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CNA Newsroom, Mar 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople on Wednesday offered a hopeful historical assessment of the traditional 1054 date for the "Great Schism" between Rome and Constantinople, suggesting that tensions developed gradually over time and "are not insurmountable."

"Of course, problems have accumulated over a thousand years. But we are full of hope that they will be resolved in a few years," the patriarch emphasized during an audience in Istanbul on March 12 with a pilgrimage group from the German Association of the Holy Land.

The honorary head of worldwide Orthodoxy made these comments in the presence of Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Emeritus Gregory III Laham, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner.

The pilgrimage preceded the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea held in 325 A.D.

Rather than a sudden break in 1054 — the traditional date of the separation between the Orthodox and Catholic churches — Patriarch Bartholomew suggested these tensions gradually strengthened over time.

The potential for a historic breakthrough in ecumenical relations has been building for some time. In January, during vespers concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis highlighted the "providential" timing of Easter falling on the same date in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars this year.

"Let us rediscover the common roots of the faith," the pontiff urged. "Let us preserve unity!"

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, has long supported efforts toward a common Easter date. In 2021, Koch welcomed a suggestion that the year 2025 would be an ideal time to introduce a calendar reform allowing both Eastern and Western Christians to celebrate Easter together.

"It will not be easy to agree on a common Easter date, but it is worth working for it," Koch stated at the time, adding that the initiative was "very dear to Pope Francis and also to the Coptic Pope Tawadros."

Calendar considerations

The First Council of Nicaea, held in 325, decided that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the beginning of spring, making the earliest possible date March 22 and the latest possible April 25.

Today, Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate the Easter date instead of the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582 and is used by most of the world. The Julian calendar calculates a slightly longer year and is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, resulting in different dates for Easter celebrations most years.

One possible obstacle to a universal agreement could be ongoing tensions between different churches. In 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church severed ties to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople after Patriarch Bartholomew confirmed his intention to recognize the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

During a meeting with the International Theological Commission at the Vatican in November 2024, Pope Francis confirmed his intention to travel to Turkey in May 2025 to mark this significant anniversary.

"I plan to go there," Pope Francis stated, noting that the Council of Nicaea "constitutes a milestone in the journey of the Church and also of all humanity, because faith in Jesus, the Son of God made flesh for us and for our salvation, was formulated and professed as a light that illuminates the meaning of reality and the destiny of all history."

However, the pope's health situation may affect the planned pilgrimage to modern-day Turkey, as his ongoing hospitalization has raised questions about his ability to undertake the journey.

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CNA Staff, Mar 15, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

This Lent, sales of "The Way" by St. Josemaría Escrivá have skyrocketed thanks to Hallow's Lent Pray40 Challenge, with listeners diving deeper into the writings of the Spanish-born saint in his most well-known book.

"The Way" reached the No. 1 spot on Amazon's "Christian Inspirational" and "Christian Devotionals" lists as well as the "Inspirational Spirituality" list. It was also No. 5 on Amazon's "Religion and Spirituality" list and No. 33 on the general books list.

Hallow is using Escrivá's "The Way" as a companion to its Lenten prayer challenge this year. The book consists of 999 points that aim to help the faithful pray and encourage them to love God, live for him, and converse with him. 

Escrivá founded the personal prelature Opus Dei in 1928. John Coverdale, author of several books on the history of Opus Dei, spoke to CNA about Escrivá's book and why he believes it resonates with so many readers.

"[Escrivá] kept a sort of journal or diary in the early years of the work and wrote down both encounters he had with people and striking things people said to him and also things from his own prayer," Coverdale explained. "So the book, I think, very much reflects his own spiritual life."

He also pointed out the "immediacy" of the book in that it invites readers to grow their life of prayer in a personal way throughout their daily lives — not through complex theology — so that, in turn, they can grow their relationship with God.

Coverdale quoted his favorite point from "The Way": "'To pray is to talk with God. But about what? About him, about yourself: joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions: and love and reparation. In a word: to get to know him and to get to know yourself: to get acquainted!'"

"Certainly at least to me, it is a very appealing message and I think to many people when they read that sort of thing say, 'Well, prayer doesn't have to be some complicated exercise, and all these steps and so on, it's to talk with God,'" Coverdale said.

Opus Dei continues to spread this message, "that we are all called to holiness, to sanctity, to actually loving God with our whole heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and that is something that we're called to do in our daily life, an ordinary life," Coverdale explained. 

