St. Clement Catholic Parish

Mikal Mahdi. / Credit: Federal Public Defenders (proof), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 12, 2025 / 18:06 pm (CNA).

Lawyers who represent the recently executed Mikal Mahdi are alleging that the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) “botched” their client’s firing squad execution, which caused him to scream out in pain and remain conscious for nearly one minute until he eventually died.

Mahdi, who was convicted of murdering a police officer and a convenience store worker, died on April 11 at age 42 in South Carolina’s second firing squad execution in the state’s history, both of which occurred this year just five weeks apart.

Although firing squad executions in the United States are extremely rare, the state legalized this method of execution, along with executions by the electric chair, in 2021 amid shortages of the drugs needed for lethal injections. Death row inmates can now choose whether to die by firing squad, lethal injection, or the electric chair, according to current state law.

According to a status report filed by Mahdi’s lawyers, the autopsy and eyewitness accounts of his death raise several questions about the execution. They note there are only two entrance wounds, despite three shots reportedly being fired, and allege that the shots “largely missed his heart,” which resulted in an unnecessarily prolonged death.

The status report notes that Mahdi screamed and groaned immediately after he was shot and a second time nearly a minute after the shots were fired. Mahdi’s lawyers said in the filing that his death was “far from painless and far from humane.”

“The autopsy confirms what I saw and heard,” David Weiss, one of Mahdi’s lawyers, said in a statement. “Mikal suffered an excruciating death. We don’t know what went wrong, but nothing about his execution was humane. The implications are horrifying for anyone facing the same choice as Mikal. South Carolina’s refusal to acknowledge their failures with executions cannot continue.”

Mahdi’s autopsy listed his cause of death as “multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.” It states that there are only two entrance wounds but that “it is believed” one of the gunshot wounds “represents two gunshot wound pathways,” which would indicate three bullets entered his body.

However, an analysis of the autopsy by Arden Forensics commissioned by Mahdi’s lawyers expressed doubt that three gunshots would leave only two entrance wounds, stating that the “passage of more than one bullet through a typical entrance wound is virtually unheard of.”

“We currently have no evidence to explain why there were two, rather than three, entrance wounds,” Jonathan Arden, who provided the analysis, said.

Although the autopsy found that the bullets struck Mahdi’s heart, Arden’s analysis states, “the entrance wounds were at the lowest area of the chest, just above the border with the abdomen, which is not an area largely overlying the heart.” It notes that the downward trajectory of the bullets, found in the autopsy, suggests “the heart might not be injured severely (or even at all).” 

“The forensic medical evidence and the reported eyewitness observations of the execution corroborate that Mr. Mahdi was alive and reacting longer than was intended or expected,” he continued. “Mr. Mahdi did experience excruciating conscious pain and suffering for about 30 to 60 seconds after he was shot.”

A spokesperson for SCDC disputed the narrative from Mahdi’s lawyers, telling CNA that “all three weapons fired simultaneously, and all three bullets struck Mahdi,” adding: “Two bullets followed the same trajectory.”

“All three bullets struck Mahdi’s heart, per the autopsy report,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that “multiple fragments were removed from Mahdi’s body,” “the autopsy report shows no exit wounds,” and “no fragments were found in the room.”

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, told CNA the reports suggest the “execution was botched, causing a very painful death.” She said “this is a reminder that every execution — regardless of the method or the procedures that take place — is a violent act that disregards the dignity of life.”

“This year, multiple states have instituted new execution methods including the firing squad — like in the case of Mr. Mahdi — and the newly developed method of nitrogen gas suffocation,” Murphy added.

“It’s hard not to look at these methods and think, ‘How did we get here?’ And how does our society think this inhumanity is somehow acceptable?” she said. “The reality is, those are the questions we should ask ourselves each time there is an execution, because the death penalty is contrary to human dignity and an affront to the sanctity of life.”

“The outrage we feel toward these execution methods is a reminder that over time, the system of capital punishment has become all the more deceptive to make executions appear more palatable, sterile, and ‘humane,’” Murphy continued. “But executions are never any of these things. Whether someone is shot, electrocuted, injected, or gassed each and every execution extinguishes a God-given life with inherent dignity and worth. Each and every execution is a blatant act of state-sanctioned violence.”

U.S. Navy LSTs and other vessels unloading at low tide at Normandy, soon after the June 1944 invasion. USS LST-55 is in the center, behind the closest barrage balloon. USS LST-61 is at right. / Credit: Steck, U.S. Army Signal Corps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 12, 2025 / 17:26 pm (CNA).

