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CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

A major U.S. HIV/AIDS relief program is facing potential blowback amid reports that the program was used to fund abortions in southeast Africa.

Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch said in a statement last week that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revealed that funds for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) were spent on abortions in Mozambique.

PEPFAR was launched in 2003 during George W. Bush's first term. The U.S. Department of State says the program is "the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history." It works to treat AIDS patients and prevent infections of HIV as well as supporting countries to achieve "HIV epidemic control."

The program says it has saved more than 25 million lives since its inception. But it is also barred from using funds to help procure abortions. The 1973 Helms Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act bars federal funds from being used to bankroll abortion in foreign countries. 

Reuters reported that "three U.S. officials" briefed Congress last week on reported violations of that rule in Mozambique. Specifically, "four nurses performed a total of 21 abortions since January 2021," according to the news wire. 

Risch in his statement said the "future of the PEPFAR program is certainly in jeopardy" given the reported violations. 

"I will not support one dollar of American money going towards abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again," Risch said. He called for the CDC to be investigated over the allegations. 

Risch was not the only congressional figure to call for an investigation. Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast in a statement described the reported violation as "disgraceful and unacceptable." 

"The State Department and CDC must investigate to ensure that not one penny of PEPFAR goes toward abortion," Mast said. 

Democrats called for more oversight of the program while hailing its years of work in addressing the AIDS crisis. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Lois Frankel said in a joint statement that the violation "appears to be an isolated incident in Mozambique" and that it should not "undermine the overwhelming success and integrity of PEPFAR's mission." 

"A commitment to compliance and transparency is an absolute requirement, and we have seen swift actions by program administrators to address this issue," they said. "By strengthening oversight and reaffirming our commitment to PEPFAR, we can protect the global progress this program has achieved."

In a statement last week, meanwhile, PEPFAR said it identified the reported violation and "took immediate corrective action with the partner" in Mozambique. 

The organization said it was "implementing new, additional preventive measures, including requiring an annual signed attestation by PEPFAR-funded clinical service providers to ensure compliance with U.S. funding restrictions." 

The group said it would work with both the Mozambique government and "all PEPFAR partner countries" to ensure future compliance.

On its website, the U.S. Embassy in Mozambique says the country has the second-largest HIV epidemic in the world with upwards of 2.2 million Mozambicans infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is the "leading cause of mortality for Mozambicans over the age of 5," the embassy says. 

PEPFAR has "managed to make significant progress towards the response to HIV/AIDS," the organization says, with efforts including millions of HIV tests, the delivery of antiretroviral medication, and interventions with pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, among other measures.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 20, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump credited God with his survival of two assassination attempts and promised to bring the United States into a "golden age" that "increases our wealth" and "expands our territory" during his inaugural address on Jan. 20.

After referring to his inauguration day as an American "liberation day" from the past four years of President Joe Biden, Trump expressed his hope "that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country."

The newly inaugurated president invoked God several times during his speech, including his belief that God saved him from the assassination attempts on his life.

"Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life," Trump said.

"I felt then — and believe even more so now — that my life was saved for a reason," the president said before invoking his campaign slogan: "I was saved by God to make America great again."

Trump vowed that "the golden age of America begins right now" and outlined his plans for economic success, stronger border security, and American expansionism as part of his "America First" agenda. 

"From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world," the president said. "We will be the envy of every nation and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America First."

Announces 'two gender' policy

Trump promised to immediately sign executive orders to expand immigration enforcement, permit businesses to drill for oil on American land, and end the government's efforts to "socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life."

The president said that under his leadership, the government will forge a "colorblind and merit-based" society and promised that "it will … be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female," which received loud applause from most attendees. 

Trump said his executive orders will establish the "complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense."

"We will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution, and we will not forget our God," the president said.

In his speech, Trump vowed to end "the vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government."

During his campaign, the president has criticized the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the criminal and civil cases against him and his supporters. He has also criticized the Richmond FBI's proposed spying on traditionalist Catholics and the DOJ prosecutions of pro-life protesters under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

America First agenda

Trump contended that there is a "crisis of trust" in the government due to high rates of illegal immigration, inflation-driven high costs of goods, dissatisfaction with the government response to recent hurricanes and wildfires, and ongoing foreign wars abroad.

