null / Credit: Mehdi Kasumov/Shutterstock

Washington D.C., May 2, 2025 / 16:38 pm (CNA).

A panel of scholars at The Catholic University of America (CUA) addressed what they believe the cardinals may be looking for when electing the next pope but acknowledged there is no way to know what direction the upcoming conclave — which begins May 7 — will go.

On Thursday, May 1, CUA chaplain Father Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, led a panel on the subject of Pope Francis’ legacy and the future of the Church that included CUA School of Theology dean and professor Joseph Capizzi, senior fellow for the Catholic Association Ashley McGuire, and Stephen White, executive director for the Catholic Project.

White said he believes that “at least some of the cardinals will be looking to make the case for a more regular application and appreciation for the significance of law in the Church.” He clarified: “What I’m not saying is that this past pontificate was lawless.”

“But,” he continued, “I think the rule of law and the equitable application of law is not simply about following the rules.”

“It’s a constituent of the common good of the Church. There’s a reason the Church has law, not just simply to be efficient. It helps to organize and maintain the common good of the Church, including the common good of the pope who wants to see that the Church’s law is not only being applied, but it’s being applied fairly. I think that would be of concern for some of the cardinals.”

McGuire said Pope Francis was “handed a couple of very difficult, acute crises that are still not fully resolved,” including abuse allegations and financial issues, and believes the next step is to put those to rest and focus on other issues. 

“I think … the Church has two different problems it has to deal with,” McGuire said. “It’s got in the West this march of secularization; what’s going on in Germany, we’re bordering on heresy. And the fact that even in a place like the United States, you have regular Mass attendees who aren’t really necessarily following Church doctrine.”

“But then you have in parts of the developing world, which is where the Church is growing the fastest, regular reports of slaughter… and parishioners going to church not knowing if they’re going to survive Mass.”

“The Church has to govern two very different lived realities of being Catholic,” McGuire concluded.

Capizzi said matters like these should not be at the forefront of how the pope should be selected but rather the focus should solely be on electing “a holy man” and “a good man.”

“We’re trying to pull as many people into the boat as possible to keep them on the boat. That’s the task,” he said.

White added that the cardinals need to ask “what is the office of Peter?” and “get back to the basics” when electing the next pontiff.

With a new pope to be elected soon, the panel also reflected on Pope Francis and his legacy.

Guilbeau said Pope Francis’ belief that “the Church’s intellectual tradition, the fullness of her spiritual, liturgical, sacramental tradition is meant for everybody and emphasis on the margins” will be remembered.

They specifically mentioned his dedication to the unborn, the poor, and immigrants, and highlighted his mercy. 

McGuire said she believes people will remember how Pope Francis would go out to be with the public, “physically hugging people.” In other words, “what you would picture Jesus doing.”

A policeman stands guard at a checkpoint along a street in Srinagar on May 1, 2025. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the military “operational freedom” to respond to a deadly attack in Kashmir that New Delhi has blamed on arch-rival Pakistan, a senior government said on April 29. / Credit: BASIT ZARGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2025 / 15:14 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week:

Catholic who refused to deny his faith shot by Islamic terrorists in India  

A 57-year-old Catholic man, Sushil Nathaniel, was among 26 people killed during a terrorist attack in Kashmir (also called Pahalgam), India, last week, according to an Asia News report. 

Nathaniel’s wife, who escaped with their two children, told AsiaNews that her husband was shot in the head by terrorists after refusing to recite the Islamic declaration of faith. 

While celebrating his funeral, Bishop Thomas Kuttimackal of Indore described Nathaniel as a “martyr” and praised his “courage in not hiding his faith even under threat of arms.” 

Lebanese Christians remember ‘special paternal love’ of Pope Francis

Lebanese Christians in the country and diaspora communities around the world have been taking the time to memorialize Pope Francis, remembering his “special paternal love” for Lebanon, according to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

Bishops led solemn liturgies in Beirut, Zgharta, and Sidon, while Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi, recovering from surgery, sent a heartfelt message praising the pope’s spiritual impact. In Rome, Bishop Youssef Soueif led a Mass at the Mar Maroun Church with members of the Lebanese diaspora. Even in Lomé, Togo, Maronite faithful gathered to honor the late pontiff in prayer.

