Saint Joseph Catholic Church

cna

commentary

commentary

commentary

commentary

The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called on the faithful to “pray ardently for mutually respectful and effective dialogue that leads to a cease-fire and a negotiated end to the conflict with Iran.”

“The longer the conflict with Iran continues, including the risk of deploying ground troops to the region, the greater the risk of a dramatic escalation risking an ever-greater regional conflict,” Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City said on April 1, as he joined “our Holy Father’s urgent calls for the Administration and all parties involved to take decisive action toward an immediate ceasefire, and for effective dialogue to resolve this dangerous impasse.”

In his Easter message, the custos (Franciscan provincial) of the Holy Land contrasted God’s ways and the world’s ways.

“The judgment of the world sees in the cross a defeat, a loss, a humiliation, a folly; the judgment of God, with the resurrection, proclaims that precisely there true wisdom manifests itself, there true victory manifests itself: the victory of the love that gives itself without reserve,” said Father Francesco Ielpo, O.F.M.

Father Ielpo added:

In this land, where even today we experience the weight of war, of violence, of fear, and of uncertainty, the resurrection of Christ is not a distant word, but a concrete fact that asks us to change our gaze: not to let ourselves be determined by the judgment of the world, but to learn to read history with the eyes of God. Easter invites us to believe that renouncing violence is not weakness, that forgiving is not a defeat, that death is not the end.

In the 14th century, the Holy See entrusted the care of the holy sites in the Holy Land to the Franciscan order. Father Ielpo became custos in 2025.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities lent his support to the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and in the Senate by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).

“Catholic teaching holds that all human life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death and that both the life of the mother and the preborn child possess equal, inherent dignity,” Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, wrote in an April 1 letter. “The U.S. bishops have frequently stressed how the abortion pill represents an isolating and harmful response to women in need, who deserve better in the form of compassionate accompaniment and meaningful support to help them welcome their child.”

“Chemical abortions now account for almost two-thirds of all abortions in the United States, resulting in hundreds of thousands of preborn children lost each year,” Bishop Thomas added. “Since mifepristone was first approved over twenty-five years ago, a growing body of evidence has emerged suggesting that the use of this drug, as part of the two-drug regimen for chemical abortion, not only ends the lives of preborn children but also poses significant dangers to mothers.”

The director of the Holy See Press Office confirmed a French government announcement that Pope Leo XIV will receive President Emmanuel Macron at the Vatican on April 10.

President Macron met six times with Pope Francis: three times at the Vatican, and three times in other locations. The April 10 meeting will be his first with Pope Leo, as then-Prime Minister François Bayrou represented France at the Pope’s inaugural Mass.

Citing security concerns, bishops in several Nigerian dioceses have directed that Easter Vigil Masses be celebrated at an earlier time than the typical nightfall.

Bishop Jude Arogundade of Ondo, for example, directed that all Easter Vigil Masses in his diocese begin at 5:00 PM on Holy Saturday.