However, he told Americans that "from this moment on, America's decline is over."

"Our liberties and our nation's glorious destiny will no longer be denied and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America's government," Trump said.

In one of his first acts, the president said he "will declare a national emergency at our southern border," which will ensure "all illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came." 

Trump promised to send the military to the southern border to repel the "disastrous invasion of our country," said he would reinstate his "Remain in Mexico" policy, end "catch and release," and designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The president said his administration will immediately work to "rapidly bring down costs and prices" and blamed inflation on overspending by the government and energy policies. He said he will declare a national energy emergency to ensure businesses can "drill, baby, drill" and "export American energy all over the world." He vowed to save "our auto industry" by ending environmental regulations that mandate electric vehicle production.

Trump envisioned an American foreign policy that measures success not simply based on winning battles but by the "wars that we end" and the "wars we never get into." He said he intends to be a "peacemaker and a unifier" but also a leader who "expands our territory."

Trump has recently expressed strong interest in making Greenland a part of the United States in addition to sending American astronauts to Mars.

"Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation and right now our nation is more ambitious than any other," Trump said when outlining his vision for the country.

"To every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future: I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you. We're going to win like never before," Trump emphasized.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 20, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

The Sodality of Christian Life confirmed on Monday that Pope Francis has decided to dissolve the society of apostolic life without going into further details about how the process will be carried out.

The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV, by its Latin acronym) issued a statement following the news published on Saturday by Infovaticana, according to which Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda supposedly announced the dissolution to its members gathered for the general assembly that is taking place in Aparecida, Brazil.

The general assembly began on Jan. 6 and will end Jan. 31. Ghirlanda is attending in his capacity as consultant for the process of revising the constitutions of the Sodalitium and is its delegate for formation, a task entrusted to him by the Vatican in 2019.

In its statement on Monday, the SCV said: "On Jan. 18 of this year, the website 'Infovaticana' published the news that the Holy Father had dissolved our society of apostolic life. The main information about what occurred was true, but it contained several inaccuracies."

In its text, the Sodalitium does not indicate what the inaccuracies are but clarifies that the leak to the press of this "confidential" information did not come from Ghirlanda but from two members of the sodality who violated "the confidentiality of the case" and who have been expelled from the assembly.

"The assembly recognizes as its own only the news from its official communications; therefore, the assembly disassociates itself from all other news that has come out or may come out from the press related to the assembly, to the Sodalitium, to the Holy Father, in whom we trust and whom we obey, to Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu Farnós, and to Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ," the SCV stated.

According to Infovaticana, the decree of dissolution "refers to the immorality of the founder, Luis Fernando Figari, as an indication of the nonexistence of a founding charism, and therefore, the lack of ecclesial legitimacy for the permanence of the institution."

Figari was expelled from the SCV by Pope Francis in August 2024. The Holy See had already sanctioned him in 2017 and banned him from having contact with any member of this society after it was proven that he committed sexual abuse and the abuse of power.

According to Infovaticano, the Vatican supposedly appointed Bertomeu, a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, as commissioner responsible for the dissolution process. The Spanish priest was part of the special mission that the pontiff sent to Peru in July 2023 to investigate the accusations against members of the Sodalitium.

The SCV was founded in Lima, Peru, in 1971 and currently is also present in Italy, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador.

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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CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2025 / 11:55 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed two priests from active ministry as it investigates sex abuse allegations leveled against both of them.

The archdiocese announced the development on Saturday, writing to 14 different parishes at which the two priests, Father Matthew Foley and Father Henry Kricek, served over a series of years.

The allegation against Foley involved claims of abuse when he was assigned to St. Agatha Parish (now renamed St. Simon of Cyrene Parish) "approximately 30 years ago," the archdiocese said, while those against Kricek concerned alleged abuse at St. John Bosco Parish "approximately 40 years ago."

Both allegations involved abuse of a minor, the archdiocese said. Both priests have been removed from ministry while the archdiocese investigates the claims.

