St. Andrew Catholic Church

El Salvador's massive Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT, by its Spanish acronym). / Credit: Courtesy of Office of the President of El Salvador, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, May 31, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

As El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele marks his sixth anniversary in office, the country’s Catholic bishops have published a pastoral letter warning of the risk of turning the Central American nation into a “large international prison” and demanding an end to the state of emergency.

In a May 29 letter, the Salvadoran Bishops’ Conference stated that their intention is not “to contradict the national authorities, as we are well aware of the efforts they are making to govern the country for the benefit of the people.”

They also make it clear that their observations are not in support of “any partisan ideological interest, nor to the interests of powerful groups. What truly moves us is the good of the people.”

“With our voice, we want to make audible the cries of the poor people and the vast majority whose rights are violated, perhaps not with malicious intent; but violated, because in the midst of such an intense reality, it can happen that their barely perceptible voice may not be audible,” the letter reads.

‘Mega-prison’ criticized

Specifically, the prelates asked Salvadoran authorities “not to use our country’s prisons for victims of the anti-immigrant policies of foreign powers.”

In their letter, they pointedly criticize the stance taken following the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February, when Bukele offered to receive “dangerous American criminals, including U.S. citizens,” as well as “illegal immigrants from any other country” at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT, by its Spanish acronym) instead of deporting them to their home country.

The CECOT, popularly known as the “mega-prison,” is a maximum-security prison inaugurated in January 2023 and capable of holding up to 40,000 inmates.

“We ask our leaders not to promote this country as if it were a large international prison. We implore them to think carefully about what they’re doing. Bringing in major criminals could become a danger to our population as well as earn this nation a bad international reputation,” the bishops warned.

As an alternative, they called for “promoting a pro-migrant policy, with the borders open to migrants and integration into the economy as a labor force. Furthermore, a portion of the Salvadoran population is also migrants, and we would not like our fellow citizens to be imprisoned in other nations.”

Another of the demands put forward by the bishops is “to repeal the state of emergency,” a measure in force since March 2022 in the country as part of the government’s strategy to combat criminal gangs.

The state of emergency allows for the constitutional suspension of rights such as freedom of assembly, the inviolability of communications, the right to be informed of the reasons for one’s arrest, and access to legal representation, among others. According to Human Rights Watch, this measure has opened “the door to human rights violations.”

Although the bishops acknowledge that “at one time it was necessary to curb the violence and it was considered successful due to its results. But time has passed, and we believe it is no longer necessary.”

“It’s a matter of allowing the people to exercise their freedom without any pressure. The people cannot continue doing good, behaving properly, and obeying the laws for fear of the consequences of the state of emergency. … Doing good out of fear is coercion, and doing it out of obligation is repression,” the bishops stated.

Human rights defenders ‘persecuted’

In another part of the letter, the bishops condemned the “persecution of human rights defenders simply for carrying out their duties.” This comes after the arrest of lawyer Ruth Eleonora López. According to Human Rights Watch, this case “is part of a series of repressive actions pushed by the government, which has shown increasing hostility toward journalists, union leaders, and human rights defenders.”

In this regard, the bishops requested that “if applicable there are any prisoners held for no other reason than defending human rights, their cases should be studied and they should be immediately released.” They also urged a “very objective” review of all cases of those imprisoned “to ensure that those who are innocent are released as soon as possible.”

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

Pope Leo XIV delivers his homily during the ordination of 11 new priests for the Diocese of Rome at St. Peter’s Basilica on May 31, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, May 31, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV ordained 11 new priests for the Diocese of Rome on Saturday during a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, urging them to live lives that are “transparent, visible, credible” in service to God’s people.

The ordination Mass brought together seminarians from both the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary and the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

The pope described it as a moment of “great joy for the Church” and a sign that “God has not grown tired of gathering his children.”

Pope Leo XIV: Priests must be credible witnesses

In his homily, Pope Leo reflected on St. Paul’s words to the community in Ephesus: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you,” pointing to the necessity of credibility in priestly life.

“We live among the people of God so that we may stand before them with a credible witness,” the pope said. “Together, we rebuild the credibility of a wounded Church, sent to a wounded humanity, within a wounded creation.”

The pope cautioned the ordinands against clerical self-isolation or entitlement.

“Pope Francis has warned us many times about this, because self-referentiality extinguishes the fire of mission.”

