The Vatican reports that Pope Francis’ health remains stable, and his improvements have been consolidated.
Doctors have lifted the reserved prognosis, but due to the complexity of his clinical condition and the infection presented upon admission, he will remain in the hospital for further treatment.
Today, he participated in the Curia’s Spiritual Exercises, received the Eucharist, and spent time in prayer and rest.
The close-knit Catholic community in Belfast’s Ardoyne has been stunned by an alleged affair involving one of its priests, it can be revealed.
Fr Anthony Connelly – a member of the Passionist Order based at Holy Cross parish in the north of the city – is alleged to have become embroiled in an inappropriate relationship with a married female parishioner.
A senior member of the Passionist Order confirmed to the Sunday World that a recent issue at Holy Cross had caused “deep concern” and was currently “under investigation”.
And as a result, Fr Anthony Connelly (48) has been removed for the time being from ministerial duties.
Fr James Sweeney, Passionist Provincial of Ireland & Britain – St Patrick’s Province – issued the following statement: “I have been made aware of serious concerns raised about the alleged behaviour of a member of the Passionist Community in Holy Cross, Ardoyne.
“This is a matter of deep concern and is under investigation. The established procedures have been initiated.
“The priest concerned has left the parish and has been removed for now from ministry as a priest.
“Opportunities have been made available for those affected in any way to speak with members of the Holy Cross Passionist Community and the Province’s professional safeguarding officer.
“The first priority must be the well-being of individuals affected. We recognise, we are accountable to the people of the parish for our ministry and are rightly held to the highest standard,” Fr Sweeney said.
Fr Sweeney, who is based in St Paul’s Retreat at Mount Argus in Dublin, added: “Anyone with concerns should contact our safeguarding officer”.
Priests from the Passionist Community have been based continuously at Holy Cross parish on the Crumlin Road for more than 150 years.
The parish made headline news 25 years ago when a loyalist picket outside the local girls’ primary school meant children had to be escorted into the building under the protection of British soldiers and armed RUC officers.
And soon the dispute became a magnet for TV crews and news teams from around the globe.
And when an exploding blast bomb was thrown, live pictures of screaming children were flashed around the world as parents raced to protect their youngsters.
The blockade lasted for months and it was compared to similar situations in Alabama in the southern United States, during the 1950s.
Passionist priest Fr Aidan Troy became a well-known and popular spokesman for the local community and he played a central role in bringing the conflict to an end.
Earlier this week, a number of Holy Cross parishioners spoke as they left church after completing devotions on Ash Wednesday.
One elderly lady parishioner said: “There are a lot of rumours flying around, but as of now, we’ve not been told anything officially.”
She added: “I find it’s best to say nothing.”
The Pope is participating in the Vatican’s week-long spiritual retreat from a Rome hospital as he continues his recovery from double pneumonia and looks ahead to the 12th anniversary of his election amid questions about what the future of his papacy might look like.
Francis followed the opening of the retreat by video conference on Sunday.
He could see and hear the Rev Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, but the priests, bishops and cardinals in the Vatican auditorium could not see or hear him.
The Rev Pasolini delivered a meditation on “The hope of eternal life”, a theme that was chosen well before Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a complex lung infection.
The retreat, which is an annual gathering that kicks off the Catholic Church’s solemn Lenten season leading to Easter, continues through the week.
The Vatican has said Francis would participate “in spiritual communion” with the rest of the hierarchy, from afar.
In its early update on Monday, the Vatican said Francis was resting after a quiet night.
At the time of his admission to hospital last month, the 88-year-old Pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had what was then just a bad case of bronchitis.
The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future.
He has now remained in stable condition for over a week, with no fever, respiratory crises and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported.
Doctors said that such stability was in itself a positive thing and showed he was responding well to therapy. But they kept his prognosis as “guarded,” meaning that he is not out of danger.
On Thursday, the Vatican will mark the 12th anniversary of Francis’ election, the first with the pope out of sight but still very much in charge.
In a sign Francis was still keeping his eye on things, the Vatican said he had been informed about the floods in his native Argentina and expressed his closeness to the affected population.
In addition, a Vatican cardinal close to Francis spoke out on Monday over some negative media reports that have circulated in his absence.
The Vatican development office released a letter written by Cardinal Michael Czerny to one of Francis’s close friends, the Argentine social justice activist Juan Grabois.
Mr Grabois had travelled to Rome to pray for Francis at Gemelli hospital, and some Italian media reported last month that he had tried to forcibly get into Francis’s 10th floor hospital suite, a claim he denied.
In the March 6 letter, Cardinal Czerny told Mr Grabois that Francis “knew of your presence in Rome and your daily vigils of prayer and spiritual solidarity at Gemelli Polyclinic and I’m sure this gave him a true comfort and support”.
“Additionally, I know that you join me in strongly repudiating the unfounded versions that have circulated in some media about alleged inappropriate behaviour in the hospital,” Cardinal Czerny wrote.
POPE FRANCIS IS resting after a “peaceful” night, said the Vatican this morning after reporting earlier that the pontiff was showing a “slight, gradual improvement”.
Francis, head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since 14 February.
He was admitted with bronchitis, which then developed into pneumonia in both lungs, something that sparked alarm because he had part of a lung removed as a young man.
In an update this morning, the Vatican said Francis was “resting” after a “peaceful” night.
But in a more in-depth update yesterday evening, the Vatican said that Francis’s “clinical condition has remained stable in recent days” and that he has “shown a good response to therapy”.
“There is therefore a slight, gradual improvement,” said yesterday’s statement.
He has also remained without fever and his blood tests are stable, and the Vatican said that Francis is “following the prescribed diet, which now includes solid foods”.
