Lionsgate, in collaboration with Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey’s Icon Productions, announced Thursday that the highly anticipated film “The Resurrection of the Christ” will be released in theaters in two parts — Part 1 will be released on May 6, 2027, and Part 2 will be released on May 25, 2028.
The production studios also announced that filming concluded ahead of schedule after shooting for 134 days in the cities of Rome, Bari, Ginosa, Craco, Brindisi, and Matera in Italy.
“Mel is a true visionary with an artist’s eye for scale and a storyteller’s instinct for emotional truth,” Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a press release on May 21. “Every image we’ve seen from set feels like a masterwork painting brought to life. There are very few directors who can operate at this level of epic spectacle while at the same time delivering such depth and conviction. Mel has crafted a film of extraordinary ambition that audiences worldwide have been waiting to experience for over 20 years.”
“The Resurrection of the Christ” is the sequel to Gibson’s famous film “The Passion of the Christ,” which starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus.
While many believed that Caviezel would reprise his role as Jesus, the filmmakers decided to instead select an entirely new cast. Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen will portray Jesus, Cuban actress Mariela Garriga will play Mary Magdalene, Kasia Smutniak will play the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Italy’s Pier Luigi Pasino will play Simon Peter.
Released in 2004, “The Passion of the Christ” vividly depicts the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to his crucifixion.
The film has been the subject of debate since its release. The graphic scenes of Christ’s scourging and crucifixion sparked controversy; some critics considered it excessively violent, while others praised it for its historical authenticity and its ability to realistically convey Christ’s suffering.
In January 2004, Joaquín Navarro-Valls, then-director of the Holy See Press Office, noted that Pope John Paul II had seen the film and gave it a positive review, describing it as “the cinematographic recounting of the historical fact of the passion of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel accounts.”
Despite controversies surrounding the film, it garnered a profit of $370 million domestically with many crediting it as having opened the door to faith-based media in Hollywood.
Madrid Archbishop Cardinal José Cobo Cano said that the imminent visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain has generated “incredible expectations” and that the main challenge will not only be organizational, but pastoral.
“The challenge is that it is not an event. We are used to concerts, which are prepared, closed and thatʼs it," he said in an interview with EWTN News about the preparations for the trip of Pope Leo XIV, who will visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands from June 6 to 12.
He expressed hope that the visit will be “a moment of experience and … a moment also that will be slow, that it helps us to look up and take a step forward.”
Preparations in record time
Cardinal Cobo explained that the visit has been organized in “record time,” with just three months of work, and with a much greater social and ecclesial response than expected.
“We have had three scarce months to prepare a trip, during which we have also found that there is a great desire and an incredible expectation. I think we thought it was going to be something [for which] we had to motivate [Catholics] a lot, but nothing was needed,” he said.
As he highlighted, the popeʼs program in Madrid has been designed as a “pastoral triptych” with three major components: the celebration of the Eucharist on the feast of Corpus Christi, the great meeting with the Church of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, and a space for dialogue with leaders of culture, economy and sport.
“The celebration of the Eucharist, [especially on] Corpus Christi — which is a very important holiday for us — and celebrating it with the successor of Peter, is a gift for the whole Church of Madrid and for the whole Church of Spain, because they will come from all places. This is the most celebratory central moment,” said the cardinal.
The pope and “politics with capital letters”
In Coboʼs opinion, one of the most delicate moments will be the appearance of the Holy Father in the Cortes, or the Spanish parliament, before a joint session of both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.
Cobo warned that he is concerned that a message about “politics with capital letters” may be reduced to a partisan reading.
“In a society where we are used to talking about political parties, that moment is important,” he said.
“Of course the intention is that the pope will come, that he will support politicians, that he will support politics and that he will thus be able to reinforce democracy from the experience and tradition of the Church,” he said.
Asked if the recent accusation of alleged corruption of the former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero could have any impact on the visit, Cobo indicated it was unlikely.
“We are used to working with many events in political life. Thatʼs already part of life and the headlines are moving,” he said. “I think the good thing about a papal visit is that … it can help us look up and see that despite the political situation that is painful … there is a higher level.”
“There is another level, a level that speaks to us of hope, it is a level that speaks to us of responsibility, that speaks to us of ethics,” he said.
