St. Columba Catholic Church

Seattle, Wash., Mar 25, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America kicked off this year’s Greek Independence Day event at the White House on Monday by thanking President Donald Trump for protecting Christian communities in the Middle East.

Using Emperor Constantine’s famous vision of the cross, he presented Trump with a holy cross, calling it a symbol of “divine guidance” for the nation’s leaders.

“You remind me of the great Roman Emperor Constantine, who founded and built the magnificent city of Constantinople — my birthplace, known today as Istanbul,” the archbishop said.

“Let this cross guide you as it once guided Constantine,” he added. “May it make America invincible!”

The archbishop also praised the administration’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias — a February executive order — as a big step toward religious freedom at home and abroad.

“My prayer is that this task force will help ensure the law truly protects believers, so they can practice their religion in peace.”

Trump accepted the cross and cited his executive order to end government overreach and hostility toward Christians.

“We will not tolerate the targeting or intimidation of people of faith,” he said, referencing the language that says to eliminate “any unlawful anti-Christian policies” from the previous administration. The White House directive creates a Justice Department task force to review and fix alleged anti-Christian bias.

Immediately after, Trump signed a proclamation making March 25, 2025, “Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.”

He referenced Greece’s 1821 independence from the Ottoman Empire and how Hellenic ideals have shaped Western institutions. He also highlighted Greek Americans’ contributions to American culture, business, and public life.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Greece, was in attendance and said she looks forward to deepening the partnership between Washington and Athens. “This partnership has never been more important,” she said, “and we’re going to do even more.”

“Today, we celebrate and cherish our rich history and our enduring bond, the United States and Greece,” Guilfoyle said on Instagram.

Elpidophoros concluded by noting how the democratic roots of Greece and America both support their shared commitment to freedom. He thanked the president for having faith leaders through the White House Faith Office and said the new task force is a “real commitment to upholding America’s founding principle of religious liberty.”

“Freedom, democracy, and the inalienable right of all people to practice their faith without fear — these are values shared by both our peoples,” the archbishop said in his closing remarks.

Many lawmakers, diplomats, and Greek American leaders were in attendance. The White House’s focus on Christian communities in the Middle East draws on a growing recognition of groups such as Copts (which Trump notably posted about last year), Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Maronites, whose increasingly active voting presence has captured attention in recent elections.

For Pope Francis' medical team at Rome's Gemelli hospital, Feb. 28 was the worst day.

Washington D.C., Mar 25, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

U.S. Reps. Chris Smith, Claudia Tenney, and Michelle Fischbach and other pro-life leaders at a March 24 press conference at the U.S. Capitol unveiled the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act to protect pregnancy care facilities. 

Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, noted that “there are more than 2,700 pregnancy care centers throughout the United States. Each and every one of them [is] an oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and quality care for both mothers and their precious children.”

“Yet,” he continued, “state governments like my own state of New Jersey and some lawmakers seek to discriminate against pregnancy care centers by violating fundamental conscience rights to compel complicity in abortion.”

The Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2025 aims to “prohibit discrimination against entities that do not participate in abortion and to strengthen implementation and enforcement of federal conscience laws,” Smith explained. 

According to the text of the act, “the federal government and any individual or entity that receives federal financial assistance … may not penalize or retaliate against an entity because the entity offers life-affirming support and resources to women facing unexpected pregnancy, offers life-affirming alternatives to abortion, or refrains from abortion action.”

“For many women, finding out that they’re expecting comes with fear, and abortion feels like the only option, and that is exactly what the abortion industry wants those women to believe,” Fischbach said. “Crisis pregnancy centers offer women options and support.”

Fischbach highlighted how these centers help mothers, babies, and families. She said they “provide treatment, counseling, ultrasounds, parenting and prenatal education, diapers, clothing, referrals for housing and transportation, and so much more.”

“Make no mistake,” Fischbach continued, “conservatives are here for unborn babies, children, and their mothers, and we want to ensure that these mothers and their babies are supported. This bill helps to make sure that women have that opportunity.”

“The bill will also provide pregnancy care centers facing discrimination with a private right of action. I am proud to stand here today, supporting efforts to empower women with the knowledge and resources they need to choose life.”

Other pro-life leaders who work for or directly with the centers spoke to express their support for the bill and to detail the care the organizations provide. 

Jo Ann Gerling, chairwoman of the Life Choices Resource Center in Metuchen, New Jersey, shared that the organization also provides free pregnancy tests, a 24-hour hotline, breastfeeding consultations, adoption information, and abortion pill reversal information. 

It will even supply mothers with material aid including strollers, car seats, and cribs. “Whatever they need, we find it for them and we help them,” Gerling said.