Louis Marius Prevost, the father of Pope Leo XIV, served on a D-Day landing ship during World War II and was a junior lieutenant in the United States Navy.

Since Pope Leo XIV became the new pontiff, the world has been eager to learn more about the first U.S.-born pope. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) released a statement about Pope Leo’s late father and his role in the revered “greatest generation” that won World War II.

Prevost was born on July 28, 1920, in Chicago. After he graduated from college, he joined the Navy in November 1943 when he was 23 years old. 

According to the Department of Defense, Prevost became the executive officer of a tank landing ship and “participated in the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, as part of Operation Overlord.” He was in charge of a landing craft that “the Allies used to land infantry soldiers and Marines onto beaches during the war.”

On June 6, 1944, Prevost was involved in the Allied forces landing troops on Normandy beaches that “successfully executed the largest air, land, and sea invasion in history,” according to the DOD.

The Normandy coastline would soon run out of capacity for the amount of materials needed “to keep the Allied momentum going.” The U.S. Navy then sent Prevost and other landing ships to southern France on Aug. 15, 1944, to take part in Operation Dragoon, which “forced the Germans to defend a second front, diluting their effectiveness.”

“By the end of August,” the DOD said, “the Allies had captured the French ports of Marseille and Toulon, immediately using them to land supplies and equipment. In October 1944, more than a third of Allied cargo was shipped through those ports.”

Prevost was overseas on active duty for 15 months. He attained the rank of lieutenant junior grade prior to the war ending on May 8, 1945.

After the war, Prevost returned home and became the head of an elementary school district in Glenwood, Illinois. He later took a job as a principal at Mount Carmel Elementary School in Chicago and also did work teaching “the principles of the Christian religion” as a catechist.

In 1949 Prevost married Mildred Martinez, who was a librarian at the time. 

The couple had three sons: John Joseph Prevost; Louis Martin Prevost, also a U.S. Navy veteran; and Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost passed away in Chicago due to natural causes on Nov. 8, 1997.

Archbishop Julian Porteous. / Credit: Archdiocese of Hobart

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 12, 2025 / 17:06 pm (CNA).

A Catholic archbishop in Australia is calling attention to an ecumenical statement on human sexuality released last year as the group behind the project seeks to gain approval for the creed from “biblically orthodox leaders” worldwide.

Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart is among some 6,000 initial signatories of the “Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity,” a statement affirming fundamental Christian ethics on sex and gender that was drafted last October by a team of over 100 Christian faith leaders, including Catholic clergy.

In a Catholic Weekly interview last week, Porteous explained his decision to back the initiative, saying: “I thought it was good ecumenically to show support. And from the Catholic point of view, I felt we had a lot to offer because we have been able to articulate a lot of this material through magisterial teaching, through the catechism and so on, and help them with terminology.”

The creed outlines common Christian moral tenets on the creation of every person as male or female, marriage and sexuality as exclusively between men and women, the belief that every human life is sacred, and the call to chastity and faithfulness both in marriage and singleness. 

“We believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who designed sex as part of his loving plan for humanity and whose will for sexual integrity is clearly revealed in holy Scripture,” the statement reads.

“We believe our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,” the statement adds, “that Christ calls and empowers us to repent from all sin, including sexual sin, that his mercy abounds to forgive and restore, and that by living with sexual integrity we glorify God and humbly embrace his wise and loving plan for human life.”

“Every era has its particular heresies,” the creed website states. “We believe the time has come for a new creed that affirms the timeless teachings of the church regarding sexual integrity and that articulates God’s glorious design for sex and marriage as revealed in holy Scripture.”

“Our hope and prayer,” the website notes, “is that the Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity will gain global approval from biblically orthodox leaders in the Catholic Church, the Anglican/Episcopalian Church, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Orthodox Church, evangelical and Pentecostal churches, and many more besides.”

Pope Leo XIV smiles as a jubilant crowd joins in prayer on Sunday, May 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 12, 2025 / 16:36 pm (CNA).

As the world celebrates the election of the first pope born in the United States, the president of the only U.S.-based charitable organization dedicated to carrying out the Holy Father’s humanitarian aid projects speculates that Leo XIV’s papacy could increase charitable giving within the Church. 

“I do think that because Pope Leo is American, he will have a special rapport with Americans that it should lead to increased donation for his causes of the poor and the vulnerable and the marginalized,” said Ward Fitzgerald, the Papal Foundation’s board president. 

