St. James the Less Catholic Parish

The faithful march in the Drexel Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, Tulsa, Friday, May 30, 2025 / Credit: 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrims

CNA Newsroom, May 31, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Eucharistic pilgrims in Oklahoma are being urged by leaders to respond to anti-Catholic protests during pilgrimages and processions with peace, humility and prayer. 

The Diocese of Tulsa this week was host to the St. Katharine Drexel Route of the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which launched in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis on May 18 and is set to finish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in late June. 

On Friday, Eucharistic pilgrims marching through Tulsa were met at multiple points by counter-protesters shouting anti-Catholic rhetoric and slogans at the faithful, including through amplifiers. 

At times protesters appeared to follow the crowd while chanting at them. Footage showed the faithful ignoring the demonstrations and continuing to follow the Blessed Sacrament. 

Organizers of the national pilgrimage said the protest began with a few demonstrators following the procession and slowly grew over time to a reported 50 people regularly walking alongside the route.

Jason Shanks, the president of National Eucharistic Congress, said in a statement: “We know that bringing Christ to the streets will be met with resistance, and our prayerful message to them is one of conversion and hope.”

Organizers estimated that between 17,000 to 20,000 participants have traveled the procession so far. Images of the procession shared on social media showed a large turnout in downtown Tulsa on Friday. 

“A beautiful evening in the [Diocese of Tulsa] as we welcomed pilgrims from the National Eucharistic Procession to the cathedral,” diocesan priest Father Brian O’Brien wrote on X. 

The procession will next head to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City before heading through Texas and then on through the Southwest. 

A shanty town in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in November 2013. / Ilona Budzbon/Aid to the Church in Need.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 31, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week.

Sierra Leone limits physical contact at Mass amid mpox outbreak 

Freetown Archbishop Edward Tamba Charles has issued new directives in line with public health orders to guide public worship following a rapid increase in mpox cases in the West African nation of Sierra Leone.

“As a local Church, we need to do everything possible to protect ourselves from the disease and also contain its spread by carefully observing the guidelines announced by health authorities,” he said in a May 25 statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's African news partner.

Most of the directives limit physical interactions during public liturgical celebrations, including Mass.

The country has registered a total of 3,011 cases of the virus—formerly known as monkeypox—since the start of the outbreak in January, with 14 deaths reported. 

Caritas Angola launching initiative to combat gender-based violence

Caritas Angola launched a new “Women and Life” initiative on Thursday, aimed to empower and address the challenge of gender-based violence in the southern African nation, ACI Africa reported.

“This project extends Caritas' mission — to promote, defend, and uplift the most vulnerable. It’s not just about immediate assistance; it’s about giving women the tools to be self-sufficient and become agents of transformation in their communities,” the organization’s national secretary, João Nicolau Manuel, told ACI Africa. 

The initiative is now being rolled out across the Angolan Catholic dioceses of Luanda, Viana, and Caxito. 

“We aim to form women not only with technical skills but with human and Christian values – love, hope, and peace. These are essential for building a just and compassionate society,” Manuel added.

Myanmar military junta strikes majority-Catholic refugee camp for third time 

Reports have emerged that the ruling military government in Myanmar has bombed a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), home to “hundreds of ethnic, mostly Catholic Karenni, who fled the armed conflict,” for the third time in less than a year, according to an AsiaNews report on Thursday. 

Two bombs were allegedly dropped on the Bangkok IDP camp on May 15, striking a school and several houses. 

While no casualties were reported in the latest attack, according to the Myanmar Peace Monitor, the first attack in September of 2024 killed nine civilians, while the second in November killed one and caused “serious damage” to a church and its rectory. 

Church in Qatar concludes catechetical year with special Mass

The parish of Our Lady of the Rosary in Doha, the capital of Qatar, concluded the 2024–2025 catechetical year with a "Harvest Mass" celebrated last Friday, according to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. 

