Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The nation of 10.6 million is 57% Christian (54% Protestant) and 11% Muslim.

“Instead, we must do better to meet mothers with compassionate, meaningful, and authentic support that enables them and their families to welcome their new children into the world,” Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, wrote in a May 4 letter to the acting attorney general and the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “All direct, intended abortions extinguish an innocent human life, and therefore are a grave evil. In the case of mifepristone, we seek to prevent tragedy for both the baby and the mother.”

Bishop Thomas called on the FDA to “proceed as expeditiously as possible with its safety review” of mifepristone. Bishop Thomas also noted that the Trump administration has “moved to stay or dismiss three different lawsuits filed by states to challenge the status of the drug.”

“Seventy years is a gift; it is also a responsibility,” said Father Piotr Żelazko, vicar of Saint James since 2021. The task of Hebrew-speaking Catholic communities, he added, is “to remain faithful, attentive and courageous—to listen to the signs of the times, care for the next generation, and continue building bridges of faith, dialogue and compassion.”

“The failure to recognize Easter as an official holiday in the country leaves in place conditions that force Egyptian Christians to choose between participating in Easter worship or facing serious civil, professional, and academic penalties,” stated ADF International, which is offering legal support to plaintiffs in the case.

The North African nation of 112.9 million (map) is 90% Muslim and 9% Christian (primarily Coptic Orthodox); Islam is the state religion.

The new general director of the Legionaries of Christ said in an interview that he wishes “to help the Church with my priesthood to move this congregation forward, because the congregation can also contribute and give much to the Church in evangelization.”

The General Secretariat of the Synod, led by Cardinal Mario Grech, released the sixth of 15 final reports of the study groups established by Pope Francis during the synod on synodality—as well as a portion of another report.

Renewing his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump charged that the Pope “thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”—leading Pope Leo to respond, “If someone criticizes me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully.”

In the most prominent front-page article in its May 5 edition, L’Osservatore Romano drew attention to the plight of the people of Gaza, where corpses beneath the rubble are fostering massive infestations of rodents and other pests.