The archdiocese has reported the allegations to civil authorities and has offered the accusers access to the diocesan victim assistance ministry.

"After the civil authorities have finished their work, the archdiocese will complete its investigation and report the results to our Independent Review Board," the archdiocese told parishioners of the respective priests.

Both priests have "strenuously" denied the allegations against them, the archdiocese said in its letters while noting that "those accused are innocent until proven otherwise."

In November the archdiocese announced that archdiocesan priest Father Martin Marren, who had previously been accused of abuse of a minor, had been restored to ministry after the archdiocesan Independent Review Board "found that there [was] not a reasonable cause" to believe the allegations.

In September the archdiocese removed from ministry Father Martin Nyberg after allegations that he molested a child during a recent penance service that allegedly took place at a youth retreat. Nyberg denied the claims. That investigation is still underway.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 20, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

In tandem with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., is preparing to offer visitors an up-close glimpse of a uniquely personal element used during the presidential swearing-in ceremony.

Museum of the Bible Chief Curatorial Officer Robert Duke told CNA that beginning Tuesday, Trump's personal Bible, which First Lady Melania Trump held while Trump took the oath of office on Monday, will be added to the set of U.S. presidential inauguration Bibles currently on display at the museum.

Given to him in 1955 to mark his Sunday Church Primary School graduation, Trump's personal Bible is a 1953 Revised Standard Version published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in New York, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.

It is embossed with his name on the bottom corner of the front cover and is signed by church officials on the inside alongside an inscription with the details of when it was presented to him.

Trump was also sworn in with the revered Lincoln Bible, which he also used during his 2017 inauguration. The Lincoln Bible is unique in that Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, and Trump are the only presidents to have used it for their swearing-in ceremonies.

"The Bible's played such a pivotal role in the history of presidential inaugurations," Duke said. "So we thought, for this year, it'd be great on our first floor to have a mini exhibit on the inauguration."

In addition to the Trump and Lincoln Bibles, other Bibles featured in the exhibit include the one used by the late President Jimmy Carter. His Bible is opened to Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, / And what does the Lord require of you? / To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God," which he quoted during his 1977 inaugural address.

"We also have on display the Grover Cleveland Bible," Duke pointed out, noting that Cleveland "was the only other president that had four intervening years between their two presidencies."

Meanwhile, newly sworn-in Vice President JD Vance used a family Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother, which had been given to him in 2003 on the day he left home for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in South Carolina, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.

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Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 20, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).

Approximately 3,000 people gathered for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' 11th annual OneLife LA on Saturday. While previously held as a walk through the streets of Los Angeles, the event was moved to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown L.A. due to unhealthy air caused by the region's wildfires and the acute need of police in other parts of the city.

Unlike the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco, which has its exclusive focus on ending abortion, OneLife LA lists a wide range of focus areas: pro-life issues, homelessness, human trafficking, end-of-life care, foster care and adoption, the environment, the disabled, and "racism immigration."

The purpose of this year's event, according to organizers, was to "unite in a sacred space as a family of God in prayer, healing, and hope as the devastating wildfires continue through Southern California."  

Speakers and performances began at 2 p.m followed by a Requiem Mass for the Unborn celebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez.

Two families who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires were featured at the event, joining the procession into the church. The Gonzalez family carried a cross and the Magallon family carried a statue of the Blessed Mother, which survived amid the rubble when their home burned down.

Diana and Rodrigo Gonzalez shared with attendees the story of how they lost their Altadena home they purchased just a year ago. "I was proud of that house," Rodrigo told CNA. "It was on a large lot, a wooded, green area. It had a lot of history: I could show you the place nearby at JPL Laboratories where Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer walked and talked about the atom bomb."

The family celebrated Epiphany on Jan. 7 and a local priest blessed the home. Due to its higher elevation, the property was swept by Santa Ana winds reaching 100 mph and authorities shut off the power in an effort to reduce the likelihood of sparking a fire. The couple fled with some of their belongings.

Rodrigo Gonzalez and his father-in-law made their way back to the Altadena home on the morning of Jan. 8. Rodrigo recalled: "I have never seen anything like it. On multiple streets houses were on fire, downed trees and power lines. There was hardly a fireman around anywhere, but some residents were doing what they could to douse the blazes."

