We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

Feast date: May 03

Philip was born in Bethsaida in Galilee and was one of the 12 Apostles that Jesus called. Immediately, Philip began to convert others, finding his friend Nathaniel and telling him that Jesus was the one whom Moses and the other prophets had foretold.

James the Lesser is called “Lesser” because he was younger than the other Apostle by the same name, James the Great. James the less was related in some way to Jesus, and after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, he became the head of the Church in Jerusalem. He was martyred in the year 62.

CNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 18:21 pm (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:

Seattle, Wash., May 3, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Texas on Saturday officially enacted one of the largest school choice programs in its history, with Gov. Greg Abbott signing the measure into law on Saturday afternoon as Catholic educators turn their attention to the ground-level work of growth and planning amid the new choice regime. 

The program’s $1 billion Education Savings Account (ESA) program has led many to expect a noticeable shift in how—and for whom—Catholic education becomes financially accessible.

Catholic schools across the state are beginning to prepare for what may be a surge in applications. “Our Catholic schools in Texas are actively working to ensure capacity to add about 20,000 students when the ESA program opens in the 2026–2027 school year,” Jennifer Allmon, the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, told CNA.

Under the new law, qualifying families will receive up to $10,000 per student to cover educational expenses such as private school tuition, transportation, and other services. 

Initially, the program will serve up to 90,000 students, with potential for expansion. It also prioritizes low-income students and those with disabilities, two groups Catholic schools already serve extensively.

At Frassati Catholic High School in North Houston, where enrollment has grown significantly in recent years, Director of Enrollment Tim Lienhard sees this moment as a test of both the school’s mission and its infrastructure.

“We really are looking at this as a way to test what we’ve built,” Lienhard said. “We’re the only Catholic high school supporting families north of Houston’s Beltway 8, and we’ve already been growing steadily.”

Frassati opened in 2013 and expects its ninth graduating class this spring. Over the last four years, the school has refined its admissions process to focus on applicants who are genuinely seeking a Catholic environment. Lienhard emphasized that any future expansion won’t be for scale alone.

“We’ve developed a selection process based on our mission,” he said. “That means evaluating prospective students and families on their desire for our culture and identity. Growth only works if it flows from that.”

For the Texas bishops, SB 2 is the result of long-standing advocacy. Allmon, who has served the conference for two decades, described the new law as a breakthrough.

“This is a historic development,” she said. “All of the bishops of Texas are excited and ready to welcome new students and for some of our current students to get some financial relief with ESA.”

There are 66 Catholic high schools serving approximately 24,000 students in Texas. The average tuition is about $14,000, pricing out many working families. The ESA program could change that for a large segment of the population.

“We believe that parents who previously did not think they could afford Catholic school will be excited to have this option available,” Allmon said.

From a national perspective, the legislation is being hailed as a significant milestone.

“This is a historic victory for Texas families and the future of our nation. Revitalizing the Republic starts in the classroom,” Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, said this week.

“Texas has created the largest day-one school choice program in the nation. ... This policy change isn’t just a win for Texas—it’s a win for every student, every parent, and every taxpayer who believes in the principle that education should be about serving the needs of kids, not entrenched systems,” Roberts said.

Not every element of the law was welcomed by Catholic leaders. A provision in SB 2 excludes undocumented students from participating in the ESA program—something the bishops oppose.

“We welcome students in our Catholic schools, regardless of immigration status, out of respect for the rights and dignity given by our Creator to each human person,” Allmon said. “While we may oppose such decisions, we still support the underlying public benefit programs.”

State lawmakers passed House Bill 2 alongside SB 2, boosting overall public school funding.

“HB 2 provides an increase in funding for public schools targeted toward special needs programs, teacher pay raises, Fine Arts, and gifted and talented programs,” she explained. 

Critics, however, contend that the program will divert funds from public schools and primarily benefit families already able to afford private education. But “with more than $80 billion going to public education, it’s hard to see how a $1 billion ESA program serving about 80,000 students would do harm,” Allmon said.

Ryan Walker, the executive vice president of Heritage Action for America, called the bill part of a broader national shift.