Leo emphasized that the priesthood is not about authority but stewardship: “Not masters, but guardians,” he said. “The mission belongs to Jesus. He is risen, and he goes before us. None of us is called to replace him.”

The pope concluded his homily by reflecting on the Church’s mission of reconciliation in a broken world. “Together, then, we will rebuild the credibility of a wounded Church, sent to a wounded humanity, within a wounded creation,” he said.

“It does not matter to be perfect, but it is necessary to be credible.” Drawing on the image of the risen Christ showing his wounds, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that even signs of rejection become sources of forgiveness and hope, making priests “ministers of hope” who view everything “under the sign of reconciliation.”

In his final words, the pontiff spoke of priestly service as participation in Christ’s love for the world. “The love of Christ indeed possesses us,” he said, describing this as “a possession that liberates and enables us not to possess anyone.”

Leo thanked the newly ordained for dedicating their lives to serve “a wholly priestly people” and invoked the intercession of Mary, whom he called “Our Lady of Trust and Mother of Hope,” asking her to pray for the Church’s mission to “unite heaven and earth.”

Just a mention of Lough Derg summons tales of sleep deprivation, discomfort, and hunger, but it’s a deeply spiritual place of renewal and hope, from which faithful pilgrims often emerge reborn through the rituals of self-purification. / Credit: Lough Derg

Dublin, Ireland, May 31, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

This weekend, the Jubilee of Hope pilgrimage season will open in Ireland and the first cohort of 2025 pilgrims will disembark on a small island called St. Patrick’s Purgatory located on Lough Derg, a remote inland lake in County Donegal, after a short 10-minute boat journey. 

Lough Derg is renowned among the faithful for its physically grueling but spiritually uplifting three-day pilgrimage. 

Just the mention of Lough Derg in Ireland summons tales of sleep deprivation, discomfort, and hunger, but it’s a deeply spiritual place of renewal and hope from which faithful pilgrims often emerge reborn through the rituals of self-purification. 

The site dates back at least to the 1100s when Henry of Saltrey, a Benedictine monk, wrote of the exploits of a Knight Owain who visited St. Patrick’s Purgatory. It is said to have influenced the first book of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and is alluded to by Hamlet.

Once dubbed the “Ironman of Pilgrimages,” Lough Derg is approached with stoicism by those who embark on it: with trepidation, careful selection of suitable clothing, and a necessary dose of black humor. Many who make the three-day pilgrimage feel compelled to repeat it, citing the searing and visceral self-examination and reflection brought about by intense prayer, atonement, fasting, and physical mortification of going barefoot. They say that upon completion there follows a unique spiritual and prayerful renewal. Pilgrims are drawn there for many reasons: to give thanks or do penance, or out of grief, love, curiosity, tradition, or duty. But faith is always at the fore. 

Although the pilgrimage season is during the summer, it is more often characterized by cold, wet Irish weather exacerbated by lack of sleep, fasting, and blisters.

What’s the draw?

So what is it that attracts pilgrims every year, so many of them repeat visitors? 

Dr. Lee Casey from Derry has been a frequent pilgrim, sometimes going twice in the same year. His parents did made the pilgrimage on their honeymoon. Lee hopes to return this year after recovering from a bout of serious illness that literally took him off his feet. He told CNA: “It is the only place on earth that you get the spiritual fix that you get from Lough Derg.”

Pilgrims remain on the island for two nights, arriving around noon on the first day and departing the morning of the third day. Fasting begins at midnight prior to arrival and lasts until midnight on the third day, when the person has returned home. One Lough Derg meal a day is permitted: black tea, coffee, dry toast, oatcakes.

Upon setting foot on the island, pilgrims divest themselves of food and drink as well as phones and other electronic devices. Footwear is removed for the duration of the stay; rugged bare rocks thenceforth are a constant presence under bare feet.

Station prayers

Station prayers repeated on penitential prayer beds of bare stone leave a lasting impact on pilgrims, on their knees and feet. These prayer beds that form the central part of the prayer program are remnants of the old beehive “prayer” cells used by ninth-century monks. 

The station prayers can be described as “body” prayers where the emphasis is on kneeling and walking while reciting basic prayers like the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Creed. Nine station prayers are completed over the three days, and each takes about an hour to complete. Pilgrims say that after a while it becomes meditative.

The Vigil

The Vigil lasting 24 hours on the first night is the heart of the experience as pilgrims journey together in watchful prayer staying alert despite the intense desire to sleep. 