He has also continued respiratory and physical therapy.
“The doctors, in order to record these initial improvements in the coming days, cautiously continue to maintain a reserved prognosis,” added the Vatican.
Meanwhile, Francis received the Eucharist yesterday morning, prayed in the chapel of his private apartment at the Gemelli hospital, and “alternated rest and work activities” yesterday afternoon.
Francis has continued to work from the hospital and last week, he called Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family in Gaza, the only Catholic parish in Gaza.
The Gaza parish thanked Francis for his support from the hospital.
Since October 9, 2023, two days after the bombings began in Gaza, Francis has been in daily contact with the Holy Family Church, bar a few days recently due to his hospitalisation.
And while Francis has published several texts from hospital, his voice was heard for the first time since his hospitalisation last week.
Before a nightly rosary in St Peter’s Square on Thursday for Francis’s health, a pre-recorded audio message was played from Francis.
His voice was gravelly, and he said: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here.
“May God bless you. Thank you.”
Francis has increasingly been handing off his day-to-day duties to cardinals, and has as recently as this weekend.
On Saturday, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, took Francis' place to celebrate Mass for a pro-life group.
And on Sunday, another Vatican official, Cardinal Michael Czerny, stepped in for the pope to celebrate a Holy Year Mass for volunteers.
There is no reason why such delegation of papal obligations cannot continue, especially since Francis remains conscious and working from the hospital.
But the 88-year-old pope has spoken about the possibility of resignation, though his position has changed over time, especially in recent years after the death of Pope Benedict XVI.
Here's what Francis has said about pope's retiring, in his own words:
On Benedict’s resignation:
In his 2024 memoir, Life, Francis recounted how he first learned about Benedict’s resignation - the first in 600 years.
He said a Vatican journalist had called him in Buenos Aires on February 11, 2013, and told him the news as it was breaking.
“For a moment I was paralyzed. I could hardly believe what I was hearing,” Francis wrote in Life. “This was news I had never expected to receive in my lifetime: the resignation of a pope was unimaginable, although it was provided for in canon law. In the first few moments I said to myself, ‘I must have misunderstood, it’s not possible.’ But then I understood that Benedict had surely meditated and prayed for a long time before making this brave and historic decision. Faced with his declining strength, he had evidently realized that the only irreplaceable element in the Church is the Holy Spirit, and the only Lord is Jesus Christ. This is why he was a great pope, humble and sincere, who loved the church until the end.”
During the 10 years they lived together in the Vatican as a reigning and retired pope, Francis repeatedly praised Benedict’s courage and humility for resigning and said he had “opened the door” to future popes also stepping down.
On the chance he might follow:
In a 2022 interview with Spain's ABC daily, Francis revealed that he had written a letter of resignation soon after he was elected pontiff.
The letter laid out his resignation if medical problems impeded him from carrying out his duties or from freely announcing a resignation.
The text of the letter has not been released and it’s not known what sort of medical impairment or lack of consciousness might trigger a resignation.
Canon law has no provision for what to do if a pope is permanently impaired and canonists are divided on whether a pre-written letter of resignation would be valid.
Canon 332.2 says that for a pope to resign his office, “it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.”
Francis has repeated the existence of his resignation letter as recently as last year.
But in Life, which was published a year ago this month, Francis said he had no plans to resign and was at least at that time enjoying good health.
“But this is, I repeat, a distant possibility, because I truly do not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning,” he said. “Some people may have hoped that sooner or later, perhaps after a stay in the hospital, I might make an announcement of that kind, but there is no risk of it: Thanks be to God, I enjoy good health, and as I have said, there are many projects to bring to fruition, God willing.”
And what changed after Benedict died:
Benedict died on December 31, 2022, at age of 95. There were not a few problems during those 10 years of cohabitation, with traditionalists and conservatives looking to Benedict as their nostalgic point of reference.
In his first interview with The Associated Press after the death, Francis again repeated that Benedict had opened up the possibility of future retired popes. He repeated that if he were to follow, he would live outside the Vatican in a home for retired priests in the diocese of Rome and be referred to as the “emeritus bishop of Rome” as opposed to “emeritus pope.”
Francis said Benedict’s decision to live in a converted monastery in the Vatican Gardens was a “good intermediate solution,” but that future retired popes might want to do things differently.
But a few weeks later, speaking to Congolese and South Sudanese priests, Francis changed tune. Freed from Benedict's presence, Francis pointed out the risks that papal resignations become the norm. He repeated that he had written a letter of resignation, but made clear the papacy was for life.
“I did it in case I have some health problem that prevents me from exercising my ministry and I am not fully conscious in order to resign,” he said, according to the closed-door comments reported by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica.
“However, this doesn’t mean that resigning popes should become, let’s say, a ‘fashion,’ or a normal thing. Benedict had the courage to do it because he didn’t feel like going on because of his health. I for the moment do not have that on my agenda. I believe that the pope’s ministry is ad vitam (for life). I see no reason why it shouldn’t be so. The ministry of the great patriarchs is always for life. And historical tradition is important.”
“If, on the other hand, we listen to the gossip well, then we should change popes every six months!”
This month, Sr Raffaella Petrini of the Institute of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist has become the first woman to serve as president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
This unprecedented appointment by Pope Francis signals a significant step toward increasing women’s participation in the church’s highest echelons of power.
As the church grapples with balancing its long-held traditions and modern expectations, this milestone raises important questions about its future and its relationship with women.
For two millenniums, women have played pivotal yet often peripheral roles within the church’s institutional framework. Excluded from the all-male priesthood and hierarchical leadership, they have nonetheless shaped Catholicism in profound ways.
