Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met yesterday at the White House with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City “had the opportunity for introductory meetings with President Trump, Vice President Vance, and other Administration officials, in which they discussed areas of mutual concern, as well as areas for further dialogue,” the USCCB stated last evening.

“Archbishop Coakley is grateful for the engagement and looks forward to ongoing discussions,” the statement added.

The president of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities affirmed the importance of the Hyde amendment, which forbids federal funding of most abortions.

“Authentic health care upholds the dignity of all human life, and health care policy must not violate this dignity,” said Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio. “In upholding this core principle, the U.S. bishops have long opposed any proposals to expand taxpayer funding of abortion and will continue to do so, including, if necessary, in the current debates in Congress over health care affordability plans.”

President Donald Trump recently called on Republican lawmakers to be “flexible” about the Hyde amendment, provoking criticism from pro-life organizations.

Commemorating the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, OFM, celebrated an outdoor Mass at Qasr al-Yahud in the West Bank, on the western side of the Jordan River.

In the 14th century, the Holy See entrusted the care of the holy sites in the Holy Land to the Franciscan order. Before the Mass, the consuls of Italy, Spain, France, and Belgium joined the custos, or Franciscan provincial, for a meeting with local officials.

The Holy See Press Office announced yesterday that the Vatican’s highest appellate court ruled against prosecutor Alessandro Diddi in his appeal of the 2023 court ruling in the “trial of the century.”

The 2023 ruling in the financial crimes trial saw the conviction of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and eight other defendants. Diddi appealed the court’s rejection of his charge that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy. The defendants’ appeals of the 2023 ruling are pending.

Pope Leo XIV received Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

“I briefed him on the immense suffering endured by Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as on the political & financial challenges confronting UNRWA,” Lazzarini said following yesterday’s audience. “I stressed that the attacks on UNRWA are an assault on the multilateral system and a defiance of international law with reverberations far beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“I also stressed that bringing back to a learning environment the more than 600,000 girls and boys currently living in the rubble of Gaza should be our common priority to avoid a lost generation,” he added. “I sought the Holy Father’s support to preserve UNRWA’s critical services, primarily in the area of education, public health and safety nets for Palestine Refugees in Gaza and across the region until a just and fair political solution is in place.”

Lazzarini subsequently spoke with Vatican News about the audience and the UNRWA. The agency is facing a “dire” financial crisis, The Times of Israel reported.

Pope Leo XIV received María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan politician and pro-democracy activist who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

“Today I had the blessing and the honor of being able to share time with His Holiness and to express our gratitude for his attention to what is happening in our country,” Machado said following yesterday’s audience. “I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people, who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, was the Pope’s legate at Sunday’s Mass marking the 800th anniversary of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium (video).

Cardinal Parolin preached that “it is not numerical weakness that undermines Christian witness, but the loss of evangelical boldness.”

“The Church does not stand above history, nor does she simply merge with it,” he added. “She journeys through it as a presence that accompanies, discerns and serves.”

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