Outside the Walls

Diocese of Las Cruces has launched a legal battle against the Trump administration after federal authorities moved to seize Church-owned land near Mount Cristo Rey on the United States-Mexico border The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces has entered into a legal battle with the Trump administration after federal authorities moved to seize Church-owned land at a Catholic pilgrimage site on the United States-Mexico border in order to expand the border wall. Court filings lodged in the United States District Court for New Mexico reveal that the diocese is resisting attempts by the Department of Justice to acquire approximately 14 acres of land at the foot of Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain shrine crowned by a towering limestone statue of Christ. The Trump administration argues that the land is required for the construction of new border infrastructure, including fencing, roads, surveillance systems and vehicle barriers. The diocese, however, maintains that the seizure would gravely interfere with the free exercise of religion and damage the sanctity of a site which has become a symbol of Catholic devotion in the borderlands. In legal submissions filed on 8 May, lawyers acting for the Diocese of Las Cruces argued that the proposed construction would “substantially burden the free exercise of religion” for the faithful who use the site for prayer and pilgrimage. The diocese said the erection of a border wall through the area could “irreparably damage its religious and cultural sanctity”. The dispute centres on Mount Cristo Rey, situated near Sunland Park, where an 8.8-metre statue of Christ the King was completed in 1940 overlooking the Rio Grande valley. Every year, particularly around the Feast of Christ the King, tens of thousands of pilgrims ascend the mountain in acts of penance and devotion. Court documents state that some pilgrims climb the mountain barefoot while others make the ascent on their knees. The federal government has offered compensation of approximately $183,000 for the land under powers of eminent domain, the legal doctrine which permits the state to compulsorily purchase private property for public use. According to filings submitted by the Department of Homeland Security, the acquisition forms part of a wider project to construct more than two kilometres of additional border barrier south of Mount Cristo Rey. The Diocese of Las Cruces has argued that the government is attempting to move too quickly through the courts and deny the Church an opportunity to properly challenge the seizure under both the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Kathryn Brack Morrow, an attorney representing the diocese, told the press: “The United States Government’s effort to use expedited procedures to condemn diocesan land to build a border wall is an affront to religious liberty.” She added that the diocese would use “all legal tools at its disposal to stop these heavy-handed tactics”. The administration has defended the project as a necessary measure for national security and border control. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that its preference had been to obtain the land voluntarily, but that the matter had been referred to the Department of Justice after negotiations failed. “It is always CBP’s preference to obtain real estate interests voluntarily,” the agency said. “However, if CBP is unable to acquire the necessary access voluntarily within a reasonable timeframe, CBP refers the matter to the Department of Justice to acquire any necessary property interests through eminent domain.” The shrine at Mount Cristo Rey occupies a unique position along the southern frontier. Much of the border surrounding El Paso and southern New Mexico is already heavily fortified, leaving the mountain as one of the few remaining open stretches in the metropolitan area without an extensive barrier system. The legal challenge mounted by the Diocese of Las Cruces is being supported by lawyers from Georgetown University’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, an organisation which has previously been involved in litigation against Trump-era immigration measures. The Diocese is led by Bishop Peter Baldacchino, who was born in Malta and later became a naturalised American citizen. Much of Bishop Baldacchino’s formation took place within the Neocatechumenal Way, and he is the first bishop in the United States to be part of the charism.