Liturgies celebrated include the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation, and the Way of the Cross. There is time for reflection.

“Lough Derg is a great place to bring burdens and leave them behind and often it is the unexpected that surprises us — a thought emerges, a new idea, a different way of looking at something,” Monsignor La Flynn, prior of Lough Derg pilgrimage site, told CNA. “Or perhaps, the gift of this time away from everything provides an opportunity to be at peace, to empty the mind, and to listen to the whisper of our God,” he said.

He added: “The ebb and flow of the pilgrimage — the strenuous pilgrimage exercise coupled with times of peaceful reflection — are about opening us to receptivity, about finding a new honesty and humility that we can take with us into our daily lives.

Returning pilgrims

Aidan Gallagher lives in Newry, County Down. A frequent visitor to Lough Derg for years, he told CNA he plans to be there this year. “Yes, I intend going this year, please God. Why? It’s a powerful reset. Each time I go, it reminds me of how much we have in the world, but how little we actually need.”

“It’s also good opportunity to say thanks, for what I’ve been given, and what I have not. It’s a very powerful place, just the atmosphere and spirit there, with the wind, rain, waves, scenery, the fasting and prayer, and especially the people you meet. You can meet God there too and while it’s a tough pilgrimage, it definitely does the soul good.”

Casey agrees the isolation adds to the experience. “It’s just a fantastic place, the stillness, the quietness, and the beauty of it is just unique.”

Gallagher added: “It’s also a powerful place to remember loved ones — alive or passed on. I often think of the millions of people over 1,500 years who came here before me, who smoothed out the rough stones for me. All those people praying with their heart for loved ones, wives and children, brothers and sisters, for peace, justice, and I often think, where are they now? And for me the answer is obvious.”

Tracy Harkin is a busy mother of eight children who plans to make the pilgrimage this year as well. “It’s been a few years since I’ve been there,” she said. “It’s difficult, but a spiritually powerful pilgrimage like no other. Prayers are always answered.”

Seosamh Ó Gallachóir has completed the Lough Derg pilgrimage for as many years as he can remember. During COVID-19, when the island was closed, he replicated the strenuous pilgrimage exercises at his home in County Tyrone. He draws a deep sense of spiritual fulfillment from making the Lough Derg pilgrimage. 

Ó Gallachóir makes the simple pilgrim rations sound like a gourmet feast. “The lure of the Lough Derg soup [is enough] to stave off the hunger pangs. The recipe is well known and simple: hot water with a hint of salt and pepper. The death and resurrection cycle of this three-day pilgrimage lends itself to a feeling of great euphoria when completed.” 

Prepping for the experience

When asked what to bring to the holy island — and what not to bring — the intrepid pilgrims offered advice both temporal and spiritual. 

Drawing on more than 40 visits, Gallachóir’s advice is simple: “Bring a spare set of warm clothes, hat, waterproof coat, and leggings, and don’t forget your rosary beads.”

And what not to bring? “Mobile phones, radios, or any electronic devices. No food allowed or bottled drinks and no personal musical instruments allowed,” he said.

Gallagher agreed with his fellow pilgrims on what to pack, adding that pilgrims should leave “impatience” at home. “When the pilgrimage at Lough Derg is over you leave behind your sins, bad opinions about yourself, any mental burdens. The priest says you can leave all these behind you on the island when you leave.”

Harkin’s pilgrimage survival kit includes insect repellent and leaves behind “all those books you think you will read. You will be too busy praying and too tired to read when the praying is done.”

“Leave behind your vanity bag, you just won’t care enough! Leave behind all your worries and cares. You will be too hungry, cold, and exhausted to think of anything other than finally getting into a warm bed on that second night.”

“Don’t forget your sense of humor, it will get you through those three days,” she said. 

For the 2025 Jubilee Year, visitors to all three of Ireland’s main shrines — Lough Derg, Croagh Patrick, and Knock Shrine — can get a unique pilgrim passport stamped.

The dome of the Cathedral of St. Bavo in Haarlem, the Netherlands. / Credit: Frank de ruyter via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 NL)

Vatican City, May 31, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Church in the Netherlands is gaining momentum thanks to the “creative minority” of young people rediscovering the Catholic faith, Cardinal Willem Eijk said.

Though Eijk considers the approximately 3.4 million Catholics as a religious minority in the European country with a total population of 17.9 million people, the Dutch cardinal said he has great hope in the younger generations.