Funded by donations from its “Stewards of St. Peter,” the Papal Foundation supports humanitarian aid projects designated by the pope and the continuing education of priests and religious. “Ninety to 95% of these benefactors are American,” according to Fitzgerald, who emphasized that none of their contributions go to the Vatican or the Holy See.

Part of the reason Fitzgerald believes the new pontiff’s election could positively influence donations not only to the foundation but also to the Vatican is that the new Holy Father is a native English speaker. 

“Too often ... the pope feels a bit foreign to Americans,” he said. “We are not owed as a society having [a pope] that speaks our language, just like no other countries are owed that. But it can be helpful in catalyzing the faith and catalyzing the Holy See’s causes when communication can be better.” 

“I think it’s particularly important in an era, unfortunately, where people use video and phone constantly,” he added.

Ultimately, he said, “I think communication through the verbal word as opposed to the written word is going to help Americans embrace the causes of the pope, which include the poor and the marginalized and the vulnerable.” 

Fitzgerald, who has met Cardinal Robert Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — described the new pontiff as politically neither right nor left but as a “compassionate conservative or conservative compassionate.” 

He stated that the pontiff’s philosophy rests on three pillars: an appreciation for the harmony of faith and reason, shaped by his study of Aquinas; a commitment to leading people to Christ, rooted in his Augustinian influences; and a deep concern for the poor and marginalized, reflected in his service in Peru.

Apart from serving as the foundation’s board president, Fitzgerald is the CEO and founder of ExCorde Capital, a private equity firm that specializes in real estate debt and equity markets. One thing he said he hoped to see under Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate is more transparency in Vatican finances and better stewardship of its real estate. 

“I think that the universal Church would be more charitable to the Vatican if it understood its finances,” he said, noting the general impression many people have is that of waste and lack of oversight.

“I’m not saying it’s true or false because I have no idea,” he said. “But I think the impression is that if they can communicate clearly where the capital is going … I believe the world would support it.”

“Again, because this pope is from America, and America happens to be a more affluent country than many countries, America will probably provide more than its fair share towards those goals,” he added. 

In terms of Vatican real estate, Fitzgerald said that while sometimes Church property can be a true asset, other times it can be a “crutch and a burden.”

“Now is the time to shed the burden of trying to maintain real estate that is not impactful towards the mission of the truth of the Church and for Jesus Christ,” he said.

Credit: ivanko80/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 12, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA).

California pregnancy centers filed an appeal last week asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to stop the state from censoring pro-life pregnancy centers that provide abortion pill reversals.

The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) and the SCV Pregnancy Center in Santa Clarita, California, are asking the court to stop the state of California from censoring pro-life pregnancy centers that provide information about abortion pill reversal. 

In 2023 California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, sued five pro-life pregnancy centers over their promotion of a drug that is meant to reverse chemical abortions. 

In the suit, Bonta accused the pregnancy centers of using fraudulent and misleading claims when advertising the abortion pill reversal drug. The lawsuit accused the pregnancy centers of violating California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law. 

The May 7 appeal alleges that California “targeted” pro-life organizations and violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech as well as religious freedom, as NIFLA is a faith-based organization.

Abortion pill reversal entails taking progesterone within 72 hours of taking mifepristone, the first of two drugs taken for a chemical abortion. The progesterone can stop a chemical abortion. 

Progesterone, a vital hormone for maintaining pregnancy, has been used for decades to prevent miscarriage and preterm labor. Abortion pill reversal has potentially saved thousands of unborn lives, with some sources citing a 64%-68% success rate.

“Progesterone therapy offers these women hope and their babies a second chance at life,” the appeal read.

Caleb Dalton, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, the nonprofit legal group arguing on behalf of the pregnancy centers, said that “access to information is a hallmark of a free society and is essential to making informed medical choices.”

“Every woman should have the option to reconsider going through with a chemical abortion, and the pro-life pregnancy centers we represent truthfully inform women about that choice,” Dalton said in a statement.

“We urge the court to affirm the pregnancy centers’ freedom to tell the public about this lawful, life-saving treatment and end the attorney general’s censorship,” Dalton said. 

The appeal pointed to the story of two California mothers, Atoria Foley and Desirae Exendine, who “immediately regretted” taking the first abortion drug and “frantically sought an alternative.” 

Through online searches, the women found a NIFLA pregnancy center. An OB-GYN on staff prescribed progesterone free of cost after diagnosing the women and obtaining their informed consent.