Medieval abbesses managed convents as autonomous centres of learning and spirituality, with some commanding authority rivalling that of bishops. Women such as Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), and Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) wielded spiritual authority, influencing doctrine and policy through their writings and counsel to male leaders.
All three were later declared Doctors of the Church (Catherine and Teresa in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and Hildegard in 2012).
Yet, patriarchal structures entrenched over centuries kept women at the margins of formal decision making. While their contributions flourished in religious life, education and charitable works, church governance remained overwhelmingly male. Pope Francis’s recent reforms mark a departure from this systemic exclusion, though they remain incremental rather than revolutionary.
In recent years, Pope Francis has made headlines for his commitment to expanding women’s leadership within the Vatican. In 2021, Sr Nathalie Becquart became the first woman to vote in the Synod of Bishops. Similarly, Sr Simona Brambilla’s appointment as head of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life in January 2025 underscored the Pope’s desire to broaden women’s influence in decision making.
Sr Raffaella Petrini’s new role as president of the Governorate of Vatican City State represents one of the highest-ranking positions ever held by a woman in the church. She will oversee the administrative and operational functions of Vatican City, from its museums to its police force. This appointment not only underscores Pope Francis’s vision for a more inclusive church but also signals a shift in how the Vatican views women’s leadership and their capacity to wield power.
“Women manage things better than we do,” Pope Francis remarked in a recent interview (Vatican News, January 2025). Yet, despite these advancements, deeper systemic issues remain untouched. The all-male priesthood endures, and discussions around women’s ordination remain largely off the table.
The Pope’s progressive measures have not been without controversy. Progressive Catholics argue that the reforms, while significant, do not go far enough. They see the inclusion of women in governance as a step in the right direction but believe the Church must also address the ordination question to achieve true gender equality.
Conversely, conservative groups within the Church view these changes as a threat to tradition and doctrine, fearing they could lead to further departures from Catholic theological foundations.
This tension reflects a broader challenge for the Vatican: how to modernise without alienating its conservative base or undermining core teachings. The question remains whether these reforms signify a genuine commitment to inclusivity or are merely symbolic gestures aimed at appeasing critics.
The inclusion of women like Sr Raffaella Petrini in high-ranking roles could have far-reaching implications for the church’s future. As women take on more prominent positions, the church may be better equipped to engage with a world that increasingly promotes gender equality and inclusivity. These changes could inspire younger generations of Catholic women to see themselves as active participants in shaping the church’s future.
However, the pace of change remains slow, and systemic reforms seem distant. While Pope Francis’s efforts mark a turning point, they leave open the question of how far the church is willing to go in dismantling patriarchal structures. Will the inclusion of women in governance lead to deeper transformations, or will it remain a limited series of advancements within a rigid framework?
Sr Raffaella Petrini’s appointment as president of the Governorate of Vatican City State marks a significant step forward for women in the Catholic Church. It reflects Pope Francis’s vision of a more inclusive and representative Church while challenging centuries of male-dominated leadership. Yet, as important as this moment is, it also highlights the long road ahead.
As the church stands at a crossroads, so too does the papacy. Now in the 12th year of his tenure, Pope Francis has overseen an era of reform that has nudged open doors long thought closed.
But with speculation mounting over his health and the possibility of transition in Vatican leadership, the durability of these changes remains uncertain. Whether this moment signals the beginning of a deeper transformation or the closing of a chapter in the Church’s long history is a question only time will answer.
With a visa program for non-ordained religious workers due to expire March 13, the USCCB told The Pillar Wednesday that its expiration could hit rural and underserved dioceses especially hard.
The EB-4 non-minister special immigration religious workers visa program will close March 13, at the end of a short-term extension signed in December last year.
The program, which issues 5,000 visas a year, is used by Catholic religious orders and other institutions to secure permanent residence — and a path to citizenship — for a range of non-ordained applicants ineligible for other kinds of religious worker visas.
The EB-4 Special Immigrant Religious Worker Visa is distinct from the R-1 temporary religious worker visa program, which does not come with an automatic green card. That program, used by foreign-born priests in the U.S., is itself mired in backlogs and delays, which have forced many priests and religious to leave the U.S.
There are two kinds of EB-4 visas available under the current system: ministerial and non-ministerial, with the first class usually only available to clergy or their equivalent — those qualified to lead religious worship or perform the equivalent of sacramental ministry.
Non-ministerial EB-4 visas allow for religious organizations to sponsor workers who are not ministers to immigrate to the United States, in order to perform services in their religious vocations or occupation.
Those kinds of visas, which are used by religious communities and diocesan-sponsored laity, are now in jeopardy.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “examples of those working as part of a vocation include nuns, monks, [religious] brothers, and sisters.”
Work performed by those visa holders includes care for the sick, aged, and dying in hospitals and special facilities, work in youth ministry, religious education in parishes and Catholic schools, and leadership or administration of Catholic religious orders and institutions.
The bishops’ conference noted in 2022 that the statutory provision for non-minister special immigrant religious workers is not a permanent part of U.S. immigration law, but instead sunsets at given intervals.
The most recent such sunset clause was due to come into effect late last year, when President Joe Biden signed a December 21 extension until March 13 of this year.
Confirming that the program is now set to end, recent guidance from the U.S. State Department says that “no [EB-4 non-ministerial] visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight March 13, 2025. Visas issued prior to that date will be valid only until March 13, 2025, and all individuals seeking admission in the non-minister special immigrant category must be admitted (repeat, admitted) into the United States no later than midnight March 13, 2025.”
“In the event there is no legislative action extending the category beyond March 14, 2025, the category will immediately become ‘Unavailable’ as of March 14, 2025,” the State Department guidance says.