The Gonzalezes tried to save their house — ultimately 20 of 22 homes on their block would burn — but with water pressure near zero and no fire department personnel to be seen, they ultimately had to surrender their home to the flames.

"We are stunned and shocked, but also moved by the generosity of so many who have offered to help. And our faith has played an invaluable role in helping us get through this," they said.

They expressed gratitude to OneLife LA for offering them a venue in which to share their story, noting that before moving to Altadena, the cathedral had been their home parish.

"When the archbishop invited us to offer the gifts at the Requiem Mass, it was like I heard Jesus say, 'I didn't abandon you.' That was a message I needed to hear," Diana Gonzalez said.

Listen to his voice

Gómez, joined by the auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese, welcomed those in attendance in English and Spanish. He observed that while it was difficult "trying to understand God's will," it was still "our challenge to try to listen to his voice."

"God loves us with a love beyond telling," he assured those gathered, and despite the devastation, "in everything God is working for the good of those who love him." The fires are an important reminder, he continued, that "life is fragile … what we can lose, we can lose in a moment." Our goal must be to "support one another, sacrifice for one another, take care of one another."

Among the other speakers was Sister Maria Goretti of the Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ, a religious community headquartered in Brazil. She, along with her other sisters and local volunteers, feeds and offers support to the homeless and immigrants in the Skid Row area of downtown L.A. While sister touched on her work on Skid Row, her central message was one of hope amid the fire devastation.

"The gift of hope gives us encouragement amid the most difficult circumstances," she said.  

Sister Maria Goretti has been a regular OneLife LA participant for years but said this was her first time addressing the group.

"It continually amazes me how many people, particularly young people, turn out in support of life, especially that of the unborn," she said. "These participants are the light of Christ for those who are in darkness, this year especially those who have lost their homes."

Another woman, Desiree Gentile, shared her story at OneLife LA of being abandoned by a 17-year-old mother, placed in foster care, and then adopted by a loving family. She described herself as an "abortion survivor; my mom chose life." That choice, she said, "gave me a chance to fulfill my purpose. There is a reason for me."

With her upbringing Gentile said she developed a strong Catholic faith, saying: "You're not always intended for the family that birthed you. You're intended for God."

Two religious items drew attention during the OneLife LA event. The first was the Magallon family's Marian statue, and the second was a tabernacle from Corpus Christi Parish in Pacific Palisades. Although the entire church was destroyed by fire, the tabernacle remained largely unscathed.  

Also recognized at OneLife LA was Maryvale, a San Gabriel Valley charity that provides child and family services for the underserved of the region and was the recipient of a Dr. Tirsio del Junco 2025 grant.

The 11th OneLife LA can be viewed here.

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Washington D.C., Jan 20, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Sister Mary Antona Ebo was the only Black Catholic nun who marched with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

"I'm here because I'm a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness," Ebo said to fellow demonstrators at a March 10, 1965, protest attended by King.

The protest took place three days after the "Bloody Sunday" clash, where police attacked several hundred voting rights demonstrators with clubs and tear gas, causing severe injuries among the nonviolent marchers. 

Sister Mary Antona Ebo died Nov. 11, 2017, in Bridgeton, Missouri, at the age of 93, the St. Louis Review reported at the time.

After the "Bloody Sunday" attacks, King had called on church leaders from around the country to go to Selma. Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter of St. Louis asked his archdiocese's human rights commission to send representatives, Ebo recounted to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2015.

Ebo's supervisor, also a religious sister, asked her whether she would join a 50-member delegation of laymen, Protestant ministers, rabbis, priests, and five white nuns.

Just before she left for Alabama, she heard that a white minister who had traveled to Selma, James Reeb, had been severely attacked after he left a restaurant and later died from his injuries.

At the time, Ebo said, she wondered: "If they would beat a white minister to death on the streets of Selma, what are they going to do when I show up?"

In Selma on March 10, Ebo went to Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, joining local leaders and the demonstrators who had been injured in the clash.