“I believe that we are not going to contradict one thing with another, but we are going to get used to being also in another space, which is that of non-confrontation and welcoming wounds and difficulties and putting them in front of the space of meaning that life gives and that faith tells us.”
The hope of the young, and not so young
The cardinal also noted that for young people the visit could represent a response to a climate of “disorientation”, “uprooting” and “hopelessness.”
He maintained that many are looking for “anchors” and answers about the meaning of life, something that, in his opinion, explains the renewed interest in the figure of the pope among new generations.
“I think it is a response to a longing that young people have … and not only young people, I think it is from a very broad generation, I believe that there is an experience of a certain discomfort, a disorientation … a certain de-rooting. People need anchors that they donʼt have.”
A meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Bad Bunny?
Regarding the coincidence of the popeʼs presence in Madrid occurring at the same time as the rapper Bad Bunnyʼs concerts, Cobo did not close the door to a possible meeting, although he left it in the hands of both parties.
“The pope is never closed to talking to anyone who wants to enter into dialogue with him,” he said.
“If at some point that can happen, we wouldnʼt rule it out of course, but that depends on the two of them. What is certain is that indeed Madrid is very big and can have different events on the same day,” he said.
On the solemnity of Pentecost, which this year is celebrated on May 24, Catholics have the opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence.
An indulgence can be received by praying or singing the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" during the solemnity of Pentecost. The prayer is below.
What is a plenary indulgence?
The following “General Remarks on Indulgences” from “Gift of the Indulgence” summarizes the usual conditions given in the Churchʼs law (cf. Apostolic Penitentiary, Prot. N. 39/05/I):
“This is how an indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471): ‘An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.’”
Conditions in all cases
In order to obtain the plenary indulgence, in addition to praying or signing the hymn mentioned above, the following conditions must be fulfilled:
1. Detachment from all sin, even venial.
2. Sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope. These three conditions can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.
A single sacramental confession is sufficient for several plenary indulgences, but frequent sacramental confession is encouraged in order to obtain the grace of deeper conversion and purity of heart.
Prayer: Veni Creator Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up thy rest; come with thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which thou hast made.
O comforter, to thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in thy sevenfold gifts are known; thou, finger of Godʼs hand we own; thou, promise of the Father, thou who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts oʼerflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us thy peace instead; so shall we not, with thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son, who rose from death, be glory given, with thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Catholic communities across Bangladesh are praying the rosary throughout May in homes, student hostels, and at outdoor grottos, marking the traditional Marian month with a renewed effort to draw young people back to active faith.
Youth organizations, womenʼs groups, and lay associations — working with religious sisters and priests — are leading rosary devotions in villages and cities. The Diocese of Mymensinghʼs Youth Commission has launched a monthlong initiative aimed at students living in city hostels, while parishes from Dhaka to Natore are continuing long-standing community devotions.
Women pray before a statue of the Virgin Mary during May Marian devotions at Tejgaon Holy Rosary Church in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 19, 2026. | Credit: Stephan Uttom Rozario
In Mymensingh, the diocesan Youth Commission inaugurated the program at the Surasree-Panthanivas Mess, a student hostel in the Kachizhuli area, where young men and women joined the rosary and Mass together, according to Charchil Mrong, secretary of the Youth Commission of the Diocese of Mymensingh.
“Many said that they were able to connect with each other and be optimistic about their faith and goals,” Mrong told EWTN News. “Our aim is to bring disconnected youth from religious places back to the path of Jesus and we took this initiative with that aim in mind.”
Mrong said the May rosary is also being prayed in homes across the city, where families gather as they do each year for the devotion.
“It is not just in the hostels where students stay, but like every year, this rosary prayer starts in May in different families in the city, and through this prayer, families come together. This is not just a prayer but also strengthens unity, harmony, and family ties in the entire area,” Mrong said. “This prayer will reach all the young men and women in Mymensingh, bringing them together to a new light of hope. Hopefully, this prayer will bring positive changes in our youth society.”
Weekly devotions in the capital
In Dhaka, the rosary and Mass are offered every Tuesday and Wednesday during May at Tejgaon Holy Rosary Church. People from all walks of life take part, with many remaining after the prayers to pray privately at the Marian grotto and light candles.
“Mother Mary is the best means of reaching Jesus; we can reach Jesus through praying to Mother Mary,” said Father Jyanto S. Gomes, parish priest of Holy Rosary Church.