Coverdale lived in Rome for eight years where he worked very closely with Escrivá, who died in 1975. Describing the now-saint, he said: "When he talked about God or Mary or the angels, he wasn't talking about somebody he read about in a book, he was talking about somebody he knew. And I think that comes across even in the book."

"These aren't just pious reflections, they're something more than that," he added.

Reflecting on his time spent with Escrivá, Coverdale called the saint a "quite remarkable human being" who was "a lot of fun to be with."

"He was also somebody who was exceptionally close to God and that came across," he shared.

In get-togethers with Escrivá, Coverdale recalled his ability to "seamlessly" go from discussing news events to discussing Jesus or the Blessed Mother.

"I think this was because they were equally real to him. It wasn't two different worlds. It was the world he lived in — both the everyday, the funny, Our Lady, St. Joseph, Jesus, God the Father," he said.   

Coverdale said he hopes new readers of "The Way" take away the message that "God is a father who's looking for them to respond to his love in their ordinary, everyday life." 

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Vatican City, Mar 15, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:

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CNA Newsroom, Mar 15, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of Florida are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to commute the death sentence of Edward James, who is scheduled to be executed by the state next week for a 1993 double homicide. 

James pleaded guilty in 1995 to the killings of Betty Dick and her eight-year-old granddaughter Toni Neuner in Casselberry, Florida. He had strangled and raped Toni prior to her death before stabbing Betty Dick. He was ultimately apprehended in California. 

In a Friday press release, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) said it had "implored Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay the execution of Edward James and commute his sentence to life without parole."

FCCB Executive Director Michael Sheedy in a letter to DeSantis noted that the murders were "heinous" and "tragic." 

"It is indeed a duty of the state to protect the lives and safety of its citizens and to impose appropriate punishment for crimes, and we recognize your responsibility in ensuring this duty is carried out," Sheedy said. 

But, he wrote, the "intrinsic dignity and unalienable rights of every human being are not annihilated by even gravely evil acts." 

"It is better for the people of Florida to punish severely without themselves acting to kill a human being," Sheedy wrote, arguing that a life sentence without the possibility of parole "is still a severe punishment which also serves to protect society from further danger." 

The Church "teaches that all human life is sacred," the FCCB said on Friday, writing: "Even people who have committed terrible acts and caused great harm possess a human dignity instilled by God, our Creator."

The modern penal system has rendered executions "unnecessary," the bishops said. 

James is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. The Florida Supreme Court this week refused to block his execution, as did a federal appeals court. 

The bishops' conference said next week that prior to James's execution Floridians "will gather across the state to pray for him and his victims, for DeSantis as he considers the request to stay the execution, and for an end to the death penalty and the cycle of violence in society."

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CNA Staff, Mar 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Five years ago this week, public health orders issued amid the uncertainty of the novel coronavirus turned Mass schedules across the country and the world upside down. 

In those early days following the WHO's March 11, 2020, declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, the bishops of every U.S. diocese issued some form of dispensation, suspending the obligation that Catholics must attend Sunday Mass in person. 

Thousands of parishes and ministries scrambled to develop plans to offer livestreamed Masses, deliver the sacraments in a "socially distanced" manner, and live out the Church's life as best they could under extraordinary circumstances. Public Masses at most parishes were suspended entirely for a time, and those that were able to reopen were subject, in many areas, to distancing requirements and numerical or percentage-based attendance caps.

As Catholics nationwide adapted to the changes — not knowing how long this new reality might last — observers feared that many Catholics, barred from their parishes for so long and now accustomed to attending from the comfort of home, might not return after the parish doors reopened. 

A study from the Pew Research Center found that most Catholics continued participating in Mass throughout the pandemic — but many were only able to do so virtually. In November 2022, when the survey was done, only about 4 in 10 U.S. Catholics said they attended Mass in person as often as they did before the pandemic.

Indeed, from the start of the COVID pandemic lockdowns in the U.S. to the declared end of the pandemic in May 2023, in-person Mass attendance averaged just 15% — a dismal figure, but not markedly lower than the 24% it was before. (The Catholic Church teaches that Catholics are obligated to attend Mass in person every Sunday, except for a serious reason such as illness or if they've been dispensed from their obligation by their pastor or bishop.)

