Mois : mars 2025

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Pope Francis appears in public, returns to Vatican after long hospitalization

 Pope Francis began with a thumbs up and concluded with the sign of the cross to mark his first public appearance after a 38-day hospitalization where he twice nearly died, before returning home to the Vatican to continue his recovery from double pneumonia.  

« I see a lady with yellow flowers, » the pope said from a balcony of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. « Brava. »

Those were the only words uttered by the 88-year-old pontiff who was evidently still struggling to speak as he battles an ongoing respiratory infection. But the words were more than many — including prominent churchmen — expected to ever hear from him after the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy led some to predict he would not make it out alive. 

Yet defying many odds, at 12:01 p.m. local time on Sunday (March 23), Francis was wheeled out on the fifth floor hospital balcony, where he was met with shouts of « Viva il papa! » and « Papa Francesco » from hundreds of well-wishers who had gathered to see him.  

The mix of Romans — including the city’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri — and pilgrims from around the world cheering on the still ailing pontiff was a dramatic change from several weeks ago where tears were shed, candles were being lit and prayers were being offered around the clock by those holding vigil at the hospital and fearing the worst.

It was only one week ago, on March 15, when the Vatican released the first image of the pontiff from his hospitalization. In the photo — taken from the side — Francis is seated in a wheelchair, praying in the private chapel of his hospital suite after he concelebrated Mass. 

And in the few minutes that he appeared on the balcony, the pope’s signature smile was finally visible, but so too were expressions of pain and shortness of breath.

Francis — who is accustomed to a full public schedule and thrives off the energy he receives from being among people — has been ordered by his doctors to avoid large crowds or other settings that could jeopardize his recovery.

At a March 23 press conference announcing his imminent discharge, the pontiff’s doctors said the pope’s weak voice was normal for an individual of his age who had undergone such an intensive respiratory crisis and that in time he should be able to fully heal.

At Casa Santa Marta, the pope’s Vatican residence, Francis will continue to receive supplemental oxygen and physiotherapy.

Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, has declined to confirm any upcoming events, including a scheduled April 8 audience with King Charles III or in the Vatican’s Holy Week and Easter liturgies.

Even so, the pope’s doctors have said it could be possible for the pope to recover in time to travel to Turkey at the end of May to participate in a major ecumenical gathering to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.

Soon after the pope imparted his blessing to the crowd, he boarded the front passenger seat of a white Fiat to head back to the Vatican, where doctors said he has been eager to return for several days. Prior to returning to the Vatican, the pontiff made a brief pit stop at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major where he has often visited to pray after foreign trips and other hospitalizations. While he did not go inside, the pope met Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, the basilica’s archpriest, and gave him with flowers to place at the altar of Francis’ favorite Marian icon.

Among those in the hospital crowd closest to the balcony was Sr. Geneviève Jeanningros, a nun who is a close friend of Francis and who has regularly brought transgender sex workers and circus performers to his Wednesday public audiences. Jeanningros, a member of the Little Sisters of Jesus, waved vigorously to the pope, who crossed her gaze and responded with a wave of his hand and a smile.

« I can’t see well with my own eyes, but I think he noticed I was there and waved, » she told the National Catholic Reporter a few minutes after receiving the pope’s blessing. « I have prayed a lot this month. I have lived with the hope that he would recover because we still need it so much, and I love him. I hope to see him again in person, but the important thing is that he is well. »

Among the other members of the crowd were Tessy and her husband, Kuriappan, originally from India but now living in Portland, Oregon. They had planned to attend a papal audience at the Vatican during their stay in Rome for the Jubilee, only to learn later that the pope had been admitted to the hospital.

« We took a taxi from our hotel, just for this, » Tessy said, her voice filled with emotion. « We were disappointed we couldn’t see him at his audience there. So we are blessed that we could see him here in recovery. »

Her husband, Kuriappan, confessed to feeling overwhelmed at the pope’s health struggles. « We have been praying. He is such a holy man, a symbol … sorry, I can’t talk, » he said, covering his face and breaking down in tears. « I was so sad. »

A few feet away, Vitor, a pilgrimage organizer, stood with a group of travelers from Madison, Wisconsin, and Houston, Texas. His group had left Assisi early in the morning specifically to be at Gemelli Hospital in time for the pope’s appearance.