“Mother Mary is a symbol of obedience and humility. By praying to her, we make ourselves obedient and humble to Jesus,” Gomes said. “This prayer should be a constant part of our family life in May and we should maintain the practice of prayer.”
Village devotion in the north
In Natore district to the north, parishioners of Gopalpur Catholic Church gather each Wednesday in May to pray the rosary at the parish cemetery. In surrounding villages, women travel from house to house leading the rosary.
“The devotion to Mother Mary is strengthened in this month of May,” said Mary Rozario, a member of Gopalpur Church. “Although we should always pray this prayer, we cannot do it much due to lack of time, but in May we try to pray to Mother Mary.”
“People are now very busy with worldly matters, and their attention to prayer is very low,” Rozario said. “Therefore, the Church should take timely steps to make them prayer-oriented. We should move away from traditional prayer and determine the time for prayer considering the time of people.”
Catholic organizations worldwide are condemning legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset this week expanding the use of the death penalty for Palestinians tried in military courts.
“We, Catholic leaders and organizations committed to justice, peace, and the dignity of every human person, express our grave concern and unequivocal moral objection to the recent legislation expanding the use of the death penalty, particularly its application in the context of prolonged occupation,” Pax Christi International said in a letter signed by 56 Catholic leaders including bishops, priests, and religious, and 51 Catholic organizations.
“By introducing and normalizing the death penalty within military courts operating in occupied territory, it institutionalizes a system of state-sanctioned killing on discriminatory grounds,” the letter said. “The fact that Israeli citizens are excluded from these provisions highlights the inequity and discrimination inherent in this law.”
Bangladesh outlaws finding out babies’ sex in womb to combat selective abortion
The High Court of Bangladesh has banned couples from finding out the sex of their baby in the womb, stating doing so encourages selective abortions.
The landmark ruling found that disclosure of the sex of a baby before birth to be “discriminatory” and a violation of constitutional rights, according to an Asia News report. The judges found that determination of sex before birth encourages discrimination against girls and that “the issuance of guidelines alone is not sufficient” to address the problem."
"By banning the determination and disclosure of the sex of the fetus, the lives of many children can be saved,” Edward Pallab Rozario, a doctor and president of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bangladesh, said in the report.
Preparations continue in Baghdad for installation of new Chaldean patriarch
In Baghdad, preparations are underway for the installation of Patriarch-elect Paul III Nona on May 29 at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baghdad.
The ceremony will include mainly religious, with the participation of the Chaldean Synod Fathers and invited Church leaders, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Thursday.
A special reception for the new patriarch was also planned for May 22 followed by his first Mass as a patriarch after the installation. Choirs and young deacons from across Iraq are preparing liturgical and traditional Chaldean hymns in Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) and Arabic for the celebrations.
Church leaders welcome new papal nuncio in Damascus
In Syria, Catholic Church leaders welcomed the new papal nuncio, Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona, upon his arrival in Damascus, ACI MENA reported Wednesday.
Church leaders expressed hope that his mission will help strengthen ties between Syria and the Holy See at a critical time for the country. Archbishop Youhanna Jihad Battah said Syrian Christians value the Vatican’s continued presence and support, especially after years of conflict and economic hardship.
Ethiopian bishops appeal for protection of migrants facing abuse abroad
Members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) have appealed for greater protection of Ethiopian migrants worldwide, warning that many are caught in systems of exploitation, violence, fear, and abuse as they seek better lives abroad, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported Thursday.
“Millions of young Ethiopian men and women leave their homeland not because they lack love for their country but in search of better employment opportunities and improved living conditions,” the CBCE members said in a statement Thursday on the worsening plight of Ethiopian migrants in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, stressing that every migrant possesses inviolable human dignity regardless of legal status or economic condition.
Slovakia remembers doctor and nun slain in South Sudan
Apostolic Nuncio to Slovakia Archbishop Nicola Girasoli celebrated a Mass in honor of Sister Veronika Racková, a doctor and missionary in South Sudan, on the 10th anniversary of her death.
During his homily, Girasoli reflected on Racková’s legacy and called for those who knew and loved her to contribute to her cause “so that the beatification process can begin, because her witness of Christian life is beautiful, and todayʼs celebration helps us to make further progress in this direction,” according to a report from Fides News Agency on Tuesday.
