Holy Cross Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile at the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for Mass on Pentecost Sunday on June 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 16:43 pm (CNA).

More than 6,000 seminarians, bishops, and priests from five continents are in Rome this week to celebrate their jubilee as part of the Holy Year 2025.

According to the Dicastery for Evangelization, the program, which runs June 23–27, includes prayer, catechesis, concerts, jubilee pilgrimages, Masses, and various meetings with Pope Leo XIV.

A welcome event for the seminarians took place Monday at St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica at 5 p.m. local time. A community rosary and a concert by Rome’s diocesan choir and the “Fideles et Amati” orchestra, conducted by Monsignor Marco Frisina, were also held.

On Tuesday, the seminarians are scheduled to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s at 8 a.m. local time. In addition, at 11 a.m., they will hear a catechesis by Pope Leo XIV in what will be his first official meeting with seminarians from around the world. The day will conclude with Masses in a number of languages at 6 p.m. in 10 churches in central Rome offered by various bishops.

Bishops’ day: Communion and faith

June 25 marks the Jubilee of Bishops. The prelates have come, according to data from the Dicastery for Evangelization, from nearly 50 countries, including Italy, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, the United States, and the Philippines.

At 10:30 a.m., the bishops will concelebrate Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Bishops, as the main celebrant. Pope Leo XIV will then offer a special catechesis to the prelates, concluding with a joint profession of faith above the tomb of the Apostle Peter.

That same afternoon, the Jubilee of Priests will begin with several catecheses organized by language groups, given by bishops in 12 churches in central Rome.

On June 26, priests will participate in a jubilee Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica celebrated by Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy. From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. the priests are scheduled to make pilgrimages to the Holy Doors of the four major basilicas. The day will culminate with a prayer vigil at 7 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, with testimonies from a seminarian, a bishop, and a priest.

Priestly ordinations at jubilee closing

The week will culminate on June 27, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a Mass to be celebrated by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Basilica.

During the Mass, the pope will ordain 31 new priests from around the world from Italy, India, Sri Lanka, Romania, the Central African Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Cameroon, Angola, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, South Korea, Mexico, Uganda, Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

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

Thousands took to the streets in Cork, Ireland, on Sunday June 22, 2025, to participate in the city’s 99th consecutive annual Eucharistic procession in Ireland’s second-largest city. / Credit: Brian Lougheed

Dublin, Ireland, Jun 23, 2025 / 16:12 pm (CNA).

Thousands of the faithful took to the streets of Cork, Ireland, on Sunday to participate in the city’s 99th consecutive annual Eucharistic procession in Ireland’s second-largest city.

The procession was led by the Butter Exchange Band and Bishop Fintan Gavin, bishop of Cork and Ross, beginning from the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne, with the final prayer and Benediction taking place at the National Monument on Grand Parade on a specially constructed platform.

“What a blessing it is to gather here at the heart of our city in faith, in prayer, and in hope, in the presence of one another. This procession was born from a longing for unity after division, for peace after civil conflict. It was a public act of faith,” Gavin said to all those gathered. 

“As we stand here on the threshold of the 100th year, let us be the generation that not only keeps the tradition but rekindles the fire of faith in our time. The procession we’ve just made through the streets is a living testimony to something the world needs to know more than ever: That God has not abandoned us. That in the Eucharist, we are not alone.”

Explaining the background to the procession, Father Marius O’Reilly, one of the priests of the Cork Cathedral Family of Parishes, told CNA: “The idea of taking the procession through the streets of Cork emerged in the years after the War of Independence and the Civil War in a bid to heal division. That first procession in the Cork city streets took place on June 6, 1926, where tens of thousands of people participated.”

The Irish Civil War raged between June 1922 and May 1923, following Ireland’s War of Independence from Britain. It was marked by savage brutality against both pro and anti-treaty factions, as families, parishes, and entire communities became bitterly divided by wounds that lingered for decades. 

Individuals and groups from across the city and county were part of the celebration including Catholic Girl Guides, The Guides and Scouts Europe, Youth 2000, Parish Eucharistic groups throughout the diocese, children preparing to make their first holy Communion, and the Indian Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Brazilian, African, Polish, Croatian, Ukrainian, and Brazilian communities.

Gavin thanked the people of Cork who turned out in the thousands. 

“We are most grateful for such a huge turnout. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked in the background to make today what it was. A busy year ahead as we now prepare for the centenary next year!”

Among the attendees was Dr. Jim Clair from Cork, who told CNA: “I have been going to the Cork Eucharistic procession over the last 40 years. I find it an incredibly moving and uplifting experience. It is great to see it starting to grow over the last few years.”

Helen Gillen, also from the city, said: “It reminds me of that line from the hymn ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ LIVING still… Corpus Christi is the body and blood of Jesus still living, still breathing, still supporting and sustaining us. Our faith has been passed down through generations. We carry our faith and share it on to future generations. We unite in walking with our Savior through our streets of Cork city in his honor.”