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis held a deep and fatherly affection for Lebanon. From backing youth-led protests in 2019 to calling for unity among political leaders, he remained attentive to the country’s struggles. Though a scheduled 2022 visit was postponed, Francis continued to speak out for Lebanon, notably urging the swift election of a president in 2024. In 2021, he convened Lebanese Christian leaders at the Vatican for a special day of prayer and reflection dedicated to the country’s future.

Conference on role of Christians in the future of Syria takes place in Aleppo

In Aleppo, the Catholic Education Association launched the first “Pentecost of a Nation” conference to highlight the role of Syrian Christians in shaping the country’s future, ACI MENA reported on Wednesday.

The event brought together 250 participants from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds to discuss constitutional reform, social justice, and national identity. Church leaders emphasized the Christian community’s historical role as active contributors — not passive observers — of Syria’s development while advocating for forgiveness, coexistence, and civic engagement.

Diplomats in Nigeria eulogize Pope Francis as ‘leader for truth, peace, equality’

Members of the diplomatic corps in Nigeria have paid glowing tribute to Pope Francis, describing the late pontiff as a global beacon of peace, truth, humility, and justice.

“Words will fail me on this one. He was a wonderful human being, a leader for truth, for peace, for equality, for solidarity, for unity, and for love,” the honorary consul of Colombia to Nigeria, Maricel Romero, told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Tuesday after a memorial Mass in Pope Francis’ honor. 

European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and Eurasia Gautier Mignot praised the late pope for his dedication to “the most humble, the most vulnerable, and the poorest.” 

Only 15% of South Korean Catholics attend Mass, according to latest study

A new study published by the Catholic bishops’ conference in Korea found that about 15 in every 100 Catholics in South Korea attended Mass regularly last year, UCA News reported. 

The study, titled “2024 Statistics on the Catholic Church in Korea” found that the total number of Catholics in South Korea in 2024 was almost 6 million, about 11.4% of the total population.

German cardinal describes ‘brotherly and cordial mood’ among cardinals in Rome

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne, Germany, described the attitude among cardinals gathered in Rome for the conclave as “brotherly and cordial” in an interview with CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, on Tuesday.

“Most cardinals have not seen each other for a long time and many are happy and have been happy to see each other again,” he said. “That’s how I felt too.”

At the general congregations, the meetings of the cardinals in preparation for the conclave, which begins May 7, “a very concentrated, calm, objective working mood” prevails, Woelki explained.

“With all the differences and the different perspectives that are naturally brought in there, from the different partial Churches and with the different cultures and mentalities,” he said there is “simply a good togetherness.”

Cardinals participate in the fifth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on April 30, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Staff, May 2, 2025 / 13:49 pm (CNA).

The conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7. (Here’s a detailed explanation of how the process will work.) Over 130 cardinal electors will vote in the conclave, the largest group of cardinal electors ever.

It is also arguably the most diverse group of electors ever, geographically speaking. The proportion of cardinal electors from Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, and countries in Europe — countries that are not the historically heavily represented Italy — has grown since the last conclave in 2013. 

Pope Francis during his 12-year pontificate elevated a large majority of the current cardinal electors, some of whom serve countries with very small Catholic populations, such as Pakistan, Iran, and Mongolia. In all, Francis appointed cardinals from 72 different nations, including from over two dozen countries that had never before had a cardinal in the Church’s history, such as Haiti, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Singapore, and South Sudan. 

A closer look at the numbers — taking the estimated number of Catholics in a country and dividing them by the number of cardinal electors — gives some idea of how “represented” that country’s Catholic community will be in the conclave. The smaller the resulting number, the more “representation” those Catholics get in the conclave via the cardinal or cardinals who serve them. 

The caveat, of course, is that the Catholic Church isn’t a representative democracy, so although it’s an interesting thought exercise, it’s not accurate to say that a cardinal is a “representative” of the area entrusted to him in the same way that, say, a U.S. member of Congress is.

For example, Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world at 105,300,000 and seven cardinal electors. This means each elector “represents” 15,043,000 Catholics in Brazil — a pretty big number. 

In contrast, Iran has a mere 13,600 Catholics but one cardinal elector. Thus Iran’s ratio is 13,600 Catholics per elector, which is — at least on paper — better than Brazil’s.