Some bishops lifted the dispensations they had issued as early as late 2020, while a few held out until 2022. In lifting the dispensations they issued amid the lockdowns, many U.S. bishops implored Catholics to return to Mass in person. 

While Mass attendance today among Catholics in the U.S. remains much lower than among Catholics in other countries, recent data has suggested that U.S. in-person Mass attendance levels have quietly returned to where they were in 2019 after years of uncertainty over whether they would ever rebound. 

For some thriving parishes in the U.S., the lockdowns — while challenging — presented an opportunity to continue sharing the faith in a creative manner and come out even stronger than they were before. 

Father John Mosimann, pastor at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Fredericksburg, Virginia, told CNA that the parish has seen its numbers grow since the pandemic. 

On a typical weekend, Mosimann and his four parochial vicars celebrate 11 total Masses in English, plus another in Spanish at a different parish where they are kick-starting a Spanish Mass ministry. 

All told, roughly 3,800 people attended St. Mary's weekend Masses on a typical week in 2019. According to headcounts, the parish had already exceeded its pre-pandemic levels by 2023, with around 4,300 attendees on average. The parish, which is about 55 miles south of Washington, D.C., has 6,700 registered families and nearly 100 active ministries. 

During the pandemic, St. Mary's added extra Masses — since for a time, Masses were limited to a smaller-than-usual number of attendees — and continued hosting adoration. Like so many other parishes, the parish had to quickly adapt to a livestreaming paradigm in order to stay connected with the community.

"I was in the office and I was looking at Facebook and I said, 'What if I hit this button and go live, what would happen?'" Mosimann remembers thinking as the lockdowns began.

"And so I started streaming on Facebook Live and everybody started jumping in … 'What's going on, Father? What's going to happen?' And I didn't have answers, because I wasn't that great a prophet. But we did immediately start streaming."

He said parishioners were grateful for the effort the priests made to stay in touch, despite the occasional technical challenge — a problem far from unique to St. Mary's. 

"If you want perfect sound and you want a studio, go to EWTN. They've got professional equipment. If you want to see your priests, come talk to us," Mosimann said he told his parishioners. 

"We're not going to be anxious over having studio quality, because what's important is for us to be connected to you. People responded to that. People were very grateful for that. It was very frequently cited by parishioners, how grateful they were for our staying in touch with them during that difficult moment."

The last of Virginia's capacity-restricting public health orders on venues was lifted in late May 2021, and Bishop Michael Burbidge of the local Diocese of Arlington in the following month lifted the dispensation he had issued, inviting Catholics to return to Mass throughout the diocese. So far, as in most U.S. dioceses, Mass attendance overall in Arlington has risen significantly but has not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

Since the pandemic's end, Mosimann said his focus has been on encouraging parishioners to use their time and talents generously to help rebuild and grow the parish community. 

For Mosimann, the pandemic experience was proof that by remaining faithful even through troubling and difficult times, God can and does bring good out of bad situations through his grace. 

"[We] did everything we could to provide the sacraments to God's people and to make it available as much as possible with all the restrictions. That should be the goal of every parish, every day, whether there's a pandemic or not," Mosimann said. 

'We are proud to be who we are'

Father Michael Hurley, OP, pastor of St. Dominic Parish in San Francisco, said his parish, which offers what he believes is the largest young adult presence in the entire archdiocese, regularly sees attendance numbers today that are similar to pre-pandemic levels. 

The parish was able to safely provide the sacraments to those in need during the pandemic and had, providentially, already set up livestreaming for Masses shortly before the start of the pandemic. To this day the parish maintains a healthy online base of Dominican laypeople who tune in for Masses and prayer. 

Hurley said he personally never worried during lockdown about people not returning to Mass, instead trusting that Catholics would return when they could. He said his main concern was keeping the church building open safely during the pandemic — in a state with some of the strictest lockdown measures in the country — to maintain sacramental support. 

California finally lifted all capacity restrictions on religious gatherings in April 2021 after previously implementing a near-total ban on indoor services that was contested all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Though the demographics of St. Dominic Parish has changed somewhat, in-person worshippers, many of whom work in the Bay Area's high-tech sector, have returned in large numbers. 

"The Lord is always searching for the strays, right? ... All you have to do is open the doors and do what you're doing, and people will come," Hurley told CNA. 

That said, Hurley said he believes St. Dominic's beautiful church building, welcoming atmosphere, and a strong sense of identity — as a Dominican-led parish that aims to "radiate the joy of the Gospel in the heart of the city" — helps to make it an attractive place for Catholics, especially young adults. They also keep the church building open for personal prayer throughout the day, a rarity in a city that occasionally struggles with crime. 

