Two years ago, a Catholic priest and his driver set out on one of the most dangerous roads in South Sudan and were never seen again. Now, church leaders in the country say they want to know what happened to the two, and they’re putting a spotlight on the growing number of disappeared in the country.
« It’s a question of justice. We want the government to take its responsibility regarding the disappearance of these two. They are not alone; many people have also disappeared, » said Catholic Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the Tombura-Yambio Diocese in South Sudan.
The Nagero-Tombura Road in South Sudan is a critical transit corridor that priests and pastors travel to bring the gospel to remote South Sudan communities, such as Western Equatoria. The road cuts through territory where armed men commit deadly robberies, kidnappings and other attacks.
It is on this road that Fr. Luke Yugue Mbokusa, pastor of the Nazareth Nagero parish, and his driver, Michael Gbeko, disappeared without trace while traveling from Nagero County to Yambio County on April 27, 2024.
Kussala released a letter on the anniversary of their disappearance, calling for action. « We need to know what went wrong. We need truth, not silence. We need accountability, not uncertainty, » he said.
In an interview, the bishop said it was unlikely the priest and driver were still alive, but he stressed: « It’s a question of justice. We want the government to take responsibility regarding the disappearance of these two. They are not alone; many people have also disappeared. »
The Rev. Tut Kony Nyang, general secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches, an ecumenical group that represents the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian churches, among others, said death has become normalized in South Sudan. « This is the tune of the day in South Sudan. The disappearances and the losses of people, » he said, adding that churches are raising their voices because « what we have is just a power of words and ethics. »
He also suggested that the disappearances are linked to militarized politics and ethnic divisions. « People may disappear because of the tribe they belong to, » he told RNS, suggesting the priest may have been targeted for that reason.
Mbokusa was the priest in charge of the Nazareth Nagero parish in the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, near the country’s border with Congo and the Central African Republic. Those two African countries are also embroiled in conflict.
Of South Sudan’s estimated 12.4 million population, approximately 60% are Christian, with Roman Catholic, Episcopal (Anglican) and Presbyterian denominations being dominant. About one-third of the population are followers of African traditional religions.
Muslims account for approximately 6%-8%, while there are also tiny populations of Hindu, Baha’i and Jewish religions.
Although it’s difficult to find exact statistics due to the conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the South Sudan Red Cross said in a recent news release that it was following 5,700 cases of missing persons. The real count is likely higher because the cases are not documented, said the organizations.
Mbokusa’s disappearance is considered a high-profile incident. The rebel faction, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army in the Opposition, controls the area where the two disappeared. The faction has recently engaged in deadly clashes with the national army, the South Sudan Defence Forces, that left at least 250 people dead in Nasir City in Upper Nile State.
But much of the violence in the territories is not directly done by the two bigger groups, according to Catholic Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu Diocese.
« It is a constellation of groups or local militias responding to local commanders that do not have a national political agenda, but only local claims, » Carlassare told RNS. « Even in the case of Fr. Yugue, I think the attackers might have been local militias. »
The bishop said the government and opposition have relied on militias for certain purposes but at times militias turned against them. « People are at the mercy of those holding guns, because weapons are power … used against people, » Carlassare said.
Pastors and priests are not direct targets, he added, but they may find themselves caught up.
« Those with guns may not mind. It is the situation the people of South Sudan are in. … Weapons are a curse, » he said.
Two National Catholic Reporter journalists won awards for their work at the 2026 Religion News Association Awards. The RNA Excellence in Religion Reporting Contest winners were announced April 25 during the organization’s 77th annual conference in Atlanta.
NCR staff reporter Camillo Barone won the Renner Award for Excellence in In-Depth and Continuing Coverage category, placing third after The New York Times and NBC News. Brian Roewe, NCR’s environment correspondent, was honored in the first division for niche and religious audiences, also placing third.
The contest « recognizes excellence in religion reporting across print, audio, video and digital journalism, » the organization said in a press release. Entries were judged by current and former journalists and journalism educators.
Barone’s award recognized his ongoing reporting on the church’s response to immigration enforcement operations in Chicago. The winning story package included an interview with Cardinal Blase Cupich, a profile of a priest who does laundry for migrant families in fear of deportation and reporting on the persistent efforts of Catholic organizers to bring communion to detainees of the Broadview ICE Detention Center.
The RNA honored Roewe’s reporting on the environmental developments in the Catholic world, particularly the efforts of Appalachian Catholics to implement Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ under the guidance of Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, and the fate of Catholic solar projects in the wake of federal spending cuts. Rounding out Roewe’s award-winning work was his deep dive into Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral service in Peru.
« The talented team of journalists at NCR work hard every day to provide our readers with thoughtful and insightful coverage of Catholicism, and I’m so proud of Camillo and Brian for having their work be recognized, » said Michael O’Loughlin, NCR executive editor. « We strive to report on issues that affect human dignity and the common good, and these stories are emblematic of the excellent journalism for which NCR is known. »
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On Sunday, April 26, in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta, Colombia, Catholics gathered for Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Santa Marta to pray for proceedings underway 6 miles down the coast to develop a just and realistic pathway to a world without fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.
The first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels began April 24 in the historical coal port in northern Colombia, the South American country cohosting the gathering with the Netherlands. At the center of the talks is how to feasibly and rapidly shift away from coal, oil and gas as an energy source. When burned, the fuels release heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions that are primarily behind the rise in extreme storms, heat waves, droughts, flooding and sea rise around the globe.
More than 50 countries, dubbed a « coalition of the willing, » are participating in two days of high-level meetings that begin today. The Holy See is expected to attend those discussions as an observer, while more than two dozen Catholic organizations have representatives in Santa Marta.
« The mood is amazing, » said Lisa Sullivan, senior program officer on integral ecology for the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, who attended the liturgy. « There’s a tremendous amount of hope. »
Though planned months before the U.S. and Israel war on Iran, the April 24-29 gathering comes as that conflict has bottlenecked the 20% of global oil supply that passes through the Strait of Hormuz and disrupted energy markets alongside prices of gasoline, fertilizer, food and other goods worldwide.
« I think it’s helped to bring incredible clarity to the issue, because fossil fuels are not only the cause of climate change, but of extreme insecurity, national crises, wars, et cetera, » Sullivan told EarthBeat.
The United States, which has doubled down on fossil fuel expansion under the Trump administration, was not invited to Santa Marta, along with China and other countries that have blocked international efforts to even put forward a plan to phase out fossil fuels in the decade since the Paris Agreement was adopted.
Despite those omissions, the countries gathering in Colombia represent one-third of global oil demand and one-fifth of fossil fuel production — among them, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Nigeria and the United Kingdom — along with numerous island states on the front lines of climate change.
The dynamic has officials with the nearly two-dozen Catholic development and missionary groups present in Santa Marta optimistic that substantial deliberations can actually take place.
« It is a space that is shifting the conversation from the if to the how, » said Madeleine Alisa Wörner, an adviser on international climate and energy policy for Misereor, the German bishops’ development organization.
« The Santa Marta Conference is a moral turning point, » Yeb Saño, board chair of the Laudato Si’ Movement, said in a statement. « As people of faith, we cannot remain neutral while the continued expansion of fossil fuels deepens the suffering of the poor, harms vulnerable communities, and endangers our common home. This is the moment to turn our faith into action, to stand with those most affected, and to help build a future rooted in justice, peace, and care for creation. »
Colombian and Dutch officials have made clear that the Santa Marta conference is a first step and a first formal attempt at a more nuanced discussion that has been almost entirely absent from the annual UnitedNationsclimatechangesummits. The conference in Colombia is focused on three central topics: overcoming economic dependence on fossil fuels, transforming energy supply and demand toward renewables, and increasing international cooperation.
Officials have said the gathering is intended to complement, not replace, official U.N. climate proceedings. They also stated it is not a negotiating space for a proposed treaty to phase out fossil fuels — though representatives of that effort are in attendance and an international accord has already been raised as one path forward.
Primarily, the focus will be on listening and information sharing, with the only expected outcomes to be a summary report, the creation of a scientific advisory council, and plans to continue the talks.
« We need to move forward from the discussion on whether we need to transition away or not, to the implementation phase » of how to make a global shift from fossil fuels possible, viable and equitable, Daniela Durán, an official in Colombia’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, said in a press briefing April 9.
Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to drastically reduce emissions to net zero by midcentury, in an effort to limit average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). But that pact did not dictate how to eliminate emissions and omitted the words « fossil fuels » altogether. In 30 years, U.N. climate conferences have only once — in 2023, at COP28 in Dubai — acknowledged the need to transition from fossil fuels.
Scientific studies have repeatedly concluded that rapid and substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels is necessary to avert the worst impacts of climate change and maintain livable conditions for human civilizations.
Each of the past 11 years have been the hottest on record. Average temperature rise is expected to reach 2.3 to 2.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. That’s an improvement from 4 C forecasts before the Paris Agreement’s adoption in 2015 but well over the 1.5 C limit, which scientists project will be surpassed, if only temporarily, within the next decade.
Meanwhile, global fossil fuel production in 2030 is projected to more than double levels aligned with the 1.5 C goal. Surveys have shown nearly nine in 10 people globally want governments to take stronger actions on climate change.
« Nobody says that this is going to be easy, something that we can fix tomorrow or next year or in the next five years. This is going to take decades, right, this transition toward net zero, » Bastiaan Hassing, head of international climate policy for the Netherlands, said at the press briefing.
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Catholic organizations working on climate and environmental issues have eagerly anticipated the Santa Marta conference since it was first announced in November at the COP30 U.N. climate summit in Belém, Brazil. It came as countries ultimately declined to adopt a proposal for the development of a road map to phase out fossil fuels. More than 80 countries had supported the proposal.
Ahead of the Santa Marta conference, the continental bishops’ conferences of Africa, Asia and Latin America lent their support to the efforts and called on countries to adopt a fossil fuel phaseout treaty « as a moral and political imperative. »
« A world free of fossil fuels, just and at peace, is possible and necessary, » wrote the three cardinal-presidents of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).
A joint statement from 20 faith organizations present in Colombia made their own call for a fossil fuel treaty and pledged to educate their communities and lobby elected officials to support such an agreement.
Among the 24 Catholic organizations present in Santa Marta are CELAM, Caritas Internationalis, the Laudato Si’ Movement, Pax Christi International, CIDSE, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network and the Mesoamerican Ecological Ecclesial Network. The two-person Holy See delegation includes Msgr. In Je Hwan, chargé d’affaires of the Colombian nunciature, and Bishop Juan Carlos Barreto, president of Caritas Colombia.
A joint statement, organized by CIDSE, the European-based network of Catholic social justice organizations, and signed by more than 30 other Catholic organizations, proposed a set of guiding principles and recommendations for a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels. They included:
A shift of global finances from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources;
Minimizing the need for critical minerals;
Ensuring human rights are part of transition strategies;
Involving all stakeholders — including Indigenous and local communities and workers in the fossil fuel industry — in decision-making.
The statement was one of several that Catholic and other faith groups contributed to the 600-plus proposals submitted ahead of the conference. Officials will review those as part of the high-level segments and incorporate their recommendations into a final report.
Along with Mass on Sunday, Catholics over the weekend held a day of action, with a focus on the ways fossil fuel extraction impacts communities in three Colombian dioceses. They also joined discussions with other faith-based and civil society organizations and Indigenous communities. Some centered on a moral framework for a fossil fuel treaty.
Wörner told EarthBeat that the first days of the Santa Marta conference were refreshingly free of the debates that have stifled U.N. climate conferences. She said it was important for Catholics to be present to bring moral clarity and to help frame a transition from fossil fuels not just as an economic or technological challenge but in terms of justice, dignity and responsibility to present and future generations.
As the Santa Marta conference began Friday, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in the U.S. and Canada held a virtual vigil to pray for those attending the conference and for a breakthrough to a path to bring the fossil fuel era to an end.
At one point, participants were asked to imagine what a future world would look like free of fossil fuels. Their replies stitched together a picture of clear, pristine panoramas, fewer pipelines, and electric chargers outnumbering gas pumps.
With the ongoing war in the Middle East in mind, Charity Sr. Regina Bechtle of the Bronx, New York, put forward her own vision.
Pope Leo XIV issued decrees advancing the sainthood causes of five candidates, including a Dutch nun who served in St. Louis in the early 20th century.
During a meeting April 27, with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the pope signed a decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Carmelite Sr. Teresia of the Most Holy Trinity, born Teresa Ysseldijk, who died from an illness just a little over six years after arriving in the United States.
Born in the Netherlands in 1897, she entered the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus at age 19 and professed her vows in 1919. Eager to join her missionary sisters, the young nun traveled that same year to the United States.
However, she fell ill and was diagnosed with severe kidney disease. Despite her illness, she continued to serve at her convent in St. Charles, Missouri. According to her congregation’s website, Sr. Teresia « wanted to serve God in the order, working in silent union with Him. »
« When work was no longer possible, she bore her pain silently, hidden from the world, » the congregation said. She died March 10, 1926 at age 28.
The other decrees approved by Leo recognized:
— The martyrdom of Spanish Fr. Emanuele Berenguer Clusella, Montfort Brother of St. Gabriel Estanislao Ortega García and 48 companions, killed « in hatred of the faith » in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
— The offering of life of Spanish missionary Pedro Manual Salado, a lay member of the « Hogar de Nazaret » association, who died in 2012 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, when he collapsed after rescuing seven children drowning at sea.
— The heroic virtues of Mother Maria Eletta di Gesù, an Italian Discalced Carmelite, who was born in Terni, Italy, in 1605 and died in Prague in what is now known as the Czech Republic in 1663.
— The heroic virtues of Italian Sr. Maria Raffaela De Giovanna, founder of the Congregation of the Tertiary Minim Sisters of Saint Francis of Paola. She was born in Genova in 1870 and died there in 1933.
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Following a gunman’s attempted assault on the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, forcing the evacuation of the president, first lady and members of the Cabinet, the head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference denounced the violence and called for all to resort to prayer.
« We are grateful the lives of the President, those who protect him, and everyone in attendance last night were spared from serious harm, » Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement April 26.
« Let us all pray for our elected leaders and public officials that they may receive God’s blessings, » he said. « Because human life is a precious gift, there is no room for violence of any kind in our society.”
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several Cabinet members were whisked out of the annual dinner with the White House press corps April 25, after a man rushed toward the main ballroom where the event was held and briefly exchanged gunfire with law enforcement.
According to The Associated Press, witnesses at the Washington Hilton heard about 5-8 gunshots. Law enforcement told AP the suspect opened fire before Secret Service agents subdued him. One agent was hit in a bullet-resistant vest, but is expected to be fine.
Attendees — largely hundreds of journalists who cover the White House — took shelter under tables, with some providing moment-by-moment updates to their various outlets amid the confusion.
More details emerged in two evening press briefings held shortly after the ballroom had been cleared, with Trump speaking to reporters at the White House, flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel.
During the briefing, Trump said the Secret Service officer injured in the attack had been shot from a very close distance.
A separate briefing was subsequently held at the hotel, where Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, Jeffrey Carroll, interim police chief of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, and federal law enforcement updated the media.
Bowser and Carroll said the suspect appeared to be a lone actor, with Carroll noting the individual had charged a Secret Service checkpoint outside the ballroom, « armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, » before being « intercepted » by Secret Service agents.
Carroll also confirmed that « law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual, » although the suspect « was not struck. »
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who was in attendance at the dinner, told media during the briefing that the suspect had so far been charged with two counts — using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Pirro said the suspect will be arraigned in federal district court on April 28, and that there will be « many more charges based upon the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation. »
Media reports have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a video game developer and teacher from the Los Angeles suburb of Torrence, California, who recently won a « teacher of the month » award.
After being evacuated, Trump posted on his platform Truth Social that « the shooter has been apprehended, » and that he had « recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON.' »
He commended the Secret Service and law enforcement for acting « quickly and bravely. »
Trump and the White House Correspondents’ Association had initially wanted to continue with the program, but deferred to law enforcement’s judgement to cancel the event and evacuate. The event is expected to be rescheduled within 30 days.
Tom Bateman, a State Department correspondent for BBC News, reported that one Secret Service agent described the ballroom as a « crime scene » while ordering attendees to vacate it.
The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914, with its first dinner hosted in 1921. The association, which counts close to 900 members from almost 300 outlets, works to ensure robust journalistic coverage of the White House.
Shortly after the incident, Bishop David Bonnar of Youngstown, Ohio, released a statement deploring the attack and calling for prayer.
« The United States is built on freedom and respect for all. There is no room for violence that endangers the life of any human being, » said Bonnar.
« Moreover, » he said, « the issue of gun violence must be addressed. Violence is never the answer. »
Bonnar added, « We all must look deeper into the human heart to build each other up rather than tear each other down. We pray for peace in moments of disagreement and discord. »
« As we celebrate our 250th birthday may we live as a nation under God with liberty and justice for all, » said Bonnar, who concluded with a prayer of petition: « For the healing of divisions in our country, that we might always strive to be one nation, under God, and that hatred and violence will be cast out from every heart in our land and throughout the world, let us pray to the Lord. »
Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally will travel to Rome this weekend to meet Pope Leo XIV — a visit she calls a pilgrimage, akin to the one she took to prepare for her installation at Canterbury.
Her four-day visit, which will include an audience with the pope at the Vatican April 27, will follow in the footsteps of countless other pilgrims when she visits the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. It will also follow past archbishops of Canterbury who have traveled to see the pope since 1966, encounters that reinvented ecumenical relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, as well as the wider Anglican Communion.
But what will be remarkable about this visit is the optics: the sight of Mullally, the first female archbishop of Canterbury, standing shoulder to shoulder and kneeling in prayer with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which still maintains a male-only priesthood.
All the signs are that there will be undoubted warmth between the two church leaders. Three Catholic cardinals — Timothy Radcliffe and Vincent Nichols from England and Wales, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — and five Catholic archbishops attended Mullally’s installation service at Canterbury. Pope Leo also sent a message of greeting to her.
Mullally herself has said that she is looking forward to working with Leo.
« As I prepare to make this pilgrimage, I know that I follow in the footsteps of those who have come before me, and I give thanks for the deepening dialogue and fellowship between Anglicans and Catholics over the last 60 years, » she said in a statement released April 24. « It is a joy and privilege to meet and pray with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, and I look forward to our time of conversation and prayer. »
But the visit also has significant implications for both the archbishop and pope and their standing in the world. Mullally and her advisers have chosen her trip to Rome as her first visit abroad since she was installed last month, rather than a location in the Anglican Communion.
The visit this weekend also means that before Mullally ventures to Africa in July — a continent where some Anglican bishops do not accept her as the church’s primate because she is a woman — images will appear of her alongside the man who is arguably the world’s foremost spiritual leader. So while Pope Leo, who himself just returned from an 11-day visit to Africa, may not accept women as priests in his own church, he is affording Mullally the courtesy of a meeting, which in effect shows some level of endorsement of her.
Meanwhile, Leo has found an ally in Mullally in his recent back and forth with U.S President Donald Trump over the war in Iran. After Trump criticized the first U.S.-born pope, calling him « WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy, » Mullally spoke in solidarity with Leo, saying she backed his calls for peace.
But Catholics and Anglicans may also be waiting to see if the visit creates an environment where the two churches might move closer together toward ecumenical progress.