« We were hoping to see the Holy Father at the audience in the Vatican, » Vitor said, « but when he was hospitalized, our plans changed. »

Teresa, from Madison, wore a look of joyful disbelief. « I’m amazed we’re here. It’s quite a blessing to be here on the day he’s going to be released. We didn’t think we would see him. We thought there’d be a funeral, » she admitted, her voice trembling with relief. « So this is really God’s blessing to us. »

Natalie, from Houston, echoed that sense of gratitude. « We prayed a rosary this morning on the way from Assisi to here, » she said. « We were thanking God for this blessing, that the pope is well enough to leave the hospital today. We’re all flying back to the U.S. on March 26, so it’s an incredible gift to witness this before we go home. »

Antonietta, a local Roman resident, arrived with a serene smile and a simple prayer book in hand. 

« My most beautiful memory of him was during COVID, when he crossed St. Peter’s Square alone, » she recalled. « We all felt him close to us during that period of immense loneliness, and now we must be the ones to walk hand in hand in prayer with him in this difficult moment. »

The Vatican also released on Sunday the prepared text of the pontiff’s Angelus address. 

« In this long time of hospitalization, I have experienced the Lord’s patience, » he wrote. « This trusting patience, anchored in God’s love that does not fail, is indeed necessary to our lives, especially in facing the most difficult and painful situations. »

The pope went on to express his sadness over Israel’s resumed airstrikes on Gaza, which have killed some 600 people during the last week. 

« I call for an immediate hush of weapons; and the courage to resume dialogue, » wrote the pope. 

As the pope’s vehicle left the hospital compound, 72-year-old Carmela Mancuso, who was singled out and received the unexpected greeting from the pope, was still absorbing the moment. 

She told Vatican News that she had come to the hospital nearly every day while the pope was being treated to bring fresh flowers. 

« I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think I was so ‘seen,’  » she said. « I hope the Holy Father returns among us as before. »

The National Catholic Reporter’s Rome Bureau is made possible in part by the generosity of Joan and Bob McGrath. 

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer

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A weak Pope Francis is wielding power and rewriting narrative of how popes exercise authority

During his first foreign trip in 2013, Pope Francis made headlines when he carried his own black leather briefcase as he boarded the Alitalia charter bound for Brazil, since popes never carry bags and until the 1970s were themselves carried on thrones.

Asked what was in the bag, Francis joked that it wasn’t the nuclear codes. But he seemed baffled that something as normal as an airplane passenger carrying a briefcase could create such a fuss.

« I have always taken a bag with me when traveling — it’s normal, » he told his first news conference as pope. « We must get used to being normal. The normality of life. »

Over 12 years, Francis has sought to impose a kind of normality on the papacy with his informal style and disdain for pomp, while ensuring that he still wields the awesome power held by Christ’s vicar on Earth and Europe’s last absolute monarch.

The way Francis has managed his five-week hospitalization for pneumonia has followed that same playbook, and on March 22 allowed his doctors to announce the very normal news that the 88-year-old pope would be released the following day.

At a news conference, doctors said Francis would need two months of rest and convalescence at the Vatican, but that he eventually could resume all his normal activity running the 1.3.-billion strong Catholic Church.

Francis has stayed in control, remotely

But he had never stopped. Between respiratory crises, prayer and physiotherapy, Francis appointed over a dozen bishops, approved a handful of new saints, authorized a three-year extension of his signature reform process and sent off messages public and private. Vatican cardinals stood in for him at events requiring his presence.

That’s not as easy a balancing act as it sounds, since there are few positions of power that are both as absolute as the papacy and, during times of illness, as seemingly fragile: According to the church’s canon law, the pope possesses « supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the church. » He answers to no one but God, and there is no appeal of his decisions.

And while popes aren’t subject to re-election campaigns or no-confidence votes, they essentially owe their jobs to the 120 men who elected them. While those same cardinals swear obedience to the pope, they will also eventually choose his successor from within their own ranks. It’s no surprise then that talk of conclaves, papal contenders and challenges facing a future pope has been a constant buzz in Rome ever since Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital Feb. 14.

Francis is well aware that anytime he gets sick, plotting intensifies for the election of the next pope, contributing to a certain lame duck status as he ages. « Some wanted me dead, » he said after his 2021 hospitalization, when he learned that secret meetings had already been held to plan the conclave. He knows as well that even before his current hospitalization, an anonymous cardinal had circulated a seven-point memo listing priorities for the next pope to correct the « confusion, division and conflict » sowed by Francis.

But he’s not shy about showing weakness

And yet Francis has never been shy about showing his weaknesses, age or infirmities in ways that seem unthinkable for public figures for whom any sign of fragility can threaten their authority and undermine their agenda.