“There are young people who belong to families alienated from the Church for generations and they rediscover Christ in his Church and embrace the doctrine of the Church,” he said in an interview with EWTN Vatican News Director Andreas Thonhauser.

“Every year we see a growing number of young people asking for admission to the Church,” he said. “They discover the truth concerning Christ and the Gospel through the internet, TikTok, and social media.”

Describing his surprise at the impact new technologies have had in attracting attention to the Catholic faith, Eijk said what particularly struck him was how well informed these young people were on Church doctrine prior to asking for the sacraments.

“The only thing, of course, is that you have to introduce them into the community of faith,” he said. “But nevertheless they know much of their faith and these young people are inclined to accept and embrace the whole doctrine of the Catholic Church.”

Noting the declining number of Catholic parents baptizing their children in the Netherlands, Eijk said the Church is “much smaller,” particularly in light of the country’s growing population, but the prelate said he is not overly concerned because of the great faith he witnesses among new Catholics.

“It will be a ‘creative minority’ as Benedict XIV used to say,” he added. “Of course, this is a beautiful expression from Alfred Toynbee, the famous English philosopher of history.”

Toynbee concluded in his “Study of History,” which analyzed 20 world civilizations, that the rise of cultures is a result of smaller groups of people who responded to the challenges of their times.

“I think by forming a group, a small group, of strong believers in Christ, followers and Christ, we will be able to Christianize culture once again,” Eijk told EWTN News.

“We now live in a culture of expressive individualism,” he continued. “Every individual is in his own boat, determines his own philosophy of life, religion, and set of ethical values, but this culture won’t last forever.” 

To foster the faith of the people who belong to the Diocese of Utrecht, Eijk said a variety of formation programs are available to Catholics and particularly for couples preparing for the sacrament of marriage.

“We explain theology of the body, we teach couples also to pray because they don’t know how to pray and it’s really important,” he said. “We also talk about the doctrine of the Church concerning contraception, natural family planning.”

After introducing the courses for couples a few years ago, the cardinal archbishop said several participants shared positive feedback. 

“Mostly they say, ‘Oh, isn’t that beautiful! We had never heard this before,’ and that makes it clear to me that we have to transmit the truth with courage and without ambiguity,” he said.

While Eijk said the new young people coming to Church are not big in numbers, “they’re strong believers” who are the future.

“We see that there is more openness than there was, let’s say, when I started as a parish priest, an assistant parish priest 40 years ago,” he shared. 

“I always saw decline in the Church and now in the last years of my career I see a certain modest revitalization of the Church; modest, but certain,” he said.

This article was updated on Sunday, June 1, to correct a transcription error in Cardinal Eijk's quote, which now accurately reads "set of ethical values" rather than the previously published "ethical failures."

The garden created at Mepkin Abbey is a way to honor and recognize the enslaved who lived and died on the property for 100 years. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mepkin Abbey

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 31, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On a piece of land in South Carolina where hundreds of Indigenous and African Americans were once enslaved, some Trappist monks, after discovering 20 unmarked graves, have installed a bronze sculpture of Christ and created a quiet prayer garden to encourage healing and reflection.

“We’ve been here 75 years, since 1949,” Father Joseph Tedesco, the superior of Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Berkeley County, told CNA. “The monks who were here at the beginning — everyone has been aware all these years that this was an enslaved property.”

The abbey sits on a former plantation that once belonged to slave trader Henry Laurens during the Revolutionary War and later to his son John Laurens, who joined the revolution and advocated for the freedom of the enslaved.

There were “300 enslaved people on the property,” Tedesco said. There were “on and off discussions around the memorial to slavery of [the] very historic piece of property; then a few years ago we were just at a moment of recognition … we had to do something, but we couldn’t figure out what.”

As if on cue, Mepkin Abbey then received a 640-pound bronze sculpture from a donor. The large work of art inspired the plan for the Meditation Garden of Truth and Reconciliation — an area on the property that would be dedicated to the slaves who once lived and worked on the property.

“As soon as I saw [the statue],” Tedesco said, “I realized that was the nucleus of the memorial to slavery.”

The sculpture, titled “Thy Father’s Hand,” features the crucified Christ in the hand of God. The figure is now the central point of the garden and is placed where some of those once enslaved on the property lie in 20 unmarked graves.

“I developed a committee of African Americans from around the state and together we created the garden,” Tedesco said. “We walked through together … what to do and how to do it. We created the garden, but it took us a couple of years to put it in place.”