The most notable innovation in this year’s procession was the decision to move the final prayer and Benediction back out onto the streets to a specially constructed platform at the National Monument on Grand Parade to accommodate the large numbers that couldn’t be accommodated in the cathedral.

null / Credit: muratart/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has endorsed a report calling for reforms to alleviate the global debt crisis affecting billions of people in developing countries.

The document, titled “The Jubilee Report: A Blueprint for Tackling the Debt and Development Crises and Creating the Financial Foundations for a Sustainable People-Centered Global Economy,” was presented at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on June 20 as one of the main initiatives of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

Supported by Pope Leo XIV, the publication is the work of the Jubilee Commission created by Pope Francis in June 2024 in order to find a way to carry out sovereign debt restructuring based on ethical principles. Thirty international economic experts were on the commission, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and former Argentine Economy Minister Martín Guzmán.

$97 trillion in global public debt

According to data maintained by the U.N., global public debt reached $97 trillion in 2023, an increase of $5.6 trillion compared with 2022.

The document reports that more than 50 developing countries already allocate more than 10% of their tax revenues to interest payments, a dynamic that diverts financial resources from vital sectors such as health, education, and climate resilience (the capacity to respond to climate change or extreme weather events.)

“The debt crisis that is suffocating the global financial system is also fueling a development crisis,” the report states.

It proposes a series of measures and recommendations to transform the international financial system into an instrument of justice and sustainability. These include the creation of an international bankruptcy mechanism for sovereign countries similar to those that exist for private companies; an end to government bailouts for private investors; and the provision of bridge loans and short-term financial support for countries in crisis.

Foreign debt forgiveness, St. John Paul II’s legacy

The initiative is part of the spirit of the jubilee year, traditionally associated with mercy and debt forgiveness. In fact, in the 2024 papal bull Spes Non Confundit, Pope Francis expressly asked governments to show clemency by extraordinary measures, such as forgiving the external (foreign) debt of poor countries.

The June 20 report recaptures the spirit of the Jubilee of the Year 2000, when in 1997, St. John Paul II initiated a truly global movement based on the Church’s social teaching that called for debt relief for the poorest countries. That call gave rise to the “Jubilee 2000” campaign, which collected millions of signatures around the world and mobilized religious communities of all traditions. Thanks to this movement, more than $100 billion in debt was canceled.

“Global finance must serve people and the planet — not punish the poorest to protect profits,” the report concludes.

Presentation at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

The report was presented June 20 at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences during a day dedicated to discussions about how reforms to international financial systems could move toward a truly people-centered system.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Stiglitz, professor at Columbia University and honorary fellow of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, issued a forceful call to “curb the abuses of large private creditors.”

“Normally, we talk about shared responsibility between creditors and debtors, but I would say there is greater responsibility on the part of creditors. These are voluntary transactions. No one has forced creditors to lend money, and they are supposed to be the experts in risk analysis,” he stated in his remarks.

Reducing interest rates with multilateral development banks

The economist was particularly critical of BlackRock and other large funds, which, he said, encourage a type of high-risk lending that ends in crises.

He therefore advocated strengthening the role of multilateral development banks, which can provide loans at lower rates, something that “would help reduce interest rates and make debt sustainable.”

Within the framework of the international meeting on debt, social justice, and development held at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences headquarters, Caritas International representative Alfonso Apicella urged that the technical debate on debt never lose sight of the people most affected.

“We’re here to talk about sustainable growth, but the real question is: sustainable growth for whom? That’s the question we’re asked time and again by communities when we launch campaigns like ‘Turn Debt Into Hope,’” he explained.

Speaking on behalf of the global network of 162 organizations that make up Caritas, Apicella emphasized that the discourse on “sustainability” runs the risk of becoming an empty slogan if its inclusive focus isn’t made explicit: “We have to talk about sustainable growth for all, not just a few. And we must always remember this, especially when we speak from a technical perspective, because behind every figure there are people who experience these realities firsthand.”

A change in the narrative on debt

Apicella also focused on the need to change the narrative on debt: “We must frame this fight for debt justice as a win-win situation. If we work for the poor, policymakers must understand that they will also benefit.”

Professor Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, pointed to international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund that have forced poor countries to “prematurely open their capital accounts.”

However, he also acknowledged the internal responsibility of many developing countries that, as the report notes, “have borrowed too much and invested too little.”

In any case, he made it clear that while “debt relief is essential,” it is also necessary to propose viable implementation measures within the current international environment that transform the financial system.

“We have already learned from the last jubilee debt forgiveness in 2009 that debt relief without reforms to the international financial architecture will only lead us to repeat this whole process. It’s a shame that we are in this situation again. Let us not repeat the same mistakes,” Gallagher said.

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

Director Dallas Jenkins (left) and Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series “The Chosen,” speak with journalists during a press conference on June 23, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 13:41 pm (CNA).

“The Chosen” actor Jonathan Roumie said Monday coming to the Vatican is a “humbling honor” and a confirmation for him of the TV show’s continued mission of bringing Jesus Christ to the world.

Roumie, other “The Chosen” castmates, and series creator and director Dallas Jenkins are at the Vatican this week after having just wrapped up three weeks of filming in southern Italy for the Crucifixion scenes of Season 6, out next year.