Cardinal Raymond Burke will celebrate the closing Pontifical High Mass of this year’s Chartres pilgrimage as more than 20,000 pilgrims prepare to walk from Paris to Chartres Cardinal Raymond Burke has been confirmed as the celebrant for the Pontifical High Mass at the concluding celebration of the Chartres pilgrimage this year. The American cardinal will celebrate Mass inside Chartres Cathedral on Pentecost Monday for pilgrims arriving on foot from Paris. More than 20,000 pilgrims are registered to take part in the 44th Pèlerinage de Chrétienté , the highest number yet. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is “You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth”, with a particular focus on mission, inspired by the resurgence of interest in Christianity across France and other parts of western Europe. More than 13,000 adults were baptised into the Church in France this Easter, a 20 per cent increase on the previous record high in 2025 and a 220 per cent increase on 2016. The largest cohort is made up of 18 to 26-year-olds, who account for 42 per cent of the total, while 82 per cent are aged 40 or under. When teenagers are included, the total rises to more than 20,000. Across the United Kingdom, significant increases were also reported, with Westminster Diocese in London receiving double the number of adults into the Church compared with just two years ago. Explaining the rationale, the Association of Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, which organises the pilgrimage, said the event stands “at the heart of this spiritual awakening in France, for which prayers have been offered for 44 years”, and encouraged Catholics to “show boldness and renew their approach to mission”. Founded in 1983 in response to what its organisers describe as the doctrinal and liturgical crisis of the post-conciliar Church, the Pèlerinage de Chrétienté sees participants walk the 100km journey from Paris to Chartres. In doing so, they revive a medieval tradition and follow in the footsteps of Charles Péguy, the French essayist who helped popularise the pilgrimage at the beginning of the 20th century. Pilgrims are scheduled to meet at Saint-Sulpice, Paris’s second-largest church, at 6.50am on Saturday, May 23 for Mass, before beginning a 35km walk to Choisel, where Mass will be celebrated at 7.30pm. On Pentecost Sunday, a Pontifical Mass will be celebrated at Les Courlis at midday, after which pilgrims will continue walking to Gas, where there will be Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and all-night adoration. Alongside Cardinal Burke, other celebrants and preachers are scheduled to include Mgr Patrick Chauvet, former rector-archpriest of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Fr Antonius Maria Mamsery, Superior General of the Missionaries of the Holy Cross, and the Dominican Fr Serge-Thomas Bonino. Also in attendance will be Fr Fabrice Loiseau, a former seminarian of the Society of St Pius X who left before the 1988 episcopal consecrations to join the Fraternity of St Peter at its foundation. Fr Loiseau later founded the Society of Missionaries of Divine Mercy with the support of the then bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, Dominique Rey. The community, whose charism is to live by mercy through the Eucharist and proclaim it to the world, celebrates Mass exclusively according to the Tridentine rite. Cardinal Burke, a long-time advocate of the Traditional Latin Mass, also celebrated the closing Mass for the pilgrimage in 2017. Other notable prelates who have celebrated Mass during the pilgrimage include Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Cardinal Robert Sarah. Imagre credit: Di Abraxham03 – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81254560

The Vatican has reportedly intervened after two Argentine bishops introduced measures discouraging Catholics from receiving Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue. The intervention raises the question: why have dioceses and bishops’ conferences established “norms” discouraging practices which remain fully licit under universal Church law? The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has reportedly intervened with two Argentine bishops after restrictions were imposed on Catholics wishing to receive Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue. According to the Argentine Catholic outlet El Wanderer , officials from the dicastery held discussions with Archbishop Marcelo Colombo of Mendoza, president of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference, and Bishop Gabriel Barba of San Luis over measures introduced in their dioceses concerning the manner in which the Eucharist may be received. The report said Vatican officials reminded both bishops that “the faithful have the freedom to receive Communion according to the methods established by the Church, and this freedom cannot be restricted”. The intervention follows months of controversy in Argentina after Archbishop Colombo and Bishop Barba both introduced policies widely interpreted as discouraging or effectively prohibiting traditional modes of reception. In September last year, Archbishop Colombo stated publicly that “in Argentina, Communion is received standing”, referring to norms approved by the Argentine bishops which designate standing as the ordinary posture for the reception of Holy Communion. The norms also provide for a bow before receiving the sacrament. The controversy intensified after an incident at the Basilica of San Francisco in Mendoza in September 2025, when worshippers attempting to receive Communion kneeling were publicly rebuked. Reports from Argentine Catholic media said Fr Alberto Zini, a Franciscan friar serving at the basilica, shouted “Get up!” at communicants who knelt before him. At least one worshipper was allegedly refused Communion while kneeling and was instructed to receive in the hand instead. A Catholic teacher who witnessed the incident later wrote to Archbishop Colombo to complain about the treatment of the faithful at the Mass. In his response, the archbishop reportedly defended the existing norms in the archdiocese, citing liturgical provisions contained in the Argentine edition of the Roman Missal and decisions of the bishops’ conference concerning the posture for Communion. The dispute quickly became a focal point for wider tensions within the Argentine Church over liturgical practice and the place of traditional forms of devotion. Bishop Barba also came under criticism after issuing a clarification before Corpus Christi in June 2025 encouraging the faithful in San Luis to receive Communion in the hand. The diocese had long been associated with more traditional Eucharistic practice under the late Bishop Juan Rodolfo Laise, who became known internationally for defending the right of Catholics to receive Communion on the tongue. The dispute deepened further in October when Bishop Barba reportedly wrote to candidates preparing to become extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, instructing them to receive the Eucharist only in the hand in order to act as “pedagogues” of the practice and to “preach by example”. The Holy See has repeatedly affirmed over several decades that Catholics retain the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue where the practice is permitted