The liturgy was presided over by Marian Father Charbel Mhanna, pastor of the Maronite community in Qatar, and attended by catechism students and their volunteer instructors.

The Catholic Church in Qatar provides catechetical instruction to nearly 1,000 Arabic-speaking students from various Catholic rites. The students receive weekly lessons throughout the academic year, taught by dedicated volunteer educators.

Syrian President Al-Shara meets with heads of churches in Aleppo

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shara met with the heads of Christian communities and their representatives in the first meeting with bishops of the Syrian city since the fall of the Assad regime in December of 2024, ACI MENA reported on Thursday. 

The Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Boutros Qassis, described the meeting as “frank, open, and far from complimentary,” noting that he made sure to bring the urgent concerns of Christians to the Syrian leader. 

Qassis said Sharaa told them that “establishing security and peace is his main concern in this period.”

Antonia Salzano Acutis speaks to the faithful in New York City on Thursday, May 29, 2025 / Credit: Sabrina Ferrisi

New York City, N.Y., May 31, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Antonia Salzano Acutis, the mother of soon-to-be canonized Carlo Acutis, spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 2,500 people at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Thursday, touching on several themes including the universal call to holiness, the importance of living the virtues, and the sacraments as a means of receiving grace. 

“We are here to speak about Carlo. As you know, the canonization was delayed. But it was a beautiful surprise because now we have an American Pope!” said Acutis to applause.  

“Carlo loved America,” she continued. “And Italians love Americans because of what happened during the Second World War. We have many cemeteries full of Americans who gave their life for Italians, for the peace. So I am sure in the providence of God, this is not casual.” 

Even though the canonization of Carlo Acutis was suspended by the passing of Pope Francis, Carlo’s mother said she felt that Carlo was giving another message. 

“Okay, so the canonization was suspended. But what about your canonization? You too! You are looking at me surprised. Maybe you forgot that God, for each one of us, has a special project. Jesus says, ‘You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world,’” she said. 

Acutis explained that each person is special in God’s eye. She said Carlo would regularly say that all of us are originals. 

“We will die as photocopies if we do not realize God’s project for us. We all have the seeds of sanctity inside of us,” she said. 

Carlo’s Eucharistic and Marian heart 

Acutis spoke about her son's first Holy Communion and how, from that day, he went to daily Mass. He also took part in Eucharistic adoration every day before or after Mass. 

“When Carlo was six years old, he began to pray the rosary every day. He used to say that to pray the rosary was like doing an exorcism on yourself every day,” she said. 

“At Fatima, the Virgin Mary always asked people to pray the rosary. She said that, through the rosary, we can stop wars. The rosary is very powerful. I know that not everybody can go to Mass every day, but through the rosary, we can help many people every day,” she said. 

Acutis also spoke about the importance of the Eucharist within the spiritual life. 

“When we have a Eucharistic life, it heals you. It will change your life,” she said. “The Eucharist, as Carlo would say, is a highway to heaven. Why? Because it is the most supernatural thing in this life.”  

“The essence of Jesus is love,” she said. “This is why, when we see Eucharistic miracles, they are always Hosts that have become flesh from the myocardium; the heart. It is as if Jesus were sending us heart emojis from heaven. Jesus is sending us his heart.” 

She noted that when people lose their connection to the internet, they frequently become stressed out. But the same reaction does not often happen when losing a connection to God. 

“Carlo used to say that we are all mystics, because we all have the Holy Trinity inside of us that we received at the moment of baptism,” she said. “The problem is the connection. In what sense? If I do not pray or have any moments of silence and reflection during my day, I lose the connection with God.” 

“The sanctity of Carlo was that out of his ordinary life, he took little moments to pray, moments to thank God. How many times do we pray? We need to give a little space to God,” she said. 

Moving Moments 

During a question-and-answer session, when asked about Carlo’s death, his mother told the audience that, after his funeral, two of his friends were very upset and crying for weeks. Carlo appeared in a dream to both of these friends on the same night, she said, telling them to stop crying because he was very happy in heaven. 