Additionally, within months of being elected, Francis reached out to an Argentine doctor and journalist, Dr. Nelson Castro, and suggested he write a book about the health of popes, himself included.

« My hypothesis is that he wanted first of all to show himself as a human being, » Castro said in an interview. « We tend to see popes like saints, but the way he talked about his diseases showed me, ‘I’m like you and me, being exposed to diseases.' »

Francis had read and appreciated Castro’s earlier book, The Sickness of Power, about the ailments that have afflicted Argentina’s leaders and how power itself had afflicted them. He invited Castro to research and write about past popes and his own case in a similar, not-terribly-flattering light.

The Health of Popes was published in 2021. Castro said what struck him most was that Francis disclosed not only his physical ailments, but his mental health challenges, too. Francis revealed that he had gone to a psychiatrist when he was the Jesuit provincial during Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s to help him cope with fear and anxiety.

« Pope Francis is a man of power, » Castro said. « Only a man of power, feeling quite sure of himself, would dare to talk about his diseases so openly. »

The balance of strength in weakness is very Jesuit

For Jesuit Fr. John Cecero,  provincial for the northeast United States 2014-2020, Francis’ willingness to show his weaknesses while exercising supreme authority is consistent with his Jesuit training and the biblical teaching of St. Paul that « when I am weak, then I am strong. »

« A chief virtue on the part of everyone in the practice of Jesuit authority is humility, » Cecero said in an interview. « On the part of the individual Jesuit (that means) thinking beyond my own self-interest to the common good. »

« I know it’s something that drives Francis: that you have that same humility, » he said.

And yet Francis’ critics often complain that he’s authoritarian, that he makes decisions in a vacuum and without regard to the law, and wields power like a Dictator Pope, the title of a book written by a traditionalist critic early in Francis’ papacy.

Many recite the joke about the way Jesuit superiors exercise power, which is supposed to be a process of joint discernment between the superior and the underling but, the joke goes, can be anything but: « I discern, you discern, we discern … I decide. »

Those same conservative critics, of course, have been keenly watching Francis’ hospitalization and wondering if the end of his papacy is near.

Even if he is absent, and even if he has to cut back his public activities going forward, Francis is very much still in power and leading the church, said Kurt Martens, a canon lawyer at Catholic University of America.

« We’re used to seeing a pope who is everywhere all the time, » he said. « But don’t forget that in the past, not that long ago, popes would show up only rarely. »

He may be absent, but he’s still in control

Francis’ disappearance from public view has led some to doubt the authenticity of the first, and so far only photograph of Francis released by the Vatican since his hospitalization. It was shot from behind and showed Francis at prayer in his private hospital chapel, his face hidden.

Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, said the photo was not only real but showed Francis controlling the image that he wants the faithful to have of the papacy and illness. Francis wants viewers to focus not on the spectacle of a sick pope, but on what should actually matter more to a Catholic.

« If we cannot see his face … what we must look at is precisely what he himself is facing: the altar and the crucifix, » Avvenire wrote.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer

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Your letters: Barron and Byrne

Following are NCR reader responses to recent news articles, opinion columns and theological essays with letters that have been edited for length and clarity.

Byrne’s defense

Despite its flaws, Bishop Byrne’s defense of Bishop Barron is better than a cease-and desist letter. Byrne notes Archbishop Broglio’s terse acknowledgement of Pope Francis’ Feb. 11 letter to the American bishops. But he overlooks the fact that the otherwise voluble Barron has not commented on the papal letter but that his Word on Fire website posted an article that same day, « First, Love Locally, » which explicitly contradicts the Pope’s message. 

Barron’s « liturgy of democracy » compares Trump’s address to the mass. Byrne’s rejoinder isn’t about checking facts, it’s about supporting an understanding of Catholicism that privileges authority for the sake of authority, is infatuated with ritual reminiscent of the cult of the emperor, and neglects the content of the gospel.

Like Barron, Byrne claims he is above politics.  He probably thinks Leonard Leo’s « National Catholic Prayer Breakfast »– at which both he and Barron have appeared as featured speakers – is non-partisan. (In his 2024 keynoter, Byrne entertained the NCPB crowd by belittling Dr. Anthony Fauci.) It would be interesting to get his take on his sister Deirdre’s speech (while garbed in her habit) at the 2020 RNC. It’s a tragedy that in a time of crisis for our country and our Church, so many of our bishops aren’t up to the job.