“The treatment worked: Atoria gave birth to a healthy daughter and Desirae to a healthy son,” the appeal read.

“If I hadn’t heard about abortion pill reversal, I firmly believe my baby girl would not be alive today,” Foley testified in the appeal.  

“They gave me back my son’s life. I believe all women should have the same second chance to save their babies,” Exendine added.

A Planned Parenthood facility in Indianapolis. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Pro-life organizations are stepping up their campaign to defund “big abortion” as the reconciliation bill is expected to come up for debate in the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week. 

On Wednesday, May 7, digital billboards with ads from pro-life organization Live Action lit up Times Square, urging passers-by to help defund Planned Parenthood.

Since the Trump administration announced its plan to defund Planned Parenthood in March, pro-life leaders have been working with lawmakers and urging citizens to contact their representatives with the hope the reconciliation bill will defund federally defund the organization by Memorial Day. 

With that date only weeks away, activists are campaigning to make it happen.

“Although there are multiple reasons why Planned Parenthood deserves to be defunded,” Live Action reported, “the billboard highlighted two main reasons that America’s biggest abortion business should lose the $700 million it receives from federal tax dollars each year.”

Live Action’s billboard messages focused on how the organization provides cross-sex hormones to minors and “commits” thousands of abortions every week.

One billboard displayed the number “1076” in large type. According to Planned Parenthood’s 2022-2023 annual report, that is the number of abortions the organization performs daily.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA) is also seeking to defund Planned Parenthood. On April 29, the organization held a gala in Washington, D.C., with pro-life supporters and legislators from across the country.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, told attendees there has “never been a more important moment to stand for this cause.”

Johnson explained that the reconciliation bill would redirect funds from “big abortion” to “federally qualified health centers.” 

Other federal legislators who attended included Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio; Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio; Tim Sheehy, R-Montana and Steve Daines, R-Montana.

The reconciliation bill cannot directly defund the abortions Planned Parenthood performs because under the Hyde Amendment, organizations already cannot use federal funds for abortion. However, the bill can stop taxpayer dollars from going toward Medicaid funds that Planned Parenthood and similar organizations use. 

Kelsey Pritchard, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America political communications director, told CNA that while President Donald Trump did reinstate the Hyde Amendment, the money is “fungible” and “Planned Parenthood’s largest federal funding comes through Medicaid reimbursements.”

Pritchard said former Planned Parenthood directors have told SBA that these funds support the abortion infrastructure by covering utilities, staffing, and patient intake for abortion-related operations rather than the women’s cancer and health screenings the money is intended for. 

The money is what enables it “to do nearly 400,000 abortions annually, all while they’re getting $2 million in tax money every single day. It’s really allowing them to keep their doors open,” she said.  

The pro-life movement is “unified” and “encouraged by the energy right now,” according to Pritchard.

“It’s a very popular move to get the American people out of the forced funding of abortion businesses. I think that’s why we’ve seen so much support and why we’re so hopeful that this is the time.”

null / Credit: Melnikov Dmitriy/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 11, 2025 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has released a new 10th anniversary preface to a major document on the Church’s response to pornography, offering fresh recommendations for parents, clergy, educators, and civil leaders on combatting porn’s influence in an age of increased social isolation and the rise of artificial intelligence.

“Create in Me a Pure Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography” calls for a renewed commitment to chastity and offers a message of hope and healing through Christ and the Church’s ministry, positioning the Church as a “field hospital” for those wounded by pornography.

The 50-page document includes a new introduction penned by the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, providing an update to a document the bishops first released in 2015 — years before the social upheaval wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, the founding of new “user generated” porn platforms such as OnlyFans, and the rise of sophisticated AI-generated “deepfakes” that proliferate fake pornographic imagery, often utilizing celebrities’ images without their consent.

Pornography, the bishops write, “gravely contradicts” the virtue of chastity to which all people — no matter their state in life — are called, offering a “deceptive substitute for real relationship” and posing a “serious threat to love in the life of the individual and the community.”

Jesus himself condemns the pornographic attitude in clear terms: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28), they note.

The bishops say the “loneliness epidemic,” which for years has exacerbated society’s appetite for porn, has only grown more acute since the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“Social isolation was already a danger in an individualistic society like ours, but it has worsened due to the continued spread of social media and the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have confirmed that isolation and increased exposure to mobile devices have severely damaged the mental health of consumers, especially young people,” the document reads.