In terms of raw numbers, Italy has the largest number of electors of any country, with 17 cardinals currently set to participate. But raw numbers can be deceiving. Italy also has a huge number of Catholics, meaning that each cardinal elector “represents” about 2,471,000 Catholics. This places Italy at No. 33 on the list of most “represented” countries. 

So which country has the most representation, proportionally, at the conclave? That would be Mongolia, which has a tiny but devout Catholic population of 1,116 and one cardinal elector, the Italian-born Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, who is also one of the youngest cardinal electors. Mongolia’s ratio of 1,116 Catholics per elector gives its Catholics an outsized “voice” within the conclave.

By contrast, take a look at Mexico. Its Catholic population is massive, at some 91,200,000. But for such a large Catholic country, Mexico has only two cardinal electors. That means each elector speaks for 45,600,000 Catholics, the least proportional representation among countries with electors.

If you’re wondering where the United States falls in this analysis: The U.S. has 10 cardinal electors, the second-most of any country in terms of raw numbers. But the country’s large Catholic population of nearly 67 million drops it to 56th place in the rankings, at nearly 6.7 million Catholics per elector.  

(The exact number of cardinals may change between now and the start of the conclave, as two cardinals have already voluntarily dropped out due to illness, but the numbers almost certainly won’t change drastically.)

Of course, some countries with historically large Catholic populations will have no representation in the conclave at all because of a lack of cardinal electors. One notable example is Ireland (though Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, is Irish-born but has ministered for many years in the United States). Others include Vietnam, Lebanon, Mozambique, Mauritius, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras.

null / Credit: Tatiana Beschastnova/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2025 / 12:46 pm (CNA).

“Everything is connected,” Pope Francis wrote — five times — in his encyclical Laudato Si’. Since its publication in 2015, this text has become a reference for environmental protection and an uncomfortable reminder for many others: The earth is wounded, and humanity with it.

With Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis echoed the words of St. Francis of Assisi, who considered all of creation “like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us” (LS, 1).

The Holy Father deemed it opportune to raise his voice in defense of the planet, “because of the harm we cause it through the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her” (LS, 2). The violence within the human heart, wounded by sin, is also manifested in the damage to the earth.

Welcomed by some and rejected by others, both within and outside the Catholic world, Laudato Si’ emerged as one of the most important documents of Francis’ pontificate.

Its detractors have criticized the encyclical for downplaying other concerns for Catholics, such as working directly with the poor. They have also expressed their disagreement with the pope’s proposal to eliminate fossil fuels.

The Catholic Church in green mode

Based on his “ecological” magisterium, Francis adopted practical measures to align the Catholic Church with environmental protection and the fight against climate change.

In 2021, the Laudato Si’ Platform was launched as a concrete action for Christian communities to apply the teachings of the encyclical. The Vatican also committed to reducing emissions to net zero in its territory by 2050.

In 2023, the Holy Father declared plastic “banned” in Vatican City and emphasized that the pollution caused by this material is a threat to life.

More recently, and among many other projects, the Vatican received a series of electric cars to promote sustainable mobility and reduce pollution. Two of them were specially adapted for Pope Francis.

Legacy of Laudato Si’

“It has permeated not only the discourse but also the praxis of Christian communities,” said Jesuit Father Jaime Tatay, who holds a doctorate in moral theology and is a professor at the Pontifical University of Comillas in Spain.

Although it is the first encyclical on care of the environment, Laudato Si' actually includes “many references to other documents and pastoral letters from bishops’ conferences that had already been written on this topic,” Tatay pointed out in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“Pope Francis collects, compiles, structures, and synthesizes all of that previous teaching. So, on the one hand, it’s true that it’s new, but on the other, it’s also true that it’s not so new, in the sense that he simply shapes and elevates it, thanks to the authority with which he speaks on these issues,” said the Jesuit, who received a Vatican award for his work on integral ecology and sustainability.

For the Spanish priest, the legacy of Laudato Si’ can be broken down into three areas: an ethical dimension, an ascetic dimension, and a sacramental dimension. The ethical dimension, according to Tatay, is evident in Pope Francis’ constant critique of the social crisis facing human communities, which then inevitably lead to environmental crises.

The Holy Father spoke of human greed, a condition that worsens as the modern world promotes self-referentiality and collective selfishness, neglecting concern for the most vulnerable, which includes our common home.