Racková, a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Servants of the Holy Spirit, served as a missionary and doctor in Ghana and Sudan before she was shot and killed by South Sudanese soldiers at a checkpoint in May 2016 on her way back from helping transport a pregnant mother to the hospital.
Catholic sisters warn of impersonation in eastern Africa
Members of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) in the Ethiopia-South Sudan-Uganda region have issued a warning to Catholic Dioceses, Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL), and the wider faithful in eastern Africa over a woman allegedly presenting herself as a member of the congregation.
In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Thursday, the leadership of congregation identified the woman as “Maria Cecilia Nyakato Kemigisha” and rejected any association with her.
“After verification, we wish to state clearly that Maria Cecilia Nyakato Kemigisha is not and has never been a member of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) and has no connection with our region or congregation,” leader Sister Lovely Thomas, SSpS, said in the statement, noting the impersonator has been contacting dioceses, religious communities, and individuals asking for various forms of assistance.
The state of Washington has settled a federal lawsuit brought by a Christian couple, agreeing to a permanent injunction that will again allow religious families to serve as foster parents without having to support beliefs that counter their religious faith and violate their constitutional rights.
Shane and Jennifer DeGross, a Christian couple who served as licensed foster parents in Washington state for nine years, sued the state in 2024 for religious discrimination. The state had declined to renew their foster license in 2022 because of their sincerely held Christian beliefs that God created the human body as either male or female, and that this biological sex is immutable.
The DeGrosses objected to the state’s policy requiring foster parents to affirm a child’s gender identity, including using pronouns that do not align with the child’s sex and supporting social or medical transitioning.
The state decided to settle this week after a key federal court ruling in April denied Washington’s motion to dismiss the case with respect to the DeGrosses’ First Amendment claims to the free exercise of religion and free speech, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.
During the nine years they served as foster parents, the couple cared for multiple children and were described by their licensing agency as exemplary foster parents, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the religious freedom law group representing the couple.
As part of the settlement reached on May 20, Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will change its licensing policies to respect all religious families’ deeply held convictions and won’t “attach any conditions or restrictions to the license solely because of their religious beliefs, including speech and actions pertaining to marriage, gender, or sexual relationships.” State officials also agreed to pay $250,000 in attorneys’ fees.
“When children are sleeping on cots in child-welfare offices for lack of loving homes, states like Washington should be doing everything they can to bring in more qualified foster parents,” said Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse, ADF senior counsel, when the federal court issued its decision in April.
The federal district court cited another ADF case in its April opinion, Bates v. Pakseresht, where ADF had successfully challenged a similar law in Oregon on behalf of a Christian mother, Jessica Bates.
In 2023, Bates challenged the department rule that required those seeking to become adoptive or foster parents must agree to “respect, accept, and support the … sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression … of a child or young adult” who is placed in the home.
In 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered that the Oregon Department of Human Services must allow Bates to begin the process of adopting two children without first making her comply with the stateʼs gender identity affirmation policy.
According to a statement from ADF, the appeals court ruled that Oregon’s policy “engaged in viewpoint discrimination and violated Bates’ free speech and free exercise of religion. The Washington district court saw the same issues in how the state’s policy violated the DeGrosses’ constitutional rights.”
The settlement permanently resolves the dispute and requires DCYF to stop imposing viewpoint-based restrictions on religious foster parents.
The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, “One Nation Under God,” will kick off on May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida.
In honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the pilgrimage will begin in Florida, where the first recorded Catholic Mass within the future continental United States was celebrated, highlighting the country’s Catholic roots.
“We have to return to one nation under God, and I think that by beginning this pilgrimage at St. Augustine, weʼre returning to one of the major start points for Catholicism,” Jeffrey Bruno, a photojournalist and contributor to the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, said in an interview with Register Radio.
“If we do return to that as a nation, we really will be a nation filled with hope and with promise,” he said.
The launch of the pilgrimage will include remarks from Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress. He will also be joined by Bishop Erik Pohlmeier of St. Augustine and the nine perpetual pilgrims who will travel the entirety of the pilgrimage, which spans more than 2,000 miles.
Map of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage route. | Credit: Courtesy of the National Eucharistic Congress
The 250th anniversary coinciding with the pilgrimage is “perfect,” said Bruno, who has photographed past Eucharistic pilgrimages and the Eucharistic congress. “Hopefully itʼs going to be a new start, a fresh start“ and ”the next 250 will be really happy and holy, I pray.”