Anne O’Connor, an attorney for the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), said the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act “is absolutely essential at this time in history. We must halt the targeted harassment and abuse by governmental agencies against life-affirming pregnancy centers.”

She said NIFLA represents 1,800 centers across the nation and has “been fighting government harassment for decades.”

“If their tactics are successful and pregnancy centers cease to exist, abortion would literally be the only option for women in unplanned and unsupported pregnancies,” she continued. “At community-supported nonprofit and life-affirming centers, women receive free care and any support they need so no one ever feels like abortion is their only choice.”

“So let’s just let pregnancy centers serve. It’s that simple,” O’Connor concluded.

Lisa Bourne, managing editor of Pregnancy Help News and a writer at Heartbeat International, pointed out that in 2022 pregnancy care centers “provided families with material goods and services valued at $367 million, served nearly 1 million new clients, and maintained higher than a 97% client satisfaction rate.”

“No woman should ever feel alone, coerced, or so hopeless that she ends her child’s life through abortion,” she added.

“By ensuring these organizations are protected from coercive mandates and legal threats, the Let Pregnancy Center Serve Act of 2025 empowers them to continue offering compassionate care to women and families in need at no cost,” Bourne continued.

“We urge policymakers to stand for a true choice by prioritizing and passing this legislation to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of life-affirming pregnancy health services,” she concluded.

A March 24 prayer vigil at Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, which capped a rally and march that began in the city's downtown San Jacinto Plaza, drew hundreds of participants, including immigration advocates, Catholic and interfaith clergy, religious and lay faithful.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, warned on March 25 that the Trump administration's decision to gut the United States' foreign aid assistance has created a "problem worldwide."

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).

The Vatican on Tuesday launched new pastoral care guidelines for the protection and promotion of human life to mark the 30th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae.

With the aim of upholding the Church’s teachings on the inalienable dignity of the human person, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life released “Life Is Always a Good: Initiating Processes for a Pastoral Care of Human Life” on March 25 — the solemnity of the Annunciation — as an aid for bishops and dioceses worldwide.

The 40-page pastoral framework document highlights the urgent need to respond to Pope Francis’ call “to solidarity and fraternal love for the great human family” in a society that has “lost its ability to identify good and evil.”

“We urgently need to invest in the formation of consciences. Any confusion between good and evil creates a sense of emptiness and terrible suffering in personal and social life,” the document states.

The Vatican’s new guidelines were created to help local Churches to implement the principles outlined in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2024 declaration Dignitas Infinita (“Infinite Dignity”), which condemns “grave and current violations of human dignity” such as abortion, surrogacy, euthanasia, human trafficking, and sexual abuse.

In its publication this week the family dicastery recommends parishes and dioceses develop formation initiatives and programs that emphasize the importance of each human person’s life — from its beginning until its end — “which prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter” (cf. Dignitas Infinita,1).

“In a time marked by extremely serious violations of human dignity, with many countries afflicted by wars and all sorts of violence — especially against women, children before and after birth, adolescents, people with disabilities, the elderly, the poor, and migrants — we must forge a genuine pastoral care of human life to put into practice,” dicastery prefect Cardinal Kevin Farrell wrote.

“I encourage every bishop, priest, religious man and woman, and layperson to read this pastoral framework and strive to develop an organic and structured pastoral care of human life, which can provide workers, educators, teachers, parents, young people, and children the right formation to respect the value of life,” Farrell wrote.

According to Bishop Dario Gervasi, adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, the pastoral framework is the result of an ongoing dialogue with bishops who “have always emphasized the urgency of a renewed commitment to safeguard and promote the life and dignity of every human being” during their visits to the Holy See.

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

In a written message on Tuesday to the Vatican’s commission for the protection of minors from sexual abuse, Pope Francis urged the group to continue to “keep watch while the world sleeps,” and to care for victims and survivors by listening “with the ear of the heart” to their experiences.

“Abuse prevention,” he said, “is not a blanket to be spread over emergencies but one of the foundations on which to build communities faithful to the Gospel.”

Pope Francis’ message was sent to participants in the March 24–28 plenary assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), which he established in 2014.

With the reform of the Roman Curia in 2022, the commission — whose mission is to help local Churches around the world to safeguard minors and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse — became part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The PCPM released its first annual report on Church policies and procedures for safeguarding in 2024.

During its 10 years of work, the pontifical commission has “enabled a safety network to grow within the Church,” the pope said. He also encouraged the group to “keep going!”

“Continue to be sentinels that keep watch while the world sleeps. May the Holy Spirit, teacher of living memory, preserve us from the temptation to file away grief instead of healing it,” he said.