“Our concern cannot be limited merely to the threat of extreme weather events but must also extend to the catastrophic consequences of social unrest. Obsession with a consumerist lifestyle, above all when few people are capable of maintaining it, can only lead to violence and mutual destruction,” (LS, 204) he added.

Tatay also highlighted an ascetic dimension, through which Pope Francis called for the recovery of “a sober, simple life, a critique of waste and the throwaway culture.”

In addition, the Jesuit referred to a sacramental dimension, with which the Holy Father sought to demonstrate “that the created world is not only matter and energy but is a gift, a gift from God.”

“Typically, we approach nature with the typical tools of the natural sciences. That’s why physics, chemistry, and biology are very important, but also important is this theological-sacramental view of reality: Creation is something we are called to care for sacramentally,” Tatay noted.

Laudato Si’ and ideological conflict

Although many believe that climate change and environmental activism have historically been linked to the political left, for the Spanish expert it is important to highlight that this “is not entirely true” and that, on the contrary, these issues “are neither right-wing nor left-wing.”

“Drinking clean water, eating quality food, breathing pollutant-free air, having a stable ecosystem, having predictable weather patterns — these are neither right-wing nor left-wing issues but matters for any human being who cares about where they live,” the Jesuit pointed out.

For Tatay, the Catholic Church can help alleviate political polarization “not only on environmental issues but on many others” and be a space where reconciliation can be achieved, “a meeting place for different positions.”

“I’m not saying that the Church doesn’t have its tensions and trends like any human group, because otherwise it wouldn’t be human, but we Catholics must be very cautious and not identify the legitimate schools of thought within our own house, within our tradition, with political parties,” the Spanish priest commented.

Laudato Si’ and Christian hope

In the midst of the Jubilee of Hope, for Tatay, it is important to remember the concrete actions that emerged from the ecological teachings of Pope Francis, which are very varied “depending on where we are in the world.”

“There have been bishops’ conferences, congregations, dioceses, parishes, and schools that have taken this issue seriously and have launched, for example, integral ecology teams. Dioceses and congregations have also made a commitment to incorporating all these issues into their education, into the management of their buildings, and into the management of resources,” the Jesuit said.

Due to the broad scope of the Catholic Church, the priest finds it difficult to gain a clear picture of the encyclical’s implications. However, he said he believes that “we are on the right path... We have become increasingly aware that caring for creation, caring for our common home, is part of our mission.”

The ecological action to which Pope Francis calls, he said, becomes much more complicated in the poorest countries and the neediest regions. This “highlights the obvious: that the human, social, and environmental aspects are closely connected.”

“The Church has been fighting against injustice, poverty, and misery for 2,000 years, and these realities continue to exist, so we must not lose hope. Pope Francis teaches us that we cannot be blind, ignore, or run away from these realities, but neither can we fall into despair,” Tatay noted.

In this sense, the Holy Father’s legacy “is an important one that will remain with us forever,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinals celebrate the sixth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on May 1, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 2, 2025 / 11:59 am (CNA).

The upcoming conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis will be the largest in the history of the Catholic Church, with 133 cardinal electors expected to gather in the Sistine Chapel on May 7, Vatican officials confirmed this week.

The unprecedented number surpasses all previous papal conclaves, breaking the previous record of 115 electors in the 2005 and 2013 elections. It also marks the first time a conclave will be held with more than 120 voting cardinals — the limit set by St. John Paul II in his 1996 apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis. 

While paragraph 33 of that document capped the number of electors at 120, paragraph 36 of the constitution affirms that any “cardinal of Holy Roman Church who has been created and published before the College of Cardinals thereby has the right to elect the pope.”  

The College of Cardinals said earlier this week that Pope Francis lawfully dispensed with the numerical limit by exercising his supreme authority as pontiff.

The Vatican confirmed Tuesday that two of the 135 cardinals under age 80 — Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares and Kenyan Cardinal John Njue — will not attend the conclave due to health concerns, bringing the number of expected electors to 133. 

A two-thirds majority will be required to elect the next pope, meaning a candidate must receive at least 89 votes to be chosen as the 266th successor of St. Peter. 

This year’s gathering will also be among the most geographically diverse in Church history. The 135 eligible electors come from 71 countries across all six inhabited continents, with the largest national groups hailing from Italy (17), the United States (10), and Brazil (7).