“The fact we’re here now, sitting at the Vatican… is a testament to, I think, how God wants to continue to further this mission to bring more people to Jesus and to bring Jesus to them,” Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series on the Gospels, said during a press conference at the Vatican on June 23.

Season 5, Episode 4, “The Same Coin,” will be streamed at the Vatican’s Filmoteca theater on the afternoon of June 23 in anticipation of the entire season being available for streaming in Italy in July.

Roumie will also present Pope Leo XIV with a gift from “The Chosen” during the Wednesday general audience on June 25, a meeting he said would be “extraordinary for so many reasons.”

“When [Pope Leo XIV] was elected, I wept, because I never thought I’d see an American pope in my lifetime,” the Catholic actor said. To get “to communicate to him in our native language this week is just something I never thought I would see in my life.”

Series director Jenkins, an evangelical Protestant, said it was “a tremendous honor” to be at the Vatican. He added that being surrounded by the beautiful art of Rome and the Vatican reminded him how much he wants the show to make the events and people depicted in religious artwork feel real to viewers.

“Jesus is more than a painting, and the church is more than just a building,” he said. “Jesus and the apostles were not just stained-glass windows, but Jesus became man … and these men and women actually lived and actually had a relationship with Jesus … something we can have today.”

Roumie and Jenkins were joined at the Vatican press conference by Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), George Xanthis (John the Apostle), and Vanessa Benavente (Mother Mary).

They all talked about the emotional impact of getting to portray their characters, in their humanity and their growth, across five seasons so far.

Roumie said that “in the process of making this show, we didn’t know we would ever go beyond four episodes of the first season.”

“And then to fast forward seven years, and thousands of stories later about how this show has been used by God to change people’s lives — and in some unique, distinct cases, to save people’s lives — humbling doesn’t even come close to describing the understanding of that, the feeling of that: It’s profound,” he added.

The cast and crew on June 22 finished filming Jesus’ crucifixion in Matera in the Italian region of Basilicata, the same location used for Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

Jenkins called the three weeks “the most challenging and difficult we had in filming,” requiring him to surrender everything to Christ.

Roumie noted that since starting the show, many people have asked him if he was looking forward to getting to the Crucifixion scenes, but he would answer, “I can’t think about that, I can’t think about the cross, because we’re not there yet.”

He preferred to stay in the present, concentrating on Jesus’ active, public ministry, and the intimacy between Jesus and his followers. “And if there was anyone in the whole history of the world who was present at all times, it was Jesus Christ,” the actor said.

Talking about Season 5, which is focused on the events of Holy Week, is a welcome break from the intensity of the past three weeks of filming, Jenkins told journalists.

The show’s latest season features some of the most well-known scenes in Scripture, he said, including Judas’ betrayal, when Jesus flips tables in the Temple, the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, and, most importantly, the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist.

The director said he hopes the season will provide an “opportunity for many new viewers to come to the show because they recognize these famous moments.”

SENT founder John Cannon speaks at the September 2024 SENT Summit. / Credit: Carollynn Anne/Courtesy of SENT

National Catholic Register, Jun 23, 2025 / 13:06 pm (CNA).

Have an innovative idea for a Catholic-minded startup or ministry?

The SENT Summit may be just what you need to pitch your plan.

The summit is part of SENT Ventures’ broader vision to foster Catholic entrepreneurship in the secular world — fostering faith-driven entrepreneurship and innovation.

SENT Ventures’ fourth annual SENT Summit, to be held Sept. 8–11, expects to draw nearly 400 founders, investors, philanthropists, and nonprofit directors to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Now the largest U.S. gathering dedicated to “Spirit-led” Catholic enterprise, the summit pairs conventional business programming — keynotes, small-group breakouts, and sector-specific workshops — with daily Mass, adoration, and evening socials.

The format, organizers say, is meant to keep questions of capital and mission in the same conversation, showing how Catholic social teaching can guide decisions from product design to personnel policy.

A highlight for early-stage founders will be the summit’s third annual SENT “Pitch Competition.” Five finalists, selected on criteria including Catholic values alignment, market timing, and current traction, will present to a panel of venture capitalists and angel investors for the chance to receive a $10,000 grant and more than $50,000 in prizes, including business services. A previous winner, Presidio Healthcare, a pro-life insurance startup and the first of its kind, went on to raise $4 million in seed funding after its SENT appearance.

The deadline this year to apply for the Pitch Competition is July 25. 

Running alongside the startup track, the “Mission Showcase” offers emerging apostolates a similar platform. Up to five ministries will receive a $1,500 cash grant and paid ticket as well as stage time before major Catholic philanthropists. Past presenters range from MetaSaint — a Roblox-based catechetical game that has logged 300,000 users, with Roblox itself having 70 million daily users — to Forge, an Iowa-based men’s formation network that has since expanded across the Midwest and is endorsed by such Catholic figures as theologian Scott Hahn, Super Bowl champion Matt Birk, and New York Times bestselling author Leonard Sax.

The deadline to apply for the Mission Showcase is July 18.