The monk added: “It was really a wonderful experience because it was a lot of editing, a lot of wonderful discussion, and a wonderful group of people who were really committed to the process and to the commitment of building this garden in honor of slavery, but really in honor of being enslaved,” Tedesco said.

When the garden was complete, the first Catholic Black bishop in South Carolina, Jacques Fabre-Jeune, blessed it and discussed reconciliation at an opening ceremony on April 26. He also blessed each of the unmarked graves.

“We don’t have to be upset. Truth can always hurt,” Fabre-Jeune said during the blessing. “We don’t like when people tell us the truth. We feel uncomfortable. But after that experience, we know that it was good for us.”

The new garden is a way to honor and recognize the enslaved, but Tedesco said the monastery is really the memorial to them because of the “75 years of praying on [the] land to redeem it from the 100 years of the enslaved on [the] property.”

The garden is now open to visitors who can walk through its multiple stations that each reflect points of history. The monks hope the experience will encourage “empathy” and “understanding.”

An attendee prays the rosary during a demonstration called by the association “La Marche pour la vie” against abortion and euthanasia in Versailles, southwest of Paris, on March 4, 2024. / Credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

Paris, France, May 31, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The French National Assembly has approved a controversial bill legalizing “assistance in dying,” a move that the country’s Catholic bishops describe as a grave threat to the dignity of life and the social fabric of the nation.

The amended version of the law was passed on May 27 with 305 votes in favor and 199 against. While the palliative care provisions received broad support, the article establishing a legal right to assisted suicide and euthanasia has drawn significant criticism from Church leaders, bioethicists, and a wide range of civil society voices.

In a statement released shortly after the vote, the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) expressed its “deep concern” over the adoption of a so-called “right to assistance in dying.” While welcoming the Assembly’s support for improved palliative care, the CEF reaffirmed its opposition to the legal institutionalization of euthanasia.

The bishops reiterated arguments they had made in a May 19 statement issued ahead of the vote: “This text, among the most permissive in the world, would threaten the most fragile and call into question the respect due to all human life.” They vowed to continue engaging in the legislative process, which now enters the Senate phase and will return to the Assembly for a second reading later this year.

The CEF emphasized its commitment to contributing “all useful elements to enlighten discernment” on what it called an “infinitely grave, complex, and even intimidating” issue. As the bill now proceeds to the Senate, where debate is expected to begin in late September or early October, the bishops intend to remain fully engaged in the public and legislative discourse.

Drawing on the daily experience of more than 800 hospital chaplains, 1,500 volunteers, 5,000 home and nursing home visitors, and countless priests, deacons, consecrated persons, and laypeople involved in pastoral care across France, the bishops insisted that the Church has both the authority and the responsibility to speak on behalf of the dying.

Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo of Limoges, in an interview with RCF radio following the vote, addressed concerns about the new legal offense of hindering access to assisted dying, which some fear could restrict the Church’s mission of accompanying the sick and dying.  

The bishop expressed a calm stance, urging Catholics to remain “very free” in their commitment to support the suffering: “Their desire must be to accompany, out of love, charity, care, and fraternity, all those who suffer, without having to ask themselves whether they might be repressed by the offense of obstruction.” 

French Catholic leaders have spared no effort to make their voice heard since the bill was first introduced in 2022. In addition to their own institutional initiatives, the Church has taken part in broader public debate through the Conference of Religious Leaders in France (CRCF), co-signing a joint declaration that warned that the “terminology chosen — ‘assistance in dying’ — masks the true nature of the act: the voluntary administration of a lethal substance.”  

Just days after dedicating their annual prayer vigil for life at Notre-Dame Cathedral to the end of life issue on May 21, the bishops of the Île-de-France region sharpened their message further, issuing an open letter on May 26 — the eve of the parliamentary vote — to the deputies and senators of their dioceses.  

They cautioned, in particular, against a dangerous distortion of language, arguing that the proposed law risks redefining care as the act of causing death. The 11 bishops denounced what they see as “contradictions, counter-truths, and false pretenses of humanism” underlying the text.

“How can we call ‘natural’ a death that is deliberately induced?” they wrote. “How can we speak of a ‘right to die’ when death is already inevitable?” The bishops also questioned the long-term implications of the law’s framing, suggesting it opens the door to future extensions to minors or elderly people with cognitive disorders such as dementia.