Prior to the non-ministerial immigrant religious worker visa program’s introduction in 1990, religious organizations attempting to use traditional employment immigration categories for non-ministerial workers faced “sometimes insurmountable obstacles,” according to the bishops’ conference.
“The resulting consequences were that religious entities found that they could not sponsor workers at all or could not do so within a timeframe that corresponded to their needs,” the conference said in 2022.
David Spicer, assistant director for policy for migration and refugee services at the USCCB, told The Pillar that thousands of Catholic religious workers have entered the country via the program over the last three decades.
“All of our men and women religious and other laypersons who may come as missionaries or in other capacities, they fall into this non-minister category,” he explained.
“I think probably the Catholic Church accounts for the largest number of these non-ministers within the program… We have priests and deacons defined as ministers, and then everyone else would fall into the non-minister category. So it's a very significant impact that ‘non-ministerial’ portion is having on Catholic ministries across the country.”
But Spicer said, the end of the non-ministerial visa program will impact more than teachers, catechists, or caregivers.
It will also impact religious vocations, he said.
“With formation for the priesthood, a diocese will usually send a man to a formal seminary associated with an institution of higher education, so that could provide a different opportunity for a student visa perhaps,” Spicer said. “But in the case of religious congregations, it's not always the case that their formation is so formal that they could have the postulant on a student visa.”
Instead, Spicer said, leaders of religious communities have relied on the non-ministerial religious worker visa programs for members in formation. And since religious profession is a lifelong commitment, the path to permanent residency is important.
“I know of a mother superior in Alaska who had to depart the country and leave her community behind,” Spicer recalled, “and that had significant impact on the Church there in Alaska, which is one of the places where we rely most heavily on these foreign-born religious workers.”
“The geographic scope of the dioceses there make it very difficult to minister to Catholics spread all throughout such a large territory. And so foreign-born religious workers are often the only real way that they can do that.”
Spicer added that the non-ministerial visa program is used for cloistered religious, and religious sisters who work in the administration of their congregations and orders.
Because the EB-4 visa program is for permanent immigrant status with a path to citizenship, Spicer confirmed that the pending closure would not affect those visa recipients already in the country, since they would have green cards, but nevertheless could affect other religious workers already in the country.
“There is the potential for somebody who's here on an R-1 visa, and even with the backlog there, we may have men in women religious and others who fall into the non-minister category who are here within their five year temporary period when their visa number comes up for the EB-4, to be able to get a green card,” he said.
“But in order to take advantage of that, the program still has to be available. So we could have a really unfortunate situation where somebody has been waiting in the EB-4 backlog, is classified as a non-minister, and then just as they're about to become eligible to get a green card the program is no longer accessible to them.”
While the program is set to close in little more than a week, Spicer said that some kind of extension remains possible.
“We've had a couple of continuing resolutions now, already, for fiscal year 2025 appropriations,” he noted.
“God willing, if Congress were to reach an agreement on a [resolution] by the March 14 deadline, they could take a similar approach and that would extend the non-minister provision, and other programs as well for the duration of the resolution.”
The uncertainty, he said, points to a need for the EB-4 program to be put on a permanent footing, which the USCCB has advocated for.
In April 2024, Bishop Mark Seitz, chair of the conference’s Committee on Migration, wrote to legislators, noting that “the wait time for an EB-4 visa has increased drastically for most nationalities, now far longer for this category than any other employment-based category.”
The bishop urged “that Congress permanently reauthorize this small but important program.”
Genn turned 75 last Thursday, thus reaching the age limit stipulated for bishops. He had already offered his resignation to the Pope last year.
Born in the Eifel region, Genn was Bishop of Münster for 16 years and previously headed the diocese of Essen for six years. From 1999 to 2003, he was auxiliary bishop in Trier for four years.
On Sunday afternoon, the diocese of Münster will celebrate Genn's 75th birthday with a service in Münster Cathedral and a reception in the Münsterland Hall.
Bishop Genn is a member of the Vatican's episcopal authority.
According to his own statement, he intends to continue working there until the end of his five-year term of office in 2029. Genn is also coordinating a working group of the World Synod, which is to make suggestions to the Pope for a better selection of bishop candidates. He would also like to complete this task, Genn said in an interview with the Catholic News Agency (KNA).
Successor expected in a few months
Until a new bishop is inaugurated, the diocese of Münster will be led by an interim administrator.
The so-called diocesan administrator is elected by the 16-member cathedral chapter, but is not allowed to make any fundamental changes.
A successor to Bishop Genn is not expected for several months.
After consulting with 16 lay representatives from the diocese, the cathedral chapter sends name suggestions to Rome; other bishops from the area of the so-called Prussian Concordat (Germany north of the Main line) also do this.
From these, the Vatican compiles a list of three, from which the Münster Cathedral Chapter selects the new bishop, who is then appointed by the Pope.
The background to this is that no human remains were found after a three-year search, reports the Catholic Herald portal.
The case first caused a stir in 2015 when the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) published alleged evidence of 215 graves on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School based on ground penetrating radar scans.
This brought into focus the residential schools that had been established between the late 19th century and the 1990s to educate Indigenous children.
These schools were mostly run by the Catholic and Anglican churches and financed by the state.
Although it is known that some children died there, historical records show that most deaths were due to diseases such as tuberculosis.
Church asked for forgiveness
However, investigations by the commission did not lead to the discovery of any human remains. A report by the New York Times in 2021 brought suspicions about the murder of hundreds of indigenous children in church care back into the public eye.
The public reaction was massive and resulted in arson attacks and vandalism at around 120 churches.