Even those not selected to present should benefit, however, from the world-class coaching and application process, which helps sharpen mission and model.

Attendance has nearly doubled every year since SENT held its inaugural summit in 2022, forcing the first-ever registration cap this year. SENT founder John Cannon told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, this is because SENT “tries to run world-class events with deep Catholic spirituality — this includes starting every day with Mass and adoration, access to confession, inviting the top entrepreneurial leaders as speakers and presenters, and a strong culture of trying to lift others up.” 

As a former Carmelite monk for seven years before he was called back into the world of business, Cannon holds the firm conviction that business can — in fact, should — be both professionally excellent and integrally Catholic.

The summit is part of a wider SENT Ventures ecosystem that offers year-round masterminds to provide advisement, regional meetups, and mentorship circles aimed at Catholic professionals in startup culture. Cannon’s 2024 white paper “Entrepreneurs of the Spirit” illustrates that lay-led innovation has historically driven periods of great Church renewal — and today should be no different.

SENT’s organizers are showing year over year that their unique showcase of business strategizing and the silence of prayer resonates with Catholic leaders who view entrepreneurship as a vocation as well as a career. There is a great need in the Church to tell more stories of Catholics building businesses and apostolates outside traditional Church institutions.

“It’s not just another conference — it’s a thriving community,” Cannon said. “People often come to get some particular business value or make connections, which happens, but what stays with them is the friendship, the formation, and the sense that they’re not building alone.”

How you can apply

Send a query today.

How you can support sent

SENT Ventures is also actively seeking sponsors to scale these efforts.  

There are three main sponsorship opportunities:

— General summit sponsorship for brand visibility across the entire event

— Pitch Competition sponsorship to support high-growth Catholic startups

— Mission Showcase sponsorship to assist apostolates tackling pastoral and cultural challenges 

Interested parties are encouraged to reach out to Mary at Mary@sentventures.com.

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

In Knock, Ireland, on Sunday June 22, 2025, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh urged the people of Ireland to “feel inspired and courageous” by the renewed consecration to the Sacred Heart. / Credit: Sean Flynn/Irish Catholic Bishops Conference

Dublin, Ireland, Jun 23, 2025 / 12:36 pm (CNA).

Ireland was reconsecrated to the Sacred Heart on Sunday in the town of Knock on the feast of Corpus Christi. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, who presided at the events, urged the people of Ireland to “feel inspired and courageous” by the renewed consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“Do not be afraid — today’s consecration will give you a new heart — a heart of love that can in turn give fresh heart to our troubled world.”

Ahead of the consecration, Martin received an apostolic blessing from Pope Leo XIV, a “pledge of joy and peace” for all who were present.

The archbishop told the faithful in Knock Basilica not to be surprised if they felt a call to go out and confront those “weighty evils that are pressing on the Church of God throughout the world” and “the many dangers encompassing and threatening ourselves near home.”

Ireland was previously consecrated to the Sacred Heart on Passion Sunday in 1873, and for decades afterward, the people of Ireland held a particular devotion to it with the image of the Sacred Heart, commonplace in virtually every Irish home.

Martin spoke to the desire to reconsecrate the country and its people now. 

“We are living in a time of great need for God — for faith, for hope, and for love. Our age presents many challenges to our faith, to our families, and indeed to the deepest core of our humanity. But as a pilgrim people filled with great love and hope in this jubilee year of graces, while recalling the the promises of the Sacred Heart made known 350 years ago to St. Margaret Mary, we have chosen to renew the consecration of our country to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus as its secure refuge from all dangers — visible and invisible.”

“Today we desire to consecrate to the most Sacred Heart: ourselves, our home, our family, our parish, and Ireland our country. We ask the Sacred Heart to have mercy on our suffering world in which he chose to dwell as one of us, to pour out the treasures of his light and love so that, as our late Pope Francis put it, the world may regain the most important and most necessary thing of all — its heart.”

Pointing to the consecration over 150 years ago, Martin said in his homily: “There are many weighty evils, my dear people, pressing on the Church of God throughout the world, and there are many dangers encompassing and threatening ourselves near home. The spirit of irreligion and infidelity is growing strong every day.”

He added: “These words are not mine. They are in fact taken from the pastoral letter of the Irish bishops sent on Passion Sunday 1873 to announce their intention to consecrate Ireland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sadly, in many ways the bishops’ words relate to the circumstances of today.”

The archbishop continued: “With God’s help today’s consecration will motivate us to radiate the light of faith, hope, and love, especially to the poor, the suffering, and those who are most in need. It will set us on fire with the Holy Spirit, it will lift up our hearts, and give us like St. Thérèse “a thirst for souls.”

On display at the consecration Mass were four pilgrim Sacred Heart statues blessed by Pope Francis at the Vatican symbolizing Ireland’s historic four provinces. Ahead of the consecration, the pilgrim statues were brought to parishes throughout Ireland, accompanied by Father Shane Gallagher, Father John Mockler, Dom Basil Mary McCabe, and Father Shane Sullivan.