In response to questions about a canonization date, Acutis stated that there is no set date yet, but that Vatican officials are again meeting about causes on June 13.  

Many audience members spoke about personal stories of miraculous healings and answered prayers they said came through the intercession of Carlo Acutis. Several audience members made it a point to thank his mother for her continued witness. 

The standing ovation at the end of her presentation lasted several minutes, with throngs of people holding up their smartphone cameras to take pictures before she left.  

“I was struck by the fact that it was her son, at a very young age, who fully brought her into the fold of the Church,” said Valentina Cook, a Bulgarian native who lives in Westchester County, who attended the talk. “It sounded like before she had been a Catholic only nominally, and it was he [Carlo] who initiated her life of faith and her work as a catechist.” 

“I liked how Mrs. Acutis spoke and made it very easy to understand. She has a very lighthearted way of talking that allows you to understand very deep concepts and points that she was trying to make — along with a few smiles and laughter,” said Isabella Arena, a high-school student from New York. 

“I was positively impressed by the multitude gathered in Church to listen to Carlo’s mom’s testimony. It is a confirmation to me of a ‘wake-up’ wave we are seeing these days,” said Maria Baldi, a native Italian who lives in New York.  

“There is a huge need for meaning, structure, discipline and purpose. The need is stronger than ever amongst the younger generation,” she said, adding: “God is really using this young boy to ignite new faith where it is weak and lost.” 

The garden created at Mepkin Abbey is a way to honor and recognize the enslaved who lived and died on the property for 100 years. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mepkin Abbey

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 31, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On a piece of land in South Carolina where hundreds of Indigenous and African Americans were once enslaved, some Trappist monks, after discovering 20 unmarked graves, have installed a bronze sculpture of Christ and created a quiet prayer garden to encourage healing and reflection.

“We’ve been here 75 years, since 1949,” Father Joseph Tedesco, the superior of Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Berkeley County, told CNA. “The monks who were here at the beginning — everyone has been aware all these years that this was an enslaved property.”

The abbey sits on a former plantation that once belonged to slave trader Henry Laurens during the Revolutionary War and later to his son John Laurens, who joined the revolution and advocated for the freedom of the enslaved.

There were “300 enslaved people on the property,” Tedesco said. There were “on and off discussions around the memorial to slavery of [the] very historic piece of property; then a few years ago we were just at a moment of recognition … we had to do something, but we couldn’t figure out what.”

As if on cue, Mepkin Abbey then received a 640-pound bronze sculpture from a donor. The large work of art inspired the plan for the Meditation Garden of Truth and Reconciliation — an area on the property that would be dedicated to the slaves who once lived and worked on the property.

“As soon as I saw [the statue],” Tedesco said, “I realized that was the nucleus of the memorial to slavery.”

The sculpture, titled “Thy Father’s Hand,” features the crucified Christ in the hand of God. The figure is now the central point of the garden and is placed where some of those once enslaved on the property lie in 20 unmarked graves.

“I developed a committee of African Americans from around the state and together we created the garden,” Tedesco said. “We walked through together … what to do and how to do it. We created the garden, but it took us a couple of years to put it in place.”

The monk added: “It was really a wonderful experience because it was a lot of editing, a lot of wonderful discussion, and a wonderful group of people who were really committed to the process and to the commitment of building this garden in honor of slavery, but really in honor of being enslaved,” Tedesco said.

When the garden was complete, the first Catholic Black bishop in South Carolina, Jacques Fabre-Jeune, blessed it and discussed reconciliation at an opening ceremony on April 26. He also blessed each of the unmarked graves.

“We don’t have to be upset. Truth can always hurt,” Fabre-Jeune said during the blessing. “We don’t like when people tell us the truth. We feel uncomfortable. But after that experience, we know that it was good for us.”

The new garden is a way to honor and recognize the enslaved, but Tedesco said the monastery is really the memorial to them because of the “75 years of praying on [the] land to redeem it from the 100 years of the enslaved on [the] property.”