HENRY KELLEY
Arlington, Virginia

***

Barron’s tacit support

I have long enjoyed Bishop Barron’s apologetical work, and as a teacher myself, I find his speaking style dynamic and engaging. Also, I have no objection to his animadversions regarding the conduct of democrats he regards as lacking sufficient decorum. His analogizing of the solemnity of a presidential speech to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is interesting and apt; however, his finger wagging « naughty naughty » precluded any admonition of Mr. Trump whose tone, manner, style, and substance were intentionally offensive, insulting, and unbecoming of the occasion. I saw nothing in Barron’s remarks that would give me assurance of non-partisanship, and his acceptance of an invitation from an ideologically ensconced MAGA congressman was hardly a matter of chance. I would never call Barron a theocratic bully as I would pseudo-martyrs Strickland and Burke. Rather, Barron seems adroit at tacit displays of contempt for democrats and equally tacit displays of approbation for Trump. I have yet to read of any bishop or priest excoriating the President for his cruel and vindictive style, for his denigration of immigrants, for his clear exploitation of religious groups and ministers as moral cover for his life littered with sin. Oh, wait, I take that back. One bishop — the Bishop of Rome — had the moral courage to renounce Trumpistic theology. 

DAVID DUFRANE
Brushton, New York

***

Barron’s faustian gamble

Reading John Grosso’s coverage of Bishop Barron’s reflection on Trump’s congressional address confirmed what I have come to suspect for some time: Barron is first of all a member of the Republican party and that is more basic to his world view than even the gospel (NCR, March 2, 2025). His evident bias for all things Republican as an ingrained, primary orientation, colors even his interpretation of the gospel. One who sees with the eyes of the gospel would stand independent of politics seeing the good and the failure on both sides of the political debate. 

He feels so secure now in his media success that he can boldly advocate for republican positions and disparage democrats. This is unworthy of a clergy person. I would not want to be this man when he is going through the process of death and having to peel away what truly motivated him. When we align the gospel with a particular political perspective we betray it. He seems to have acquired a sense of personal infallibility with the success of Word on Fire. That is a dangerous place to be.

TERESITA SCULLY
Albaquerque, New Mexico 

***

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Flannery O’Connor’s 100th birthday parties celebrate author’s quirks, talents — and love of birds

Long before Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor raised her famous peacocks as an adult in rural Georgia, she kept canaries and chickens at 207 E. Charlton St., her childhood home in Savannah.

She made the chickens’ outfits — complete with underwear — with one donning a « white piqué coat with a lace collar and two buttons, » she would later recall. She would walk the leashed chickens around town, and as a 6-year-old taught a Bantam hen to strut backward, drawing the attention of a photojournalist who filmed her for a newsreel.

The small Greek Revival row house where she lived with her parents from her birth on March 25, 1925, until age 13 was a place where her imagination was fostered and eccentricities encouraged. A century later, it is a museum dedicated to her literary genius and fascinating personality, with big plans to mark the 100th anniversary of O’Connor’s birth.

From March 21-23, the museum is celebrating her centennial with socials, specialty tours, author talks and a live band, culminating in an annual birthday party event — with cake — that will also include vendors, games and an O’Connor look-alike contest.

« It’s totally wacky, and it really brings Flannery’s sort-of eccentric and quirky side to the forefront, » said Janie Bragg, executive director of the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Museum, of the annual birthday bash.

The O’Connor family lived in the home, owned by a wealthy relative, during the Great Depression, later moving to Atlanta in 1938 and then the following year to Andalusia, a farm on the outskirts of Milledgeville, Georgia, about 165 miles northwest of Savannah. When her health declined, it was to Andalusia that 25-year-old Flannery returned — after spending time at the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop and then in Upstate New York — and from where she wrote most of the 31 « Southern Gothic » short stories and two novels for which she is known.

But, her interest in writing was evident even as a child in Savannah. Then known by her first name, Mary, 7-year-old O’Connor wrote a book about her family members and illustrated them as birds. While the approach appalled some relatives, her father celebrated the creative effort, printing copies for distribution.

« We know that she was doted on by her parents, especially her father, (and) encouraged very much to be herself — and to be her unique, eccentric, creative self at that, » Bragg told OSV News.

As an adult, O’Connor would describe her younger self — with a somewhat less endearing tone — as a « pigeon-toed child with a receding chin and a you-leave-me-alone-or-I’ll-bite-you complex. »

After being converted into an apartment in the 1960s, her childhood home was purchased in 1989 by local English professors who founded the museum and its supporting foundation. For nearly two decades, they worked to restore the house to the years the O’Connors inhabited it. Today it includes some of the family’s furnishings as well as personal items that reflect their lives, including their Catholic faith.