"They had bandages on their heads, teeth were knocked out, crutches, casts on their arms. You could tell that they were freshly injured," she told the Post-Dispatch. "They had already been through the battleground, and they were still wanting to go back and finish the job."

Many of the injured were treated at Good Samaritan Hospital, run by Edmundite priests and the Sisters of St. Joseph, the only Selma hospital that served Blacks. Since their arrival in 1937, the Edmundites had faced intimidation and threats from local officials, other whites, and even the Ku Klux Klan, CNN reported.

The injured demonstrators and their supporters left the Selma church, with Ebo in front. They marched toward the courthouse, then were blocked by state troopers in riot gear. She and other demonstrators knelt to pray the Our Father before they agreed to turn around.

Despite the violent interruption, the 57-mile march drew 25,000 participants. It concluded on the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery with King's famous March 25 speech against racial prejudice.

"How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," King said.

King would be dead within three years. On a fateful April 4, 1968, he was shot by an assassin at a Memphis hotel.

He had asked to be taken to a Catholic hospital should anything happen to him, and he was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Memphis. At the time, it was a nursing school combined with a 400-bed hospital.

There, too, Catholic religious sisters played a role.

Sister Jane Marie Klein and Sister Anna Marie Hofmeyer recounted their story to The Paper of Montgomery County Online in January 2017.

The Franciscan nuns were walking around the hospital grounds when they heard the sirens of an ambulance. One of the sisters was paged three times, and they discovered that King had been shot and taken to their hospital.

The National Guard and local police locked down the hospital for security reasons as doctors tried to save King.

"We were obviously not allowed to go in when they were working with him because they were feverishly working with him," Klein said. "But after they pronounced him dead we did go back into the ER. There was a gentleman as big as the door guarding the door and he looked at us and said, 'You want in?' We said yes, we'd like to go pray with him. So he let the three of us in, closed the door behind us, and gave us our time."

Hofmeyer recounted the scene in the hospital room. "He had no chance," she said.

Klein said authorities delayed the announcement of King's death to prepare for riots they knew would result.

Three decades later, Klein met with King's widow, Coretta Scott King, at a meeting of the Catholic Health Association Board in Atlanta where King was a keynote speaker. The Franciscan sister and the widow of the civil rights leader told each other how they had spent that night.

Klein said being present that night in 1968 was "indescribable."

"You do what you got to do," she said. "What's the right thing to do? Hindsight? It was a privilege to be able to take care of him that night and to pray with him. Who would have ever thought that we would be that privileged?"

She said King's life shows "to some extent one person can make a difference." She wondered "how anybody could listen to Dr. King and not be moved to work toward breaking down these barriers."

Klein would serve as chairperson of the Franciscan Alliance Board of Trustees, overseeing support for health care. Hofmeyer would work in the alliance's archives. In 2021, both were living at the Provinciate at St. Francis Convent in Mishawaka, Indiana.

For her part, after Selma, Ebo would go on to serve as a hospital administrator and a chaplain.

In 1968 she helped found the National Black Sisters' Conference. The woman who had been rejected from several Catholic nursing schools because of her race would serve in her congregation's leadership as it reunited with another Franciscan order, and she served as a director of social concerns for the Missouri Catholic Conference.

She frequently spoke on civil rights topics. When controversy erupted over a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer's killing of Michael Brown, a Black man, she led a prayer vigil. She thought the Ferguson protests were comparable to those of Selma.

"I mean, after all, if Mike Brown really did swipe the box of cigars, it's not the policeman's place to shoot him dead," she said.

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis presided at her requiem Mass in November 2021, saying in a statement: "We will miss her living example of working for justice in the context of our Catholic faith."

A previous version of this article was originally published on CNA on Jan. 17, 2022.

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CNA Newsroom, Jan 20, 2025 / 06:29 am (CNA).

Pope Francis sent a message to Donald Trump on the occasion of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, offering prayers for "wisdom, strength and protection" in the exercise of his duties and invoking blessings upon the "beloved American people".

In the message, released by the Holy See Press Office on Jan. 20, the pontiff expressed hope that under Trump's leadership, the American people would "prosper and always strive to build a more just society."

"Inspired by your nation's ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion," Francis wrote.