The garden is now open to visitors who can walk through its multiple stations that each reflect points of history. The monks hope the experience will encourage “empathy” and “understanding.”

Robert Royal discusses his new book “The Martyrs of the New Millennium” during the May 29, 2025, edition of “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” / Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 18:53 pm (CNA).

The whole nature of Chrisitian martyrdom has shifted in the 21st century, according to Robert Royal, author of the new book “The Martyrs of the New Millennium.”

Interviewed on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Thursday, Royal said that since his last work on the subject, “The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century,” 25 years ago, the greatest threat to Christians in the world has shifted from totalitarianism to “radical Islam.” 

“This is a point of view that really seeks to create a worldwide caliphate. That’s the word that they use,” he said. “These radical Islamic figures, they think about it as establishing an Ottoman Empire, but not just restricted to Turkey and a few of the lands in the Middle East, but a total empire of Islam everywhere.”

He continued: “This is something that the West, in particular, needs to wake up to,” he said, because despite the defeat of ISIS, “it didn’t go away. It’s transferred itself to other parts of the world, and it will come back with a vengeance.”

Africa

Royal especially pointed to radical Islamism “all across Central Africa, across sub-Saharan Africa.” 

Discussing the plight of Nigerian Christians, he noted that since finishing the writing of his new book last November, he estimates that since then “something on the order of 2,000 and 3,000 Christians have probably been killed by radical Islam.” 

Just this past weekend, an attack by extremist Muslim herdsmen in Nigeria left dozens dead and resulted in the kidnapping of a Catholic priest and several nuns. Hundreds of Jihadist Fulani herdsmen gunned down nearly 40 people, more than half of them Christians, across several villages on Sunday, according to a report by Truth Nigeria, a humanitarian-aid nonprofit that seeks to document Nigeria’s struggles with corruption and crime.

Latin America

“Surprisingly,” Royal said, “organizations that track the martyrdom of priests in particular say that Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world today to be a Catholic priest.” He said that today, persecution of priests in that country “is the result of cartels, human traffickers, drug traffickers, and anybody who steps in front of what those criminal organizations are trying to do puts themselves at risk.” 

In Nicaragua, he said, systematic persecution against Christians similarly stems from corruption from those seeking power. 

“Now it’s not so much a matter of Marxism as it is a matter of a family wanting to control a country in which the Church is the only effective opposition to their tyranny,” Royal observed, referring to the government of Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo. “They’re closing down TV stations, radio stations, and have expelled bishops and priests. It’s an old playbook, but now it’s being used for the sake of a particular family rather than an ideology.”

The Ortega dictatorship has kidnapped, imprisoned, murdered, and forcefully expelled bishops, priests, and religious sisters from the country, shut down Catholic schools and organizations, and restricted religious practice nationwide. 

China

“The situation in China is very discouraging because our own Church made a very bad bargain with a totalitarian regime,” he said, pointing out that while overt persecution has declined in the country, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to restrict the Church. Ten bishops have also been reported missing, he noted. 

“We know that there are images of President Xi inside of churches. There are attempts to rewrite parts of the Gospels to point it in the direction of the Communist Party. They’re being more careful about creating martyrs because, of course, that raises the international temperature against China,” he said. “But they do it.”

“Now we have a pope who was head of the committee in the Vatican who appointed bishops,” Royal said, noting that Pope Leo XIV has also been to the country himself. “It’ll be very interesting to see if he is able to do anything.”

The Vatican renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of Catholic bishops for four more years in October 2024. Originally signed in September 2018, the provisional agreement was previously renewed for a two-year period in 2020 and again in October 2022. 

The terms of the agreement have not been made public, though the late Pope Francis had said it includes a joint commission between the Chinese government and the Vatican on the appointment of Catholic bishops, overseen by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The West

“We should not consider ourselves exempt from persecution,” Royal said of Christians living in Western countries. “We do have, of course, radical Islamic figures in Europe and in the United States, Australia, all the countries we normally think of as the West.” 