Among those items is Flannery’s baptismal certificate showing she was baptized at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, directly across the oak-filled square from her home. Her crib in her parents’ second-floor bedroom sits under a window that frames a view of the cathedral’s spires rising over twisting tree branches.

« They had no excuse not to go to Mass every day, and they sure did, » Bragg said of the O’Connors. Flannery, she added, « literally, metaphorically, was raised under the shadow of the Catholic Church, and it infused who she was for the rest of her life. So it’s a huge part of being in the house physically and thinking about the way that she was raised. »

Most of the museum’s visitors are English majors, English teachers and devout Catholics, Bragg said. Visitors may be familiar with the faith-rooted themes that pervade O’Connor’s work, but as a writer, « she really requires a lot of work on behalf of her readers, » Bragg said.

« I don’t think you can be a passive reader when you’re reading Flannery O’Connor, » she said. « She really requires us to do some critical thinking, some self reflection. And so I think when you read Flannery, you have to take your time with it. … You really have to go back and read it again to really get a better understanding of what she’s trying to do through her stories. »

Sixty-one years after O’Connor’s death at age 39 from lupus, the author continues to captivate. Her life and stories were the subject of the 2021 PBS documentary « Flannery » and the 2023 film « Wildcat » starring Maya Hawke, and in 2024, O’Connor scholar Jessica Hooten Wilson published the unfinished manuscript of O’Connor’s third novel under the working title « Why Do the Heathen Rage? »

In addition to the celebration in Savannah, Andalusia is marking O’Connor’s centenary March 25 with free tours, cake and talks from artists, including the team behind the children’s book « Strange Birds of Flannery O’Connor, » published in 2020. Andalusia will also host a larger birthday celebration March 29 with a music festival featuring O’Connor-inspired folk music.

« A big reason why she (O’Connor) continues to pop up and we continue to hear more about her is because there’s been more published, » Bragg said, noting that a collection of O’Connor’s letters to her mother, Regina, were published in 2022; her prayer journal was published in 2013; and a collection of O’Connor’s cartoons were published in 2012.

« We keep getting more of her writing, and particularly her nonfiction writing, » Bragg said. « We’re getting to know more about her as a person. And she was such a fascinating person. »

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer

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Pope Francis no longer relies on ventilation to aid breathing

Pope Francis is no longer relying on overnight mechanical ventilation to help him breathe and his condition continues to improve, the Vatican said on March 19. 

A Vatican statement released at 6:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday (March 19) also said that « progress in motor and respiratory physiotherapy continues. » The pope’s blood tests also continue to remain stable and he is without fever, the Vatican said. 

This evening’s update is the first medical report issued by the pope’s medical team since March 15, when they noted that doctors had begun progressively reducing his mechanical oxygen supply during the night. 

On March 16, the Vatican released the first photo of Francis since his hospitalization began on Feb. 14. In the photo, the pontiff sits in a wheelchair in front of the altar in the private chapel of his hospital suite. Francis also appears in the image without nasal tubes. The Vatican later confirmed that doctors are also weaning the pontiff off high-flow oxygen during the day, which the Vatican reiterated in its March 19 Vatican update. 

With the pope in his fifth week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican has refused to speculate about a timeline for his release. On March 18, Buckingham Palace announced that Britain’s King Charles III will be in Italy for a state visit in early April and that a meeting is scheduled with the pontiff. That is leading many in Rome to believe the pope intends to be back at work in the Vatican by then. With Holy Week on the horizon in mid-April — the busiest season on the liturgical calendar — it’s uncertain if the pope will be able to participate in the celebrations. 

Despite a workload limited to light physical activities, the pope continues to write letters. 

On March 18, the Italian daily paper Corriere della Serra published a letter from Francis where he said his hospitalization has heightened his awareness to the « absurdity of war. » 

« Human fragility has the power to make us more lucid about what endures and what passes, what brings life and what kills, » Francis wrote. 

At a March 19 Vatican Mass on the feast of St. Joseph — Father’s Day in Italy — Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle prayed for the continued recovery of Francis, whose inauguration Mass was 12 years ago today. 

Meanwhile, inside the Roman hospital where Francis has now spent 34 days, the pontiff concelebrated Mass for the solemnity earlier today. 

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America ‘silencing its own voice’ with Voice of America shutdown, archbishop says

Journalists dismissed by the Trump administration’s gutting of the federally funded Voice of America broadcaster « will not be silenced, » said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

« We are ashamed that America is silencing its own voice, » he added.