The pope acknowledged the "numerous challenges" facing the human family, including "the scourge of war," and asked God to guide Trump's efforts in "promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples."

The message concluded with the Holy Father invoking "an abundance of divine blessings" upon President Trump, his family, and "the beloved American people."

One day earlier — on Sunday — Pope Francis criticized potential plans for mass deportations in the United States during a wide-ranging Italian television interview.

"If this is true it is a disgrace because it makes the poor unfortunate who have nothing pay the price of imbalance. This is not how things are solved," the pope said on Italian broadcaster Nove's "Che tempo che fa" program on Jan. 19, speaking about plans to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

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Vatican City, Jan 19, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday thanked the mediators who brokered the latest ceasefire deal in Gaza, which came into effect on Jan. 19. 

After praying the Angelus with thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father said the ceasefire is an "important result" for the city, which has endured more than one year of fighting since Israel declared war on Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. 

"In recent days it was announced that the ceasefire in Gaza will come into effect today. I express my gratitude to all the mediators. It is a good job to mediate so that peace is made. Thank you to the mediators!" the pope exclaimed on Sunday.

"I hope that what has been agreed will be respected immediately by the parties," he added.

During his Angelus address, the Holy Father also expressed his hope that all hostages "may finally return home and embrace their loved ones" and for the opening of humanitarian corridors into Gaza.    

"I pray a lot for them and for their families," he told his listeners on Sunday. "I also hope that humanitarian aid will reach the people of Gaza, who so urgently need it, even faster and in large quantities."

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Francis has consistently called for the release of all Israeli and Palestinian hostages and urged leaders to advance "dialogue, reconciliation, and peace."  

"Both the Israelis and the Palestinians need clear signs of hope: I trust that the political authorities of both of them, with the help of the international community, may reach the right solution for the two states," he said. 

In addition to those suffering in Palestine and Israel because of war, the Holy Father also reminded people to "pray always" for those in Ukraine, Myanmar, and other countries ravaged by conflict and violence. 

Speaking on the significance of the Jubilee Year of Hope and the recent release of more than 550 Cuban prisoners, the Holy Father also reiterated the need for "gestures of great hope" to extend to those in jail.

"I hope that in the coming months, we will continue to undertake initiatives of this type, which instill confidence in the journey of people and populations," he said on Sunday.

To mark the octave of Christian unity — which began on Jan. 18 and concludes on the Jan. 25 feast of the conversion of St. Paul — the Holy Father prayed: "Let us not cease to invoke from God the precious gift of full communion between all the Lord's disciples."

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CNA Newsroom, Jan 19, 2025 / 22:26 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis criticized potential plans for mass deportations in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump during a wide-ranging Italian television interview on Sunday.

"If this is true it is a disgrace because it makes the poor unfortunate who have nothing pay the price of imbalance. This is not how things are solved," the pope said on Italian broadcaster Nove's "Che tempo che fa" program on Jan. 19, speaking about plans to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.  

The U.S. bishops said in November they would speak out forcefully if President Trump does advance the proposal in a way that undermines human dignity. 

There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to July 2023 statistics from the Center for Migration Studies.

Pope announces female president for Vatican City

Francis also announced that Sister Raffaella Petrini will become the first female president of the Vatican City State governorate this March, elevating her from her current position as Secretary General.

"The work of women in the Curia has progressed slowly but effectively. Now, we have many," Pope Francis said during the televised conversation.

The appointment of Sister Petrini will take effect following the retirement of Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga from his current position as President of the Governorate.

"Women manage better than we do," he asserted, reported ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian language partner agency.

The appointment follows that of Sister Simona Brambilla as Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life.

Call for peace and Jubilee hope

The Holy Father also addressed ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel during the interview. "War is always a defeat," the pontiff proclaimed, emphasizing the vital importance of negotiations and peace-building efforts.

Reflecting on the current Jubilee Year, Pope Francis stressed that pilgrimages to Rome's Holy Door must be undertaken with genuine religious intent: "If you come to Rome and visit the Holy Door as a tourist, without a religious purpose, it serves no purpose."

The interview marked the pope's third appearance on the program.

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