While popes in recent decades have frequently exceeded the 120-elector threshold in consistories, no conclave until now has opened with more than 120 electors.  

Pope John Paul II, for example, allowed the number of electors to rise to 135 in 2001, but only 117 took part in the 2005 conclave. Similarly, Pope Benedict XVI’s consistories in 2010 and 2012 saw the number of electors briefly exceed 120, but the 2013 conclave also had only 117. 

Historically, papal conclaves were much smaller affairs. One of the largest conclaves of the Renaissance occurred in 1503, with just 39 cardinals casting votes. 

Conclaves in centuries past could take significantly more time, however, with the 13th-century conclave to choose Pope Clement IV’s successor lasting 1,006 days.  

Papal conclaves in recent history have typically concluded within a few days. 

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, New Jersey. / Credit: Farragutful via Wikimedia (CC BY_SA 4.0)

CNA Staff, May 2, 2025 / 11:27 am (CNA).

Camden, New Jersey, Bishop Joseph Williams this week said he will do right by abuse victims in his diocese amid an ongoing legal dispute over a potential grand jury inquiry into clergy abuse there. 

The Camden Diocese has been embroiled in a yearslong fight with the state over whether the government can empanel a grand jury to investigate allegations of abuse by priests and other Church officials. The diocese has argued that the abuse in question would not fall under the purview of a grand jury. 

The state Supreme Court said in March that it would consider whether or not to allow the grand jury to be convened to consider the allegations. 

The high court heard arguments from both the diocese and the state this week, with news outlets reporting that some justices sounded “skeptical” over the diocese’s arguments against a possible grand jury. 

‘I will do the right thing by survivors’

In a letter in the Catholic Star Herald on Thursday, Williams said he was “new to being a diocesan bishop and new to the complex legal arguments and proceedings involved” in the ongoing case. The prelate was made bishop of the Camden Diocese earlier this year, having previously served as coadjutor bishop there. 

“[P]lease be assured that I am diligently studying our current legal position and am consulting survivors, fellow bishops, legal experts, and diocesan officers — as well as my own conscience — so that I will do the right thing by the survivors, the Church, and [the] state of New Jersey,” the bishop said. 

“I ask [for] your prayers for all involved,” he added. 

Williams in his letter also noted a Monday report in the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the controversy, one that reported that the bishop had declined to comment to the newspaper.

“I was completely unaware of any invitation on behalf of the Philadelphia Inquirer to speak about the case currently being presented to the New Jersey Supreme Court, and I thought the journalists had made a mistake,” the bishop said. 

“They had not,” he continued, writing that the mistake “was on our end” and that the bishop himself had “never received” the request for comment from the paper. 

The prelate said he reached out to the Inquirer journalists “to apologize for this miscommunication and to offer to meet with them in person at their earliest convenience.”

“I have always had a deep respect for the vocation of journalists and would have been eager to sit down with him to discuss this important matter,” Williams wrote.

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims, who took part in Jubilee of Teenagers festivities from April 25-27, 2025, were also present at the Divine Mercy Mass dedicated to the late pontiff. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is launching a new initiative this summer to address the crisis of disaffiliation among young people in the Church through a proactive missionary “lab” program. 

“The impetus behind it is really giving tools to young people who notice things and have great ideas about how to respond to needs or opportunities in their community, and giving it a structure that allows them to practice listening, practice prayerful discernment, and implement whatever project they’re working on,” the archdiocese’s coordinator of missionary discipleship, Rena Black, told CNA. 

“When a young person is the driving force behind something, that lights a fire under people in a way that nothing else can,” she said. “So we’re trying to harness that a little bit.” 

According to Black, the Archdiocesan Youth Missionary Protagonism Lab (AYMP Lab) will serve as a “space of experimentation to discover something new” and will consist of gathering up to 10 teams of two to four young people and one to two adults from across the archdiocese who will meet monthly to work through the stages of designing projects that fill a need in their communities. 

Young people in these teams will also be assisted by their parishes and other adult mentors as they carry out their projects. 

Participation will include a special missionary discipleship training as well as monthly “synodal-style advising” among the teams via Zoom, according to the website. 