The archbishop posted a March 16 statement to his Facebook page, after the administration placed almost all 1,300 of Voice of America’s staffers on leave that same day — part of a wider move to slash the funding and functions of federally operated, pro-democracy media outlets.

Two journalists from Voice of America’s Ukrainian service, Ostap Yarysh and Oleksii Kovalenko, are graduates of Ukrainian Catholic University’s journalism school, said Gudziak.

Yarysh and Kovalenko « received their termination letters during the vespers service » while visiting the university’s newly inaugurated St. Gabriel Institute in Washington, said the archbishop.

Those present « embraced our brothers and prayed for all journalists who witness to the truth, » Gudziak said.

Specifically, the Trump administration cuts targeted the congressionally supported U.S. Agency for Global Media, which in addition to Voice of America funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

The White House said the move would « ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda. »

Launched in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda, Voice of America, or VOA, eventually expanded to provide service in close to 50 languages. The multimedia broadcaster reached a weekly global audience of more than 354 million people with news, information and cultural programming.

In its first broadcast from New York to Germany — 79 days into the U.S.’s entrance into World War II — Voice of America announced that « the news may be good or bad. We shall tell you the truth. »

Gudziak noted that « for decades repressed peoples could count on the VOA to provide accurate information about American and world affairs. Information to them denied, information forbidden. »

Voice of America journalists have often paid a heavy price for their efforts, he said, noting that « several Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist have already been imprisoned: Vladyslav Yesypenko — in Russia; Farid Mehralizada — in Azerbaijan; Ihar Losik — serving 15 years in Belarus. »

Losik has been « detained incommunicado, » said the archbishop.

He also said that « some of the international journalists working for VOA have visas based on the contracts that have now been voided. Some of them will have 30 days to leave the country. »

These include Voice of America journalists from « China, Pakistan and other authoritarian countries, » who are facing « criminal charges » from their « respective regimes … precisely for working with the VOA to tell the truth, » said Gudziak.

Now, he said, « What the Soviet Union could not achieve, what the Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and other authoritarian regimes could only dream about has been accomplished by the American presidential administration: the silencing of America’s 83-year-old service of media support for democracy, international law and justice and the defense of human rights. »

He thanked « all those who have worked at VOA until today and over the last 83 years bringing truth and hope to hundreds of millions of persecuted people, to entire captive nations. »

« Such setbacks will not be permanent, » said Gudziak. « Do not lose faith. Be inspired by Ukrainians who sacrifice their lives and livelihoods for freedom and justice. Do not fear! God’s truth will prevail! Ostap, Oleksii and the former VOA journalists will not be silenced. Neither should … you or I! »

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer

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Catholic groups help thousands of migrants returning to South America

A few months ago Albeny Gutierrez crossed the Darién Gap on his way to the United States, where he planned to ask for asylum and start a new life.

Now the bus driver from Venezuela is once again faced with the prospect of crossing the dangerous rainforest, where many migrants have been assaulted by thieves, as he heads back toward South America.

Thousands of migrants are heading back to South America after new U.S. immigration policies, including the cancellation of the CBP One program, have made it harder for them to seek asylum in the U.S.

« (President Donald) Trump made things harder for us, » Gutierrez said as he arrived in Paso Canoas, a small town on the border between Costa Rica and Panama. « There is no hope of getting into the U.S. anymore. »

Many of those coming back are Venezuelans who had spent months in Mexico trying to get appointments to enter the U.S. legally and seek asylum there, through a smartphone application called CBP One.

The Trump administration canceled the CBP One program the day he came into office, triggering a phenomenon that officials in Central America describe as « reverse migration. »

« There’s no point for us to stay in Mexico waiting for an appointment that will never come, » said Rosangela Ramos, a Venezuelan migrant who was also in Costa Rica, trying to gather some money to return home.

« We had no money to pay for smugglers and it was dangerous » to enter the U.S illegally, Ramos added. « So we preferred to return to our country. »

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 2,200 migrants left Mexico in the month following Trump’s inauguration, and transited through checkpoints in Guatemala, as they headed south. Fifty-four percent were Venezuelans.

In Costa Rica and Panama, Catholic groups are trying to help migrants who are making their way back to South America by providing them with food, medicine and orientation.

Catholic organizations have also asked governments in Central America to facilitate the transit of south-bound migrants and help those who want to seek asylum.

« We are worried that restrictions on the movements of migrants will increase, » said Roy Arias, an official with El Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes en Centroamérica (Jesuit Migrant Service) who runs Casa Arrupe, a support center for migrants in Paso Canoas.