“For too long, our education system has failed families across the country… Today, we are witnessing a wave of states adopting school choice policies, handing authority back to parents and increasing opportunities for students.”

Lindsey Burke and Jason Bedrick of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy said this was more than a milestone. 

“It's a tipping point. America is rapidly moving away from the district school model and toward an education system that empowers families to choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children.”

For Lienhard, who oversees enrollment, marketing, and communications at Frassati, the conversations with families are ongoing—but still marked by uncertainty.

“Most families don’t yet know what they’ll qualify for,” he said. “There’s not a lot of clarity about how this will work, so people are waiting to see what the rollout looks like.”

Despite that ambiguity, there’s no lack of optimism at Frassati. The school is in the midst of a capital campaign to build a 20,000-square-foot academic facility. Its growth has been steady, and Lienhard attributes that not to programs or prestige, but to something deeper.

“Our number one asset is our Catholic identity,” he said. “We’re not growing just to grow. We’re trying to serve a community that is hungry for something real.”

He described the school’s efforts to balance mission and access as part of a longer-term vision. “We want to be a 100-year-old school,” he said. “That means building now for the families that are going to come later.”

As the law takes effect and the state prepares to implement the ESA program, many Catholic schools are watching closely. The policy may be new, but the core question for institutions like Frassati is one they’ve asked all along: how to remain faithful to mission while welcoming more families into the life of the Church.

“If this legislation helps more Catholic families access Catholic education, then we’ll be able to evangelize more boldly,” Lienhard said. “And that’s something we’re ready for.”

Vatican City, May 3, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Editor’s Note: On May 3, 2025, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, delivered the following homily during the 8th day of Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis. The text below is a CNA working translation of the Italian original published by the Vatican.

Dearest Sisters and Brothers,

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori teaches that praying for the dead is the greatest work of charity. When we help our neighbors materially, we share ephemeral goods, but when we pray for them we do so with eternal goods. In a similar way lived the Holy Curé of Ars, universal patron of priests.

To pray for the dead means, therefore, to love those who have died, and that is what we are doing now for Pope Francis, gathered as the People of God, together with the pastors and especially this evening with a very significant presence of consecrated men and women.

The Holy Father Francis felt very well liked by the People of God and knew that those belonging to the different expressions of consecrated life also loved him; they prayed for his ministry, for the person of the Pope, for the Church, for the world.

On this third Sunday of Easter everything invites rejoicing, exultation. The reason is given by the Risen Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit. St. Athanasius affirms that the risen Jesus Christ makes man's life a continuous feast. And that is why the Apostles - and Peter first among them - are not afraid of imprisonment, nor of threats, nor of being persecuted again. And in fact they boldly and frankly declare, “Of these things we are witnesses as also is the Holy Spirit whom God has sent to those who obey him.”

"I wonder,” said Pope Francis, in one of his catecheses on this same passage, ”where the first disciples find the strength for this witness of theirs. Not only that, but from where did the joy and courage of proclamation come to them in spite of obstacles and violence?”

It is clear that only the presence, with them, of the Risen Lord and the action of the Holy Spirit can explain this fact. Their faith was based on such a strong and personal experience of Christ, dead and risen, that they were not afraid of anything or anyone. “Today, as yesterday, the men and women of the present generation are in great need of encountering the Lord and his liberating message of salvation,” said St. John Paul II, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life on Feb. 2, 2000, addressing religious men and women around the world, adding: “I have been able to realize the value of your prophetic presence for the entire Christian people, and I gladly acknowledge, even on this occasion, the example of generous evangelical dedication offered by countless of your brothers and sisters who often work in uncomfortable situations. They unreservedly expend themselves in the name of Christ in the service of the poor, the marginalized and the least.”

Brothers and sisters, it is true that all of us, this whole assembly as baptized, are called to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus, who died and rose again. But it is equally true that we, consecrated men and women, have received this vocation, this call to discipleship that asks us to witness to the primacy of God with our whole lives. This mission is especially important when - as in many parts of the world today - we experience God's absence or forget his centrality too easily. Then we can assume and make our own the program of St. Benedict Abbot, summarized in the maxim: “Put nothing before the love of Christ.”

