultural, with members coming from every continent. Liturgies are held in 14 different languages.

Vásquez, whose seminary education included five years in Rome studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Angelo in 1984.

He grew up the oldest of six children in the small town of Stamford in west-central Texas.

Vásquez has served as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities and as lead bishop for Region X for the V National Encounter for Hispanic/Latino Ministry (V Encuentro).

Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks on stage to deliver the keynote address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024. in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

CNA Newsroom, Jan 20, 2025 / 06:29 am (CNA).

Pope Francis sent a message to Donald Trump on the occasion of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, offering prayers for “wisdom, strength, and protection” in the exercise of his duties and invoking blessings upon the “beloved American people.”

In the message, released by the Holy See Press Office on Jan. 20, the pontiff expressed hope that under Trump’s leadership, the American people would “prosper and always strive to build a more just society.”

“Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination, or exclusion,” Francis wrote.

The pope acknowledged the “numerous challenges” facing the human family, including “the scourge of war,” and asked God to guide Trump’s efforts in “promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples.”

The message concluded with the Holy Father invoking “an abundance of divine blessings” upon Trump, his family, and “the beloved American people.”

One day earlier — on Sunday — Pope Francis criticized potential plans for mass deportations in the United States during a wide-ranging Italian television interview.

“If this is true it is a disgrace because it makes the poor unfortunate who have nothing pay the price of imbalance. This is not how things are solved,” the pope said on Italian broadcaster Nove’s “Che Tempo Che Fa” program on Jan. 19, speaking about plans to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

We March with Selma event. / Credit: Via Flickr CC BY NC 2.0

Washington D.C., Jan 20, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Sister Mary Antona Ebo was the only Black Catholic nun who marched with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

“I’m here because I’m a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness,” Ebo said to fellow demonstrators at a March 10, 1965, protest attended by King.

The protest took place three days after the “Bloody Sunday” clash, where police attacked several hundred voting rights demonstrators with clubs and tear gas, causing severe injuries among the nonviolent marchers. 

Sister Mary Antona Ebo died Nov. 11, 2017, in Bridgeton, Missouri, at the age of 93, the St. Louis Review reported at the time.

After the “Bloody Sunday” attacks, King had called on church leaders from around the country to go to Selma. Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter of St. Louis asked his archdiocese’s human rights commission to send representatives, Ebo recounted to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2015.

Ebo’s supervisor, also a religious sister, asked her whether she would join a 50-member delegation of laymen, Protestant ministers, rabbis, priests, and five white nuns.

Just before she left for Alabama, she heard that a white minister who had traveled to Selma, James Reeb, had been severely attacked after he left a restaurant and later died from his injuries.

At the time, Ebo said, she wondered: “If they would beat a white minister to death on the streets of Selma, what are they going to do when I show up?”

In Selma on March 10, Ebo went to Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, joining local leaders and the demonstrators who had been injured in the clash.

“They had bandages on their heads, teeth were knocked out, crutches, casts on their arms. You could tell that they were freshly injured,” she told the Post-Dispatch. “They had already been through the battleground, and they were still wanting to go back and finish the job.”

Many of the injured were treated at Good Samaritan Hospital, run by Edmundite priests and the Sisters of St. Joseph, the only Selma hospital that served Blacks. Since their arrival in 1937, the Edmundites had faced intimidation and threats from local officials, other whites, and even the Ku Klux Klan, CNN reported.

The injured demonstrators and their supporters left the Selma church, with Ebo in front. They marched toward the courthouse, then were blocked by state troopers in riot gear. She and other demonstrators knelt to pray the Our Father before they agreed to turn around.

Despite the violent interruption, the 57-mile march drew 25,000 participants. It concluded on the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery with King’s famous March 25 speech against racial prejudice.

“How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” King said.

King would be dead within three years. On a fateful April 4, 1968, he was shot by an assassin at a Memphis hotel.

He had asked to be taken to a Catholic hospital should anything happen to him, and he was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Memphis. At the time, it was a nursing school combined with a 400-bed hospital.

There, too, Catholic religious sisters played a role.