The pilgrimage will pass through most of the original 13 colonies. Pilgrims will travel the Eastern Seaboard along the Cabrini Route in honor of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen to be canonized.
The group will stop in Baltimore, which is the U.S. Catholic Church’s “foundation,” as it houses “the first cathedral” and “was the first diocese" in the nation, Bruno said.
Pilgrims also will travel through Colonial Williamsburg, the immersive restoration of Virginia’s 18th‑century capital, where “American culture … meets Catholic culture,” he said.
“American Catholic culture has had such an incredible impact on this country,” he said. “Catholicism is so interwoven into the fabric of the United States. Mother Cabrini is the perfect example of that too, with all the accomplishments, all the hospitals and institutions that she founded over all the years.”
“Healthcare, education, all these different things, itʼs like they can all find their roots back in … Catholicism” and its “contributions to this country,” he said.
“I just hope [and] I pray that the contributions moving forward will be even more intense," Bruno said.
The pilgrimage will conclude on July 5 in Philadelphia.
Graces of the Blessed Sacrament
As the Eucharist travels from state to state, it will offer needed “grace” to believers and nonbelievers alike, Bruno said.
In his past experience on the pilgrimages, he said “seeing the impact of the Blessed Sacrament” and “passing through the highways and the byways has been the privilege of a lifetime.”
“The grace that comes from these pilgrimages, from these processions, from the processions with the Blessed Sacrament, and the witness of the pilgrims and the people that turn out to join in the local parishes … itʼs breathtaking. Itʼs incredible,” he said.
Bruno said “the efficacy of grace” is just like a quotation attributed to the inspiration of St. Carlo Acutis: “People who put themselves before the sun get a tan; people who place themselves before the Eucharist become saints."
“I think that bringing the Blessed Sacrament” and “crossing all these different towns and places and exposing people — believers, nonbelievers, people that are hurt, people that are broken — to his grace … [has] an efficacy that can’t be understated,” he said.
“Itʼs something that I think the country has missed for a long period of time. And Iʼm super glad that this is happening now,” Bruno said. “You see the hunger is out there.”
“Everybody needs him” and “heʼs present, heʼs available,” Bruno said. “The grace is there.”
A state of Washington lawsuit alleges that Providence, a nonprofit hospital system that operates 51 hospitals across five western states, failed to accommodate pregnant and nursing employees for years.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown’s office alleged in a complaint that Providence regularly refused accommodations or failed to implement accommodations such as limited lifting or more frequent sitting for pregnant and nursing mothers.
The complaint also alleges that some superiors retaliated against employees after they requested accommodations.
The lawsuit said this violates the state’s Healthy Starts Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
Pennsylvania attorney general appeals lower court ruling
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday is looking to overturn a court ruling that struck down a law preventing the state from funding abortion.
Sunday appealed the lower court’s ruling, which struck down the state’s ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion in an ongoing case that began in 2019 when abortion providers brought a suit against the state’s abortion funding ban.
The attorney general said he had a “statutory obligation to defend the commonwealthʼs laws.”
“My responsibility as attorney general is to defend the rule of law and defend statutes without interference of personal opinion or political posturing,” Sunday said in a statement to EWTN News.
Maine senator absent from abortion-related committee meetings, records show
Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, has not attended abortion-related Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee meetings since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to committee hearing reports.
Collins confirmed the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018, saying at the time that she thought he wouldn’t be a part of overturning Roe v. Wade.
Her office did not respond to a request for comment from EWTN News.
Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela called a surprise general election for May 30, announcing the vote nine months before his Labour Partyʼs five-year term was scheduled to end. Citing geopolitical turmoil, particularly the war in Iran and volatile oil prices affecting Maltaʼs energy costs, Abela framed the early election as necessary to provide “stability” at a critical moment.
The timing is politically advantageous. Abelaʼs Labour government holds a comfortable parliamentary majority, and opinion polls hint the party is on track to win a record fourth consecutive term.
Yet the election has forced an uncomfortable conversation about abortion, a topic observers note that Maltese politicians often keep deliberately vague.
A country deeply divided on abortion
Since Maltaʼs constitution explicitly names Catholicism as the state religion, the nationʼs legal framework reflects that foundation by having a near-total prohibition on abortion. In line with Church teaching, treatment for ectopic pregnancies is permitted.