by the Church. The Congregation for Divine Worship stated in the 2004 instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum that “each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue”. If the reports from Argentina are accurate, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has effectively rebuked Archbishop Colombo and Bishop Barba after both dioceses adopted practices which discouraged, restricted or practically penalised Catholics who wished to receive Communion kneeling or on the tongue. Many bishops and clergy across the Western Church have acted as though Communion in the hand and standing were mandatory, despite repeated Vatican instructions stating the opposite. In practice, Catholics attached to older forms of Eucharistic reverence have often been treated as troublesome, divisive or psychologically suspect. The language changes from diocese to diocese, from “pastoral unity” to “liturgical norms” and “ecclesial maturity”, but the underlying message is usually the same: conform to the preferred style of the local hierarchy. Archbishop Colombo’s subsequent defence of the diocesan norms only deepened the controversy. His argument rested on the claim that Argentine liturgical norms establish standing as the manner in which Communion is received. Yet this is precisely where many bishops misunderstand the distinction between what is normative and what is compulsory. Rome settled this question years ago. Redemptionis Sacramentum , issued in 2004 under Pope St John Paul II, explicitly states: “It is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing.” The same instruction further declares that every member of the faithful “always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue”. The Holy See recognised that local liturgical bureaucracies had begun treating permissions as prohibitions and preferences as law. What is happening is part of a much older post-conciliar pattern in which traditional devotional practices are tolerated officially while being marginalised culturally. San Luis illustrates this particularly well. Under the late Bishop Laise, the diocese became known for defending Communion on the tongue and maintaining a visibly traditional Eucharistic culture long after much of the Church had abandoned it. Bishop Barba’s subsequent insistence that extraordinary ministers receive only in the hand in order to act as “pedagogues” of the practice was therefore interpreted by many as a deliberate attempt to reshape the liturgical identity of the diocese. Since Vatican II, bishops’ conferences have accumulated enormous practical influence, often behaving as though they possess a kind of national magisterium. Yet they remain subordinate to universal law. They cannot abolish rights guaranteed by Rome, nor can they transform local customs into binding obligations where the Holy See has explicitly preserved legitimate freedom. The irony is difficult to miss. Much of the rhetoric surrounding modern ecclesial governance emphasises decentralisation and synodality. Yet Argentina demonstrates the inevitable problem with excessive decentralisation in liturgical matters: local ideological preferences quickly begin presenting themselves as universal Catholicism. One bishop discourages kneeling, another marginalises Latin and another treats ad orientem worship as pastorally unacceptable. Before long, practices which the Church still permits exist only on paper. Image credit: By ProtoplasmaKid – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43442907

The Archdiocese of Owerri has declared a week of prayer and reparation after thieves broke into an adoration chapel through the roof and stole a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament The Archdiocese of Owerri in southern Nigeria has declared a week of prayer and reparation after thieves broke into an adoration chapel and stole a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. The desecration took place at St Mulumba Parish, Wetheral Road, Owerri, during the early hours of 29 April after intruders reportedly entered the chapel through the roof. In a statement to the faithful, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji said: “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the desecration of the Chapel of Adoration of St Mulumba Parish, Wetheral Road, Owerri. As reported by the parish priest, Rev. Fr Raymond Madu, unknown persons opened parts of the roof, gained access through the ceiling, and made away with the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.” The archbishop ordered a week of prayer in reparation from 1 May to 8 May between 4pm and 6pm each day for parishioners of St Mulumba Parish. He also instructed priests across the archdiocese to observe more closely the Church’s regulations governing Eucharistic adoration. “All priests in the Owerri Archdiocese are reminded to strictly adhere to the norms and directives regarding the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and adoration to avoid any recurrence,” Archbishop Ugorji said. “We emphasise that exposition is to take place only when a fitting attendance of the faithful is assured (cf. Can. 942). The Blessed Sacrament must never be left unattended during exposition,” the archbishop concluded. Fr Humphrey Tatah Mbuy told the Catholic World Report that prayers of reparation are offered after acts of sacrilege against churches or the Eucharist. “A prayer of reparation is a liturgical rite and spiritual act performed to make amends for the sacrilege committed against God and to restore the sacred character of the building,” Fr Mbuy said. He added: “The prayer is a way for the Church to apologise to God for the offence committed against His house.” Nigeria continues to experience significant violence against Christians, particularly in the north and Middle Belt. This often involves attacks by Fulani militants, Boko Haram affiliates or armed bandits, with churches and clergy frequently targeted. For example, over this year’s Easter season, armed attackers stormed two churches in the Ariko community of Kachia Local Government Area, Kaduna State, during services at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and St Augustine’s Catholic Church. The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately, killing at least five worshippers and abducting dozens more. The Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan also confirmed the abduction of Fr Nathaniel Asuwaye after armed men attacked the priest’s residence in Karku in February. In a statement issued after the assault, the archdiocese described the incident as a “terrorist invasion”, while local Catholics organised Masses and rosaries for the safe return of the priest and those kidnapped alongside him. According to Open Doors, in 2024 Nigeria was the country with the highest number of Christians killed for their faith, with 3,100 Christians killed and 2,830 kidnapped that year. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has warned on several occasions that attacks on churches, rectories and Christian villages are creating widespread fear among the faithful. Aid organisations including Aid to the Church in Need and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom have also documented repeated incidents involving church burnings, abductions and the killing of clergy across the country.