"We are proud to be who we are as Catholics, and for us as clergy, as Dominicans. And that makes a huge difference," Hurley said.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Evelio Menjivar came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant in 1990. Today he serves as an auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., and is the first Salvadoran U.S. bishop in an archdiocese that is home to over 200,000 of his former countrymen.

In an interview with "EWTN News in Depth," Menjivar shared his conviction that immigrants "make the United States a great nation" and "make society better." 

After years of "blue-collar jobs," upon his arrival to the U.S., Menjivar felt a calling to the priesthood and was ordained in 2004. He served as a parish priest in Washington for almost two decades until Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop in 2022.

"I came here when I was 20 with a great desire to work hard, to go to school, to contribute to the well-being of this great nation that became my home country," Menjivar told Montse Alvarado, EWTN News president and COO.

Menjivar said he attempted to enter the country three times before making it to Los Angeles. He explained: "I don't feel proud that I crossed the border without documents."

"But it is a testimony that many people cross the border with good intentions," he said.

"Most immigrants come here because they do not find any other option in their countries and they put their own lives at risk. But once we enter here, we contribute with our own talents, with our own energy," he told Alvarado.

He described the violence and chaos that led him to flee El Salvador for the United States.

"I was growing up during the civil war that started in … 1977," Menjivar said. "We were forced to abandon our village in 1982. We relocated to another town in the same area, but the whole area was abandoned, left with nobody."

"So the war was there," he said. "That was the situation that I grew up in, and then in 1990 is when I left El Salvador, and the war continued for two more years."

"Religious sisters, even American sisters, were killed. Many priests were killed. Catechists were killed. It was a situation of war that pushed me and pushed so many immigrants to leave their countries," the bishop explained.

Menjivar said immigration is a "journey marked by a lot of uncertainty, fear, but also with hope." 

During Menjivar's episcopal ordination Cardinal Wilton Gregory, then-archbishop of Washington, commended Menjivar's dedication to those who work unfair wages to make a day's living. 

"Cardinal Gregory said very beautifully in the homily that I should never forget my roots," Menjivar said. "And that way people, immigrants, anybody, will be able to be more open to share their own stories, knowing that I'm going to understand them."

"As most immigrants do, I did janitorial work, I did construction, painting, youth ministry, you name it, all kinds of blue-collar jobs. And so that helped me to understand labor, hard labor, to learn to work hard."

He said he is "very proud" of the work he did when he arrived in the U.S. and believes it is a "gift to be able to understand the hardships that people go through."

EWTN's Alvarado and Menjivar discussed a letter he and his brother bishops received from Pope Francis asking them to always remember human dignity when addressing immigration in the political climate today.

"The pope emphasizes the importance, the need, to defend the dignity of human beings, of immigrants," Menjivar said. "His message is a message of concern … for the well-being of everybody."

When asked about the lack of Hispanic bishops in the U.S. Church in light of how many Hispanic Catholics there are in the country, Menjivar said he is seeing progress in that direction, adding that he believes it's very important that "shepherds understand their flock."

"Yes, there are not many Hispanic bishops, but the number [is] increasing. There are more and more, especially during the last years with Pope Francis."

"One of the things that we need to do as a Church is to promote more vocations to the priesthood. We need more Hispanic priests, that's for sure. We need more deacons, we need more religious sisters and brothers to serve the Church." 

Asked to comment on how he responds to people in his community who fear deportation during this uncertain time, Menjivar said that while many "are expressing fear and anxiety" they are turning to the Church and to their faith for consolation. 

"Thanks be to God, we have people that are very hopeful," he said. "And they know that this is the moment when they need the Church the most. That they need to come as a community to pray."

"People don't know what is going to happen to them. But one of the beautiful things that we are seeing here is that people, they continue going to church and celebrating their faith."

Menjivar said he never lost faith on his journey to the U.S. and has been able to continue on that path that led him to become a bishop because he knows "there [are] always people praying for us. There is always a light that is lit."

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ACI MENA, Mar 14, 2025 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

Faithful to its ongoing commitment to supporting Lebanon, a high-level delegation from the Sovereign Order of Malta is currently touring the country. 

The official visit, led by the order's grand chancellor, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, spans three days and will conclude Saturday. 