The Pope also spoke of the "shocking discovery of the remains of 215 children". Canadian bishops and religious communities asked for forgiveness at the time.
In July 2022, Pope Francis finally travelled to Canada and personally asked the indigenous peoples for forgiveness for the Catholic Church's involvement in "oppressive and unjust policies" against the country's indigenous peoples.
On his return flight, he explained that although he had not used the term "genocide" in his speeches, he had nevertheless spoken of a genocidal operation, as the violent suppression of the culture of the indigenous peoples had this character.
Investigations without result
In order to further clarify the allegations, the Canadian government set up a commission of experts to provide technical assistance in the search for graves, archival research and genealogy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had claimed in 2024 that there had been murders.
As the search did not yield the hoped-for results, the government is now cancelling funding for the investigation. The commission will be disbanded at the end of the month, which has been criticised by the commission itself.
In a statement, the Canadian government is called upon to continue funding the investigation in order to find the missing children and commemorate them.
In a statement issued on March 5, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference specifically pointed out problems such as “the decriminalization and promotion of abortion, the scourge of uncontrolled violence, organized crime, and the scourge of drug trafficking, which has turned entire regions into war zones.”
However, despite this panorama “marked by shadows of death and despair,” the prelates reminded that “life is a sacred gift, which must be welcomed, protected, defended, and promoted with courage.”
In this context, the bishops called for a commitment in favor of human dignity, calling for a Week for Life to be held March 24–28. As part of this initiative, they proposed various actions to strengthen the culture of life in the country.
The prelates called for the formation of a “conscience illuminated by the truth,” emphasizing that “it is essential to educate the conscience in the light of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church to avoid falling into error and moral confusion.”
They also insisted on the need to protect people in their most vulnerable stages, especially the unborn and the elderly, and warned that one should not “be silent in the face of unjust laws that violate human dignity.”
The bishops stressed the urgency of “promoting the family and education in values,” emphasizing that the home is the first space for learning and formation. “It is necessary to strengthen marriage, educat[e] in faith and Christian values so that the new generations grow in a culture of respect and solidarity,” they added.
They also urged people to “combat violence with the peace of the Gospel,” affirming that “we cannot resign ourselves to violence. Peace begins in the heart of each person and is built with justice.”
The bishops further urged people to accompany the victims of violence, recalling that the faithful are "called to be Samaritans who heal the wounds of those who have suffered violence. Mercy is a concrete witness to Christian hope.”
Finally, they emphasized the importance of strengthening evangelization and social commitment, emphasizing that “it is not enough to denounce evil, it is necessary to announce the good news of Christ. We must be present in all areas where consolation and accompaniment are needed.”
‘Witnesses and messengers of hope’
Although they recognized that “the situation we face in Mexico is challenging,” the bishops expressed their certainty that “God walks with his people, and we are called to be witnesses and messengers of hope and life.”
“We want to be messengers of hope and life, welcoming motherhood with love. Let us be messengers of hope and life, welcoming with love the sick, the weak, and the vulnerable,” the bishops said.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, the officer, since retired from the PSNI on medical grounds, said he had faced two decades of dissident threats, trauma, and sectarianism from his colleagues.
The body which represents Catholic officers serving in the PSNI said it was vital to the future of policing that all officers serve in “an inclusive environment”.
The officer, who has not been named, said he now regrets joining the police, and told of how he now feels abandoned after years spent on the front line in riots and at the scenes of some of the worst attacks of the last two decades.
He added that he was “naive” when joining in the new policing force in 2002 with no idea what was to lie ahead.
“If I were talking to the new recruit, I would have to say, think long and hard about it; long and hard — especially if you’re a Roman Catholic officer, because there’s so much baggage,” he said.
Last December he retired from the PSNI on medical grounds, aged just 45.
The Guild said: “We are deeply concerned by his reports of internal sectarianism and the challenges faced by him as a Catholic in the PSNI.
“Such issues undermine the principles of equality and respect that are foundational to effective policing and community trust.
“The Guild stands in solidarity with all officers and staff who have faced discrimination and emphasizes the importance of fostering an inclusive environment within the PSNI.”
We and the public expect and demand a workplace culture within PSNI where everyone is treated with respect and dignity
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said that what he’d been told “is disgraceful and has no place whatsoever in the Police Service of Northern Ireland”.
He added that while he doesn’t believe these incidents are “a true reflection of the service’s overall culture, I’m not naive and recognise and accept that there have been incidents where the biases and prejudice that exist within our society have manifest in our workplace.
“We and the public expect and demand a workplace culture within PSNI where everyone is treated with respect and dignity. We are rightly held to a higher standard than other members of the public.
“As a service, we do not and will not tolerate this kind of alleged wrongdoing by our officers or staff,” he continued.
“This retired officer’s experience reinforces that we need to do more to give officers and staff the confidence and courage to report wrongdoing in the workplace.
“We accept that and are actively working to do so. Where we do receive information or complaints around wrongdoing, they are robustly investigated and if proven officers can face penalties up to and including dismissal.”
The Catholic Police Officer Guild said it was “encouraged” by the response from the Deputy Chief Constable.
“We will support this in whatever way we can. The Guild seeks to ensure that all officers and staff, regardless of their background, can serve with dignity and without prejudice,” the body added.
“We remain committed to supporting our members and advocating for a policing culture that reflects the diverse community it serves.”
However, added Professor Drummond, a senior research fellow in theology at the University of Oxford, “it is going to take time” to dismantle certain perceptions of women and “the kind of patriarchy which is throttling or has throttled the Church”.
She was speaking at The Tablet webinar: “Women and the Church: affirming, challenging and transforming” for International Women’s Day.