Prior to the Mass of consecration, Father Richard Gibbons, rector and parish priest of Knock Shrine, welcomed the relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Claude la Colombière, and Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart to the basilica where they were venerated by the congregation.

One of the keynote speakers at the reconsecration event, Jesuit Father Bernard McGuckian, explained to CNA the historical context for the consecration and Ireland’s devotion to the Sacred Heart.

“The date of consecration at Knock is exactly 350 years since Our Lord spoke to St. Margaret Mary in 1675. In 1873, what happened in Ireland was the people all assembled in their parishes, and the consecration was done parish by parish on Passion Sunday, March 30. It was a unique activity. Ireland had been terribly affected by the penal laws and decimated by famine. One of the promises to Margaret Mary was that those who put up a picture of the Sacred Heart in their homes would be blessed. In Ireland for decades practically every Catholic home would have had a Sacred Heart picture,” he said.

McGuckian detailed the incredible efforts in promoting the devotion in the 19th and early 20th century, in particular by Jesuit Father James Cullen, who as director of the Apostleship of Prayer inspired the countrywide devotion to the Sacred Heart, founded the Irish Messenger of the Sacred Heart and established the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.

An attack on Mar Elias Church in Al-Duwaileh, Damascus, by a suicide bomber reportedly killed 22 and injured 59 people on June 22, 2025. / Credit: Mohammed Al-Rifai/ACI MENA

ACI MENA, Jun 23, 2025 / 12:06 pm (CNA).

The death toll from the attack on Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in the Douailah district of Damascus has risen to 22, with 59 others injured, according to Syria’s Ministry of Health. The attack took place during a Sunday evening Divine Liturgy attended by nearly 400 faithful.

Eyewitnesses reported that two armed men stormed the church. One of them remained outside, firing at worshippers and into the church’s stained-glass windows, while the second tried to enter the church and detonate a grenade. 

Two parishioners, Jiris and Boutros Bishara, intervened and managed to wrestle the explosive device away from the second man, preventing an immediate detonation. However, while being dragged outside, the attacker activated his suicide belt, resulting in a massive explosion that killed and wounded dozens and caused extensive destruction.

This marks the first religiously motivated attack targeting Christians in Syria since the fall of the previous regime more than six and a half months ago, reviving prior warnings and threats against the Christian minority despite earlier assurances of protection after the political transition.

Father Melatios Shtahi of the Greek Orthodox Church, speaking from the crime scene, stated: “Remaining silent about what was once described as isolated incidents has led us to this very moment. I am not surprised.”

The attack drew widespread condemnation from local, international, and ecclesiastical authorities.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch called on authorities to take full responsibility for protecting places of worship and ensuring the safety of all citizens. Patriarch John X. Yazigi has been in contact with local and regional leaders to “convey this dark image from Damascus to the entire world and demand an end to these massacres.”

The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate stated the assault is part of an alarming rise in sectarian tension in Syria and reflects the increasing threats to Christians’ lives and their right to worship freely.

Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II expressed to Patriarch John X his hope for a swift and transparent investigation into the incident.

Maronite patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai said: “Targeting Christians in the East is an affront to the very fabric of this region, which is now facing existential threats to its civilizations, cultures, and heritage of diversity.”

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate affirmed that “Christians do not fear intimidation nor surrender to hatred. The blood of yesterday’s martyrs is a resounding cry for truth in the face of injustice.”

Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, described the attack as “a barbaric act that is not only an assault on Christians in Syria but also a deep wound to the dignity of all humanity.”

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan stressed that “this attack is meant to sow division and drive innocent people from their homes. It is a clear act of terrorism plotted by the forces of darkness.”

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

St. Paul’s Hospital, operated by Providence Health Care, has a MAID facility on its campus, operated by the British Columbia government’s Vancouver Coastal Health. / Credit: Terry O’Neill

Vancouver, Canada, Jun 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A government-ordered euthanasia facility, operated by the British Columbia, Canada, government’s Vancouver Coastal Health Authority on the downtown campus of the Catholic-run St. Paul’s Hospital, is now fully operational.

A six-month investigation into the impact of the New Democratic Party government’s MAID (medical aid in dying)-imposition edict also uncovered that planning is underway for another euthanasia facility to be operated by Vancouver Coastal on the site of the new St. Paul’s Hospital on False Creek Flats, which is being built a little less than two miles east of the existing hospital.

Vancouver Coastal is also currently operating MAID rooms in the same buildings that house two Catholic-run hospices in Vancouver.

Providence Health Care, which operates all these Catholic facilities and is under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, has long maintained pro-life policies that prohibit abortion and euthanasia from being performed on its premises. However, it was powerless to block these developments.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has deep concerns about the imposition of MAID units alongside pro-life Catholic facilities.

“This is incredibly sad news,” Schadenberg said in an interview. “It’s sad that the unit is now operational. And I’m also incredibly saddened by the fact that the new St. Paul’s will also have a euthanasia clinic attached to it.”

The provincial government forced the euthanasia facility onto the current site of St. Paul’s Hospital in November 2023 in response to persistent death-on-demand activism and mainstream media pressure.

