U.S.
Washington Archdiocese’s project honors those enslaved by Catholic Church in Maryland
BOWIE, Md. — During a Nov. 15 commemoration of Black Catholic History Month at Sacred Heart Church in Bowie, the Archdiocese of Washington unveiled a new project that seeks to “honor those enslaved by the Catholic Church in Maryland.” “This is a prayerful and powerful initiative,” said Wendi Williams, the executive director of the archdiocese’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach. “This is an honorable and proud act because this is not just a Black Catholic history issue, this is a social justice issue.” The initiative — titled “Honoring Those Who Were Enslaved: Do Justice, Love Goodness, and Walk Humbly” — was outlined during an afternoon-long “On Holy Ground: Pilgrimage of Remembrance” program. The event was held on the grounds of the Bowie church because recent archaeological research at the cemetery there has uncovered what are believed to be hundreds of unmarked graves of people enslaved by the Jesuits who established the parish and had a plantation in that area. (OSV News)
WORLD
Bp. Zaidan: U.N. vote on Gaza plan ‘sends powerful message’ for peace in Holy Land
WASHINGTON — The chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace told OSV News he was heartened by a United Nations move approving a plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip by installing international transitional governance and military forces there. “I am encouraged by the U.N. Security Council’s approval of the United States’ peace plan to end the devastating war in Gaza,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, which is based in St. Louis. On Nov. 17, the U.N. Security Council voted 13-0 in favor of the U.S.-backed “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” with Russia and China abstaining. Bishop Zaidan said the “gesture sends a powerful message that the international community is serious about peace in the Holy Land.” The vote greenlighted a resolution supporting U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, which calls for establishing a temporary Board of Peace as well as an International Stabilization Force in Gaza under the board’s governance. (OSV News)
New report notes ‘significant rise’ in ‘personal attacks’ on Christians in Europe
VIENNA — A new report from the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians warns that violence and restrictions targeting Christians in Europe continued in 2024, with personal attacks against Christians increasing to 274, up from 232 in last year’s report. The OIDAC Europe Report 2025, released Nov. 17, logged more than 2,200 anti-Christian hate crimes — slightly fewer than last year — but found especially concerning the jump in personal assaults and nearly doubling the number of arson attacks on churches. France, the U.K., Germany, Spain and Austria saw the highest numbers. The report cites several major incidents, including deadly attacks in Spain and Istanbul and the near-destruction of a church in northern France. It also highlights legal pressures, from prosecutions of silent prayer near abortion clinics in the U.K. to Finland’s ongoing case against politician Päivi Räsänen for expressing traditional Christian beliefs. Europe’s bishops are urging the European Union to appoint a coordinator to address anti-Christian hatred, saying equal protection is overdue. Father Manuel Barrios Prieto, COMECE general secretary, said Christians, especially those in Europe, are called to be witnesses to their beliefs without “fear of losing our jobs or not being promoted in our careers, or put aside or neglected.” (OSV News)
‘Creation is crying out,’ pope says in new message to COP30
VATICAN CITY — While “creation is crying out” and millions of people suffer the effects of climate change and pollution, politicians are failing to act, Pope Leo XIV said. As the U.N. Climate Conference, COP30, began its final week of meetings Nov. 17, the pope sent a video message to Christian representatives and activists from the global south who were holding a side event to the conference in Belem, Brazil. The U.S. government was not represented at COP30 because U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 at COP21. The Paris Agreement “has driven real progress and remains our strongest tool for protecting people and the planet,” Pope Leo said in the video. “But we must be honest: it is not the agreement that is failing, we are failing in our response,” he said. “What is failing is the political will of some.” (CNS)
Pope returns Indigenous artifacts from Vatican Museums to Canada
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV fulfilled a promise made by the late Pope Francis to return to Canada’s Indigenous communities artifacts — including an Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins and etchings — that have been held by the Vatican for more than 100 years. The pope gave 62 artifacts to the leaders of the Canadian bishops’ conference Nov. 15, the Vatican and the bishops’ conference said in a joint statement. The bishops “will proceed, as soon as possible, to transfer these artifacts to the National Indigenous Organizations,” which will ensure they are “reunited with their communities of origin,” said a separate statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Pope Leo “desires that this gift represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity,” the joint statement said. “This is an act of ecclesial sharing, with which the Successor of Peter entrusts to the Church in Canada these artifacts, which bear witness to the history of the encounter between faith and the cultures of the Indigenous peoples.” (CNS)