Sister Jane Marie Klein and Sister Anna Marie Hofmeyer recounted their story to The Paper of Montgomery County Online in January 2017.

The Franciscan nuns were walking around the hospital grounds when they heard the sirens of an ambulance. One of the sisters was paged three times, and they discovered that King had been shot and taken to their hospital.

The National Guard and local police locked down the hospital for security reasons as doctors tried to save King.

“We were obviously not allowed to go in when they were working with him because they were feverishly working with him,” Klein said. “But after they pronounced him dead we did go back into the ER. There was a gentleman as big as the door guarding the door and he looked at us and said, ‘You want in?’ We said yes, we’d like to go pray with him. So he let the three of us in, closed the door behind us, and gave us our time.”

Hofmeyer recounted the scene in the hospital room. “He had no chance,” she said.

Klein said authorities delayed the announcement of King’s death to prepare for riots they knew would result.

Three decades later, Klein met with King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, at a meeting of the Catholic Health Association Board in Atlanta where King was a keynote speaker. The Franciscan sister and the widow of the civil rights leader told each other how they had spent that night.

Klein said being present that night in 1968 was “indescribable.”

“You do what you got to do,” she said. “What’s the right thing to do? Hindsight? It was a privilege to be able to take care of him that night and to pray with him. Who would have ever thought that we would be that privileged?”

She said King’s life shows “to some extent one person can make a difference.” She wondered “how anybody could listen to Dr. King and not be moved to work toward breaking down these barriers.”

Klein would serve as chairperson of the Franciscan Alliance Board of Trustees, overseeing support for health care. Hofmeyer would work in the alliance’s archives. In 2021, both were living at the Provinciate at St. Francis Convent in Mishawaka, Indiana.

For her part, after Selma, Ebo would go on to serve as a hospital administrator and a chaplain.

In 1968 she helped found the National Black Sisters’ Conference. The woman who had been rejected from several Catholic nursing schools because of her race would serve in her congregation’s leadership as it reunited with another Franciscan order, and she served as a director of social concerns for the Missouri Catholic Conference.

She frequently spoke on civil rights topics. When controversy erupted over a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer’s killing of Michael Brown, a Black man, she led a prayer vigil. She thought the Ferguson protests were comparable to those of Selma.

“I mean, after all, if Mike Brown really did swipe the box of cigars, it’s not the policeman’s place to shoot him dead,” she said.

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis presided at her requiem Mass in November 2021, saying in a statement: “We will miss her living example of working for justice in the context of our Catholic faith.”

A previous version of this article was originally published on CNA on Jan. 17, 2022.

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered for Mass on the solemnity of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Jan 19, 2025 / 22:26 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis criticized potential plans for mass deportations in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump during a wide-ranging Italian television interview on Sunday.

“If this is true it is a disgrace because it makes the poor unfortunate who have nothing pay the price of imbalance. This is not how things are solved,” the pope said on Italian broadcaster Nove’s “Che Tempo Che Fa” program on Jan. 19, speaking about plans to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

The U.S. bishops said in November they would speak out forcefully if Trump does advance the proposal in a way that undermines human dignity.

There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to July 2023 statistics from the Center for Migration Studies.

Pope announces female president for Vatican City

Francis also announced that Sister Raffaella Petrini will become the first female president of the Vatican City State governorate this March, elevating her from her current position as secretary-general.

“The work of women in the Curia has progressed slowly but effectively. Now, we have many,” Pope Francis said during the televised conversation.

The appointment of Petrini will take effect following the retirement of Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga from his current position as president of the governorate.

“Women manage better than we do,” he asserted, reported ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news agency.

The appointment follows that of Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life.

Call for peace and jubilee hope

The Holy Father also addressed ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel during the interview. “War is always a defeat,” the pontiff proclaimed, emphasizing the vital importance of negotiations and peace-building efforts.

Reflecting on the current jubilee year, Pope Francis stressed that pilgrimages to Rome’s Holy Door must be undertaken with genuine religious intent: “If you come to Rome and visit the Holy Door as a tourist, without a religious purpose, it serves no purpose.”

The interview marked the pope’s third appearance on the program.