« Many people could be trapped in border towns, and they have very limited resources to support themselves, » he told OSV News.

Migrants who are leaving Mexico must cross five countries in Central America, as they make their way back to South America.

Most of these countries allow them to take public transport. But that’s not the case in Panama.

Instead, Panama’s government is requiring that migrants board special buses at a shelter in Costa Rica that take them straight to Lajas Blancas, an isolated camp that is located at the edge of the Darién jungle in eastern Panama.

At the camp, migrants can pay around $250 for boats that will take them toward Colombia, as there are no roads that link both countries.

In Colombia, immigration authorities say that up to 250 migrants have been arriving each day on boats coming from Panama, though the number of people arriving each day varies.

Arias said that Panama’s policy seeks to steer migrants away from cities, where they might try to stay and look for work.

But he said that for many people, including families who are travelling with children, the boat fees are unaffordable.

« Taking migrants back to the edge of the Darién jungle is cruel, » Arias said. « And the risk is that many people who have no money will try to cross the jungle on foot again. »

Migrants who do not want to be taken to the Lajas Blancas camp have also attempted to cross Panama on their own. But they risk detention at checkpoints set up by police along Panama’s roads.

Victor Pacheco, a construction worker from Venezuela, said he had been stopped twice in Panama, as he tried to return to Venezuela. He was sent back to Costa Rica both times.

Pacheco said he was threatened with imprisonment if he tried to enter Panama on his own again. So he said that his only option now is to save some money and take the bus organized by Panama’s government that drops migrants near the Darién jungle.

« I’m going to have to work (at a farm) in Costa Rica to save up for my journey, » Pacheco told OSV News. « And if I don’t have enough cash then I will have to walk across the Darién jungle again. »

Arias, from the Jesuit Migrant Service, estimates that somewhere between 50 to 70 people are arriving each day in Paso Canoas, as they head towards South America.

A group of nuns in the small town serves free meals every day to migrants at the local church, and also helps them with medicine and clothes.

Sr. Claudia Cuadras, from the Congregation of St. Teresa of Jesus, said that the nuns are serving 40 to 50 meals per day, with the help of a parish on the Panamanian side of the border.

« Many people are staying here while they gather enough money to continue, » Sr. Claudia said.

She added that the sisters are also trying to provide psychological and spiritual support.

« When people were going north they were shaken by the experiences they had encountered while crossing the Darién jungle, » she said.

« Now that they are coming back, some are feeling a sense of frustration. They have not realized their goal, and they are now faced with the challenge of rebuilding their lives. »

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer

Catégories
Catholisisme

A New Exodus

(Second Sunday of Lent-Year C; This homily was given on March 16, 2025 at Saint Augustine Church in Providence, Rhode Island; See Genesis 15:5-18 and Luke 9:28-36)  

Seeking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary through prayer

Catégories
Vie de l'église

Pope Francis’ health continues to improve, Vatican says

ROME —  Pope Francis continues to improve and doctors are decreasing his mechanical oxygen supply during the night, the Vatican said on March 15. 

« The clinical conditions of the Holy Father remained stable, confirming the progress highlighted in the last week, » said a Vatican statement released at 6:55 p.m. local time on Saturday (March 15).

The bulletin said that while Francis continues to receive high-flow oxygen therapy through nasal tubes during the day, he is being weaned off the mechanical ventilation he has used at night for nearly two weeks. 

The report is the latest briefing from the pope’s medical team since their March 12 update that Francis’ most recent chest X-rays confirmed that he is continuing to heal from double pneumonia. 

Although the pope’s doctors announced earlier this week that the pontiff is no longer in imminent danger, he still has pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, resulting in what doctors call a « complex » medical picture.  

The pope is in his fifth week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, and the Vatican has refused to speculate about a timeline for his release. 

Francis continues both respiratory and physical therapy, and tonight’s medical bulletin noted that « these therapies, at present, are showing further, gradual improvements. »

At noon on Saturday, the Vatican announced that Francis, on March 11, approved a three-year plan focused on implementing the reforms initiated by his recent synod on synodality. The announcement is being widely viewed in Rome as a strong signal that Francis intends to continue as pope, despite speculation of a potential resignation following his prolonged hospitalization. 

The push to make the Catholic Church more synodal — less clerical and encouraging greater participation of all its members — has been a signature project of Francis’ papacy. A report at the conclusion of October’s synod meeting called on the church to overhaul its seminary formation programs, involve the laity in the selection of Catholic bishops and to allow for greater participation of women in the church’s leadership. 