While most of the program’s meetings will take place remotely, Black emphasized that young people will “not just be passive recipients” but rather “actively engaging in the process of giving and receiving feedback to one another, sharing things they’ve learned, and things that have come up in their own prayer and reflection that might be relevant to others and other projects.” 

The purpose of the meetings, Black said, is to accompany the teams in a “synodal” style process, rather than a merely instructional one, and to incentivize young people to spearhead the initiatives while providing necessary guidance and feedback. 

The teams will also partake in an in-person retreat and send-off liturgy at the end of the program. 

The AYMP Lab was partially inspired by a program in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia called the Youth Co-Leadership Protagonism Initiative, as well as by the work carried out by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.

Black emphasized the importance of bringing “the wisdom of prayerful design thinking into the process” and listening to the needs of the community as a key component of the program. 

Black said that to date she has received applications from “a handful” of teams but is hoping to draw in even more, particularly from underserved areas in the archdiocese. 

The program has received about $6,500 in grants from the Mark D. Pacione Foundation to kickstart its local efforts, Black said, although she said she hopes to secure more funding as the program grows.

“That’s part of my hope,” she said, “that we prepare them not just for the local micro grant but give them skills to be able to apply for even more funding.”

Groups of teens are currently invited to apply with their adult mentors to participate in the program until the application deadline on May 19.

“Special consideration will be given to applicant teams from communities without full-time paid youth ministry staff as well as teams who represent urban, rural, and culturally-shared pastorates,” the site notes. 

“It’s a wild time in our archdiocese right now,” Black said, noting the lowering of the confirmation age and the loss of its Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, who has been appointed to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island. The archdiocese has also been bankrupt since 2023 following an influx of civil lawsuits that came after a state law passed ending the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases, some of which stretched back decades. 

“It’s the time where we’re going, ‘Holy Spirit, tell us what comes next,’” Black said, “and the Church is telling us, ‘Don’t forget to listen to young people’ in that question of what comes next, because they’re the churches now, but they are also the Church of the future.” 

“So if we fail to listen to them now,” she concluded, “we are not preparing for the future.”

Vatican firefighters on May 2, 2025, install on the Sistine Chapel roof the iconic chimney that will signal the outcome of voting during the May 7 conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, May 2, 2025 / 04:22 am (CNA).

The conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

St. Athanasius. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, May 2, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church on May 2 honors St. Athanasius of Alexandria, a fourth-century bishop known as “the father of orthodoxy” for his dedication to the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. Athanasius played a key role at the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 and defended the Nicene Creed throughout his life.

This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was convened during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in 325.

St. Athanasius was born to Christian parents living in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 296. His parents took great care to have their son educated, and his talents came to the attention of a local priest who was later canonized — St. Alexander of Alexandria. The priest and future saint tutored Athanasius in theology and eventually appointed him as an assistant.

Around the age of 19, Athanasius spent a formative period in the Egyptian desert as a disciple of St. Anthony in his monastic community. Returning to Alexandria, he was ordained a deacon in 319 and resumed his assistance to Alexander, who had become a bishop. The Catholic Church, newly recognized by the Roman Empire, was already encountering a new series of dangers from within.

The most serious threat to the fourth-century Church came from a priest named Arius, who taught that Jesus could not have existed eternally as God prior to his historical incarnation as a man. According to Arius, Jesus was the highest of created beings and could be considered “divine” only by analogy. Arians professed a belief in Jesus’ “divinity” but meant only that he was God's greatest creature.

Opponents of Arianism brought forth numerous Scriptures that taught Christ’s eternal preexistence and his identity as God. Nonetheless, many Greek-speaking Christians found it intellectually easier to believe in Jesus as a created demigod than to accept the mystery of a Father-Son relationship within the Godhead. By 325, the controversy was dividing the Church and unsettling the Roman Empire.

Nicaea

In that year, Athanasius attended the First Ecumenical Council, held at Nicaea to examine and judge Arius’ doctrine in light of apostolic tradition. It reaffirmed the Church’s perennial teaching on Christ’s full deity and established the Nicene Creed as an authoritative statement of faith. The remainder of Athanasius’ life was a constant struggle to uphold the council’s teaching about Christ.

Near the end of St. Alexander’s life, he insisted that Athanasius succeed him as the bishop of Alexandria. Athanasius took on the position just as Emperor Constantine, despite having convoked the Council of Nicaea, decided to relax its condemnation of Arius and his supporters. Athanasius continually refused to admit Arius to Communion, however, despite the urgings of the emperor.