The delegation's agenda includes multiple stops aimed at exploring ways to help Lebanon overcome its ongoing crises and support its path toward recovery and reconstruction, relying on the country's new leadership.

The delegation's first stop was the presidential palace in Baabda, where Montecupo met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. He was accompanied by the order's ambassador to Lebanon, Maria Cortese, Lebanon's Order of Malta President Marwan Sahnaoui, and advisers François Abi Saab, Eleonore Habsburg, and Martina D'Onofrio.

During the meeting, Montecupo conveyed congratulations from the order's grand master, John Dunlap, who expressed his eagerness to welcome Aoun to the order's headquarters in Rome at the earliest opportunity. He reaffirmed the order's strong commitment to Lebanon, emphasizing its dedication to the country's stability and progress. He also mentioned that the order currently runs 60 pastoral, educational, and cultural projects across Lebanon and has signed several agreements to support its humanitarian mission.

Additionally, Montecupo highlighted a conference on Lebanon that was held last February and announced plans for another gathering in Rome on April 10.

Montecupo stressed that maintaining stability is paramount for Lebanon's economic recovery and affirmed the order's readiness to provide assistance, emphasizing its long-standing neutrality and independence. "We will spare no effort to support the Lebanese people," he said.

For his part, Aoun acknowledged the challenges ahead but insisted that rebuilding Lebanon is possible with genuine political will. He underscored the importance of international support, both economically and politically. 

Aoun also referenced previous agreements between the order and Lebanese institutions, including the military, and highlighted the need for continued collaboration, particularly in the wake of destruction caused by the latest Israeli offensive. He commended the order for implementing projects nationwide, "free from political, sectarian, or religious considerations."

Meetings with Speaker Berri and Prime Minister Salam

The delegation also met with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at his Ain el-Tineh residence and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail. Both meetings addressed Lebanon's political and economic landscape as well as the order's ongoing projects.

The Sovereign Order of Malta has been active in Lebanon for over 70 years, focusing on health care, social integration, and agricultural development. This visit serves as a reaffirmation of the order's unwavering support for the Lebanese people during the ongoing reconstruction phase. In addition to official meetings, the delegation visited several development and humanitarian project sites, including the St. John the Baptist Center in Ain el-Remmaneh and mobile medical units in the western Bekaa region.

The delegation will also inaugurate a new humanitarian agricultural project and meet with Maronite patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi in Bkerke.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Vatican City, Mar 14, 2025 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has provided the Vatican with a list of names of Ukrainians detained by the Russian military, requesting diplomatic mediation to secure their release.

"The Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians being held in Russian prisons and camps. We are counting on the support for their release," Zelenskyy said in a message shared on social media.

The Ukrainian president indicated that he had a telephone conversation with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's secretary of state, in which he also wished Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for a month in Rome's Gemelli Hospital, "a speedy recovery."

"I thanked him for his prayers and moral support for our people, as well as for his efforts in facilitating the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported and displaced by Russia," Zelenskyy said, expressing his gratitude for the prayers for Ukraine and for peace.

The Holy See's mediation for the release of Ukrainians detained in Russia is nothing new. Ukrainian Redemptorist priests Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta were detained in Berdyansk by Russian occupation troops in November 2022 and released almost two years later following Vatican mediation.

"The voice of the Holy See is very important on the path to peace. I am grateful for the readiness to make efforts toward our shared goal," the Ukrainian president noted.

Zelenskyy also referred to his government's decision to approve the United States' proposal for a 30-day temporary ceasefire. This compromise was reached two days ago after a meeting lasting more than eight hours between the two countries' delegations in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

"The exchange of prisoners and an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire are the first quick steps that could significantly bring us closer to a just and lasting peace. Ukraine is ready to take these steps because the Ukrainian people want peace more than anyone," Zelenskyy said in his post on X.

However, despite the progress in the negotiations, Ukraine launched its largest attack on Russia since the start of the war before the agreement was reached. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over several regions in that attack.

Zelenskyy commented that "meanwhile, the world sees how Russia is deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process, as Russia is the only party that wants the war to continue and diplomacy to break down."

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

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 14, 2025 / 16:40 pm (CNA).

Earlier this week, Cuba completed the release of 553 prisoners despite the collapse of a deal with the United States, Vatican News reported. 

In January, under the Catholic Church's mediation, former U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to remove Cuba from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in exchange for the early release of hundreds of prisoners. 