Royal cited the findings by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, which records hundreds of anti-Christian hate crimes per year.

“France alone loses about two religious buildings a month,” he said. He also mentioned the cases of pro-life protesters jailed in the U.K. for praying outside of abortion clinics. 

Royal also called for vigilance in the U.S., as sectors of American society also seek to pin “hate speech” labels on traditional Christian beliefs.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York urged state lawmakers to oppose euthanasia in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on May 29, 2025. / Credit: Peter Zelasko/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York is asking state lawmakers to oppose a bill that would legalize voluntary euthanasia, sometimes known as physician-assisted suicide.

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Dolan wrote that lawmakers should strengthen efforts to “prevent” deaths by suicide rather than establishing a legal method to end one’s own life.

Dolan recounted an experience in which he saw a man on the George Washington Bridge who was “threatening to jump,” saying that onlookers prayed for him and rescuers tried “to coax him back to safety.”

“We all rallied on behalf of a troubled man intent on suicide,” he wrote. “That’s how it is when someone is thinking of taking his own life.”

Dolan noted that the archdiocese runs programs in its schools to help students who might be considering suicide and that the state “spends millions” of dollars on suicide prevention efforts and has bolstered mental health investments under the governorship of Kathy Hochul.

“Which is why I am more than puzzled, I am stunned, when I read that New York lawmakers are on the verge of legalizing suicide — not by leaping from a bridge but via a poison cocktail easily provided by physicians and pharmacists,” the cardinal added.

“I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief at the disparity in official responses,” he wrote. “Our government will marshal all its resources to save the life of one hopeless and despondent man. Yet it may conclude that some lives aren’t worth living — perhaps due to a serious illness or disability — and we will hand those despondent women and men a proverbial loaded gun and tell them to have at it.”

The proposed legislation passed the state’s lower chamber 81-67 last month with support from most Democrats and strong opposition from the Republican minority. More than 20 Democrats joined Republicans in opposition to the bill. The bill is now in the Senate, where some hesitancy within the Democratic Party is delaying a vote.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said two weeks ago that “more people have signed on in the Senate than had been over the past few years” and that if the proposal gets support from a majority of the body, “I’ll certainly bring it to the floor,” according to Politico.

In 10 states and the District of Columbia, euthanasia is legal in limited circumstances. Most of those states legalized the practice within the past decade. Euthanasia remains illegal in most of the country.

Under the New York proposal, euthanasia would only be legal for terminal illnesses, but Dolan noted in his op-ed that “many controllable illnesses can become terminal if untreated.”

“In a recent podcast, the Assembly sponsor conceded that diabetics could become eligible if they cease taking insulin, making their condition ‘terminal’ by definition,” the cardinal wrote.

He warned that even though the proposed New York law would have some limits, advocates of euthanasia in states where it is already legal “continue to push for expansion.” He also pointed to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, which “initially looked very much like the New York bill” but has since greatly expanded.

When MAID was first enacted in Canada in 2016, a person needed to be terminally ill to qualify, but in 2021 the country expanded eligibility to include people who are chronically ill, even if their illness is not terminal. Although this only applies to physical illnesses, the program’s eligibility is set to expand in 2027 to include people who have chronic mental illnesses.

The use of MAID in Canada continues to rise annually and now accounts for nearly 5% of all of the country’s deaths.

Dolan noted that some of the Democrats who opposed the bill in the state’s lower chamber “cited fears about how poor, medically underserved communities would be targeted and the danger that unconsumed drugs could be sold on the streets of their districts.”

“The prospects of defeating the bill look bleak, and it’s tempting to give in to hopelessness,” the cardinal wrote.

“But those brave first responders on the bridge didn’t give in; they worked together to stop a tragedy,” Dolan added. “Will state senators or Ms. Hochul step up to protect precious human life? That is my prayer.”