Critics have often labeled the nation as having the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe and regularly called for more abortion rights. As external pressure for liberalization continues to mount, there is also deep internal division between younger, more urban voters who support some abortion access and a significant portion of the electorate that opposes it on moral or religious grounds.
Some note that this tension has made abortion a political minefield. Rather than clearly stating whether they are “pro-life” or “pro-choice,” Maltese politicians allegedly employ careful ambiguity. They frame positions using broader language centered on “womenʼs health,” “medical emergencies,” “human rights,” or “legal clarity.” The use of such technical language allows them to address sensitive cases without explicitly endorsing wider abortion access.
Pro-life advocates demand clarity
Ahead of the May 30 election, one of Maltaʼs largest and most prolific pro-life groups, the Life Network Foundation, issued a direct question to all political parties.
It demanded that each of Maltaʼs six major political parties participating in the elections clearly state whether they will support changes to Maltese law that would introduce abortion and voluntary assisted euthanasia in the next legislature. The foundation asked for a simple yes-or-no answer.
Notably, the Labour government has already broken ranks on one issue. On May 15, it pledged to hold a referendum on voluntary assisted euthanasia if reelected but remained silent on abortion.
As of May 22, four of the six parties had responded to the Life Network Foundationʼs questionnaire. The foundation has pledged to publish all responses or publicly note which parties refused to answer.
By asking for a direct answer on pro-life issues, it gives Maltaʼs political factions no room to avoid stating their values directly to voters on these key issues. It also allows for more accountability and transparency in the political arena ahead of elections.
Pro-abortion encroachment
Given Maltaʼs strong anti-abortion history and stance, there has been increased activity by pro-abortion organizations to slowly increase abortion rights in the country. Most notably, Women on Waves, a Dutch pro-abortion organization, announced in mid-April that it had installed approximately 15 abortion lock safes around Malta.
Each safe contains one mifepristone pill and four misoprostol pills, collectively making up the chemical abortion pill regimen. Women interested in accessing abortion would email the organization, which would provide the location of the abortion safes and the code to unlock the safe.
In response to this, the National Council of Women Malta called for legal action into the placement of these abortion pill safes. “Any initiative which appears to facilitate access to abortion pills in Malta raises serious concerns about respect for the law, public safety, the protection of vulnerable women, and the protection of unborn life,” the council stated, requesting authorities investigate the placement of these safes.
Questions were also raised about the verification aspects of obtaining these abortion pills and what medical safeguards were in place to ensure they did not fall into the wrong hands. In response, Rebecca Gomperts, the founder of Women on Waves, noted that her organization was simply fulfilling an “unmet demand.”
Women on Waves has operated in Malta since 2007. It gained notoriety and visibility in recent years through high-profile campaigns, including at the Malta Maritime Museum, featuring pro-abortion art. The organization has faced backlash in Spain and Poland from citizens and municipalities alike, but its Malta operation is particularly provocative given the countryʼs near-total prohibition on abortion.
While there has been a tendency in the United Sates "to hyper-stress separation of church and state," Bishop Robert Barron said "the roots of our country are deeply religious" and "the basic principles of the country are inescapably religious.”
On May 17, thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the White House event celebrating “one nation under God” and "the connection between religion and our American democracy,” Barron said.
In an interview with EWTN News’ Colm Flynn ahead of the event, Barron discussed the “hugely important” phrase "one nation under God.”
“In the written versions of the Gettysburg Address that [Abraham Lincoln] prepared before giving it, the phrase ‘under God’ is not there,” Barron explained.
“But then when he was delivering it he added … ‘under God,’“ Barron said. ”I think it represented a deep intuition that Lincoln had that you canʼt really understand our democracy without it.”
The phrase “under God” is “meant to hold off tyranny,” he said. It is clear that “all kings and all rulers are under God, meaning under the judgment and authority of God. Our founders understood that.”
“And that little phrase is meant to hold off that tendency to deify any political establishment, political party, political ruler. Weʼre a nation, yes indeed, but weʼre under God. Our laws are determined by God,” he said.
“I love the First Amendment to our Constitution, which in its opening lines expresses very eloquently … the right balance,“ he said. ”Namely, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.’”
“But then thereʼs a second part, the second clause of that: ‘Congress shall make no law limiting the free exercise of religion,’” he said.