A number of Arians spent the next several decades attempting to manipulate bishops, emperors, and popes to move against Athanasius — particularly through the use of false accusations. Athanasius was accused of theft, murder, assault, and even of causing a famine by interfering with food shipments.

Arius became ill and died in 336, but his heresy continued to live. Under the rule of the three emperors that followed Constantine, and particularly under the rule of the strongly Arian Constantius, Athanasius was driven into exile at least five times for insisting on the Nicene Creed as the Church’s authoritative rule of faith. 

Athanasius received the support of several popes and spent a portion of his exile in Rome. However, the Emperor Constantius did succeed in coercing one pope, Liberius, into condemning Athanasius by having him kidnapped, threatened with death, and sent away from Rome for two years. The pope eventually managed to return to Rome, where he again proclaimed Athanasius’ orthodoxy.

Constantius went so far as to send troops to attack his clergy and congregations. Neither these measures nor direct attempts to assassinate the bishop succeeded in silencing him. However, they frequently made it difficult for him to remain in his diocese. He enjoyed some respite after Constantius’ death in 361 but was later persecuted by Emperor Julian the Apostate, who sought to revive paganism.

In 369, Athanasius managed to convene an assembly of 90 bishops in Alexandria for the sake of warning the Church in Africa against the continuing threat of Arianism. He died in 373 and was vindicated by a more comprehensive rejection of Arianism at the Second Ecumenical Council, held in 381 at Constantinople.

St. Gregory Nazianzen, who presided over part of that council, described St. Athanasius as “the true pillar of the Church” whose “life and conduct were the rule of bishops and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith.”

This story was first published on May 1, 2011, and has been updated.

CatholicVote president Brian Burch speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination for to be ambassador to the Holy See on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. / Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2025 / 18:23 pm (CNA).

In a party-line vote on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations advanced Brian Burch’s nomination for U.S. ambassador to the Holy See to the full Senate for final confirmation. 

All 12 Republicans on the Senate committee, chaired by Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, voted in favor of Burch, while all 10 of the committee’s Democrat members voted against him. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, now has to bring the nomination to the full Senate floor for a final vote. 

The action comes more than three weeks after Burch’s hearing before the committee, during which he fielded questions on foreign aid, the Vatican-China deal, and the Holy See’s role in securing a lasting peace in the Middle East. 

If confirmed by the full Senate, Burch, who is president of CatholicVote, will step down from his position at the organization, CatholicVote indicated.

During his hearing earlier this month, Burch emphasized his support for the Trump administration’s foreign spending cuts, which have had a widespread impact on Catholic aid organizations, saying: “I think the partnership with the Holy See can be a very good one, but I think those partners have to understand that our foreign aid is not endless, that we can’t fund every last program.”

On China, Burch said he intended to encourage the Vatican to apply pressure on the communist regime concerning its human rights abuses and reported violation of its deal with the Vatican regarding the appointment of bishops. 

“I would encourage the Holy See as the United States ambassador, if I’m confirmed, to resist the idea that a foreign government has any role whatsoever in choosing the leadership of a private religious institution,” he said.

Burch stated his intentions to support Vatican diplomacy to end the Israel-Hamas war, telling the committee he believed the Holy See “can play a significant role” by being “a partner in that conversation and [delivering] the necessary moral urgency of ending this conflict and hopefully securing a durable peace.”

President Donald Trump last December nominated Burch to serve as ambassador to the Vatican, writing in a Truth Social post that “he represented me well during the last election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any presidential candidate in history!” and adding: “Brian loves his Church and the United States — he will make us all proud.”

CatholicVote is a political advocacy group that endorsed Trump in January 2024 and ran advertisements in support of Trump during his campaign. The organization says it spent over $10 million on the 2024 elections.

Burch, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, is a graduate of the University of Dallas, a private Catholic school. In 2020, he wrote a book titled “A New Catholic Moment: Donald Trump and the Politics of the Common Good.” 

According to his biography on CatholicVote, Burch has received the Cardinal O’Connor Defender of the Faith Award from Legatus International and the St. Thomas More Award for Catholic Citizenship by Catholic Citizens of Illinois.