Planned Parenthood announced May 23, 2025, it will close eight facilities in Minnesota and Iowa. / Credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 30, 2025 / 17:53 pm (CNA).

Planned Parenthood has announced the upcoming closure of eight of its abortion facilities across Minnesota and Iowa. 

Planned Parenthood North Central States — which operates 23 abortion facilities across the area — cited budget challenges and impending federal funding cuts as the reason for the closures, which will go into effect by July 1.  

These clinic shutdowns follow recent closures of Planned Parenthood facilities across the country this year, including the only Planned Parenthood clinic in Manhattan as well as four locations in Illinois, four in Michigan, one in California, two in Utah, and one in Vermont. 

Local pro-life advocates celebrated the announcement but said more work is needed.

Kristi Judkins, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, called the closures “a victory” while adding that she still hopes to bring a “culture of life” to the state.

“We will continue to peacefully pray in the 40 Days for Life campaigns in front of the clinics that remain open,” Judkins told CNA. “We will stand ready to engage women and lovingly let them know we are there to help them.” 

Maggie DeWitte, executive director of pro-life advocacy group Pulse Life Advocates in Des Moines, said “we are so incredibly thankful” to hear of the closures. 

“Abortion is not health care and women deserve better,” DeWitte told CNA. 

Planned Parenthood cited “patient needs” and the “broken” health care system as reasons for the closures as well as the recent freezing of Minnesota Title X funds and the U.S. reconciliation bill that could defund the abortion giant. 

“We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues,” stated Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, in a press release.

In Iowa, unborn children are protected by law throughout most of pregnancy. The state also blocked public funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers in 2017. 

While abortion is legal in Minnesota, when the Trump administration temporarily froze Title X funding to Planned Parenthood, the company lost $2.8 million in funding for its Minnesota locations. 

The abortion giant is “restructuring” to develop both online and on-site “care,” according to the press release. 

“We know that many of our patients would have nowhere to turn if every Planned Parenthood health center were to disappear from their state,” Richardson said. “Heart-wrenching and hard decisions today will ensure Planned Parenthood is here for years to come.”

There are 196 community health centers in Iowa that offer women’s health care, according to Charlotte Lozier Institute’s most recent data — which means there are 28 women’s health alternatives for every one Planned Parenthood.

“In Iowa, we have over 55 pregnancy resource centers across the state in both rural and urban areas,” DeWitte said. “Women and families in Iowa can access quality health care and services from these centers.”  

Pregnancy resource centers, a subcategory of community health centers, are organizations specifically designed to support women in crisis pregnancies by offering support, resources, and care, usually at no cost. 

In spite of the Planned Parenthood closures, several abortion facilities remain open in Iowa. 

“We do still have three abortion facilities that will remain open — two in Iowa City and one in Des Moines, so our work will continue until we can see the closure of all abortion facilities in our state,” DeWitte said. 

Both DeWitte and Judkins agreed that there is still work to do. 

“Although we see the demise of brick-and-mortar PP clinics in Iowa, we have much work yet to do,” Judkins said. 

“We must continue to work with our pro-life community so we can influence mindsets to accept a culture of life rather than a culture of death,” she said.

Judkins said she plans to continue the organization’s work on raising awareness of fetal development education, the harm of abortion pills, and the “legitimate trauma from abortion.” 

“We need to make sure Iowans know the answer in a crisis situation is not abortion and there are wonderful people who will gather around them to provide support and necessities,” Judkins said. 

The former Kuper Island Indian Residential School, 1941. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, May 30, 2025 / 17:23 pm (CNA).

Canadian researchers and advocates have published a list of more than 100 priests and religious workers who served in the country’s controversial Indigenous “residential schools” that operated there for more than a century. 

The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation — a nonprofit that collects and publishes information on the Indigenous school system — said in a Thursday press release that it had created “a list of Oblate priests and brothers who participated in the administration and/or operations” of the schools. 

The list was live on the group’s website as of Friday, complete with “personnel profiles and links to the schools where the Oblate members served,” the group said. 