Relating the PCPM’s service to “oxygen” for the local Churches and religious communities, Francis asked the group to increase its joint work with the departments of the Roman Curia and to build alliances with civil authorities, experts, and associations outside of the Catholic Church.

He also requested that they “offer hospitality and care for the wounds of the soul to victims and survivors, in the style of the good Samaritan. To listen with the ear of the heart, so that every testimony finds not registers to be compiled but the depths of mercy from which to be reborn.”

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 25, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

On March 25, the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the International Day of the Unborn Child is celebrated in more than a dozen countries. The event originated in Argentina, and St. John Paul II played a fundamental role in its establishment.

The story has its beginnings on Nov. 13, 1998, when the pilgrim pope received the then-president of Argentina, Carlos Saúl Menem, in Rome. During the private audience, the president proposed establishing the celebration.

Menem — who died on Feb. 14, 2021, at the age of 90 — discussed the topic with the then-Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and attended the Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the Argentine National Church in Rome.

In his homily, the Holy Father emphasized the importance of the Virgin Mary for Argentina in her title of Our Lady of Luján, the country’s patroness.

“Our Lady of Luján, help the people of Argentina, support them in their defense of life, console them in their suffering, accompany them in their joys, and always help them to raise their eyes to heaven, where the colors of their flag blend with the colors of your immaculate mantle,” the pilgrim pope prayed.

Less than a month later, Menem and his foreign minister, Guido di Tella, signed Decree 1406/98, which established March 25 as the Day of the Unborn Child. The celebration was first held in 1999.

The decree was signed on Dec. 8, 1998, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and states, among other things, that “the most celebrated birth in the world by Christians and non-Christians is that of the child Jesus.”

According to the Argentine newspaper La Nación in December 1998, “Menem had expressed his intention to create this special date during his meeting with Pope John Paul II last November.”

The decree establishing the Day of the Unborn Child also “reaffirms this government’s commitment to the causes of humanity, as it has done in international forums in Cairo in 1994, Copenhagen and Beijing in 1995, and Istanbul in 1996.”

“Taking into account that a day is customarily designated on the calendar to commemorate the most significant events of the human race, it is considered appropriate and necessary to dedicate a day at the national level to the unborn child,” the document adds.

The decree also highlights that the Day of the Unborn Child seeks to “invite reflection on the important role that pregnant women play in the destiny of humanity and the value of the human life they carry within them.”

Shortly before establishing the celebration, Menem wrote a letter to all the presidents of Latin America, as well as those of Spain, Portugal, and the Philippines, asking them to join the initiative.

Currently, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Slovakia, Ecuador, Cuba, Chile, and the Philippines celebrate the International Day of the Unborn Child.

The celebration highlights the importance of the right to life of the unborn and expresses repudiation of the crime of abortion, which was legalized in Argentina in December 2020 under the leadership of then-President Alberto Fernández.

St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae

Another reason for declaring March 25 the Day of the Unborn Child is that on that day in 1995, St. John Paul II published the encyclical Evangelium Vitae (“The Gospel of Life”), in which he clearly defended the right to life and rejected threats to it, such as abortion and euthanasia.

“The moral gravity of procured abortion is apparent in all its truth if we recognize that we are dealing with murder and, in particular, when we consider the specific elements involved,” the pope stated.

“The one eliminated is a human being at the very beginning of life. No one more absolutely innocent could be imagined. In no way could this human being ever be considered an aggressor, much less an unjust aggressor!” the Holy Father proclaimed in the encyclical.

Originally published in 2021. Updated for republication.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 25, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In the context of the Day of the Unborn Child, March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, Archbishop Enrique Benavent Vidal of Valencia, Spain, issued a call to defend human life from conception to natural death and in all situations.

The Annunciation commemorates the Virgin Mary’s consent to the conception of the Son of God in her womb.

In this context, the prelate published a pastoral letter titled “Defending Life Is Sowing Hope” in which he noted that Christians are called “to be sowers of hope, fighting for life and the dignity of all people.”

Benavent invited the faithful to take advantage of the 2025 Jubilee to “sow hope in the hearts of the sick,” the young, migrants, exiles, the elderly, the poor, and families “who are afraid to welcome new life.”

The archbishop noted that “in our world there are many people who, humanly speaking, have no reason to live with hope.”

He said “these are those whose dignity is not respected and whose rights are violated: the victims of any attack on their lives,” those who have been physically harmed; “the victims of deportations, those living in inhumane living conditions, those subjected to arbitrary detention, those subjected to prostitution.”

Others affected include “the poor who are victims of the selfishness and injustices of our economic system, those who suffer the consequences of wars, those who suffer the consequences of gender ideology, victims of sexual abuse, women who suffer violence, etc.”