It was the Holy Father Benedict XVI who challenged us in this way: within the People of God, consecrated persons are like sentinels who discern and announce the new life already present in our history.

We are called, by reason of our baptism and by religious profession, to witness that only God gives fullness to human existence and that, consequently, our lives must be an eloquent sign of the presence of the Kingdom of God for the world today.

We are, therefore, called to be in the world a credible and luminous sign of the Gospel and its paradoxes. Without conforming to the mentality of this century, but transforming ourselves and continuously renewing our commitment.

In the Gospel we heard that the Risen Lord was waiting for his disciples at the seashore. The account says that when everything seemed finished, failed, the Lord made himself present, went to meet his own, who—filled with joy—were able to exclaim through the mouth of the disciple whom Jesus loved, “It is the Lord.” 

In this expression we grasp the enthusiasm of Easter faith, full of joy and amazement, which contrasts sharply with the bewilderment, discouragement, and sense of helplessness hitherto present in the disciples' souls.

It is only the presence of the Risen Jesus that transforms everything: darkness is overcome by light; useless work becomes fruitful and promising again; the sense of weariness and abandonment gives way to a new momentum and the certainty that He is with us.

What happened for the Lord's first and privileged witnesses can and must become a program of life for all of us.

Pope Francis said in the Year of Consecrated Life: “I expect you to wake up the world, because the note that characterizes consecrated life is prophecy.” And he asked us to be witnesses of the Lord like Peter and the Apostles, even in the face of the misunderstanding of the Sanhedrin of yesteryear or the godless areopagos of today. He asked us to be like the watchman who keeps watch during the night and knows when the dawn comes. 

He was asking us to have a heart and a spirit pure and free enough to recognize the women and men of today, our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest, the last, the discarded, because in them is the Lord and so that with our passion for God, for the Kingdom and for humanity, we will be able like Peter, to respond to the Lord, “Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you.”

Mary, Mother of the Church, grant us all the grace to be missionary disciples today, witnesses of Her Son in this Church of His that—under the guidance of the Holy Spirit—lives in hope, because the Risen Lord is with us until the end of time. Amen.

CNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis desired that consecrated Catholic men and women possess "a heart and a spirit pure and free enough" to love and serve the least among us, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime said at the eighth Novendiales Mass on Saturday.

The prelate, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, celebrated, and delivered the homily at, the second-to-last Mass held in mourning for the Holy Father, who passed away on April 21.

Praying for the dead, the cardinal said during the homily at St. Peter's Basilica, is "the greatest work of charity."

"When we help our neighbors materially, we share ephemeral goods, but when we pray for them we do so with eternal goods," Artime said.

"To pray for the dead means, therefore, to love those who have died," he continued, "and that is what we are doing now for Pope Francis, gathered as the People of God, together with the pastors and especially this evening with a very significant presence of consecrated men and women."

Francis "felt very well liked by the People of God," Artime said, "and [he] knew that those belonging to the different expressions of consecrated life also loved him; they prayed for his ministry, for the person of the Pope, for the Church, for the world."

The whole Church, he said, is "called to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus, who died and rose again." But consecrated men and women are signaled out for particular service, he said.

"[We] have received this vocation, this call to discipleship that asks us to witness to the primacy of God with our whole lives," he said. "This mission is especially important when - as in many parts of the world today - we experience God's absence or forget his centrality too easily."

The presence of the Risen Christ, the cardinal said, "transforms everything."

"Darkness is overcome by light; useless work becomes fruitful and promising again; the sense of weariness and abandonment gives way to a new momentum and the certainty that He is with us," he said.

Artime recalled the words of Pope Francis during the Year of Consecrated Life, when the Holy Father said he expected consecrated Catholics "to wake up the world, because the note that characterizes consecrated life is prophecy." Francis at the time asked for the consecrated "to be witnesses of the Lord like Peter and the Apostles," Artime said.

"He was asking us to have a heart and a spirit pure and free enough to recognize the women and men of today, our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest, the last, the discarded," the cardinal said.

"Because in them is the Lord, and so that with our passion for God, for the Kingdom and for humanity, we will be able, like Peter, to respond to the Lord, 'Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you.'"

CNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

At the eighth Novendiales Mass on Saturday, Pope Francis was hailed as a "humble and compassionate pastor," one who maintained "unwavering confidence in the vocation of women religious."

Sister Mary Barron, the president of the International Union of Superiors General, said at the Mass that the late pope "invited us out into the world and among all of God's creation to heal and accompany those most in need."

The pope "reminded us again and again of the importance of embracing our frailty not as a limitation but as a source of grace," she said.

Pope Francis appointed Barron—the superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles—to the Dicastery for Evangelization last year. She said on Saturday that the pope "urged us women religious to lower ourselves in service as Christ lowered himself to wash the feet of his disciples."

"He inspired us to bring hope and healing to the darkest corners of the world, to bring a friendly smile with a helping hand and a heart filled with the love of Jesus," she said.

Barron praised the pope's "unwavering confidence" in women religious.

"You recognized our contribution as builders of communion, as custodians of the warmth and maternal tenderness of the Church and reminded us that our presence is indispensable," she said.

"We give thanks for your heart as a pastor, for your vision and for the deep trust you have placed in consecrated women," she said.

"We promise to carry out the mission you have entrusted to us and to be the caress of our loving Creator God especially toward those who suffer."

ACI Africa, May 3, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

In the aftermath of this year’s Holy Week massacres in Nigeria’s Plateau and Benue states that reportedly left over 170 people dead, the pastor of St. Joseph Aboki Parish in the Diocese of Katsina-Ala has shared firsthand testimony of the deadly attacks, which he says were carried out by Fulani herders.

Over 170 Christians were reportedly killed during Lent and Holy Week in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, with at least 72 deaths reported in Benue state alone during the Easter Triduum, between April 18–20.

The attacks, allegedly by Fulani militants, targeted Christian farming communities in Ukum and Logo counties, raising concerns over religious persecution and government inaction in the West African nation.

In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on April 29, Father Moses Aondoanenge Igba shared his firsthand account of the horror that unfolded between Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

“It was a massive killing. I would say that above 70 people were killed at that time. After the attack, people continued counting their losses. When they could not find their missing brothers, sisters, or relatives, they searched the bushes and discovered their decomposing bodies, led by the odor,” Igba told ACI Africa.

He described the deadly attacks as well organized and systematic. He said: “What happened on that Holy Thursday, which I call Black Thursday, and the following day, Black Friday, was a massive attack and massive killing of innocent people in our communities.”

Alluding to previous deadly attacks in Nigeria during Christian festivities, the priest attributed the repeated killings to the agenda of Islamization on the part of the perpetrators and their accomplices.

“Do not forget the Islamization agenda they have. I ask myself, why is it always during Christian festive periods that these killings take place? Either Christmas or Easter, they come to disrupt our celebrations. It points to a conquest ideology. It is more than just terrorism; it is about land occupation and Islamization,” he said.

Igba explained that beyond the religious motives, there seems to be an economic intent to cripple agricultural activities. 

“In terms of food security, it is like they want to destroy what we have so that we can starve and abandon our land,” he said, alluding to the use of “scorched-earth” strategy.

Staying among his people despite the dangers, he recalled the tragic fate of some of his parishioners, who sought refuge at the parish house but still met brutal deaths.

“One of my parishioners, Mr. Augustine Uzu, was with me on the Tuesday of chrism Mass when his village was attacked. He fled to the parish house for safety,” Igba recalled.

Later that night, he recounted, Uzu “decided to return to his village to retrieve some belongings, thinking the danger had passed. Unfortunately, the Fulani attackers were still there. They caught him, and while he tried to escape back to the parish, they hacked him to death, leaving his remains on the roadside.”

Igba recalled how he asked a group of people to retrieve Uzu’s remains. “We waited a day and then mobilized some young men to collect his body parts. We buried him at night, around 2 a.m., under the cover of darkness, and rushed back to the parish.”

The priest also spoke about another parishioner who narrowly survived a machete attack.

“A young man from my parish was caught by the Fulani. They ordered him to lie on his back and then used machetes on him, cutting through his stomach and spilling his intestines. By the grace of God, he survived after being rushed to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Zaki Biam. He is now recovering and can talk and eat,” Igba recounted.