Long a source of historical tension in Canada, the residential schools — the last of which closed in the 1990s — have been criticized for their aim of turning Native American children away from Indigenous culture and forcibly assimilating them to Western ways of life. 

The schools were often underfunded and crowded. Survivors also reported rampant physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, with malnutrition, poor health care, and harsh discipline contributing to high death rates.

Many of the schools’ staff and directors were Catholic clergy and religious. In 2021, the Catholic bishops of Canada issued a formal apology to the Indigenous population of the country for the abuses of the residential school system.

The bishops noted that “many Catholic religious communities and dioceses” were involved in the residential school system, “which led to the suppression of Indigenous languages, culture, and spirituality, failing to respect the rich history, traditions, and wisdom of Indigenous peoples.”

Father Ken Thorson, the provincial of OMI Lacombe Canada, said in the press release that the Oblates were “deeply grateful” for the effort “to memorialize the experiences of residential school survivors.”

“The eventual release of this research and the initial list of Oblate members who worked in the schools marks a meaningful step forward,” the priest said. 

Raymond Frogner, the senior director of research at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, said that prior to the center’s work, the files “were dispersed in many unique repositories” throughout North America. 

“We are creating a central source to examine, understand, and heal from one of the longest-serving and least-understood colonial social programs in the history of the country,” he said. 

It was unclear if any of the individuals on the soon-to-be-released list of Oblates had been implicated in any abuse in the school system. The Oblates did not immediately respond to a query on Friday. 

Pope Francis in 2022 issued strongly worded remarks about the system, describing the schools as a form of “cultural genocide.”

In an address to delegates representing nine Indigenous nations of Canada during a visit there, the pope asked that “progress may be made in the search for truth, so that the processes of healing and reconciliation may continue, and so that seeds of hope can keep being sown for future generations.”

On Easter Sunday last year, the Archdiocese of Vancouver signed a “sacred covenant” pact with the Indigenous Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc government at Kamloops, a move Archbishop J. Michael Miller called a “historic” milestone that “forges a new relationship” between native tribes and the Catholic Church.

That pact came about after reports in 2021 of a possible mass grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School site, though no human remains have been found at that site in the four years since.

About 150,000 Canadian children are estimated to have attended the schools, where more than 4,000 are believed to have died, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

The United States also ran similar schools in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, more than 526 government-funded and often church-run Indian boarding schools were in operation, and by 1926, nearly 83% of Indian school-age children were attending these schools.

Father Pedro Bismarck Chau was appointed as a new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2025. / Credit: Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday appointed Nicaraguan-born Father Pedro Bismarck Chau as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.

The Holy Father also accepted the resignation of 77-year-old Newark Auxiliary Bishop Gregory J. Studerus.

Bishop-elect Chau is a priest of the archdiocese and currently serves as pastor at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, according to a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“I warmly welcome the Holy Father’s appointment of Bishop-elect Pedro Bismarck Chau as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Newark,” Newark archbishop Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin said in a statement.

“His deep faith, considerable pastoral experience, and love for the people of God will be a great blessing to our local Church. I look forward to his contribution as we continue our mission to witness to Jesus Christ,” Tobin said.

Chau was born on July 18, 1964, in Managua, Nicaragua, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. 

In 2004, Chau received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He then studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary there and was ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 2008.

After his ordination, Chau worked as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield, New Jersey, assisting the parish priest from 2008–2012. 

Chau became very involved in youth programs with the archdiocese, serving as an associate director of the archdiocese’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry and Catholic Youth Organization from 2012–2015.

From 2013–2016, Chau served as the assistant director of vocations for the archdiocese. He also worked as a campus minister at New Jersey Institute of Technology and at the Newman Center at Rutgers University from 2015–2020. During the same time period, he served as pastor at St. John’s Church and St. Patrick Pro-Cathedral.