“This isolation threatens one of the deepest desires of the human heart. The desire for genuine relationship is intrinsic to human nature and its goodness is revealed by God: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone’ (Gn 2:18).”

In recent years, the document continues, reports have emerged of the multibillion-dollar pornography industry’s use of deceptive tactics to draw in and addict users, including children.

“Often, those users don’t seek out illicit material; it seeks them. The pervasiveness of video-based social media platforms leaves little chance for people to ‘opt out,’” the bishops note.

“Some platforms also entice users, through peer pressure and false promises of ‘easy money,’ into sharing self-made pornographic material. The business models of major pornography sites depend on getting young people addicted, which is why some have chosen to shut down operations altogether rather than verify the age of users where legally required.”

In recent years, the porn industry has turned to increasingly sophisticated generative AI for the creation of new imagery that “exaggerates consumers’ expectations and gratifies their every whim,” instilling habits in the consumer that “make actual love even more difficult to realize,” the bishops write.

In addition, a major problem today is pornographers’ use of “existing people as the basis for ‘deepfake’ imagery without even the minimal consent that is already legally required.”

The document includes various recommendations for combatting porn.

Speaking to individuals, the bishops encourage those struggling with pornography to seek forgiveness and healing through the sacrament of penance, the cultivation of the virtue of chastity, seeking support through counseling and groups, utilizing filtering software, and persevering in the struggle. They encourage all people of goodwill to work together for laws and a culture that resists and rejects pornography and honors human dignity.

For parents, the bishops encourage discussing chastity and sexuality with children in age-appropriate ways, encourage critical thinking about media, setting positive examples with technology use, cultivating nondigital activities, and utilizing parental controls and filters. They also urge parents to consider delaying smartphone use among their children.

Clergy and lay leaders are encouraged to “articulate the transforming power of the Gospel,” provide pastoral support, make confession readily available, preach on chastity, educate themselves on resources, and refer individuals to trustworthy counselors and support groups.

Educators, the bishops said, should prohibit all nonemergency use of mobile devices during school hours; teach about the harms of porn beginning in middle school; be mindful and pastoral with students, parents, staff, and volunteers exhibiting signs of loneliness, isolation, or other symptoms of unhealthy private behavior; and teach the “importance and life-giving benefits of chastity and responsible living, using resources such as a theology of the body curriculum adapted for appropriate ages.”

Furthermore, the bishops exhort civil leaders to promote age-verification requirements on porn sites, call on them to address the production of AI porn, hold social media platforms accountable, and “[r]espect the family as the central social institution of society and support the authority of parents to protect their children online by ensuring that they have the tools necessary to monitor their children’s online activity.”

Noting a further update since the original publication of the document, the bishops concluded that “there is still a need for accountability for those who allow minors and other vulnerable people to be sexually exploited, either in secular society or in the Church.”

“Only when there is genuine transparency and authentic repentance can healing take place. Until then, perpetrators who need God’s mercy will remain with hardened hearts, unwilling to receive Christ’s words: ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, from now on do not sin any more’ (Jn 8:11).”

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France is the site where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Catherine Labouré. / Credit: Lawrence OP/Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 11, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

May is a month to honor mothers. Mother’s Day falls on May 11 this year in the United States and Canada as the Catholic tradition continues of honoring, throughout the entire month, Mary, the mother of God.

To recognize the work and sacrifices of mothers, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, offered a prayer to be said today and throughout the month in thanksgiving for the love and support mothers provide. 

A Prayer for All Mothers

Good and gracious God,

We thank you for all mothers — the women you have called to bring forth new life and women who provide for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those entrusted to their care.

Give them the courage to raise godly children through happy and difficult times and wisdom to guide their children on the path to eternal life.

Fortify them through your word and sacraments to endure the challenges and trials of motherhood.

Instill in them joy and delight as they accompany their children through the years.

Shower them with care and support from their family and friends.

Comfort those mothers who have lost their children and those children who have lost their mothers.

In your charity, entrust all mothers to the tenderness of your own mother, Mary.

We love our mothers, Lord.

We ask for your blessing upon them this day and always.

Amen.

While Mother’s Day is a joyous occasion for many, it can also be challenging for others — for those who have lost their mothers, for mothers who have lost their children, for those struggling to become mothers, and for those whose relationship with their mothers may be painful.

To find healing on this Mother’s Day, we ask the Holy Spirit for comfort and aid, and ask Mary for her intercession and motherly love. 