Cardinal Robert Sarah has urged the new Archbishop of Conakry to root his ministry in prayer, sacrifice and fidelity to the truth, warning that “to be a bishop is to die”. During Archbishop François Sylla’s installation Mass in Guinea, the cardinal also called for unity among priests and continual Eucharistic adoration within the Church Cardinal Robert Sarah has urged the new Archbishop of Conakry to root his episcopal ministry in prayer and fidelity to the truth as Archbishop François Sylla formally took possession of Guinea’s metropolitan archdiocese. Preaching during the installation Mass at the Cathedral of Sainte Marie in Conakry on 9 May, Cardinal Sarah told the congregation that the burden of the episcopate could not be carried without discipline and spiritual devotion. Recalling his own years as Archbishop of Conakry, a post he held from 1979 until 2001 before entering the Roman Curia, the cardinal said he would regularly withdraw for periods of fasting and prayer and encouraged Archbishop Sylla to do likewise. “You will not be able to bear this heavy burden if you do not fast, if you do not pray, if you do not make sacrifices, if you do not do penance,” His Eminence said. The former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments warned against any understanding of episcopal office as a position of prestige or authority for its own sake, saying that the vocation of a bishop was inseparable from suffering and personal sacrifice. “To be a bishop is not to show off, nor to selfishly enjoy the tremendous authority of the Episcopacy,” Cardinal Sarah said. “On the contrary, to be a bishop is to die, it is to accept suffering.” Addressing Archbishop Sylla directly, His Eminence added: “To be a bishop is to drink the cup of the Lord every day, to suffer and die for others, to love and remain attached to the truth.” Cardinal Sarah also spoke of the need for humility and unity within the clergy, urging the new archbishop to remain close to his priests, especially those with whom he might experience difficulties. “The second task, dear Monsignor François, is to love your priests, especially those who make you suffer,” he said. He called for continual prayer and Eucharistic adoration within the archdiocese, adding: “A Church that does not pray will not survive.” In his address at the conclusion of the Mass, Archbishop Sylla emphasised the role of the Church in promoting peace and unity in Guinea at a time of political and social uncertainty. “Together, we are called to work for peace, fraternity and social cohesion in our country,” he said, adding that religious leaders had “an important role to play in promoting peace, unity, fraternity and the hope of a better tomorrow in respect for institutions”. The archbishop also appealed for greater unity among Catholics and said the Church must remain outward-looking in its mission. Referring to “divisions”, he said the faithful were called to form “one people united in Christ’s prayer”. He added that Christians must respond to what he described as an “identity crisis” affecting society through “the coherence of our witness”. Archbishop Sylla concluded by asking the faithful to pray for him as he began his ministry, saying he hoped to become “a shepherd according to His heart, at the service of the unity of His people, peace among men, and the joy of proclaiming the Gospel”. He also said the Church must continue to reach those on the margins of society and go forward “without hesitation, without repulsion, and without fear”. Archbishop Sylla succeeded Archbishop Vincent Coulibaly on 28 February after Pope Leo XIV accepted the latter’s resignation on health grounds. His appointment had long been expected after he was named coadjutor archbishop in May 2024 with the right of succession. A native of Siboty in the Archdiocese of Conakry, the 54-year-old prelate studied philosophy and theology in Mali before continuing his studies in Switzerland and Rome. Archbishop Sylla was born on 9 April 1972 in Siboty in the Archdiocese of Conakry and studied at the minor seminary in Kindia before undertaking philosophical and theological formation at the Saint Augustin de Samaya Major Seminary in Bamako, Mali. After his ordination to the priesthood on 21 November 2004, he served as parish vicar at Conakry Cathedral before continuing his studies in Switzerland, where he obtained a master’s degree in comparative law of religions at the Faculty of Theology of Lugano. He later studied canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, receiving a doctorate in the discipline in 2013. Returning to Guinea, he served as chancellor of the Archdiocese of Conakry, judicial vicar and president of the metropolitan tribunal, while also leading the Union of Clergy in Guinea between 2018 and 2022. From 2020 until his episcopal appointment, he served as rector of the Benoît XVI Major Seminary in Kendoumayah. Pope Francis appointed him coadjutor archbishop of Conakry in May 2024 and he received episcopal consecration the following month at Conakry Cathedral. Photo credit: “ Cardinal Sarah preaching ” by Lawrence OP , CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez of the Canary Islands has urged Spain’s political leaders to stop “playing politics” with immigration ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s