The MAID facility, about the size of a laneway home — a type of detached secondary suite in Canada built on preexisting lots — constructed by Vancouver Coastal at an undisclosed cost, is in an interior courtyard of the hospital, founded 131 years ago by the Sisters of Providence.

The facility opened Jan. 6, a Vancouver Coastal spokesperson said in an email dated April 17.

“The new space provides patients with options for specialized end-of-life care in a way that supports and respects them, their loved ones, and health care providers,” he said.

Called the “Shoreline Space,” the facility is attached to an exterior wall of the western section of the hospital’s Providence Building, facing the courtyard. Public access to the facility from the courtyard is blocked by a locked gate and a 2-yard-high, black chain-link fence.

There is no exterior signage that would give pedestrians using the hospital’s nearby Thurlow Street entrance any hint of the purpose of the green-metal-clad facility, equipped with security cameras and floodlight fixtures.

Inside the hospital, there is also no indication that MAID is provided behind a locked door that has the signage “Shoreline Space. Vancouver Coastal Health.” 

Vancouver Coastal emails, obtained through a freedom of information request, indicate the health authority launched a planning process to insert a euthanasia facility at the new St. Paul’s Hospital, scheduled to open in 2027.

No agency — the British Columbia government, the Ministry of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, Providence Health, or the Archdiocese of Vancouver — has announced publicly that the new St. Paul’s is being forced to accommodate a MAID facility.

Yet, the text of a Nov. 15, 2024, email from Laurel Plewes, operations director of the Assisted Dying Program at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) to Jennifer Chan of Providence Health Care (PHC) indicates that such planning is taking place.

Under the subject heading, “Preliminary VCH requirement for MAID space at the new SPH [St. Paul’s Hospital],” Plewes wrote: “Here is a list of preliminary requirements, subject to refinement and additions.”

That list, in bullet form, reads:

“— Internal 2,800 square feet

— We suspect PHC requirement will still remain, and VCH agrees, that the pathway must allow for patients to remain in their PHC bed.

— 5 minutes or less travel time from pharmacy located in SPH

— Ramp or ground-level entry — ramp is not included in square footage above

— Require connections for sewage, water, electricity, and IT connections similar to what is listed in previous partial agreement

— At least two parking spots for staff, easy access for transfer van

— Physical address to support emergency services knowing where to go”

Most emails received in response to the freedom of information request were almost completely redacted, but one with the subject line “Future Planning: MAID spaces,” was sent by Nina Dhaliwal, a “senior project manager” at Vancouver Coastal, to four of her colleagues on Nov. 27, 2024.

It describes the need to connect all the parties to ensure that “future planning for MAID spaces” is being done efficiently. Dhaliwal also asks whether “the MAID team” had an “SOA” (presumably meaning service-oriented architecture) and a “Functional Program.”

Although the email does not mention the new St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver Coastal released that information in response to a request for the communications regarding the possible construction of a MAID unit at the new hospital.

Neither Vancouver Coastal nor Providence Health has commented in response to questions about MAID facilities at the new or old St. Paul’s.

Providence Health’s service contract with the provincial government guarantees that it can prevent abortions and euthanasia from taking place within Providence facilities. Patients seeking such procedures are discharged from Providence and transferred to a Vancouver Coastal facility.

Pro-euthanasia groups criticized the arrangement when MAID was legalized in 2016 and then ramped up pressure when, as revealed in an article published in The B.C. Catholic in May 2022, the British Columbia branch of Dying with Dignity Canada launched a multiplatform public relations campaign aimed at forcing the British Columbia government to amend the service agreement in order to compel Providence to allow MAID.

Dying With Dignity called the “forced” transfer of patients to MAID-allowing facilities “cruel and unusual.”

The pressure peaked the next year when news media seized on the case of a Vancouver woman, Sam O’Neill, whose family complained that she was forced to transfer from St. Paul’s to access MAID. In response, the British Columbia government announced what observers called a “workaround” or “end-run” solution in November 2023.

The arrangement called for the province to take land at the St. Paul’s campus on which to create a “clinical space” for MAID to be performed. The space would be staffed by Vancouver Coastal health care professionals and was to be connected by a corridor to St. Paul’s Hospital.

“Patients from St. Paul’s Hospital accessing MAID will be discharged by Providence Health and transferred to the care of Vancouver Coastal Health in this new clinical space,” the release said. The MAID facility was originally scheduled to open in August 2024.

Then-Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver was quoted at the time as saying the directive “respects and preserves Providence’s policy of not allowing MAID inside a Catholic health care facility,” and the new patient discharge and transfer protocols would be consistent with existing arrangements for transferring patients at other Providence facilities.

However, that did not end the matter. In June 2024, O’Neill’s mother, Dying with Dignity Canada, and a doctor launched a lawsuit against Providence, Vancouver Coastal, and the provincial government, alleging they had denied O’Neill her constitutional right to access MAID.

They seek to have MAID conducted within all provincially funded facilities, such as those of Providence Health Care, which relies on provincial funding for its operating costs. Providence owns the hospitals.

In a formal response to the claim, Providence not only described the St. Paul’s arrangement but also disclosed that at two hospices it operates, May’s Place and St. John, “patients who choose to receive MAID are provided with MAID by a VCH health care provider in a space operated by VCH which is located down the hall from the Providence operated hospice rooms in the same building that houses the hospice.”

But that does not mean MAID is actually being performed within a Catholic facility, said Shaf Hussain, a communications officer with Providence.

Hussain said in a May 30 email to Canadian Catholic News (CCN) that both St. John Hospice and May’s Place Hospice are in buildings and on lands that are not owned by Providence. He said he believes the whole building in which St. John Hospice is located “is leased by VCH.”

“Since September 2013, Providence has been operating a 14-bed hospice in the building and continues to do so,” he said. “In 2021, VCH took some space in the building for its Vancouver Community palliative programming. A room in that space is used for MAID.”

Providence also leases space to operate a six-bed hospice in a building in which “VCH also leases space,” he said. “This space, which they use for MAID, is separate and away from our hospice operations.”

In a follow-up email to CCN on June 17, Hussain said Providence does not present MAID as an option to its patients.

“To clarify, no, we don’t proactively mention MAID as an option to consider,” he said. “We never initiate an offer of MAID.”

“If a patient enquires about it, we contact the VCH MAID team,” he said. “From PHC’s perspective, we ensure the patient is provided information about all [non-MAID] end-of-life options, so the patient can make an informed decision.”

Hussain explained the process Providence staff follow if a patient enquires about MAID, which includes assessing for MAID eligibility by two doctors or nurse practitioners; discussing the patient’s medical condition with them; and discussing services and treatments that are available to relieve suffering, which “may include adjusting a current treatment plan, engaging palliative care services, community support services, or other options.”

“A person does not have to accept any of these services, but it is legally required for a person requesting MAID to be offered care options to address the person’s suffering,” he said.

Dr. Will Johnston, who heads the Euthanasia Resistance Coalition of B.C., said he believes the British Columbia government’s decision to force MAID into previously life-affirming health care settings is a form of totalitarianism.

“This is another example of zealots who won’t allow the population any freedom from euthanasia,” Johnston said. “They obviously control the provincial government … I think it’s totalitarianism, and it shows none of their claimed virtues of inclusion and diversity.”

This story was first published by Canadian Catholic News on June 19, 2025, and has been reprinted here with permission. 

Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera is secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. / Credit: “EWTN Noticias”/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCTM, by its Italian acronym), contends that instead of a single reparative action, victims of abuse within the Church require “an in-depth process that listens to, welcomes, and accompanies.”

Alí Herrera explained that the harm done to such victims is “disastrous” as it harms “the very image of God, the [victim’s] relationship with the Church, interpersonal relationships, and one’s very identity. A victim sees their life plans and their ability to bounce back damaged,” Alí explained in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.

The auxiliary bishop of Bogotá — who, along with the other members of his team, met with Pope Leo XIV two weeks ago — stated that the voice of survivors is at the center of the Church’s work and that the presence of victims within the commission itself is key to moving toward a true culture of prevention.

“We have victims on the pontifical commission; they are part of it as members. Their voice is essential to knowing how to speak to all victims and survivors, and also to guiding our responses in prevention processes,” he noted.

Since its creation in 2014, the PCTM, led by Cardinal Seán O’Malley, has been one of the Church’s most practical instruments for combating sexual abuse and promoting a culture of prevention.

The prelate shared that his pastoral perspective on this issue changed completely after hearing the testimony of a person who had suffered abuse.

“I had read, studied, and analyzed it. But it’s another thing entirely to be faced with the real pain, the tears, the despair of someone who has been deeply wounded. That transformed me,” he related.

For the commission’s secretary, a key part of the work of prevention begins with adequate psycho-affective formation of a candidate for the priesthood beginning at the very outset of seminary.

“Affective, communal, and sexual formation must be present from the preparatory phase to the end of theological formation. It must be across the board, continuous, and closely connected to the emotional world and interpersonal relationships,” he noted.

Regarding the impact of the abuse crisis on priestly vocations, Alí acknowledged that it has had painful but also positive effects.

“It has had an impact, because many pull back [from considering a priestly vocation] when they see news of cases. But it has also helped, because it has forced us to rethink vocation ministry and recognize that the priest is, above all, a human person, with wounds, crises, and emotions that he must learn to integrate,” the bishop explained.

Impact of Rupnik 

Regarding decisions such as that taken by the shrine at Lourdes, which this past March covered up the murals of the artist and former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, who is accused of serial sexual abuse, Alí believes it is necessary to act with discernment and empathy.

“Art can heal, but it can also retraumatize. It’s not about condemning beforehand but rather putting oneself in the shoes of the victims and not triggering their pain with gestures that may be insensitive,” Alí indicated.

With a clear appeal to the entire Church, Alí concluded: True reparation only begins when those who have suffered are truly listened to. “That listening, that closeness, is the first step toward restoring what has been broken: the image of God in each victim.”

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

Smoke from incense drifts in the air at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California, where the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage concluded on June 22, 2025. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN

Los Angeles, Calif., Jun 22, 2025 / 23:23 pm (CNA).