“Thatʼs an eloquent balance. So thereʼs no officially state-sanctioned religion, but that does not mean that religion has no role in public life. On the contrary, because there should be no law restricting the free exercise of religion,” Barron said.
Catholics’ role in public life and public office
Catholics in public office should bring “moral sensibility into their public decisions,” Barron said.
“Weʼre not here to impose Catholicism on anybody,” he said. “But I think to bring a moral and spiritual sensibility into the decisions that you make at these high levels is altogether valid.”
As a member of the White House Religious Liberty Commission, Barron said he met “lots of Catholics in the present administration” and told them to “bring Thomas Aquinas into your public life.”
“By which I mean bring these great moral and spiritual principles that indeed undergird our democracy, but make them a lively presence in the work that you do,” he said.
Barron further spoke about his time on the White House commission, where he received both criticism and praise.
When asked to be a commissioner, “my first reaction was very positive,” Barron said. “I thought … ‘Theyʼre inviting a Catholic bishop to be a voice around the table in the formulation of this policy. Why would I say no?’”
To say no would be “taking a Catholic voice away from that process,” he said.
“I’m not implementing the policy. Iʼm making suggestions regarding the formulation of policy,” Barron explained. “The president could take or leave what we say … So Iʼm not implementing the presidentʼs policies. Iʼm helping to shape public policy.”
“The commission was great. I spoke my mind in every setting. No one censored me,” said Barron, who was present at a White House Holy Week event when Pentecostal pastor Paula Cain White compared the president’s suffering to Jesus Christ’s.
Barron said he was able to address issues within the administration, specifically about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “detainees in Chicago having access to sacraments and pastoral care.”
The bishop took the matter to Homeland Security and “no one questioned” him. It was “a religious liberty issue,” because “people have a right to their sacraments and pastoral care,” he said.
Barron also spoke out in regard to the president’s “critical remarks about the pope.”
“I said in an X post that I have deep admiration for the president in regard to religion. Heʼs done wonderful things. But I said I think that was a disrespectful way to talk to the pope,” Barron said.
“In regards to prudential judgment,” a president can “disagree with the pope,” Barron said. “But the pope is not … just an ordinary hack politician that you can sort of talk in that flippant way to.”
Bishop Robert Barron speaks with EWTN News’ Colm Flynn ahead of the May 17, 2026, White House event on “one nation under God” in Washington, D.C. | Credit: EWTN News
“Heʼs the vicar of Christ, successor of Peter. Heʼs our Holy Father. And I just felt that was disrespectful, and I thought it was not a constructive contribution to the conversation,” he said.
“Heʼs the Holy Father, so we have a filial relationship to him. Heʼs a father, weʼre like children … we have a family relationship to the pope. So itʼs different than just our relationship to a political leader.”
“At the level of principle and the moral values that ought to be informing our life … we abide by what the pope is saying, but I think there can be disagreement at the prudential level,” Barron said.
Dividing issues in the nation today
Amid numerous wars right now, Barron said “we should study” the just war tradition.
It offers “very useful criteria, and I think the Churchʼs job is to bring these to consciousness and urge political leaders to apply them,” he said.
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that when it comes to the evaluation and application of the criteria, that belongs to the civil authorities. And I think thereʼs great wisdom there too.”
Barron also spoke to the ongoing matters with U.S. immigration enforcement.
“A completely open border invites a lot of moral chaos, and a lot of catastrophe happens because of an open border. So the Church recognizes the legitimacy of that,” Barron said. “At the same time, the Church wants us to welcome the stranger and to be open to those who are in great need and those who are seeking refuge.”
ICE “is a very legitimate expression of the governmentʼs authority, but … I think ICE is way too blunt a tool to use to solve the general issue of people in the country illegally,” Barron said.
“I think a political solution has to be found. I donʼt think ICE is the right instrument to do that,” he said. “Iʼd invite people who are intimately involved in these things to have a good, morally informed conversation about it and come to good prudential judgments.”
“Iʼm not an expert in immigration policy, and Iʼm not an expert in the economics that are prevailing on the ground in various situations,” he said. “I think we have to inform all those who are making those decisions, make sure they have a keen moral sensibility, [and] know what the principles are.”
“But I think people of goodwill can, and obviously do, disagree about how they are applied … concretely,” he said.