The deal was made following years of pressure from the U.S., the European Union, the Catholic Church, and human rights organizations urging Cuba to free anti-government protesters jailed after a 2021 demonstration. 

The Biden administration had initially called Cuba to release "political prisoners," but Cuba less specifically agreed to gradually release "553 people sanctioned for diverse crimes." 

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said: "As part of the close and fluid relations with the Vatican State, I informed Pope Francis of [the decision to free the prisoners] in the spirit of the 2025 Jubilee." 

Just days after President Donald Trump's inauguration, the new administration overturned the deal. Despite the administration's reversal, Cuba continued to free prisoners intermittently.

In February, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, called the continued release of the Cuban prisoners "a sign of great hope" at the start of the holy year and said he hoped for more "gestures of clemency."

The vice president of Cuba's top court, Maricela Soza Ravelo, announced on state television on March 10 that the full release was completed, according to Vatican News. 

Cuba has not reported how many of the 553 releases were linked to the 2021 protests or disclosed a full list of the freed prisoners.

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Puebla, Mexico, Mar 14, 2025 / 17:10 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Mexico expressed its "profound indignation and grief" following the discovery of an organized crime training and extermination camp on a ranch in Jalisco state where clandestine crematoriums were found.

The site was located on the Izaguirre ranch in the Teuchitlán administrative district, about 40 miles from Guadalajara, the state capital, by the Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco group (Searching Warriors of Jalisco), an organization of families of disappeared persons searching for clandestine graves in the hope of finding the remains of their loved ones.

In Latin America, "disappeared" is often used as an adjective and a verb. "He was disappeared" means the person was abducted and is most likely dead. 

According to the Jalisco state attorney general's office, so far "six lots of bones have been discovered  in four locations on the property" that would correspond to more than 200 victims.

The site was already known to authorities since the National Guard carried out an operation on Sept. 18, 2024, during which 10 people were arrested, according to the attorney general's office.

At the site, they found a tactical training area and a physical conditioning area as well as clothing and gear that would have been worn by both the criminals and their victims.

One of the 'cruelest expressions of evil'

In its March 12 statement, the Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) described the discovery as "one of the cruelest expressions of evil and human wretchedness that we have witnessed in our country."

The Mexican bishops noted that these acts "directly attack the sacred dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God."

The prelates also criticized the official figures provided by Mexican authorities regarding violence. "We express our surprise that first-degree murders are supposedly down 15%, but they are trying to hide the fact that disappearances are up 40%. Unfortunately, the majority of these victims are our young people," the CEM pointed out.

According to the website of Mexico's Ministry of the Interior, whose data covers the period from Dec. 31, 1952, to March 14 of this year, there are 124,179 missing and unaccounted-for persons in the country, with Jalisco being the state with the highest number of cases.

The bishops called on authorities to implement effective policies to prevent "these atrocious crimes and ensure their non-repetition" while demanding that they stop "evading their responsibility or trying to hide this reality" of violence in the country.

A day after the CEM statement, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum referred to the bishops' claim at a March 13 press conference and said their information was erroneous.

"We will keep you informed. But the episcopate does not have the correct information, and we are happy to ask the Ministry of the Interior to contact them to explain that this is not the case," she said.

Remembering the disappeared during Lent

The Mexican bishops also called on Catholics to take advantage of this Lenten season to "pray earnestly for the disappeared, accompany the victims, and contribute to the reconstruction of the social fabric."

They also pledged to "be a voice for those without a voice and to collaborate tirelessly in building a country where justice, truth, and unrestricted respect for human dignity prevail."

In response to the gruesome discovery, several events will be held to pray and express solidarity with the victims and their families:

• Mass for the disappeared: The auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, Francisco Javier Acero, will offer a Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City at 3 p.m. local time on March 15 in honor of the disappeared persons and in support of their families.

• Vigil and national mourning: The same day at 5 p.m. local time the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious of Mexico (CIRM) will hold a vigil on the esplanade of Mexico City's Zócalo (large central square) in front of the cathedral. "With 400 shoes and 400 candles, let us remember those who have been victims of violence and forced disappearance. Let us join in raising our voices and showing our solidarity as a Church and as a society," CIRM said in its appeal to the community.

• Day of prayer and consolation: On March 16 in the town of Teuchitlán in Jalisco state, a pilgrimage and Mass will be held for the victims of violence and their families.

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

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