The new timeline includes diocesan and continental evaluation stages that will culminate in a Vatican assembly in October 2028. The decision to approve and publish the timeline while the pontiff is in the hospital indicates not only his desire to increase momentum for the synod’s implementation but to ensure that it remains a priority for the global church. 

The letter released March 15 was signed by secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech. « The Holy Father hopes that this phase, as outlined in the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio (n. 7, arts. 19-21), receives particular attention so that synodality is increasingly understood and lived as an essential dimension of the ordinary life of local Churches and the entire Church, » he said in the letter to bishops.

On Friday (March 14), Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin — the Vatican’s secretary of state — celebrated Mass in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace for diplomats and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See to pray for the pope’s recovery.

« We gather in prayer this morning for the intention of the Holy Father’s health, that he may recover and return soon among us, » the cardinal said in his homily.

Earlier this week, on March 13, Francis celebrated the 12th anniversary of his election as pope. To mark the occasion, hospital staff presented the pontiff with a cake, decorated with 12 candles. 

The Italian postal service announced this week that it has received a surge in letters being sent to the pope and the Vatican — resulting in up to 330 pounds of additional mail per day since the pope entered the hospital. 

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer

Catégories
Vie de l'église

Photo of Pope Francis released as Vatican says his health continues to improve

The Vatican on Sunday released the first photograph of Pope Francis since he entered the hospital a month ago to treat bronchitis, further indication that the pontiff’s health continues to improve. 

The photo shows the pontiff in the chapel of his suite of rooms at Rome’s Gemelli hospital where the Vatican press office said the 88-year-old pope concelebrated Mass.

Earlier in the weekend, the Vatican said that doctors are decreasing his mechanical oxygen supply during the night.

« The clinical conditions of the Holy Father remained stable, confirming the progress highlighted in the last week, » said a Vatican statement released at 6:55 p.m. local time on Saturday (March 15).

The bulletin said that while Francis continues to receive high-flow oxygen therapy through nasal tubes during the day, he is being weaned off the mechanical ventilation he has used at night for nearly two weeks.

The report is the latest briefing from the pope’s medical team since their March 12 update that Francis’ most recent chest X-rays confirmed that he is continuing to heal from double pneumonia.

Although the pope’s doctors announced earlier this week that the pontiff is no longer in imminent danger, he still has pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, resulting in what doctors call a « complex » medical picture.

The pope is in his fifth week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, and the Vatican has refused to speculate about a timeline for his release.

Francis continues both respiratory and physical therapy, and tonight’s medical bulletin noted that « these therapies, at present, are showing further, gradual improvements. »

At noon on Saturday, the Vatican announced that Francis, on March 11, approved a three-year plan focused on implementing the reforms initiated by his recent synod on synodality. The announcement is being widely viewed in Rome as a strong signal that Francis intends to continue as pope, despite speculation of a potential resignation following his prolonged hospitalization. 

The push to make the Catholic Church more synodal — less clerical and encouraging greater participation of all its members — has been a signature project of Francis’ papacy. A report at the conclusion of October’s synod meeting called on the church to overhaul its seminary formation programs, involve the laity in the selection of Catholic bishops and to allow for greater participation of women in the church’s leadership. 

The new timeline includes diocesan and continental evaluation stages that will culminate in a Vatican assembly in October 2028. The decision to approve and publish the timeline while the pontiff is in the hospital indicates not only his desire to increase momentum for the synod’s implementation but to ensure that it remains a priority for the global church. 

The letter released March 15 was signed by secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech. « The Holy Father hopes that this phase, as outlined in the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio (n. 7, arts. 19-21), receives particular attention so that synodality is increasingly understood and lived as an essential dimension of the ordinary life of local Churches and the entire Church, » he said in the letter to bishops.

On Friday (March 14), Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin — the Vatican’s secretary of state — celebrated Mass in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace for diplomats and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See to pray for the pope’s recovery.

« We gather in prayer this morning for the intention of the Holy Father’s health, that he may recover and return soon among us, » the cardinal said in his homily.

Earlier this week, on March 13, Francis celebrated the 12th anniversary of his election as pope. To mark the occasion, hospital staff presented the pontiff with a cake, decorated with 12 candles. 

The Italian postal service announced this week that it has received a surge in letters being sent to the pope and the Vatican — resulting in up to 330 pounds of additional mail per day since the pope entered the hospital. 

Turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer