Author: Eric Deabill

(OSV News) – New data estimates show the number of abortions in the U.S. remained stable in 2025, totaling some 1.126 million, with apparent declines in out-of-state travel for abortions offset by increasing access to telehealth abortions.

The actual number of abortions is likely higher, given certain exclusions in the estimates.

At the same time, abortion data remains incomplete amid the lack of a mandatory, federal-level reporting system, researcher Mia Steupert of the Charlotte Lozier Institute — the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — told OSV News April 15.

On March 24, the Guttmacher Institute, a national policy and research firm that supports legalized abortion, released data from its “Monthly Abortion Provision Study” for calendar year 2025.

The study collects data on both surgical and chemical abortions performed in facilities, along with chemical abortions obtained through telehealth providers — including recipients who were protected by shield laws in states with abortion bans.

Guttmacher found that the 2025 figures were “largely unchanged from 2024,” when the institute counted 1.124 million clinician-provided abortions.

The 2025 estimate marks a 21% increase from 2020, which Guttmacher said was “the last year of comprehensive national estimates” before the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case overturned the 1973 rulings that legalized abortion in the U.S.

Guttmacher clarified that its data “does not include self-managed abortions” — for example, those involving drugs sourced from community networks or acquired from outside of the U.S.

“Evidence suggests self-managed abortions have increased since Dobbs,” the institute said.

States without total bans saw a slight decrease in the number of abortions during 2025, down to 1.036 million from 1.049 million.

In contrast, states with total bans saw a spike in telehealth-provided abortions, with the figure totaling 91,000, up from the previous 74,000.

Guttmacher said its estimates exclude “advance provision” of chemical abortion pills, the “limited number” of abortions performed as exceptions to full bans and abortions “that are not provided by U.S. clinicians,” such as “those provided through community health networks, online pharmacies or other means.”

“These exclusions mean that these findings represent an underestimate of the total number of abortions nationally,” said Guttmacher.

The data showed a noticeable decline in the number of those crossing state lines for abortions — 142,000 in 2025, down from 154,000 in 2024.

The downturn “was almost entirely driven by reduced travel from residents of states with total bans,” said Guttmacher. “In 2024, 74,000 people living in ban states traveled out of state for care; this dropped to 62,000 in 2025.”

Still, said the firm, “travel across state lines remains a major avenue for accessing abortion care for people living in restrictive settings.”

Guttmacher said the 62,000 reported for 2025 was “more than double the number who traveled from these states prior to Dobbs.” Between 2013-2020, that figure ranged from 19,000-25,000 annually.

The 2025 number also does not count “those who traveled out of states with six- or twelve-week bans or with other major obstacles to in-clinic provision,” a segment that saw “an additional 47,000 people” travel to other states for abortions, said Guttmacher.

Several states — Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina and Virginia — had significant shares of out-of-state abortions, with Illinois “accounting for almost a quarter” of the 142,000 national total in 2025.

“I think it’s important to realize that there’s still a ton of out-of-state care happening,” said Steupert.

But she stressed that with “no federal requirement” for the collection of abortion data, researchers rely on “a patchwork of whatever states do.”

States and jurisdictions are not required to report their abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control’s Abortion Surveillance System, with the agency saying on its website that its Division of Reproductive Health “prepares surveillance reports as data become available.”

Steupert said that “we really can’t rely on any of the states’ data anymore, because almost none of them track telehealth abortions.”

Massachusetts and Nevada each do “a good job,” while Oregon “attempts to do it,” said Steupert — but “the quality and variety of the data” differs “vastly.”

“A lot of them aren’t tracking out-of-state shipments” of abortion drugs, she said. “They’ll track within the state, but they don’t track if you’re in Illinois and somebody sends you drugs from New York.”

Steupert said the Charlotte Lozier Institute is examining public health models for better abortion data collection — a task that is “kind of like starting from scratch” because, she said, “we just don’t really have a good model to work off of.”

She pointed to the difference between counting abortion drugs mailed and completed abortions.

“Even Guttmacher, in their methodology, notes that they’re not tracking the number of completed abortions,” said Steupert. “They’re only talking about abortion drugs sent. That’s a really big caveat. We always have to tell people that this isn’t the number of known, completed abortions through abortion drugs. It’s just the number of drugs sent.”

Steupert stressed that “there’s no way that we’re going to be able to track the number of completed abortions” from abortion drugs.

And, she said, “There’s also no way you can track abortions occurring outside the formal health care system.”

Steupert cited the Canadian nonprofit Women on the Web, which according to its website ships the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol to recipients in more than 180 countries, providing “24/7 support in 16 languages.”

Attempts to self-administer abortions through the use of certain herbs — promoted on TikTok following the Dobbs decision and alarming public health officials due to poisoning risks — also elude data counts, said Steupert.

She said both pro-life advocates and those who argue for legalized abortion “have agreed for a while” that the data is important, although for “differing reasons.”

“But I think there is a public health aspect to it, too,” said Steupert. “If you’re going to claim that it (abortion) is health care, then why isn’t it tracked like cancer and car accidents? We’re relying on the private sector to collect this data, and they have an interest in this data because they’re pro-abortion.”

“I don’t doubt that over a million abortions are occurring” annually in the U.S., said Steupert — but she stressed that while “we don’t want patient-level data,” having the “facility-level data” is critical in assessing abortion rates as part of “good social science.”

The Catholic Church teaches that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the first moment of conception, and since the first century it has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.

Following the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, U.S. church officials have reaffirmed the Church’s concern for both mother and child, and have called for enhancing support to those made vulnerable to abortion through poverty and other factors.

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV pushed back against the media narrative that has pitted him against President Donald Trump since the start of his 11-day apostolic journey to Africa, telling journalists aboard the papal flight to Angola April 18 that “there has been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all its aspects.”

“Because of the political situation created when on the first day of the trip, the President of the United States made some comments about myself, much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said,” Pope Leo said aboard the papal flight from Yaoundé, Cameroon, to Luanda, Angola.

“Just one little example: The talk that I gave at the prayer meeting for peace a couple of days ago was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting. And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all,” he said.

The pope underlined to the roughly 65 journalists aboard the papal plane, including major TV networks and newspapers from around the world, “I primarily come to Africa as a pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church to be with and to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany, all of the Catholics throughout Africa.”

Pope Leo was speaking in response to the media storm in the United States with a narrative of “Trump versus Leo” ever since the U.S. president lashed out at the pope on social media and in verbal remarks over the pontiff’s opposition to the Iran war over the course of several days starting April 12.

As the pope visited both Algeria and Cameroon over the past six days, the story continued to evolve as Vice President JD Vance spoke at an April 14 Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, during which he invoked “the more than 1,000-year tradition of Just War theory” in justifying his opposition to the pope’s comments objecting to the Iran war.

As Pope Leo presided over a peace meeting in Bamenda, Cameroon, which has been afflicted by violence in a conflict between separatists and government forces since 2017, some media outlets ran headlines that made it appear as if Pope Leo’s comments to the suffering Cameroonian community were directed at Trump.

Reuters reported on the pope’s peace event, “Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was ‘being ravaged by a handful of tyrants’, in unusually forceful remarks in ‌Cameroon on Thursday days after U.S. President Donald Trump attacked him on social media.”

The New York Times ran the headline about the same peace meeting on April 16, “‘Woe to Those Who Manipulate Religion,’ Pope Says Amid Standoff With Trump.'”

The article stated, “Amid a growing dispute with the Trump administration over the legitimacy of American attacks in Iran, Leo used a speech on Thursday in Cameroon to express ‘woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.'”

Pope Leo clarified to journalists aboard the papal plane that his speeches were written two weeks ago, long before Trump’s comments.

The pope made these strong comments about tyrants and manipulating religion in a speech in the heart of a conflict zone in Bamenda, Cameroon, where the pope sought to bring the world’s attention to the Anglophone crisis, which was described by one of the local participants in the peace meeting as “one of the forgotten crises on the planet earth.”

In Pope Leo’s remarks aboard the plane, he tried to put the focus back on the Cameroonian people.

“The visit in Cameroon was very significant because in many ways it represents the heart of Africa in many different ways,” he said. “They are English-speaking and French-speaking, around 250 local languages and (ethnicities). At the same time it has great wealth and great opportunity, but also the difficulty that we find throughout Africa of many times an unequal distribution of wealth.”

“We go on the journey, we continue proclaiming the Gospel message. The texts of the Gospels that we have been using for the liturgies give a number of different fantastic, beautiful aspects of what it’s about to be Christian, of what it’s about to follow Christ, of what it’s about to promote fraternity and brotherhood, trusting in the Lord, but also looking for ways to promote justice in our world, to promote peace in our world,” the pope added.

Before taking off for Angola, Pope Leo offered Mass in Cameroon’s capital with an estimated 200,000 people at Yaoundé air base, according to local authorities.

“Jesus is with us always, stronger than any power of evil,” the pope told a joyful crowd of Cameroonian Catholics.

In his homily, Pope Leo reflected on the Gospel account of Jesus walking on water, saying, “In every storm, (Jesus) comes to us and repeats: ‘I am here with you: Do not be afraid.'”

“Jesus draws near to us. He does not immediately calm the storm, but comes to us in the midst of the danger, and invites us, in our joys and sorrows, to remain together with him, like the disciples, in the same boat. He invites us not to distance ourselves from those who suffer, but to draw near to them, to embrace them,” the pope said in French.

The lively Mass concluded the pope’s April 15-18 trip to Cameroon, where he visited three cities: Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala. Pope Leo’s second half of his 11-day Africa tour will bring him to Angola and Equatorial Guinea before returning to the Vatican April 23.

“Let us keep the memory of the beautiful moments that we have experienced together alive in our hearts,” Pope Leo said at the end of his homily. “Even in the midst of difficulties, let us continue to make space for Jesus, allowing him to enlighten and renew us every day by his presence. The Church in Cameroon is alive, young, blessed with gifts and enthusiasm, energetic in its variety and magnificent in its harmony. With the help of the Virgin Mary, our Mother, may your joyful presence continue to blossom.”

(OSV News) – The canonization cause for Jesuit Father Walter Ciszek — a Polish American priest who ministered amid years in Soviet captivity — has been terminated, although Vatican’s decision does not “diminish the enduring spiritual value” of his witness, said a leading advocate for the cause.

In an April 9 letter, Msgr. Ronald C. Bocian — board president of the former Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League — advised fellow league members that the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, had been informed the cause’s documentation “does not support” advancing the case for beatification or sainthood.

Msgr. Bocian’s letter replicated a statement from the diocese, provided to OSV News April 17, saying the prayer league will now become the Father Walter J. Ciszek Society and “remain committed to honoring his memory, sharing his message, and encouraging devotion to the profound spiritual insights he left to the Church.”

“This development comes after years of careful study and discernment at the level of the Holy See, which bears the responsibility of evaluating each Cause with thoroughness, integrity, and fidelity to the Church’s norms,” said the diocese, which assumed responsibility for the cause following its initiation by the New Jersey-based Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic.

OSV News is awaiting a response to requests for comment from the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and Msgr. Bocian, who serves as pastor of Divine Mercy Parish in Father Ciszek’s hometown of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania.

Born in 1904 to Polish immigrant parents, Father Ciszek was ordained as Jesuit priest in 1937, becoming the first American in the order in the Byzantine Catholic rite, one of the 23 Eastern Catholic churches that, along with the Roman Catholic Church, comprise the universal Catholic Church.

As a seminarian, he had studied in Rome as part of an initiative under Pope Pius XI to equip priests for ministry in Russia. Originally assigned to Poland, he was able to enter Russia on false papers after World War II broke out in 1939 to minister in secret.

Working as an unskilled laborer, Father Ciszek was arrested in 1941 by the secret police as a suspected spy and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in Siberia. While in various prison camps, he managed to celebrate Mass and hear confessions.

After his sentence finished in 1955, he was nonetheless forced to reside in Russia, and worked in a chemical factory — and after decades of no communication was at last able to write to family in the U.S., who had presumed him dead.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy secured his release and that of an American student, exchanging them for two Soviet agents. Until his death in 1984, Father Ciszek worked at the John XXIII Center at Fordham University, which is now the Center for Eastern Christian Studies at the Jesuit-run University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Father Ciszek recounted his experiences in the books “He Leadeth Me” and “With God in Russia,” co-written with fellow Jesuit Father Daniel Flaherty.

Even as his canonization cause has been relinquished, Father Ciszek’s impact lives on, said the diocese.

“While this news may understandably bring disappointment to the many who have been inspired by Father Ciszek’s example of heroic faith, it does not diminish the enduring spiritual value of his life, witness, and legacy,” the diocese said in its statement.

“We are deeply grateful for the many years of prayer, devotion, and support from the faithful. Father Ciszek’s courage, perseverance, and unwavering trust in God amidst extraordinary suffering has led many souls to God and will continue to touch countless lives,” said the diocese. “Even as the formal canonization process has been stopped, the grace flowing from his witness remains alive.”

(OSV News) – An increasing number of the nation’s young men say religion is “very important” in their lives, marking a return to levels seen 25 years ago, and edging them ahead of young women on the issue, according to Gallup.

In addition, Gallup noted that attendance at religious services has risen by several points since 2022-2023 among young Republican men and women.

The data comes as previous polling from Pew Research Center showed a leveling off in a multiyear decline in Christianity in the U.S. – although Pew noted there’s no statistical evidence of a religious revival, and Catholics are seeing the greatest net losses of believers compared to other religions.

Gallup released its findings April 16, based on data collected as part of its Gallup Poll Social Series, which since 2001 has surveyed respondents monthly on a slate of issues to identify multiyear trends.

Each survey polls at least 1,000 U.S. adults in all 50 states and Washington, with respondents participating by either cellphone or landline. The data is weighted, or statistically adjusted, to represent the nation’s demographics.

Gallup found that combined data for 2024-2025 showed 42% of men ages 18-29 ranked religion as “very important,” compared to 29% of their female counterparts.

The numbers reversed a 16-point gap between the two cohorts in 2002-2003, when 57% of women ages 18-29 reported religion as “very important” compared to 41% of their male counterparts.

Gallup noted that the gap had steadily closed by the mid-2010s, with the two groups “closely aligned through 2022-2023.”

But the data from 2024 and 2025 “mark a clear break, with young men now surpassing young women on this measure of religious importance,” said Gallup senior scientist Frank Newport and director of U.S. social research Lydia Saad in their report.

They observed that the reversal is “unique” to the specific age bracket, with women age 30 and older remaining “more religious than men.”

Young women “are now by far the least religious women,” they said, with less than one third (29%) describing religion as very important — far behind the 47% of women ages 30-49 who rank religion as a priority.

Gallup said that while young men have since 2022-2023 become more religious, the share of those identifying with a particular religion has remained largely the same for that period, with 63% naming a faith tradition in 2024-2025.

Still, that number is the highest recorded for the group since 2012-2013 — and contrasts with a decline in religious affiliation among young women, which now stands at 60%.

Among all older age groups for both men and women, religious identity is now “at or near its low points in the trends since 2000-2001,” said Newport and Saad.

Young men are also trending upward in monthly or frequent attendance at religious services, with 40% doing so in 2024-2025, the highest level since 2012-2013, and up from about 33% in 2022-2023, according to Gallup.

“There are definitely a lot more young men that are coming into the Church, that are coming to various ministries,” said Pauline Father Timothy Tarnacki, director of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Ministry with Young Adults.

Father Tarnacki told OSV News that the surge contrasts with previous years, saying “there usually were more women in the last decades for various events” offered by young adult ministries.

Young women’s attendance has “increased modestly since 2022-2023” — coming in just behind the rate for young men at 39% — but “remains far below the levels recorded in the early 2000s,” the Gallup researchers found.

Attendance rates for older men and women are currently “at or near their trend lows,” they added.

Gallup said attendance at religious services has risen among young Republicans, up 7 points for men (52%) and 8 for women (58%) since 2022-2023.

Among young Democratic men, that figure rose 3 points (26%) for the same period, while remaining largely unchanged among Democratic women (31%).

Gallup highlighted the “distinct differences in party identification between the two groups,” with 48% of young men identifying as Republican or leaning toward the party, and 41% as Democratic or Democratic-leaning.

Young women are significantly more likely to identify with or incline toward the Democratic Party (60%), with only over one quarter (27%) identifying as or leaning as Republican.

“Given the relatively large proportion of young men who are Republican, the upward trends in their religiosity have a significant impact on overall trends among young men,” said Gallup.

On balance, said Gallup, “the religiosity of Americans as a whole remains at a low ebb, with the importance of religion to people, their self-reported attendance and their identification with a religion all holding at or near the lowest levels in Gallup’s long-term trends.”

Yet, the firm added, “young men appear to be an emerging exception to the rule.”

That breakout could signal something beside a strictly spiritual inclination, noted Katherine Coolidge, director of parish and diocesan services at the Colorado-based St. Catherine of Siena Institute, which provides evangelization and apostolic formation for lay Catholics.

“Some young men especially who lean Republican may indicate they first come for reasons of community and shared values,” Coolidge told OSV News.

She cautioned that “we are complex beings” and that “often there is no one single reason that drives us but perhaps one is the catalyst that gets us off the couch and in the pew.”

“When I chat with young adults especially, they often give a cluster of reasons but often they center around the desire for the in-person,” she said, adding that many were in their “teens and early 20s when COVID hit.”

Coolidge said her encounters with young people have revealed reasons for religious affiliation that “run the spectrum.”

But, she said, “two recurring themes stand out: a desire for in-person, human community and a ‘safe’ space where I can hang with people who share my core values and beliefs.”

Another subset “leads with a spiritual question, but it is often a smaller group than the first category,” she added.

Father Tarnacki agreed that “there are many different reasons” for young men returning to the Church.

“Many times it starts with some kind of a hunger for belonging and for community, and then that leads a person to a deeper encounter with the truth, with God, with the Church, with worship,” he said.

But, he added, “sometimes it’s the other way.”

“Sometimes it’s just the experience of a lack of depth in life and in what the culture is presenting, especially to men,” he explained, noting that young men are “seeking identity and seeking the answer to the question, ‘Who am I?'”

Still, said Coolidge, “Whether they have come for purely human needs or are on a spiritual quest — first, praise God they come no matter the reason.”

That quest prompts a pastoral question, she said.

“Are we ready to meet them as they are, where they are, and provide a pathway to encounter, foster and deepen a living relationship with the God who loved them into being?” said Coolidge.

DOUALA, Cameroon (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for more than 120,000 people in Cameroon’s largest city on April 17, urging “beloved children of the African continent” to share God’s love by feeding the hungry and offering the spiritual nourishment of “the bread of life.”

Because of the large turnout, the Mass was held in a parking area next to Douala’s Japoma Stadium under 90-degree heat. Catholics in the crowd told OSV News that they had spent the night outside to claim their spots for the Mass.

Remerit Ngwe, 28, waited 16 hours outside overnight for the papal Mass. “Since yesterday 7 p.m. we slept here on the stone waiting for the pope,” she told OSV News. “We are so happy we finally saw the pope, Pope Leo, a once in a lifetime experience. Long live the pope!”

Speaking in both French and English during his homily, Pope Leo opened with a striking question to the Cameroonian congregation, “where is God in the face of people’s hunger?”

He turned to the Gospel of John and its account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes to respond.

“A serious problem was solved by blessing the little food that was present and sharing it with all who were hungry,” Pope Leo said in French.

“There is bread for everyone if it is given to everyone. There is bread for everyone if it is taken, not with a hand that snatches away, but with a hand that gives,” he underlined.

According to the World Food Programme, 2.9 million people in Cameroon face food insecurity and need humanitarian assistance, with about 23% of the population living below the poverty line.

The pope said the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes reveals a God who comes “to serve with love, not to dominate.”

“It shows us not only how God provides humanity with the bread of life, but how we can share this sustenance with all men and women who, like ourselves, hunger for peace, freedom and justice. Each act of solidarity and forgiveness, every good effort, becomes a morsel of bread for humanity in need of care,” he said.

“Yet this alone is not enough: the food that sustains the body must be accompanied, with equal charity, by nourishment for the soul — a nourishment that sustains our conscience and steadies us in dark hours of fear and amid the shadows of suffering,” he emphasized.

Pope Leo said that this spiritual nourishment is “Christ himself, who always gives his Church abundant sustenance and strengthens us on our journey by giving us his Eucharistic Body.”

“Sisters and brothers, the Eucharist that we are celebrating is the source of renewed faith, because Jesus becomes present among us.”

“This very altar, around which we gather for the Eucharist, becomes a proclamation of hope amid the trials of history and the injustices we see around us,” he added.

The pope’s message resonated with Cameroonians in the crowd. Ngwe said, “Being a Catholic Christian allows you to partake in the Eucharist, which is the highest celebration.”

She said she loves the “oneness” of the Catholic Church, “When I see Cameroon, when I see Rome, when I see USA, we practice the same … Christianity. That is the pride of being a Catholic Christian.”

Cameroon is home to more than 8 million Catholics, nearly 30% of the population, and the Church often serves as a bridge across linguistic and political divides.

In an interview with OSV News, Father Gabriel Abega Owona of the Diocese of Sangmélima described the Church’s mission in the country.

As a priest, he said, “our daily challenge is to nurture faith within a context of material poverty, yet of immense spiritual richness.”

“Being a priest here means being a father, a social worker, and a mediator. My experience is defined by faces: young people seeking work and dignity, families praying for peace, and the explosive joy of the Sunday liturgy — which lasts for hours and serves as a true foretaste of paradise.”

“In Cameroon, the Church is not an institution standing ‘alongside’ society, but rather its beating heart — particularly in those areas where the State struggles to reach. The Church manages nearly 1,000 primary schools and hundreds of health care facilities. Indeed, in many villages, the only doctor or teacher available is one provided by the Catholic mission,” Abega Owona explained.

He added that the Catholic Church in Cameroon “serves as a bridge between the Francophone and Anglophone cultures” and strives “to translate the Gospel into concrete actions for human development.”

Switching to English for part of his homily, the pope urged Cameroon’s Catholics to “be the first faces and hands that bring the bread of life to your neighbors, providing them with the food of wisdom and deliverance from all that does not nourish them, but rather obscures good desires and robs them of their dignity.”

The pope flew 160 miles from Yaoundé to Douala on Friday morning for the Mass, at which he greeted the enthusiastic crowd from the popemobile.

After the Mass, Pope Leo will make a private visit to the Catholic Hospital of St. Paul in Douala before returning by plane to Cameroon’s capital in the afternoon, where he will meet with university students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé.

BAMENDA, Cameroon (OSV News) – A religious sister in Cameroon who was kidnapped just a few months ago by separatists and held hostage for three days in the bush was among those who shared her testimony with Pope Leo XIV April 16 in an emotional peace meeting in Cameroon’s northwest city of Bamenda, a region marred by years of separatist violence.

“We were held hostage for three days and three nights. During those days and nights, we neither slept nor ate,” Sister Carine Tangiri Mangu told the pope.

“What kept our hope alive was the rosary which we prayed continuously for those days,” she added.

“Most Holy Father, this is the situation under which many consecrated women do their work and live their lives within this war zone. Some have undergone more dramatic and more traumatizing experiences, but we continue to rely on the help of God and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” she said.

Pope Leo led a historic peace meeting on April 16 in Cameroon’s northwest city of Bamenda, a region marred by years of separatist violence.

The long-running separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions has killed thousands since 2017. The violence pits Anglophone separatists against the Francophone-dominated government, leaving entire communities displaced and children out of school in what humanitarian groups describe as one of the world’s most neglected conflicts.

In his speech in St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Pope Leo loudly and passionately said, “I am here to proclaim peace,” to an enthusiastic reaction in the crowd.

The pope also had strong words of denunciation for those who perpetuate war. “The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” the pope said. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”

Pope Leo strongly denounced those who “rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilization and death.”

“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters,” he underlined.

During the peace meeting, the pope heard testimonies from local traditional and religious leaders and a family displaced by the violence.

A local chief imam told the pope about how in November armed men invaded a mosque in Sabga, near Bamenda, during the time of prayer and killed three people, injuring nine others.

Mohammed Abubakar of the Buea Central Mosque continued that on Jan. 14, 2025, “Armed men targeted cattle rearers from the Mbororo ethnic community and killed at least 15 people, including 8 children.” The chief imam added that “The Islamic community has suffered in many English speaking towns and villages, and there were Muslim victims in what has come to be known as the Ngabur Massacre, in which 23 civilians were killed in 2020.

“Holy Father, welcome, and please help us to have peace again,” the imam added.

Denis Salo met the pope, along with his wife and three children, telling Pope Leo how “Five of my neighbours were killed and one of my close friends was also killed. While we were being targeted by the separatist fighters, government soldiers were also burning down houses.”

“In 2017, I escaped with my family out of Mbiame, abandoning all that I ever owned, including house, farms, and animals, and arrived in Bamenda. My kids had to abandon school. After seeing no better in Bamenda, I proceeded to Douala to look for livelihood and not finding anything better, I returned to Bamenda,” he said. “I now live in a little rented house with my entire family, and working as a gateman in the hospital of Maria Soledad, and at the same time working as gardener in the Parish of the Immaculate Conception, Ngomgham,” Salo said.

The pope affirmed to the afflicted community that “God has never abandoned us! In him, in his peace, we can always begin anew!”

In an emotional address welcoming the Holy Father in the cathedral, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda told the pope: “Today your feet are standing on the soil of Bamenda that has drunk the blood of many of our children.”

“The archbishop mentioned the prophecy that exclaims: ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace!’ (Is 52:7). He welcomed me with these words, and now I would like to respond: how beautiful are your feet as well, dusty from this bloodstained yet fertile land that has been mistreated, yet is rich in vegetation and fruit,” the pope said.

The Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, moderator emeritus of the Presbyterian Church
in Cameroon, described to the pope how religious leaders of different denominations have “bonded together and founded a Peace Movement through which we have tried to broker peace and dialogue with the government of Cameroon and the Separatist Fighters.”

He said that under the leadership of Archbishop Nkea, they “have visited and spoken with many of the leaders of the separatist movements at home and abroad, and we have tried to engage the local separatist fighters on the ground in dialogue, convincing them that peace is better than war, and that war can never really solve any conflict,” he said.

“Practically all of us gathered here are traumatized and need both psychological and spiritual healing,” the reverend said.

“This Anglophone crisis is one of the forgotten crises on the planet earth, but it was brought to the notice of the Vatican, and the Vatican was even willing to facilitate dialogue between the warring factions,” Rev. Forba said.

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Buea told OSV News that the Anglophone crisis made it impossible for people to live normally in the conflicted region.

On top of loss of life and education opportunities for children, he said people “experienced abject poverty” as farmers were unable to sell products due to violence.

“There are people whose houses have been destroyed and they have been rendered homeless,” instantly becoming internally displaced, the bishop listed.

Even though pastoral work has been challenging, the bishop said, “we continue to hope in God, as we continue to pray and the situation will be better.”

Pope Leo expressed support for how “religious leaders have come together to establish a Movement for Peace, through which they seek to mediate between the opposing sides.”

He had however a strong condemnation for those who wage war in the name of God.

“But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Pope Leo said.

“Yes, dear brothers and sisters, you who hunger and thirst for justice, who are poor, merciful, meek, and pure of heart, who have wept — you are the light of the world! (cf. Mt 5:3-14),” he said.

After the ceremony, Pope Leo XIV released doves outside of the cathedral, symbolizing peace. A crowd gathered outside of the cathedral, people sang and cheered enthusiastically.

“Our hearts are full of joy and it sounds unbelievable that the successor of St. Peter is among us in this remote part of Africa,” Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda told the pope.

Before flying back to Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, Pope Leo offered Mass at Bamenda’s airport, which was only recently renovated in anticipation of the pope’s visit, something Archbishop Nkea told OSV News is a “miracle” in itself.

As the enclosed popemobile arrived at the airport, cheering children ran across the tarmac to try to catch a glimpse of the pope in the crowd of about 20,000 people.

“Consolation for broken hearts and hope for change in society are possible if we entrust ourselves to God and God’s word,” Pope Leo said in his homily in English.

“This is the moment to change, to transform the story of this country. The time has come, today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future,” Pope Leo urged, calling on Cameroonians to “restore the mosaic of unity by bringing together the diversity and riches of the country and the continent.”

“I accompany you with my constant prayer and I bless in particular the Church gathered here: the many priests, missionaries, religious and lay people who all work to be a source of consolation and hope,” he said. “I encourage you to continue along this path and I entrust you to the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of the Apostles and Mother of the Church.”

WILLIAMSPORT (April 16, 2026) – As the current school year begins to wind down, administrators at Saint John Neumman Jr./Sr. High School are preparing for an exciting change for the 2026-2027 school year.

Saint John Neumann Jr./Sr. High School, part of the Diocese of Scranton Catholic School System, has made the decision to change the traditional 5-day school week to a 4-day school week.

In the new model, students in grades 6-12 will still meet and exceed the instructional requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through instruction provided during extended school days Monday through Thursday.

Starting next year, classes will begin at 7:45 a.m. (earlier than the current 8:00 a.m.) and run through 3:00 p.m. (longer than the current dismissal time of 2:40 p.m.)

This change comes after several meetings and surveys with students, families, and faculty, who overwhelmingly supported the transition.

While students will be expected to attend school Monday through Thursday, students will still have the option to come to Saint John Neumann Jr./Sr. High School on Fridays. Fridays will be retained for academic tutoring, as well as a variety of extension activities based on student interest.

On Fridays, students will also have the opportunity to explore college and/or career options, volunteer, take school field trips, and participate in their church.

One of the most significant reasons for making the transition to an innovative 4-day school week is that it will enhance students’ educational experiences.

Kristen Donohue, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Scranton, commends the outside-the-box thinking of administrators who wanted to address the needs of students and faculty at Saint John Neumann Jr./Sr. High School, while still offering an academically excellent Catholic education that families have come to expect.

“Saint John Neumann Regional Academy’s principal, Alisia McNamee and her administrative team, have researched this model and the benefits it could have for our students and faculty. This creative model will provide for both the expected outstanding academic setting and additional unique learning opportunities for our students. It will be an educational opportunity that students will only be able to get at Saint John Neumann, and that is very exciting,” Donohue said.

McNamee says one of the closest schools to Williamsport that has a 4-day school week is Bishop McCort High School, located in Johnstown, PA (Cambria County).

“This has been an interest of mine for many years. Our students are so dedicated to their academic progress and making sure they can set themselves up for success after graduation from high school. I know this change will afford them the time to engage in educational experiences beyond the expected curriculum, as well as to focus on their own well-being,” McNamee added. “At Saint John Neumann, we focus on faith, academics, physical, emotional and mental health, and family. This new schedule will provide the dedicated time for these essential areas.”

Both Donohue and McNamee credit the commitment of Saint John Neumann students, faculty, and families who have all contributed to the decision to make this change.

“I feel truly blessed to have a wonderful partnership with our families at Saint John Neumann. We share a vision of success. With their support, wonderful things continue to happen,” McNamee shared. “Enrollment is now open and we encourage anyone interested in learning more, to call and schedule a visit.”

The community is invited to learn more about the benefits of a Catholic education by attending our Spring Open House at Saint John Neumann Jr./Sr. High School on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, from 4-7 p.m. Families are also welcome to take a tour any weekday by contacting the school directly at (570) 323-9953. Additional information on both academic and student life at Saint John Neumann High School is available at sjnra.org.

HAZLETON – The faithful of the Diocese of Scranton are invited to come together this weekend for prayer, reflection and veneration of a relic of Saint Padre Pio.

This is a rare opportunity for the faithful to encounter sacred relics associated with Padre Pio, along with opportunities for Mass, spiritual talks, and personal devotion.

 

Saturday, April 18, 2026  

Transfiguration Church  

213 West Green Street  

West Hazleton, PA 18202  

– Veneration: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM  

– Mass: 4:00 PM  

– Special Talk (5:00 PM): Padre Pio’s Love for the Blessed Mother

 

Sunday, April 19, 2026  

Saint Gabriel’s Church  

122 S. Wyoming Street  

Hazleton, PA 18201  

– Veneration: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM  

 

Mass Schedule:  

– 7:00 AM (English)  

– 8:30 AM (Spanish)  

– 10:00 AM (English)  

– 12:00 PM (Spanish)  

 

– 2:00 PM Talk: The Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Presented by:  

Joe Santoro  

Director, Mission Outreach Program  

National Center for Padre Pio (Barto, PA)

 

Veneration of Rare Relics Includes:  

– The Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary  

– Padre Pio’s Glove  

– Blood-stained sock, nightshirt, and bandage from his side wound  

– Hair from Padre Pio’s beard  

– Relic from Padre Pio’s stigmata  

 

Devotional Opportunities:  

– Bring personal items to be touched to the relics (especially for the sick or homebound)  

– Create your own third-class relics  

– Browse devotional items  

– Participate in spiritual talks  

 

All are welcome to attend this special time of faith, healing, and devotion.

Click Here to Read: Bishop Bambera’s Letter Announcing Saint Pius X Propaedeutic House of Formation 04.13.26

 

SCRANTON – The Diocese of Scranton will take a significant step forward in fostering vocations this summer with the establishment of a new Propaedeutic House of Formation in the heart of downtown Scranton.

In a letter released April 13, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, announced that the Cathedral Convent building at 333 Wyoming Avenue will become the Saint Pius X Propaedeutic House of Formation, welcoming its first seminarians in August 2026.

“This decision is a visible sign of hope and vitality,” Bishop Bambera wrote. “It demonstrates to our faithful that the Church of Scranton is alive, growing, and actively investing in its future.”

For decades, the Cathedral Convent served as a home to generations of religious sisters – particularly the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – whose lives of prayer and service left a lasting imprint on the Diocese. With the recent departure of the remaining sisters, the building now enters a new chapter of service to the Church.

“While this transition marks the end of a significant chapter, it also presents us with a providential opportunity,” the Bishop noted.

That opportunity comes at a time of renewed energy around vocations within the Diocese. According to Bishop Bambera, the number of men currently studying for the priesthood is the highest it has been in several years.

“Thanks to these efforts – and, above all, the grace of God – we anticipate having as many as eighteen men studying for the priesthood by this coming September,” he wrote, expressing gratitude to clergy and lay leaders who continue to encourage vocations.

The new house of formation reflects recent updates to the Church’s formation model, as outlined in the Program for Priestly Formation, which includes a distinct Propaedeutic Stage. This initial stage is designed to provide a strong spiritual and human foundation before formal theological studies begin.

“The Propaedeutic Stage… seeks to provide seminarians with the basic groundwork they need to engage in priestly formation,” Bishop Bambera explained, highlighting its emphasis on prayer, fraternity and a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.

By establishing the program locally, seminarians will be able to begin their formation within the Diocese itself – something the Bishop believes will have a lasting impact.

“This initiative will allow our men to begin their formation journey in their home Diocese, rooted in the life of our local Church,” he said. “It will provide them with the space and structure necessary to grow in discipleship and prayer, while remaining closely connected to the people and parishes they may one day serve.”

The Saint Pius X Propaedeutic House of Formation will have space to accommodate up to 13 seminarians for a typical one-year period, with coursework taking place at local colleges, including The University of Scranton, depending on individual needs.

The program will focus on all four dimensions of priestly formation, with particular attention to human and spiritual development.

In naming the house after Saint Pius X, the Diocese also honors the legacy of the former Saint Pius X Seminary in Dalton, which educated generations of priests from 1962 to 2004.

While modest renovations are planned to prepare the building for its new purpose, Bishop Bambera expressed confidence in the long-term value of the investment.

“I am confident that this effort represents a wise and forward-thinking commitment,” he reiterated.

Looking ahead, the Bishop expressed hope that the new house of formation will further strengthen the culture of vocations already taking root throughout the Diocese.

“When young men see formation happening in their own Diocese, it becomes more tangible, more accessible, and more real,” he said. “It is my desire that this announcement will also provide our parishes with a renewed opportunity to speak about vocations… with even more confidence and encouragement.”

As the Diocese prepares for this new chapter, Bishop Bambera is asking the faithful to remain engaged and prayerful.

“We will have much more to share and promote in the months ahead,” he wrote. “Your role in fostering vocations – through your witness, your invitation, and your accompaniment – will remain essential.”

Entrusting the initiative to God’s providence, the Bishop concluded with a message of hope grounded in faith.

“We move forward in faith – trusting that the Lord will continue to call generous men to serve His Church, and that through the efforts we are undertaking, those calls will be nurtured, strengthened, and brought to joyful fulfillment.”

SCRANTON – The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Scranton is hosting an online art auction through May 1, featuring more than 20 original paintings of local Catholic churches and sacred spaces.

Proceeds from the auction, which launched on April 13, will benefit the “Founders Fund” of the Catholic Foundation and support the long-term pastoral, educational, and service ministries of the Diocese of Scranton.

The online auction showcases a collection of artwork generously donated by artist and philanthropist Austin Burke of Archbald.

Burke, a longtime community leader and former President of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, has spent the past year painting some of the most iconic church buildings in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

“I feel blessed. God has given me some talent, and I feel privileged to be able to use it in this way,” Burke said.

Each piece reflects not only architectural beauty but the deeper role of parish life.

“A church is where humanity encounters God,” Burke noted. “Not only do you encounter God there, but you meet your community there.”

A preview of several paintings was displayed earlier this year during a Bishop’s reception, drawing admiration from parishioners and benefactors alike.

Mark DiPippa, Executive Director of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Scranton, said the auction is both a celebration of faith and an investment in the future.

“We are deeply grateful to Austin for sharing his extraordinary talent in such a meaningful way,” DiPippa said. “His commitment to his faith and his dedication to the mission of the Catholic Foundation are clearly reflected in each of these works. Through this generous gift, he is helping to strengthen the future of the Church of Scranton while celebrating the beauty and heritage of our parishes.”

The paintings available are:

• Annunciation Church, Williamsport
• Cathedral of St. Peter, Scranton
• Epiphany Church, Sayre
• Resurrection Church, Muncy
• Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Mayfield
• Sacred Heart of Mary Church, Jermyn
• St. Ann Basilica and Grotto, Scranton
• St. Catherine of Siena Church, Moscow
• St. John the Evangelist Church, Honesdale
• St. John the Evangelist Church, Pittston
• St. Jude Church, Mountain Top
• St. Luke Church, Stroudsburg
• St. Mary of Czestochowa Church, Eynon
• St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church, Dunmore
• St. Mary of Vilna Church, Eynon
• St. Matthew Church, East Stroudsburg
• St. Nicholas Church, Wilkes-Barre
• St. Patrick Church, Scranton
• St. Rose of Lima Church, Carbondale
• St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Archbald
• Basilica of Padre Pio, Italy
• Cathedral Prayer Garden, Scranton
• Marian Chapel at Marywood University
• Angel of Agonies Statue, Scranton

Bidding information and a full gallery of artwork is available on the Diocese of Scranton website (dioceseofscranton.org) and the Catholic Foundation website (catholicfoundationscranton.org).