The archbishop pointed out that we can only “credibly proclaim the Christian hope in eternal life if we defend the dignity of human life for all people,” at all times and in all situations.

“It‘s not Christian,” he noted, “to defend life at its beginning or end and to justify, provoke, or ignore the tragedies experienced by those whose dignity is not respected. Nor does it correspond to a Christian vision of life to consider abortion and euthanasia as a right and justify them in society.”

The archbishop of Valencia called for the creation of “social conditions and a legislative framework that promote birth and create the conditions for people to face the end of this life with dignity, so that no one is tempted to desire death.”

“A society and a culture that lead people to view the beginning and end of life as a threat sows despair. Only a world that values, promotes, and defends human life and its dignity at all times and in all situations, from conception to its natural end, can live in hope,” he emphasized.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

ACI Africa, Mar 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Church leaders in Zambia have denounced what they have termed “unpalatable remarks” against faith leaders who have reportedly criticized the Zambian government for various misdeeds, including unfair distribution of resources and poor infrastructure.

In a March 19 statement, the church leaders, including representatives of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), emphasized the churches’ role as a voice for the voiceless. 

CCZ general secretary Rev. Emmanuel Chikoya; EFZ executive secretary Bishop Andrew Mwenda; and ZCCB secretary-general Father Francis Mukosa signed the statement. 

“We observe that church leaders, in the course of fulfilling their role of providing checks and balances, have been subjected to unpalatable remarks with no consequences,” they lamented. 

“We strongly object to the demeaning language used against church leaders. We believe that it is essential to uphold the dignity of all people, regardless of their role in society,” they said. “This incident exemplifies the ongoing tensions between political figures and religious leaders, especially when the church fulfills its responsibility to provide checks and balances.”

Auxiliary Bishop Gabriel Msipu Phiri of Zambia’s Chipata Diocese has reportedly been at the center of tensions with the country’s United Party for National Development government for being vocal about gaps in governance. 

Phiri has criticized President Hakainde Hichilema’s government of failing to realize promises — particularly regarding the rehabilitation of roads in Eastern Province, one of Zambia’s 10 provinces. 

Phiri highlighted the dire state of roads leading to areas such as Vubwi, Chadiza, and Lundazi, adding that residents were compelled to use routes through Malawi, incurring additional border fees.

In his criticism, the bishop expressed concern about delays in fertilizer distribution, noting that agriculture is the primary livelihood in the region and that such a setback adversely affects farmers’ welfare.

Reacting to the criticisms, chief government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa threatened Phiri. 

In his March 4 press release, Mweetwa said the Zambian government was going to isolate him and deal with him in person for challenging the government.

The president of the Association of Zambian Diocesan Catholic Clergy, Father Augustine Mwewa, is said to have defended Phiri, asserting that Phiri’s homilies represent the broader Catholic Church and the Holy Father, not just personal opinion.

Mwewa cautioned the Zambian government against isolating and targeting the bishop for speaking truth to power. 

In their March 19 statement, the Church leaders in Zambia said: “We have a duty to speak to the moral conscience of the nation, a task that we are committed to do informed by our Scriptures and not coercion by any other forces.”

They added: “The three church mother bodies have consistently and actively spoken on matters of public and national interest. We do not rush to comment on issues, as we strive to ensure that our messages are informed, thoughtful, and balanced.”

In their statement, the leaders reaffirmed their responsibility to their respective congregants.

“The various churches and parishes continue to actively provide ongoing pastoral care, counseling, and sermons that speak directly or indirectly to issues promoting Christian values and principles in our society,” they said.

The leaders of all three bodies — the ZCCB, CCZ, and EF — also weighed in on a couple of other issues, including what they describe as “the rushed and hasty constitutional amendment process” and “the ever-increasing cost of living for Zambians.”

“Our repeated calls for constitutional amendments have largely gone unanswered. Why is the government drafting documents in isolation without public consultation?” they asked in their statement. 

The church leaders denounced the ”growing culture of miscommunication” in the country as well as the “emergence of cadre militancy with the wearing of military regalia and the blatant disregard for traffic rules.” They also called out “the lack of urgency and attention given to calls for national dialogue, reconciliation, and national unity.”

In the statement, the church leaders reaffirmed their stance of autonomy, resisting any form of coercion.

“We reserve the right to speak or remain silent as we see fit, and we will not be dictated to by any political party or individual. We will not be coerced into speaking at your pace or on your timeline,” they said.

Zambia’s church leaders urged the government to “address the underlying causes of poverty, such as the need for sustainable, reliable, and cost-effective energy, as well as comprehensive poverty alleviation strategies.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapated by CNA.