expected visit to the country. The bishop warned against ideological polarisation, criticised the handling of migrant policy and said the Pope would call for unity and “the most humane solutions possible” The Bishop of the Canary Islands has appealed for Spain’s political class to stop using immigration as a weapon of ideological warfare ahead of the forthcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV. In an interview with the Spanish outlet The Objective , given as preparations continue for the Pope’s visit to Spain, Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez insisted that the migration crisis affecting the Canary Islands could not be reduced to electoral calculations or partisan rhetoric. “Immigration cannot be used for political polarisation,” the bishop said. “It’s not a matter of polarising the issue and using it for an ideology to win votes, but rather of finding the most humane solutions possible.” The Canary Islands have become one of the principal entry points into Europe for migrants crossing from West Africa, with local authorities struggling to cope with growing numbers of arrivals, especially unaccompanied minors. At the same time, debate over immigration has intensified sharply within Spanish politics, where both Left and Right accuse one another of exploiting the issue for political advantage. Bishop Mazuelos criticised what he described as attempts by all sides to instrumentalise migration for electoral purposes. “Politicians have to stop playing politics with immigration and find a solution together,” the bishop said. “Enough is enough; it seems the common good has been lost.” Over recent years, bishops, Catholic charities and ecclesiastical organisations have repeatedly backed measures designed to regularise migrants already living in Spain, while pressing for greater humanitarian protections and expanded reception policies. That stance has generated criticism that the Spanish hierarchy has aligned itself too closely with the assumptions of progressive migration policy while failing to address concerns surrounding integration, crime, pressure on housing and public services, and the wider social consequences of large-scale irregular migration. Bishop Mazuelos acknowledged that the Church had supported the regularisation of migrants for more than a year. “The Church has been asking for it for over a year and a half,” he said, arguing that Spain depended heavily upon migrant labour, particularly in caring professions and among workers supporting the country’s ageing population. At the same time, however, he openly criticised the political handling of the issue by the government of Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, suggesting that recent moves towards regularisation had been driven less by humanitarian concerns than by domestic political calculations. Referring to the timing of the proposals, the bishop said: “It was more because of the elections in Aragon than the Pope’s visit, because it suited their purposes.” Bishop Mazuelos repeatedly invoked the need for a return to “the spirit of the Transition”, referring to the broad political consensus that accompanied Spain’s move from Francoist dictatorship to parliamentary democracy in the late 1970s. “A large majority of Spaniards miss that spirit of the Transition,” the bishop said, expressing hope that Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Spanish parliament might encourage politicians to rediscover a sense of national unity. Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands during what will be his first visit to Spain as Pope and the first papal visit since Benedict XVI attended World Youth Day in 2011. The Canary Islands, now synonymous across Europe with the migration crisis in the Atlantic, make any papal appearance there impossible to separate entirely from politics. Bishop Mazuelos insisted that the visit should not be interpreted as a political intervention. “The Pope’s visit to the Canary Islands is not political; he’s not coming to scold anyone or tell anyone what to do,” he said. Instead, he argued, the Pope wished to highlight “charity” and the wider mission of evangelisation. Still, the bishop also made clear that Leo XIV would likely speak forcefully about the need for unity and human dignity in the face of political division. “Pope Leo XIV is going to make that call for unity,” he said. “Let’s not use immigration for votes.” Bishop Mazuelos also addressed growing concerns over the treatment of unaccompanied migrant minors arriving in the Canary Islands, many of whom face uncertain futures upon reaching adulthood. “When they turn 18, they’re sent out onto the street,” he said, warning that many subsequently become vulnerable to criminal exploitation, prostitution and homelessness. He praised the work of Caritas and Catholic organisations operating in the islands, arguing that Church agencies were frequently stepping in where the state had failed. “Ultimately, it’s Caritas that’s feeding them,” he said. “Helping them so often where the State falls short.” The bishop nevertheless rejected accusations that the Church supported uncontrolled or irregular migration. “The Church is not in favour of irregular immigration,” he said. “But rather the most humane immigration possible.”