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.”

“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.

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.”

Resuming his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted this morning’s audience to “the Church, pilgrim in history towards the heavenly homeland.”