The scientist and theologian, who felt called to priesthood in her 20s when she was an Anglican – a calling that has never left her in spite of becoming a Catholic –noted that in a “relatively quickly” period of time ecology has become part of the conversation over the last 50 years and she suggested that it is not impossible for things to likewise start to shift on the issue of women’s ordination to the diaconate or priesthood.
Pope Francis has “changed the conversation on so many different issues”, she said, but added that he had “made some very unfortunate statements about feminism” and had a “fairly stereotypical understanding of men and women’s roles”.
Dr Phyllis Zagano, senior research associate-in-residence and Adjunct Professor of Religion at Hofstra University, who was a member of the 2016-2018 Vatican Commission on Women Deacons, said: “It’s very nice that [Pope Francis] is putting women into management, but he is not putting women in ministry, and that is the barrier that needs to be overcome. I don’t think we can wait for misogyny to disappear for people to be able to address this.”
She outlined the history of the various commission on the issue of women and the diaconate. Referring to the second papal commission, which replaced the 2016-2018 commission, she said that if the Church doesn’t ordain women as deacons because women cannot image Christ, “then I will blame the Church for dowry burnings. I will blame the Church for wife beating. I will blame the Church for menstruation huts. I will blame the Church for FGM, because these are examples of things foisted on women by intractable misogyny in too many cultures, not only Catholic, not only Christian, but around the world.”
Emphasising how the world looks to the Catholic Church as a moral leader, she said the Church needs to lead its 1.4 billion people to the idea that women are made in the image and likeness of God.
Professor Deane Drummond told the webinar that academic positions in theology for women are still in the minority. “There are some significant sexist issues that I have experienced over the course of my career as a woman theologian. The ordination question is part of a wider sexism within the theological world and in the culture more generally.”
While the encyclical Laudato Si – On Care For Our Common Home, which was published 10 years ago, was a breakthrough in the Catholic Church because the issues of poverty, the cry of the poor became bound up with the cry of the Earth, she believes the “cry of women wasn’t included significantly enough” and this gap needed to be bridged.
“It is no longer credible to separate the cry of women from the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth. I think the Catholic Church has been far too slow to wake up to that,” she said.
In her presentation, Dr Zagano referred to a 9,000-word paper she wrote on the history over the last 50 years of the Vatican’s studies on women and the diaconate. “The short version is that every time a commission found positively [in favour of women deacons] they made another commission.
“I think that there is something to be said about Pope Francis being surrounded by a sea of misogyny, and it certainly does not look at this point as if he will be able to do anything in his papacy.
“I have studied the past 50 years of Vatican discussions, and I am quite unsure why the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentinian Cardinal Hernandez warns against ‘rushing to a decision on the question’.”
She also recalled that her “old boss” Cardinal John O’Connor of New York told her in 1994 that there had been “secret meetings in Rome” on the issue and that those involved couldn’t “figure out how to have women deacons and not have women priests”.
In 1997, a second committee of the International Theological Commission prepared a 17-page study, in which the entire ITC committee voted positively for women deacons, but the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith at the time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger refused to promulgate the document.
Dr Zagano said the official Vatican comment was that the commission was unable to complete it. She wondered where that document was, as it appeared to have disappeared.
Paragraph 60 in the Final Report of the Synod on Synodality, she said, was magisterial teaching. It says that the question of women’s access to the diaconal ministry remains open.
She noted that it does not say women’s access to the diaconate, but to diaconal ministry.
“Was it a compromise in order to get the vote passed? It had the highest number of ‘no’ votes, but it did reach the two-thirds majority,” she said.
“What I was told 30 years ago by the highest placed woman in the Vatican was that they can’t say no; there is absolutely no doctrine against ordaining women as deacons. They can’t say no, they just don’t want to say yes,” Dr Zagano recalled.
Albania-based Sr Imelda Poole MBE, an English Loreto Sister who led the Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation network (RENATE) fighting modern slavery across 27 European countries for ten years, spoke about her grassroots ministry in the 1980s in a deprived area north of Middlesborough with another Loreto Sister.
She also spoke about the impact of workshops run by the Mary Ward Foundation in Albania with young men which seeks to engage with them and challenge their mentality as part of the Foundation’s efforts to eradicate human and sex trafficking.
She told the webinar that the Catholic Church was not really ready for women clergy because of patriarchy and clericalism. “I think Pope Francis gets this. I think he understands that clericalism is more dangerous than anything that is going on in terms of the disempowerment of the Church membership.”
She said she “grieved” for Anglican women clergy and how they suffered with some refusing to take Communion from bishops who had ordained women.
Asked when they thought women might be ordained as deacons or priests in the Catholic Church, Dr Zagano said she had “no clue”. The latest commission to study women deacons would either say the time is not ripe or yes.
Professor Deane Drummond replied, “I have no idea, but at the same time, if I’m being optimistic, or rather hopeful rather than optimistic, then I would hope it would come in in the next 20 years.”
Sr Poole recalled how “twenty years ago I wrote to my general leadership saying that it was time that Sisters were trained to be deacons because it would happen very soon and those who are called should be ready… I thought it was imminent. Now, I am not sure, but I hope it will be soon.”
As AsiaNews reported recently, the authorities claim that the religious service was “illegal” and a “serious crime” in violation of Article 71 of the Religious Affairs Regulations. For this reason, they imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan (US$ 26,500), which Bishop Shao challenged, insisting that the Church's activities do not violate the law.
As a result, the prelate was arrested for his own “safety”, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) claimed. His whereabouts are unknown and it is unclear how long he will be held. Among his flock, people are concerned about his safety and health.