The Church has continued to build alliances with health care professionals, legal scholars, and ethicists who have spoken out publicly in recent years against what they view as a rupture in the French model of care and more broadly of the Christian civilization. “The death given,” the bishops reiterated, “is not, and cannot be, a form of care.”

While the path toward implementation is still unfolding — the government aims for enactment by 2027 — the bishops emphasized that an alternative already exists in the Claeys-Leonetti law of 2016, which allows for deep and continuous sedation without actively inducing death.

The Church has long argued that this legislation offers a humane balance between pain management and respect for life. The bishops also lamented that more than 20% of French departments still lack access to palliative care services, calling instead for serious national investment in this field.

Pope Leo XIV with Peruvian registrars this Friday, May 30, at the Vatican. / Credit: Courtesy of Andina/Peru News Agency

Lima Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 19:23 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has updated his personal information for a new Peruvian national identity document (DNI, by its Spanish acronym), according to that country’s National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC, by its Spanish acronym).

According to the Andina news agency, the official Peruvian media outlet, Pope Leo received four RENIEC registrars Friday at the Vatican in a meeting that was not included in the list of audiences released by the Holy See Press Office.

On his previous DNI, Robert Prevost Martínez, the current Pope Leo XIV, had an address in Chiclayo, a city in northern Peru where he was bishop. His new DNI will have his new Vatican address and an updated photograph of the Holy Father, taken Friday by the registrars.

In 2015, the then-bishop of Chiclayo acquired Peruvian nationality and obtained his first DNI. In 2016, he obtained an electronic DNI (with a chip), which does not require renewal due to his age of 69.

With this update, Pope Leo XIV will have the electronic DNI 3.0, which the Peruvian government launched on April 15, and which costs 41 soles, just over $10.

“The electronic DNI 3.0 now has 64 security elements, both on the card itself, made of 100% heat- and UV-resistant polycarbonate, as well as on the cryptographic chip. That’s four times more than the 2.0 version,” the Peruvian government website indicates.

The electronic DNI will allow for digital voting in the upcoming elections. It also serves to access remote digital services and online commerce.

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

Robert Royal discusses his new book “The Martyrs of the New Millennium” during the May 29, 2025, edition of “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” / Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 18:53 pm (CNA).

The whole nature of Chrisitian martyrdom has shifted in the 21st century, according to Robert Royal, author of the new book “The Martyrs of the New Millennium.”

Interviewed on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Thursday, Royal said that since his last work on the subject, “The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century,” 25 years ago, the greatest threat to Christians in the world has shifted from totalitarianism to “radical Islam.” 

“This is a point of view that really seeks to create a worldwide caliphate. That’s the word that they use,” he said. “These radical Islamic figures, they think about it as establishing an Ottoman Empire, but not just restricted to Turkey and a few of the lands in the Middle East, but a total empire of Islam everywhere.”

He continued: “This is something that the West, in particular, needs to wake up to,” he said, because despite the defeat of ISIS, “it didn’t go away. It’s transferred itself to other parts of the world, and it will come back with a vengeance.”

Africa

Royal especially pointed to radical Islamism “all across Central Africa, across sub-Saharan Africa.” 

Discussing the plight of Nigerian Christians, he noted that since finishing the writing of his new book last November, he estimates that since then “something on the order of 2,000 and 3,000 Christians have probably been killed by radical Islam.” 

Just this past weekend, an attack by extremist Muslim herdsmen in Nigeria left dozens dead and resulted in the kidnapping of a Catholic priest and several nuns. Hundreds of Jihadist Fulani herdsmen gunned down nearly 40 people, more than half of them Christians, across several villages on Sunday, according to a report by Truth Nigeria, a humanitarian-aid nonprofit that seeks to document Nigeria’s struggles with corruption and crime.

Latin America

“Surprisingly,” Royal said, “organizations that track the martyrdom of priests in particular say that Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world today to be a Catholic priest.” He said that today, persecution of priests in that country “is the result of cartels, human traffickers, drug traffickers, and anybody who steps in front of what those criminal organizations are trying to do puts themselves at risk.” 

In Nicaragua, he said, systematic persecution against Christians similarly stems from corruption from those seeking power. 

“Now it’s not so much a matter of Marxism as it is a matter of a family wanting to control a country in which the Church is the only effective opposition to their tyranny,” Royal observed, referring to the government of Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo. “They’re closing down TV stations, radio stations, and have expelled bishops and priests. It’s an old playbook, but now it’s being used for the sake of a particular family rather than an ideology.”