When former Archbishop Michael Ramsey, in 1966, was the first archbishop of Canterbury to officially visit Rome since the Reformation, some thought full unity might be achieved. But that hasn’t happened. One obstacle has been disagreements about women’s clerical status, recognized in several joint declarations by the two churches in the past 60 years — which is part of why Mullally’s visit to Rome is extraordinary.
Another is the issue of shared Communion, a continuing argument over whether Christ is fully present in the Eucharist after consecration, as Catholic teaching states. Finding accommodation on Communion would be a remarkable step forward, and one welcomed by many families where parents belong to the two churches.
While Mullally’s visit will include meetings with leading Anglicans in Rome and Anglican Church communities, there will also be a focus on talks with the Catholic Church to improve relations and understanding. The statement from the archbishop of Canterbury said this will happen through prayer, personal encounters and formal theological dialogue. There is also an aim « to affirm a shared witness, and encourage ongoing collaboration at both global and local levels, » according to the statement.
That shared witness and collaboration was seen at the global level when the late Pope Francis and immediate past Archbishop Justin Welby visited South Sudan together in 2023 to urge peace in the war-torn country. No similar joint visits have yet been announced for Mullally and Leo. However, Mullally said in her statement, « Our world needs the peace, justice and hope that Jesus Christ brings, and I give thanks that our churches can walk together as we share that good news with the world. »
The Justice Department announced April 24 it will adopt firing squads and reauthorize a single-drug lethal injection protocol on the same day that Pope Leo XIV publicly voiced support for efforts to abolish the death penalty in the United States.
The policy shift, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to expand capital punishment, marks the first time firing squads will be permitted for federal executions and restores the use of pentobarbital in lethal injections after the drug was withdrawn from federal protocol under the Biden administration over concerns about causing pain and suffering.
In an unrelated message released just hours after the administration’s death penalty moves, the pope reiterated the Catholic Church’s teaching that the death penalty is « inadmissible. »
« We affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed, » Leo said in a video message to participants at an event at DePaul University marking the 15th anniversary of Illinois’ abolition of the death penalty.
The first U.S.-born pontiff said that he joined attendees at the Chicago-based Catholic university event « in celebrating the decision made by the Governor of Illinois in 2011, and I likewise offer my support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world. »
The pope’s April 24 message shows « the closeness of the Holy Father Pope Leo to the Church’s indefatigable work across the nation to end this death-dealing practice, » said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, which works to end the death penalty. « Pope Leo makes it crystal clear that the death penalty is a priority for the universal Church.”
Leo expressed his support for Pope Francis’ 2018 decision to change authoritative church teaching to say that the death penalty is « inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. »
That historic move marked the first change to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official compendium of Catholic teaching, since it was revised in 1997.
« We affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed, » Leo said in the message. « Furthermore, effective systems of detention can be and have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption. »
« This is why Pope Francis and my recent predecessors repeatedly insisted that the common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment, » he continued.
Thirteen people were executed during the first Trump administration, more than under any other modern president, and each using pentobarbital. Under the Biden administration the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row were commuted in a move widely praised by Catholics, including senior members of the U.S. church hierarchy.
On his return flight to Rome following a 11-day tour of North and Central Africa on April 23, Leo directly criticized capital punishment when asked about executions carried out by the Iranian regime.
« I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people’s lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people — from conception to natural death — their lives should be respected and protected, » he said to reporters. « So when a regime, when a country, takes decisions which take away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned. »
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Qui sont les Chevaliers ?
Les Chevaliers de Colomb sont la plus grande organisation de service fraternel familial catholique au monde, avec 1,8 million de membres. Elle offre aux membres et à leurs familles des possibilités de bénévolat au service de l'Église catholique, de leurs communautés, des familles et des jeunes.
Avantages pour les membres
En tant que membre des Chevaliers de Colomb, vous et votre famille bénéficiez de nombreux avantages, notamment 12 numéros gratuits par an du magazine Columbia, le plus grand magazine familial catholique au monde, la possibilité d'adhérer au programme d'assurance-vie de premier ordre des Chevaliers de Colomb, et de nombreux autres avantages familiaux et personnels.