Meanwhile, the PSB and the Religious Affairs Department reportedly stopped several hundred people from taking part in a pilgrimage organised by the Cangnan parish, which is part of the Wenzhou underground Church.
Over the past few years, every Sunday, plainclothes agents have also entered underground churches in Wenzhou, to stop children and teenagers from attending.
More recently, the PSB has changed methods, delegating surveillance to neighbourhood authorities. Officials are deployed to watch churches from 7 am until noon, not only to prevent children and teenagers from entering, but also to prevent priests from celebrating Mass.
Bishop Shao has refused to join Catholic bodies controlled by the Communist Party of China and for this reason he is not recognised by the authorities.
As AsiaNews previously reported, Benedict XVI appointed the then 43-year-old in 2007 as coadjutor bishop and successor to Mgr Vincent Zhu Wei-Fang, who passed away in September 2016.
For his refusal to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the authorities consider the episcopal see to be vacant and back Fr Ma Xianshi, a "patriotic" priest, as the leader of the local Catholic community.
For its part, the Wenzhou underground community has launched a prayer campaign to support Bishop Shao who has been arrested several times over the past few years.
On 25 February, Bishop Shao sent a letter to the entire diocese inviting the faithful to pray for Pope Francis, accompanying him with Mass and the recitation of the rosary, urging God to support the pontiff in his illness with the Lord’s grace.
Patrick Tully was taken from his mother Chrissy in the Tuam Mother and Baby home back in 1954 and was only reunited with her decades later in 2015.
Chrissy was featured in the Missing Children documentary which chronicled the devastating stories that came from Ireland's mother and baby homes.
Her son Patrick was reunited with her a decade ago and now he has launched a fundraiser to let her keep her family home.
According to Patrick, Chrissy cannot afford her council house but is fearful that if she leaves, she will never be reunited with her other son and Patrick's brother, Michael.
With a target of €13,000 target, Patrick has appealed to the community for their support to help Chrissy keep her home and sustain her hope of finding Michael one day.
"I call upon Gov. Henry McMaster and all South Carolina officials to halt this execution and to work toward a system of justice that respects the dignity of every human life. Let us choose life, mercy, and hope over vengeance and death,” said Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS.
Sigmon was sentenced to death in 2002 for the double murder of his ex-girlfriend’s parents, William David Larke and Gladys Gwendolyn Larke, on April 27, 2001. Sigmon admitted guilt to the crimes but states he was mentally ill and addicted to drugs at the time he committed them.
Those who believe in God, said Bishop Fabre-Jeune, “are called to uphold the inherent dignity of every human being, even those who have caused great harm.”
The bishop continued, saying,
"The death penalty is an affront to the sanctity of life. It denies the possibility of redemption and reconciliation and true justice. The Church stands firmly against capital punishment, recognizing that every person, regardless of the severity of their offenses, possesses a God-given dignity that cannot be taken away.”
The bishop extended prayers for the healing of victims of violent crimes and their families, but noted “state-sanctioned executions only deepen the wounds in our society. True justice is not found in retribution but in mercy and restoration.”
Firing squad
In 2021, South Carolina approved the use of the firing squad as a method of execution if the condemned inmate wished for it.
At the time, the state had been unable to carry out executions due to a lack of availability of the drugs that were used in lethal injections. Many states have had issues sourcing the drugs required to execute someone due to supplying countries’ refusal to sell them for the purpose of executions.
Executions resumed in South Carolina on September 20, 2024. The three men put to death since that time were all killed via lethal injection. Sigmon selected the firing squad as his method of execution as he believed the other options – the use of the electric chair or a lethal injection – would produce a more painful death.
Five states –Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah – permit the use of the firing squad as a method of execution.
However, since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976, only Utah has actually executed prisoners with this method.
Sigmon’s execution, which was carried out as scheduled, was the first execution by firing squad in the United States in nearly 15 years.
The last person to die by firing squad was convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner, who was executed on June 18, 2010.
Gardner, who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claimed that death by firing squad was more in line with his religious beliefs.
The church disputed this, and put out a statement the day of Gardner’s execution saying “so-called ‘blood atonement,’ by which individuals would be required to shed their own blood to pay for their sins, is not a doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Speaking to ACI Africa on Wednesday, March 5, on the sidelines of the Ash Wednesday Mass marking the beginning of the 2025 Lenten season, Archbishop Kaigama reassured the faithful that despite the persecution they experience, God will not abandon them.
“No matter how we are targeted, God will fight for us. Even if this is a deliberate attempt to demoralize us and prevent us from preaching the Gospel, we shall stand strong and firm in faith,” the Nigerian Catholic Archbishop said.
He expressed concern about the fate of kidnapped Clergy members, revealing that he personally knows three Priests currently in captivity.
“As I speak to you, there are three Priests I know who are in captivity. Every day has been a day of prayer for me. As I eat my food, which sometimes lacks taste when I think of them, I wonder how they are surviving,” Archbishop Kaigama lamented.
Despite the fear and uncertainty, he remains firm in faith and urged Christians to intensify prayers.
“Every morning, I offer my Masses for them. My Holy Hour is dedicated to them. We must take our case to God because He alone can deliver us,” the Archbishop of Abuja said.
He cautioned against targeting the Church, stating that such attacks would fail because of divine intervention.
“If anybody has anything against the Church, I am afraid it is a battle that will not succeed because God will fight for us. Through prayer and commitment, God will stand by us and come to our assistance,” Archbishop Kaigama said.
The Catholic Church leader decried the lack of a concerted governmental effort to address the menace of kidnappings.
He lamented that families and communities are left to negotiate with criminals, hoping for a lucky release.