The 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage completed its 3,300-mile journey across the western United States on Sunday, having traversed 10 states, stopping in 20 dioceses and encountering thousands of enthusiastic parishioners.

The trek started May 18 in Indianapolis, the site of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in 2024, and concluded 35 days later at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The pilgrimage was an outgrowth of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) three-year Eucharistic revival designed to promote belief in and devotion to the Eucharist among Catholics.

“We’ve had a wonderful reception, and the pilgrimage has borne much good fruit,” remarked Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC). “The pilgrims who have turned out have been in good spirits.”

The culminating event at the cathedral included Mass celebrated by U.S. apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, a homily by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez, and a procession through the cathedral plaza.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who led the USCCB’s Eucharistic revival program, and the auxiliary bishops of Los Angeles participated. The cathedral, which seats 3,000, was full, and the procession ended with Gómez blessing the city of Los Angeles in four directions, Shanks said, “which I hope will bring hope and healing to the city,” the scene of recent civil unrest.

The pilgrimage visited multiple sites of prominence in the archdiocese, including Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades and Sacred Heart Parish in Altadena, both of which are in the zones of wildfire destruction in Los Angeles’ Jan. 7 Palisades and Eaton fires (Corpus Christi was destroyed; Sacred Heart survived). The pilgrimage also stopped at the first and the last missions established in the Los Angeles area by St. Junipero Serra, Mission San Gabriel (founded in 1771), and Mission Basilica San Buenaventura (established in 1782).

Father Parker Sandoval, vice chancellor and senior director of ministerial services for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, was the main point of contact for the archdiocese and coordinated Los Angeles events with the NEC. He noted that each site at which the pilgrimage stopped was significant, such as of historical importance because they were 18th-century missions or because they were in the wildfire disaster zones.

“The archdiocese has been pleased to participate in the pilgrimage, and our hope and prayer is that the Eucharistic revival spreads far and wide,” he said.

Gómez, Pierre, Cozzens, and the auxiliary bishops participated in other events Friday through Sunday, including the events in the wildfire areas.

“We were there to pray for people and be part of the revival of life in those areas,” Cozzens said. “The people I spoke to told me that they were grateful of God’s presence in the midst of tragedy and for their faith, which has help sustain them in this time of trial.”

Pilgrims reflect on their journey

The pilgrimage traveled with eight young adults, known as perpetual pilgrims, traveling in a van with a trailer. Each diocese in which they made their stops acted as host, offering housing and food. The pilgrims found themselves spending the night in parishioners’ homes, retreat centers, religious houses, and hotels.

Ace Acuna, a perpetual pilgrim active in campus ministry with The Aquinas Institute on the campus of Princeton University in New Jersey, said he became passionate about the Eucharistic revival after attending the Indianapolis congress last year. 

“Everywhere we go people are excited to see us and give us a warm welcome,” he said. “They’re elated that Jesus is coming.”

Like Acuna, perpetual pilgrim Leslie Reyes-Hernandez was moved by her experience at the Indianapolis congress.  Her experience on the pilgrimage this year has been “transformative,” she said, adding that she believes Eucharistic adoration has the power to draw many young people like herself to the Lord.

“Young people are hungry for an encounter with God, and we’ve been blessed to meet many during this pilgrimage,” she said.

Activities at the diocesan stops included Mass, adoration, talks about the Eucharist, and processions. Many also took the opportunity to go to confession.

Pilgrims had to deal with protests

Attendance has been strong at many stops, Acuna related, including a Eucharistic procession to Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa, which drew 1,800.

The spiritual journey was not without controversy; as many as 50 protestors from the Church of Wells protested the pilgrimage along the route, with their biggest turnout in Oklahoma City.

“They were using megaphones to tell us Catholics were wrong in their beliefs and confronting our participants individually about Catholic practices such as the rosary,” Shanks recounted. “They said they were looking to put the ‘protest’ back in Protestant.”

While additional security was added to protect perpetual pilgrims and surround the Blessed Sacrament, Shanks said he believes the group’s hostility did not adversely affect the pilgrimage.

“For us, this persecution was our Way of the Cross,” he said. “We were allowed to experience in a very small way the suffering of Christ.”

The pilgrims took side trips to sites of service or suffering along the route, such as a soup kitchen or to participate in prison ministry and to the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. Other stops included a visit to the tomb of Bishop Fulton Sheen and the Shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother.

Although the pilgrimage has ended, the work of the National Eucharistic Congress continues, Shanks said. He said he hopes to do more annual pilgrimages, as well as an 11th National Eucharistic Congress in 2029. The NEC is also working to train Eucharistic missionaries who can return to their parishes to share their enthusiasm for Christ in the Eucharist.

Cozzens said he believes the USCCB’s Eucharistic revival program has been “a beautiful evangelistic moment,” adding that he hopes “the essential work of Eucharistic revival will continue through the congress movement.”

The revival has exceeded his expectations for success, he said.

“I said we wanted to start a fire, not a program,” the bishop said. “And, today that fire of the Holy Spirit is burning brightly.”