As the violence has intensified, the parish premises has quickly become a place of refuge for parishioners and other community members fleeing the attackers, Igba told ACI Africa, adding that he chose to stay behind and offer hope rather than flee.

“I kept telling my people to have courage. I refused to run away. I stayed in the midst of my people, standing as a sign of hope for them. When bullets were flying over the church, I stood under a tree, directing those running into the parish to go behind the presbytery,” he recounted.

He recalled that many cautioned him about the dangers, but he remained resolute. 

“People were scared, telling me I was taking a risk, but I said to them, ‘I am a beacon of hope for you.’ If I had not been there, the people would have fled farther, and nobody would have remained at the presbytery,” he said.

Asked to weigh in on the advocacy for “self-defense,” the 61-year-old Nigerian priest spoke about the challenges that inhabitants of rural communities face there, particularly with the imbalance in firepower.

“When you talk about self-defense in the rural areas today, it is almost impossible. The war is no longer fought with bows and arrows. These people bring AK-47s, AK-49s, and even rocket launchers. Rural communities cannot match their firepower,” he said.

Igba faulted the Nigerian government for what he termed “double standards” in handling attempts by communities to defend themselves. “Communities that try to arm themselves are often branded criminals,” he said. “Meanwhile, the government turns a blind eye to the Fulani herders who carry illegal weapons and infiltrate villages.”

In the April 29 interview, Igba cautioned the faithful against despair in the face of the attacks and the related tragedies.

“My message to the faithful is that whether we have human defenders or not, God is our ultimate defender. Particularly now that we are in the Year of Hope, we must not believe that all is lost. Hope must guide us,” he said, referring to the theme of the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

He encouraged those mourning their loved ones to remain steadfast. “On Good Friday, during the veneration of the cross, I told the people that the suffering of Christ, once a distant reality, has now become our lived experience.”

“Our brothers and sisters have climbed the cross in a difficult and painful way. Those left behind carry the cross of sorrow and betrayal by those meant to protect them,” he said.

Igba went on to encourage the people of God caught up in the wave of attacks to look beyond the pain to the hope that is realized in the resurrection. 

“After the cross comes the resurrection. We must believe that their deaths will not be in vain,” he told ACI Africa during the April 29 interview.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Lima Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Following Pope Francis’ passing, one of his closest Argentine friends remembered him with gratitude, emphasizing that his legacy is impossible to minimize: “He left us a great love, which we are obliged to replicate.”

“I feel that his legacy will be impressive and will be recognized in the years to come,” Marcelo Pivato told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Pivato is a retired teacher from Buenos Aires who had a close friendship with Jorge Mario Bergoglio for more than two decades. He met him in 1999 when he worked at the Argentine government’s ministry of education. From that first meeting, he was struck by Bergoglio’s simplicity: “He was affable, friendly, and immediately sought to be seen as a brother.”

Over the years, their friendship transformed into something deeper. Pivato said it was Bergoglio himself who testified in court for the adoption of Pivato’s only child, José Luis, whom the future pope also baptized. As pope, Francis later gave José Luis his first Communion in St. Martha’s House chapel in Rome.

Francis’ legacy

But beyond personal gestures, Pivato highlighted the universal legacy Francis leaves behind: “I think his greatest legacy is that he presented himself not as a king but as a man whom he himself recognized as a sinner. His approach was always the same: his option for the poor, for those invisible to society, his humility, and his austerity.”

In their final meetings — the last in June 2024 — they spoke at length about life, faith, and the meaning of suffering. “I told him about the idea my wife and I had of starting a foundation that would serve pregnant mothers in vulnerable situations, and he told me: ‘Do it, do it.’ He was a man of action.”

According to Pivato, Francis was a leader who never strayed from his essence: “He never changed. He could be with a king or with the humblest people, and he was the same. He didn’t put himself above anyone. He was always right there with you.” 

When asked what the pope leaves behind for those who are not Catholic, Pivato didn’t hesitate: “What he said left its mark on them: ‘All together, fratelli tutti’ [brothers one and all].”