The Ortega dictatorship has kidnapped, imprisoned, murdered, and forcefully expelled bishops, priests, and religious sisters from the country, shut down Catholic schools and organizations, and restricted religious practice nationwide. 

China

“The situation in China is very discouraging because our own Church made a very bad bargain with a totalitarian regime,” he said, pointing out that while overt persecution has declined in the country, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to restrict the Church. Ten bishops have also been reported missing, he noted. 

“We know that there are images of President Xi inside of churches. There are attempts to rewrite parts of the Gospels to point it in the direction of the Communist Party. They’re being more careful about creating martyrs because, of course, that raises the international temperature against China,” he said. “But they do it.”

“Now we have a pope who was head of the committee in the Vatican who appointed bishops,” Royal said, noting that Pope Leo XIV has also been to the country himself. “It’ll be very interesting to see if he is able to do anything.”

The Vatican renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of Catholic bishops for four more years in October 2024. Originally signed in September 2018, the provisional agreement was previously renewed for a two-year period in 2020 and again in October 2022. 

The terms of the agreement have not been made public, though the late Pope Francis had said it includes a joint commission between the Chinese government and the Vatican on the appointment of Catholic bishops, overseen by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The West

“We should not consider ourselves exempt from persecution,” Royal said of Christians living in Western countries. “We do have, of course, radical Islamic figures in Europe and in the United States, Australia, all the countries we normally think of as the West.” 

Royal cited the findings by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, which records hundreds of anti-Christian hate crimes per year.

“France alone loses about two religious buildings a month,” he said. He also mentioned the cases of pro-life protesters jailed in the U.K. for praying outside of abortion clinics. 

Royal also called for vigilance in the U.S., as sectors of American society also seek to pin “hate speech” labels on traditional Christian beliefs.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York urged state lawmakers to oppose euthanasia in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on May 29, 2025. / Credit: Peter Zelasko/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York is asking state lawmakers to oppose a bill that would legalize voluntary euthanasia, sometimes known as physician-assisted suicide.

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Dolan wrote that lawmakers should strengthen efforts to “prevent” deaths by suicide rather than establishing a legal method to end one’s own life.

Dolan recounted an experience in which he saw a man on the George Washington Bridge who was “threatening to jump,” saying that onlookers prayed for him and rescuers tried “to coax him back to safety.”

“We all rallied on behalf of a troubled man intent on suicide,” he wrote. “That’s how it is when someone is thinking of taking his own life.”

Dolan noted that the archdiocese runs programs in its schools to help students who might be considering suicide and that the state “spends millions” of dollars on suicide prevention efforts and has bolstered mental health investments under the governorship of Kathy Hochul.

“Which is why I am more than puzzled, I am stunned, when I read that New York lawmakers are on the verge of legalizing suicide — not by leaping from a bridge but via a poison cocktail easily provided by physicians and pharmacists,” the cardinal added.

“I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief at the disparity in official responses,” he wrote. “Our government will marshal all its resources to save the life of one hopeless and despondent man. Yet it may conclude that some lives aren’t worth living — perhaps due to a serious illness or disability — and we will hand those despondent women and men a proverbial loaded gun and tell them to have at it.”

The proposed legislation passed the state’s lower chamber 81-67 last month with support from most Democrats and strong opposition from the Republican minority. More than 20 Democrats joined Republicans in opposition to the bill. The bill is now in the Senate, where some hesitancy within the Democratic Party is delaying a vote.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said two weeks ago that “more people have signed on in the Senate than had been over the past few years” and that if the proposal gets support from a majority of the body, “I’ll certainly bring it to the floor,” according to Politico.

In 10 states and the District of Columbia, euthanasia is legal in limited circumstances. Most of those states legalized the practice within the past decade. Euthanasia remains illegal in most of the country.

Under the New York proposal, euthanasia would only be legal for terminal illnesses, but Dolan noted in his op-ed that “many controllable illnesses can become terminal if untreated.”

“In a recent podcast, the Assembly sponsor conceded that diabetics could become eligible if they cease taking insulin, making their condition ‘terminal’ by definition,” the cardinal wrote.

He warned that even though the proposed New York law would have some limits, advocates of euthanasia in states where it is already legal “continue to push for expansion.” He also pointed to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, which “initially looked very much like the New York bill” but has since greatly expanded.