Comment devenir membre
L'adhésion aux Chevaliers de Colomb est ouverte aux hommes catholiques pratiquants en union avec le Saint-Siège, âgés d'au moins 18 ans. Un catholique pratiquant est une personne qui vit selon les commandements de Dieu et les préceptes de l'Église. Les formulaires de demande sont disponibles auprès de tout membre des Chevaliers de Colomb.Si vous souhaitez rejoindre les Chevaliers de Colomb, veuillez contacter notre président des adhésions, Mike Lenzi, au (973) 533-9791 ou envoyez un courriel à contact@kofc3533.org.
4ème Degré
Tout membre du Troisième Degré en règle, un an après l'anniversaire de son Premier Degré, est éligible pour devenir membre du Quatrième Degré. L'objectif principal du Quatrième Degré est d'encourager l'esprit de patriotisme en promouvant une citoyenneté responsable ainsi que l'amour et la loyauté envers les pays respectifs des Chevaliers par le biais d'une adhésion active à des groupes locaux du Quatrième Degré (appelés "assemblées"). Certains membres du Quatrième Degré servent de gardes d'honneur lors de manifestations civiques et religieuses, une activité qui a apporté une reconnaissance mondiale aux Chevaliers de Colomb.Pour contacter les Chevaliers de Colomb du premier district de NJ, veuillez cliquer ici.
Auxiliaires féminines
La fonction principale des Dames auxiliaires est de SOUTENIR les hommes et le conseil. Elles le font principalement en fournissant de l'aide lors des événements, en cuisinant pour les événements et en fournissant une aide financière. Elles aident aussi généralement à mettre en place et à embellir la salle pour les événements.
Écuyers
Sous la direction du frère chrétien Barnabas McDonald (1865-1929), le premier cercle Columbian Squires a été institué en 1925. L'adhésion aux Squires est réservée aux garçons catholiques âgés de 12 à 17 ans. Les activités des Squires sont nombreuses, allant de la spiritualité au service actif pour l'Église et la communauté. Chaque cercle élit des membres officiers de leur propre rang, enseignant les compétences de leadership et de responsabilité.
Membership
Who are the Knights?
The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal service organization with 1.8 million members. It provides members and their families with volunteer opportunities in service to the Catholic Church, their communities, families and young people.Member BenefitsAs a member of the Knights of Columbus you and your family enjoy many benefits, including 12 free issues annually of the Columbia magazine, the world’s largest Catholic family magazine, eligibility to join the Knights of Columbus top-ranked life insurance program, and many more family and personal benefits.
How to join
Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to practicing Catholic men in union with the Holy See, who are at least 18 years old. A practicing Catholic is one who lives up to the Commandments of God and the precepts of the Church. Application blanks are available from any member of the Knights of Columbus.If you are interested in joining the Knights of Columbus, please contact our membership chairman, Mike Lenzi, at (973) 533-9791 or send an email to membership@kofc3533.org.
4th Degree
Any Third Degree member in good standing, one year after the anniversary of his First Degree, is eligible for membership in the Fourth Degree. The primary purpose of the Fourth Degree is to foster the spirit of patriotism by promoting responsible citizenship and a love of and loyalty to the Knights’ respective countries through active membership in local Fourth Degree groups (called “assemblies”). Certain members of the Fourth Degree serve as honor guards at civic and religious functions, an activity that has brought worldwide recognition to the Knights of Columbus.To contact the NJ First District Knights of Columbus, please click here.Ladies AuxiliaryThe Ladies Auxiliary’s main function is to SUPPORT the men and the council. They do this primarily by providing help at events, cooking for events and providing monetary help. They also generally do help with setting up and beautifying the hall for events.SquiresUnder the guidance of Christian Brother Barnabas McDonald (1865-1929), the first Columbian Squires circle was instituted in 1925. Membership in the Squires is for Catholic boys between the ages of 12 and 17. Squires’ activities are many, varying from spiritual to active service for the Church and community. Each circle elects officer members from their own rank, teaching skills of leadership and responsibility.