Regarding the final stage of his life when Francis faced double pneumonia and asthmatic bronchitis with fortitude, Pivato said: “He wanted to give his life to the end. He considered himself a bad patient because he didn’t want to stop doing things. But I think he put everything in God’s hands.”

“He left with great peace,” Pivato said, adding that he thinks many people who had a low opinion of him “are now learning to see him for his true worth.” 

Francis’ critics

Pivato also referred to the criticism Pope Francis received during his pontificate, especially from some sectors within the Church, noting that “the Church — like every institution — has its different variants. So, it’s logical that there would be criticism. And it’s also logical that these criticisms are heightened by a pope who came to break, in some ways, many molds.”

However, he affirmed that his friend Bergoglio “never went against the Gospel, against the teachings of Jesus, or against what the Bible says.”

He believes the figure of Francis will be more valued over time: “Perhaps — as often happens with prominent historical figures — with time, his work will be more recognized, or those who were against it will understand that there was no reason to be so against it.” 

Although he also admitted that “there will be those, along very, very conservative lines, who will think no, that he didn’t do any good for the Church.”

Some final memories

One of the most striking anecdotes Pivato recalled was when during the administration of President Carlos Menem, Bergoglio was warned by intelligence services of a possible attack during the Corpus Christi procession in Plaza de Mayo.

“They asked him to wear a bulletproof vest, but he refused,” Pivato recounted. He finally yielded, under pressure from the authorities, but didn’t like the idea. Pivato said that upon returning, Francis removed his vest, really annoyed, and told him: “I will never wear a bulletproof vest again, because if John Paul II was attacked and God protected him… he will protect me too.”

For Pivato, that attitude sums up his essence: “Humility always comes first.” And he recalled that, even as pope, he traveled fearlessly to high-risk areas, such as the Middle East and Africa, despite reports of possible attacks.

At the end of the interview, Pivato shared: “My family always considered him part of the family. God wanted him to be pope, but for us, he was one of us. He left us a great love, which we are obliged to replicate.”

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

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In 1975, Cardinal John O’Connor, the late former archbishop of New York, visited the Dachau concentration camp. His life-changing experience there eventually led him to found the Sisters of Life, a community of women dedicated to living out his mission: protecting and enhancing human life.

Today, 25 years after his death, more than a 100 of those sisters will gather with O’Connor’s relatives, friends, and those who have benefited from his ministry to celebrate his legacy.

Sister Maris Stella, vicar general of the Sisters of Life, reflected on that legacy and told CNA that throughout his life O’Connor “had great respect for the dignity of the human person” and always had the dream to work with people in need, specifically children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Finding a ‘spiritual response’ to a ‘culture of death’

O’Connor entered the priesthood when he was 25 years old in his home state of Pennsylvania. He began teaching high school students while continuing his own education receiving degrees in ethics and psychology and later a doctorate in political science.

In his early 30s, O’Connor joined the United States Navy as a chaplain and wrote curriculum and leadership formation programs for Navy personnel, forming them in virtue and teaching them to have respect for the human person. His 27 years in the Navy greatly shifted his path. 

In the mid-1970s, he made a visit to Dachau in Germany, where thousands were killed during World War II. Sister Maris Stella told CNA that while he was there, he had a profound experience that changed his life.

“He went to the crematorium and placed his hands in the oven … and was pierced to the heart and cried out: ‘My God, how could human beings do this to other human beings?’”

“You could say that in placing his hand in the oven, he kind of placed his hand on the deepest wound in our culture, which he saw was this contempt for human life, this disregard for the dignity of the human person,” Sister Maris Stella said.

In that moment, O’Connor vowed to do everything in his power to protect human life.

In 1984 he was appointed the archbishop of New York, and just a year later he was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II. O’Connor became very active in the pro-life movement by preaching and advocating alongside other leaders. 

But despite his work, Sister Maris Stella said, “he wondered why there wasn’t greater progress being made on behalf of human life.” He began to pray and reflect on the Scriptures and the Gospel of Mark.

“There’s a story where Jesus sends out the apostles and they can do all these things in his name. But,” Sister Maris Stella said, “there was one demon they couldn’t cast out, and Our Lord says to them, ‘Some demons are only cast out by prayer and fasting.’”