When MAID was first enacted in Canada in 2016, a person needed to be terminally ill to qualify, but in 2021 the country expanded eligibility to include people who are chronically ill, even if their illness is not terminal. Although this only applies to physical illnesses, the program’s eligibility is set to expand in 2027 to include people who have chronic mental illnesses.

The use of MAID in Canada continues to rise annually and now accounts for nearly 5% of all of the country’s deaths.

Dolan noted that some of the Democrats who opposed the bill in the state’s lower chamber “cited fears about how poor, medically underserved communities would be targeted and the danger that unconsumed drugs could be sold on the streets of their districts.”

“The prospects of defeating the bill look bleak, and it’s tempting to give in to hopelessness,” the cardinal wrote.

“But those brave first responders on the bridge didn’t give in; they worked together to stop a tragedy,” Dolan added. “Will state senators or Ms. Hochul step up to protect precious human life? That is my prayer.”

Planned Parenthood announced May 23, 2025, it will close eight facilities in Minnesota and Iowa. / Credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 30, 2025 / 17:53 pm (CNA).

Planned Parenthood has announced the upcoming closure of eight of its abortion facilities across Minnesota and Iowa. 

Planned Parenthood North Central States — which operates 23 abortion facilities across the area — cited budget challenges and impending federal funding cuts as the reason for the closures, which will go into effect by July 1.  

These clinic shutdowns follow recent closures of Planned Parenthood facilities across the country this year, including the only Planned Parenthood clinic in Manhattan as well as four locations in Illinois, four in Michigan, one in California, two in Utah, and one in Vermont. 

Local pro-life advocates celebrated the announcement but said more work is needed.

Kristi Judkins, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, called the closures “a victory” while adding that she still hopes to bring a “culture of life” to the state.

“We will continue to peacefully pray in the 40 Days for Life campaigns in front of the clinics that remain open,” Judkins told CNA. “We will stand ready to engage women and lovingly let them know we are there to help them.” 

Maggie DeWitte, executive director of pro-life advocacy group Pulse Life Advocates in Des Moines, said “we are so incredibly thankful” to hear of the closures. 

“Abortion is not health care and women deserve better,” DeWitte told CNA. 

Planned Parenthood cited “patient needs” and the “broken” health care system as reasons for the closures as well as the recent freezing of Minnesota Title X funds and the U.S. reconciliation bill that could defund the abortion giant. 

“We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues,” stated Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, in a press release.

In Iowa, unborn children are protected by law throughout most of pregnancy. The state also blocked public funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers in 2017. 

While abortion is legal in Minnesota, when the Trump administration temporarily froze Title X funding to Planned Parenthood, the company lost $2.8 million in funding for its Minnesota locations. 

The abortion giant is “restructuring” to develop both online and on-site “care,” according to the press release. 

“We know that many of our patients would have nowhere to turn if every Planned Parenthood health center were to disappear from their state,” Richardson said. “Heart-wrenching and hard decisions today will ensure Planned Parenthood is here for years to come.”

There are 196 community health centers in Iowa that offer women’s health care, according to Charlotte Lozier Institute’s most recent data — which means there are 28 women’s health alternatives for every one Planned Parenthood.

“In Iowa, we have over 55 pregnancy resource centers across the state in both rural and urban areas,” DeWitte said. “Women and families in Iowa can access quality health care and services from these centers.”  

Pregnancy resource centers, a subcategory of community health centers, are organizations specifically designed to support women in crisis pregnancies by offering support, resources, and care, usually at no cost. 

In spite of the Planned Parenthood closures, several abortion facilities remain open in Iowa. 

“We do still have three abortion facilities that will remain open — two in Iowa City and one in Des Moines, so our work will continue until we can see the closure of all abortion facilities in our state,” DeWitte said. 

Both DeWitte and Judkins agreed that there is still work to do. 

“Although we see the demise of brick-and-mortar PP clinics in Iowa, we have much work yet to do,” Judkins said. 

“We must continue to work with our pro-life community so we can influence mindsets to accept a culture of life rather than a culture of death,” she said.

Judkins said she plans to continue the organization’s work on raising awareness of fetal development education, the harm of abortion pills, and the “legitimate trauma from abortion.” 

“We need to make sure Iowans know the answer in a crisis situation is not abortion and there are wonderful people who will gather around them to provide support and necessities,” Judkins said.