Prayer for Healing to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Mary Immaculate, 

You have asked us to pray with confidence and we will receive great graces. We know your compassion, because you saw your Son suffer and die for us. In your union with his suffering you became the mother of us all. 

Mary, my mother, teach me to understand my suffering as you do and to endure it in union with the suffering of Jesus. In your motherly love, calm my fears and increase my trust in God’s loving care. 

According to God’s plan, obtain for me the healing I need. Intercede with your Son that I may have the strength I need to work for God’s glory and the salvation of the world. 

Amen.

Pope Leo XIV prays at the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, Saturday, May 10, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, May 10, 2025 / 13:42 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday visited and prayed at a Marian shrine outside of Rome, greeting the community there and urging them to “be faithful to the Mother.”

The Holy Father visited the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano on Saturday afternoon. The sanctuary, located about an hour east of Rome, is run by the religious of the Order of St. Augustine and “houses an ancient image of the Virgin, dear to the order and to the memory of Leo XIII,” according to the Vatican.

The pope greeted the religious at the shrine before praying at both the altar and the Marian image there, according to the Vatican. The Holy Father also prayed St. John Paul II’s prayer to the Mother of Good Counsel with the assembly.

“I wanted so much to come here in these first days of the new ministry that the Church has entrusted to me, to carry out this mission as the successor of Peter,” Leo told those present.

The pope told the community that the shrine was “such a great gift” to them.

“As the Mother never abandons her children, you must also be faithful to the Mother,” he said. The Holy Father also offered a blessing to those present.

Leo on Saturday also visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he prayed in front of the tomb of Pope Francis, his immediate predecessor.

Francis is one of eight popes buried in the papal basilica.

An activist protests on Capitol Hill on July 22, 2015, in Washington, D.C. Members of the San Carlos Apache Nation and other activists gathered to protest the a section of the National Defense Authorization Act that would turn over parts of Oak Flat that are sacred to the Apache to a foreign copper mining company. / Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, May 10, 2025 / 11:45 am (CNA).

An effort backed by the U.S. bishops to protect a centuries-old Native American religious site from destruction scored a win in federal court on Friday when a district judge blocked the sale of the location while the matter is considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Steven Logan said in the Friday order that the federal government would be prohibited from selling the Oak Flat site in Arizona while the coalition group Apache Stronghold waits for the Supreme Court to potentially consider its case.

The federal government several years ago moved to transfer Oak Flat to the mining company Resolution Copper after having protected the site for decades. The group’s proposed mining operations would largely obliterate the site, which has been viewed as a sacred site by Apaches and other Native American groups for hundreds of years and has been used extensively for religious rituals.

Apache Stronghold filed a challenge to the transfer, arguing that it violates both the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and an 1852 treaty protecting Apache territory. The religious liberty law group Becket is representing the group in the case. Several lower courts have already ruled against the Native American group.

Logan in his Friday ruling said he was persuaded by “the fundamental freedoms at stake in this case.”

“It is undisputed that if the transfer goes forward and Resolution Copper’s mining plans are effectuated, [the Native American groups] will suffer irreparable harm in the long term,” he wrote. The injunction, meanwhile, would “not stop Resolution from mining a single ounce of copper should the transfer ultimately be upheld.”

The “balance of equities” in the dispute is in favor of Apache Stronghold, Logan said, insofar as they have “established a likelihood of irreparable harm should the transfer proceed” and have raised “serious questions” about the merits of the case.

The injunction will hold until the Supreme Court either refuses to hear the case or else issues a decision should it take the case up, Logan ordered.

U.S. bishops say transfer ‘jeopardizes religious liberty’

Last year the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) joined an amicus brief with the Christian Legal Society and the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, arguing that the lower court decisions allowing the sale represent “a grave misunderstanding of RFRA that fails to apply its protections in evaluating that destruction.”

The transfer of the land “jeopardizes Native American religious practice and religious liberty more broadly,” the groups argued.

The Knights of Columbus similarly filed a brief in support of the Apaches, arguing that the decision to allow the property to be mined “reads into RFRA an atextual constraint with no grounding in the statute itself.”

The decision is devastating not just to the Apaches but to “the myriad religious adherents of all faiths and backgrounds who use federal lands every day for their religious exercise,” they said. 

Religious liberty scholars from the Notre Dame Law School, Seton Hall University, and the University of St. Thomas School of Law also filed a brief backing the Native Americans. Numerous other religious groups also filed amicus briefs.