“When Cardinal read that, those words … jumped off the page to him, and he understood that this contempt for human life was a demon in our culture.”

“It was a spiritual reality that demanded a spiritual response,” Sister Maris Stella said. It inspired  O’Connor to found the Sisters of Life to be the “response to the culture of death [and] to pray and fast on behalf of human life.”

In order to find women to join, O’Connor wrote an article for his weekly column in the Catholic New York newspaper highlighting his vision with the headline: “Help Wanted: Sisters of Life.”

Soon after, eight women reached out to be a part of it.

The Sisters of Life

Today, three decades since the Sisters of Life began in New York, there are almost 140 women in the community serving across the globe. 

The sisters “believe that every person is sacred, unique, and unrepeatable, and infinitely loved by God. Not for anything they can do, produce, or achieve, but simply because they exist and are created in God’s image,” Sister Maris Stella said.

The sisters work to ensure human dignity is protected and enhanced by serving pregnant women in crisis, hosting retreats, and spreading the message of the dignity of life.

At one of their seven convents in the New York area, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent in Midtown Manhattan, the sisters also run the Holy Respite, inviting pregnant women to live with them throughout their pregnancies. It has been open for nearly 27 years and hundreds of women and children have stayed there as their guests. 

The sisters also hold their Entering Canaan retreats to serve women who are suffering after the experience of abortion so the women “can receive God’s healing and mercy and come back to the life of the Church.”

Each year, the sisters host a number of weekendlong women’s retreats and a men’s retreat to take time for silent prayer, Eucharistic adoration, Mass, confession, and hearing conferences by the sisters. Occasionally, they will hold similar retreats for people with disabilities, continuing O’Connor’s love for and outreach to them.

Sister Maris Stella told CNA that for O’Connor, “the vulnerability of people with disabilities and the vulnerability of the unborn, to him, showed more than anyone the sacredness of human life.”

“The unborn and those who are weak and suffering in a way carry within them the glory of God in a more magnificent way, because their dignity doesn’t arise from what they can do, because in many cases their capacities are limited, but their dignity arises from the fact that they are held into existence by God’s love.”

Celebrating ‘a legacy of life and love’

In celebration of O’Connor’s legacy 25 years after his death, on May 3 the Sisters of Life is hosting a block party on John Cardinal O’Connor Way, a street in New York named after the pro-life champion. O’Connor’s family members, families the sisters have helped over the years, and supporters of the organization will gather with the sisters for food, music, and games.

Following the festivities, the attendees will go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a vigil memorial Mass to honor O’Connor and his “legacy of love and life” and his “entrance into eternal life.”

CNA Staff, May 3, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday signed a controversial state law that requires priests to report child abuse to authorities even if they learn of it during the sacrament of confession.

The measure, introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year, adds clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state but doesn’t include an exemption for information learned in the confessional.

A 2023 version of the proposal had offered an exemption for abuse allegations learned “solely as a result of a confession.” The latest bill does not contain such a carve-out and in fact explicitly notes that clergy do not qualify for a “privileged communication” exemption.

Ferguson told reporters that as a Catholic he was “very familiar” with the sacrament of confession. “[I] felt this was important legislation,” he said on Friday.

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly, meanwhile, said in a Friday statement that clergy there would not break the seal of confession even if required to by law.

“[S]hepherds, bishop and priests” are “committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” the bishop said.

“The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane,” he added.

The bishop noted that the Spokane Diocese maintains “an entire department at the chancery” dedicated to protecting children and that it employs a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse.

“As this matter continues to unfold, I intend on keeping you informed and updated,” the bishop wrote. “An important element to the greatness of America is our constitutional commitment to religious freedom.”

A bill proposed in Montana earlier this year similarly proposed to “eliminate clergy exemption in mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect.” 

Clergy “may not refuse to make a report as required ... on the grounds of a physician-patient or similar privilege,” the Montana bill said. That measure stalled at committee in January.

In May 2023 Delaware legislators proposed a bill requiring priests to break the seal of confession in cases of reporting sexual abuse. A similar law was proposed in Vermont around the same time. Both bills failed to advance in their respective legislatures.