“If you are able to negotiate with the criminals, and you are lucky, they release your person. If not, that is the end,” the Local Ordinary of Abuja since November 2019 said.
He continued, “It doesn’t appear there are strategic plans to bring this to an end. Because when someone is kidnapped, whether a Priest or not, they are left to their fate. You walk out to your liberation.”
The Nigerian Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in April 1995 as Bishop of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Jalingo reflected on the growing audacity of kidnappers, who now target individuals not only on highways or during night travels but even in their homes.
“People are now kidnapped in their houses. It has become a routine occurrence. I am not sure it worries the authorities,” he noted.
He expressed distress over the impact of the insecurity on his ministry and Nigeria’s global image. “It worries me. It worries us. It limits our work and damages our credibility,” Archbishop Kaigama said.
“I am ashamed to invite my friends from America or Europe. When they express a desire to visit, I tell them, 'Don’t come,' because if anything happens to them, it will be said that I invited them. There is no guarantee of their safety,” he said.
“I travel to other countries and move freely at any time of the day or night. But when I return home, I fear for my safety,” the Catholic Archbishop said.
He urged the Nigerian government to take “urgent” and “effective” measures to restore security.
“This has gone on for too long without solutions. It’s shameful. Yet, billions and even trillions have been allocated for security. Something must be done immediately to make Nigeria a safe country,” Archbishop Kaigama said.
He called on the perpetrators of kidnappings to fear God, reminding them that there will be a final judgment beyond human courts.“Regardless of their religious background—whether Christian, Muslim, or none at all—no one has the right to harm another person without just cause. Fear God and remember that there is a judgment that will not be conducted by the High Court, Supreme Court, President, or Governor. It will be conducted by God,” the Catholic Archbishop warned.
The 66-year-old Archbishop expressed hope that the ongoing Christian Lenten season and the Muslim Ramadan period would inspire criminals to release their captives.
“Muslims are praying too. This is their Ramadan, and this is our Lenten season. Together, these prayers will bear fruit, and by God’s grace, those in captivity will be released,” he said.
Insecurity is rife in Nigeria, where kidnappings, murder and other forms of persecution against Christians remain rampant in many parts of the West African country, especially in the north.
On Wednesday, March 5, Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu, a Priest of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria was murdered, a day following his kidnapping on March 4.
On the day that Fr. Sylvester was kidnapped, the Catholic Diocese of Auchi in Nigeria also sent out a prayer appeal for the release of a Priest and a major Seminarian who had been abducted from a Parish Rectory the previous day. The two are still missing.
Earlier on February 6, Fr. Cornelius Manzak Damulak, a member of the Clergy of the Catholic Diocese of Shendam and student at Veritas University Abuja in Nigeria was abducted and later escaped from captivity.
Later, on February 19, Fr. Moses Gyang Jah of St. Mary Maijuju Parish of Shendam Diocese was abducted alongside his niece and the Parish Council Chairman, Mr. Nyam Ajiji. The Parish Council Chairman was reportedly killed. Fr. Jah and his niece are yet to be freed.
Most recently, on February 22, Fr. Matthew David Dutsemi and Fr. Abraham Saummam were abducted from the Catholic Diocese of Yola. They are yet to be released.
Nigeria has been experiencing insecurity since 2009 when Boko Haram insurgency began with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state.
According to Catholic Pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, a total of 13 Priests were kidnapped in Nigeria in 24 alone, all of whom were eventually released, and one was murdered, for a total of 14 incidents.
In a note shared with ACI Africa, ACN has joined the Catholic authorities of Nigeria in their call for prayers for the repose of Fr. Sylvester, and also in their appeal to the government to increase security and put an end to the climate of fear that reigns in many parts of the country.
On Saturday 8 March, Westminster Cathedral was filled with well over 1200 people gathered to celebrate the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, a key milestone in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
Among the attendees were over 500 adults representing more than 80 parishes, all preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion - this coming Easter, together with their families and friends.
Since the pandemic, two-thirds of the diocese’s parishes have sent groups to the Rite of Election. This year’s celebration makes a total of over 1500 participants since 2021.
His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols presided over the liturgy, joined by Bishops John Sherrington, Nicholas Hudson, Paul McAleenan, and James Curry.
During the service, the Cardinal declared over 250 catechumens as “the Elect,” having been chosen by the community to move forward in their preparation for the sacraments. Their names were recorded in the Book of the Elect, a visible sign of their journey toward full initiation, blessed by the Cardinal.
In addition, more than 250 candidates, already baptized Christians, were affirmed by their sponsors and the congregation during the Call to Continuing Conversion. This affirmation recognises their heartfelt desire to complete their initiation and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Representatives from every deanery were present, and each parish was joyfully called forward to meet the Cardinal and the Bishops. In his homily, Cardinal Nichols reflected on the beginning of Lent and this gathering of candidates and catechumens in this Holy Year, reminding them that we are all pilgrims into hope. After the liturgy, many gathered in the piazza to enjoy the sunshine and share photographs with the Bishops.
Writing in the order of service, Cardinal Nichols said, “We give thanks to God for the ways in which our parishes and diocesan family will be enriched by you, and we promise to continue to support you and your families with our prayers and the example of Christian life that you experience in our parish communities.”He also expressed gratitude for the support provided by priests, deacons, religious, parish catechists, godparents, and sponsors, wishing that the journey of all those involved would be a time of grace.
The Rite of Election, celebrated annually on the first Saturday of Lent, marks the beginning of a period of continued preparation until Easter, when the Elect and candidates will receive the Sacraments of Initiation in their parishes.
The Book of the Elect will remain on display in the Baptistery of Westminster Cathedral until Holy Saturday, inviting visitors to pray for the Elect.