Chau was appointed to the Priest Personnel Board for the archdiocese in 2017 and served on the board until 2020 when he began his current role as rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

The priest later returned to Seton Hall University to acquire a master’s degree in professional counseling in 2021.

Other ministry work of Chau’s includes serving as the chaplain for the pastoral ministry with the Deaf, working as a professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary, and assisting V Encuentro, an organization that carries out missionary work to benefit the Latino ministry in the United States.

The auxiliary bishop-elect will join auxiliary bishops Manuel A. Cruz, Michael A. Saporito, and Elias R. Lorenzo along with Tobin to serve the estimated 1.04 million Catholics in New Jersey.

2025 Bradley Prize recipient Jimmy Lai. / Credit: Courtesy of the Bradley Foundation

CNA Staff, May 30, 2025 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned pro-democracy advocate and Hong Kong entrepreneur, is the honorary recipient of the 2025 Bradley Prize for his unwavering commitment to free speech, democracy, and journalistic integrity. 

His son, Sebastien Lai, accepted the award on his father’s behalf at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The Bradley Prize recognizes Lai’s role as a Catholic human rights activist standing against one of the world’s most oppressive regimes.

Imprisoned for over four years and currently in solitary confinement, Lai, 77, faces potential life imprisonment under Beijing’s 2020 national security law, which has stifled dissent and suppressed free speech in Hong Kong. 

“Jimmy’s extraordinary courage and deeply held beliefs in journalistic integrity, human dignity, and democracy are an inspiration to all who value freedom,” said Rick Graber, president of The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. “His sacrifice serves as a beacon of hope for those fighting against tyranny, and we are proud to award him with an honorary Bradley Prize.”

Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has become a global symbol of resistance against what Graber described as the “oppressive, authoritarian rule” of the Chinese Communist Party. 

The former stowaway and child factory worker turned billionaire’s entrepreneurial ventures spanned digital media and retail apparel, but it was his outspoken criticism of the Chinese government’s tightening grip on freedom and democracy in Hong Kong that led to his multiple arrests.

Sebastien Lai told EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Thursday that he and his family are worried about his father, a diabetic with little to no access to medical care, the sacraments, or natural light in his “more than 1,600 days” in solitary confinement.

“It’s just cruelty what they’re doing to him” in prison, Sebastien said, “and he needs to be released immediately.”

President Donald Trump has said he would include Jimmy Lai’s release as part of ongoing negotiations with China. Sebastien met with members of the Trump administration in March, telling Arroyo he is “hopeful” and is grateful for the president’s “moral clarity” regarding his father’s case.

Though the elder Lai is a British citizen and could have fled, he chose to remain in Hong Kong, advocating for his principles. Sebastien said he has not yet met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer but he is hopeful the British government will help bring about his father’s release.

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee, established the Bradley Prize in 2004 to honor individuals whose work strengthens the principles of American exceptionalism, limited government, free markets, and civil society. Each recipient receives a $250,000 to $300,000 stipend for contributions in areas such as constitutional order, education, and cultural vitality.

Past recipients include economist Thomas Sowell; journalists William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer; Robert P. George; and Mary Ann Glendon, the Harvard Law School professor emeritus who also served as the first woman president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Sebastien asked EWTN viewers to write to their elected representatives in Washington asking for Jimmy’s release and to “say a little prayer and light a candle” for his freedom. He expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV, who asked for prayers for the people in China this past Sunday, would also call for Jimmy Lai’s release.

“It is such a clear case of a persecuted Christian,” Sebastien said of his father’s imprisonment. The pope’s support of Lai “would give the people in China hope. It would definitely give my father hope.”

He said his father’s faith is his “pillar,” and although he is physically weak, he is “spiritually and intellectually” strong. “He knows he is doing the right thing by God.” 

The Chinese government wants his father to think that “he’s fighting by himself in his little cell,” Lai said. “But he’s not. He’s fighting for everybody’s freedom.”

“A man’s courage to give up everything he has to fight for what is right reverberates through time,” he said.