US & Canada

At the beginning of Holy Week, Bishop John Michael Botean of the Romanian Catholic Diocese of St George in Canton, Ohio, released a pastoral letter denouncing the Iran war. In the letter Bishop Botean says: "I must declare for your sake that this war is unjust, killing in it is murder, and any willing participation in it is complicity in murder." "the United States launched an attack on the people... Read More

The President of the US Bishops' Conference (USCCB) has appealed to President Trump to avoid going through with his threat to "destroy the whole Iranian civilization" if Tehran does not agree to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. "I call on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost," said Archbishop Paul ... Read More

America's most senior Catholic military cleric has expressed serious reservations about Donald Trump's war on Iran, clearly stating that it does not meet the Catholic Church's moral criteria for a just war. In an interview with Ed O'Keefe on CBS News 'Face the Nation', which was televised on Easter Sunday, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, which overse... Read More

In recent months, Catholic priests in the United States have been invited to join an international movement opposing genocide and advocating for a just peace in Palestine. Unfortunately, the response has been slow-alarmingly so. To date, just over 100 priests-out of approximately 37,000 nationwide-have signed on. Why the hesitation? What factors account for the reluctance of US priests to support ... Read More

Bishop Mark J Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, the Hope Border Institute, Estrella del Paso and local community organizations held a March and Vigil for Human Life and an End to Mass Deportations in Downtown El Paso. yesterday. The day began with Mass presided by Bishop Evelio Menijvar (Auxiliary Bishop of Washington) for the feast day of Saint Oscar Romero. A delegation of bishops and national le... Read More

El Paso, Texas - The Most Rev Mark J Seitz, Bishop of El Paso, released a pastoral letter on mass detention and mass deportations in El Paso during Mass today at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in El Paso, Texas. The message, addressing both mass detention and mass deportation, is the first of its kind since the beginning of mass deportations in the United States this past year, and addressed direc... Read More

The Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has issued a Statement Calling the Catholic Faithful to Prayer for Peace in the Middle East. The statement affirms that we cannot remain indifferent to an armed conflict that risks escalating into a prolonged war. "Faced with rising tensions and the risk of escalating war, we invite the People of God in Canada to pray for ... Read More

As more than 1,000 Iranian men, women and children lay dead after days of bombardment from U.S. and Israeli missiles, the official White House X account on Thursday evening posted a video of scenes from popular action movies spliced with actual strike footage from their war on Iran. The clip was captioned: "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY." A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like... Read More

Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, condemns the horrific bombing of Iran by the US and Israel, and we urge our nation's leaders to stop the violence. As we recall the words from the daily readings of February 28, when the gospel reminds us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), our hearts break for the loss of life and the extraordinary damage being inflicted not only on the pe... Read More

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), have filed a Supreme Court brief opposing President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born in the US to parents without legal status or temporary visas. Urging the Supreme Court to strike down the order, they say it is "immoral" and an affront to Catholic teaching on human dignity and justice. The 29 pa... Read More

Palantir has not agreed to implement a shareholder proposal filed by the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (CSJP), asking the Company to conduct and publish a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) - a report that describes actual and potential human rights impacts associated with the use of its products and services. The shareholder proposal, filed in December 2025, focuses on the... Read More

Yesterday, February 24, a few hours before President Trump's first State of the Union address of his second term, Pax Christi USA's bishop president Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., of Lexington KY, and 17 other bishops issued a statement strongly condemning ongoing tactics by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to threaten and intimidate the immigrant community. They reiterate the ... Read More

On Ash Wednesday - after months of trying - a group of religious and clergy were finally given a temporary injunction to visit the Broadview ICE 'processing centre' for migrants on the outskirts of Chicago. They gave Communion and distributed ashes to those inside. That evening, more than 3,500 people attended a Mass outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Chicago, presided over by Cardinal Bla... Read More

Concluding a biennial gathering, the officers and members of the Episcopal Conferences of the Americas met from February 15-17 at a retreat centre to pray and discuss their shared ministry as pastors. The eleven bishops attending included bishops from the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and the United States Conference of ... Read More