Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The Vatican informed the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, that it has ended the sainthood cause of Father Walter Ciszek, S.J., a missionary who was tortured by the Soviet secret police and imprisoned in Russia from 1941 to 1963.

After his release in a prisoner exchange, Father Ciszek, a Pennsylvania native, returned to the United States and wrote With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) today reiterated “several principles of Catholic teaching that remain especially relevant in times of war and international tension.”

“Catholic teaching holds that war is subject to strict conditions of moral legitimacy,” the episcopal conference’s Communications Service stated. “The use of force cannot be presumed to be just a priori; it must satisfy grave and demanding criteria, and may be considered only as a last resort.”

“Even where force is judged permissible, the protection of civilians remains a fundamental obligation,” the CCCB continued. “The destruction of essential civilian infrastructure and the resulting suffering of non-combatants are to be avoided.”

In an implicit but clear reference to President Donald Trump’s decision to post an AI-generated image of himself that appeared to depict him as Jesus, the CCCB stated:

It is also important to recall that imagery or rhetoric presenting political leaders in terms that belong uniquely to Christ and His saving work is wholly unfitting. In addition to being disrespectful, such representations blur the proper distinction between faith and political power, distorting the meaning of both.

The Knights of Columbus, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and other Catholic organizations came to the defense of Pope Leo XIV following President Donald Trump’s social media post blasting Pope Leo.

“The Successor of Saint Peter is not a politician—he is the Vicar of Christ, entrusted with proclaiming the Gospel and shepherding souls,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly. “Whether one agrees or disagrees with particular policy judgments, the Holy Father’s prophetic voice deserves to be heard with respect and engaged seriously.”

In an April 15 social media post, the Library of Congress highlighted the life and work of Father Thomas Merton (1915-1968), the author of The Seven Storey Mountain and other works.

“In 2025, the Rare Book and Special Collections Division acquired a Thomas Merton Collection comprising 143 items and containing first editions, uncorrected proofs, artwork, manuscripts, recordings, and portraits of this fascinating figure,” wrote Mark Manivong, who said that his post “includes a short biography of Merton and showcases some of the materials in this new collection.”

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group after the company rejected the sisters’ request for a shareholder resolution.

“The sisters had asked for a shareholder resolution to be put forth at the company’s annual meeting; resolutions are routinely put before the shareholders to be voted on and congregations of sisters file several of them every year,” the Global Sisters Project reported. The resolution “asked the company to report on whether its spree of acquisitions is making health care less accessible.”

“Shareholders have rights and there needs to be transparency,” said Sister Linda Haydock. “We think it’s incumbent upon us to use our shareholder rights to ask the company to be transparent.”

A leading international human rights advocacy organization charged that the “2018 Provisional Agreement Regarding the Appointment of Bishops between the Holy See and China, which ended a decades-long dispute over the appointment of bishops in China, has facilitated repression of Catholics in China.”

“A decade into President Xi Jinping’s ‘Sinicization’ of religion campaign, Catholic communities across China face tightened ideological control, strict surveillance, and travel restrictions,” Human Rights Watch stated on April 15. “The Holy See and other governments should press Beijing to end the persecution of Catholic communities and respect the rights to freedom of religion for all Catholics and other religious beliefs.”

The Trump administration cancelled an $11-million contract with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami.

The Miami Herald reported that the federal funds were used “to shelter and care for migrant children who enter the U.S. alone, ending a relationship between the Catholic Church and the U.S. government dating back to the first arrivals of Cuban exiles in South Florida.”

“The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski. “The Archdiocese of Miami’s services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country.”

The former principal of a Catholic school in Pompano Beach, Florida, was sentenced to ten years’ probation after she was convicted of stealing more than $238,000 from the school over a nine-year period.

Judge Tim Bailey said that Lori St. Thomas is “not likely to reoffend” and is not a danger to the community. He ordered her to pay $121,548 to the school in restitution.

Several parents at a North Carolina high school charged that a priest asked students inappropriate questions during confessions in December.

“The Diocese of Charlotte looked into complaints raised about conversations that occurred during confession at Charlotte Catholic High School last December,” the diocese said in a statement. “No violations of our conduct policies were identified.”

Some parents expressed frustration with Bishop Michael Martin’s response to their complaints.

“The whole letter [from Bishop Martin] felt like we were being gaslighted,” said one mother. “We understand what is appropriate and inappropriate.”

The Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation announced a series of commemorative events ahead the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s birth.

Pope Benedict was born on April 16, 1927. The initiatives over the course of the next year “look to the past, to Ratzinger’s thought, but they want to take it up again not in a merely preservative way, but in dialogue with today’s problems and debates because, ultimately, Ratzinger’s thought is still relevant,” said Father Roberto Regoli, the foundation’s president.