OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV is greeted by an Algerian girl with flowers upon arrival at Houari Boumediene International Airport in Dar El Beida district in Algiers, Algeria, on Monday, April 13, to begin his apostolic journey to Algeria, Angola, Cameroon and Equatoria l Guinea. Pope Leo is the first pope to make an apostolic visit to the nation as he began an 11-day, four-country trip across Africa. Speaking to journalists on the flight to Algiers, Pope Leo revealed that his trip to Africa was “meant to be the first trip of the pontificate. … Last year, in May, I said, ‘On my first trip, I would like to travel to Africa.’” The visit marks a historic moment in a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim, with a small Catholic community of fewer than 9,000 faithful. The 70-year-old pope will travel more than 11,000 miles across four nations, delivering speeches in French, English, Portuguese and Spanish, and focusing on dialogue and peace. Pope Leo, USCCB President Respond to Trump’s Social Media Attack ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ALGIERS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV said on Monday, April 13, he has “no fear” of President Donald Trump’s administration and responded to criticism by emphasizing peace, telling journalists his message is “the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers.” Speaking aboard the papal plane from Rome to Algiers, the pope said he saw Trump’s social media posts criticizing him as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” Pope Leo said during the flight, “I have no fear neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do. We are not politicians,” Pope Leo added, stressing, “I don’t want to get into debate with him.” The pope reiterated his opposition to war, saying, “Too many people are suffering in the world today.” Trump, meanwhile, said he did not want “a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” by Trump’s remarks, adding, “Pope Leo is not his rival.” Vatican: Report that Pentagon Officials Lectured Ambassador ‘Completely Untrue’ ROME (OSV News) — The Holy See Press Office issued a statement on Friday, April 10, disputing a report by The Free Press several days earlier that the Vatican’s top diplomat in the U.S. was brought to the Pentagon in January for a “bitter lecture” about comments from Pope Leo XIV that some senior U.S. defense officials perceived as criticism of the Trump administration. “The narrative offered by some media outlets about this meeting is completely untrue,” the Vatican press office statement said. It said that Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the former papal ambassador to the U.S. who retired in March after reaching 80, “confirmed” that his January 22 meeting with Eldridge Colby, U.S. undersecretary of war for policy, at the Pentagon “was part of the papal representative’s regular mission and provided the opportunity for an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest.” A day before the Holy See Press Office’s statement, both the U.S. War Department, a moniker for the Department of Defense, and Vatican Embassy in Washington issued their own written statements to OSV News disputing The Free Press’s characterization of the meeting and emphasizing their gratitude to have the opportunity to meet and dialogue about areas of mutual concern. Olympic, Paralympic Athletes Meet Pope Leo ROME (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV met Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Thursday, April 9, praising sport as a path to humility, resilience and peace. Italian figure skater Daniel Grassl called the encounter a “dream,” saying his Catholic faith made meeting the pope especially meaningful. He highlighted Pope Leo’s message: in loss, never lose yourself; in victory, remain humble. Addressing roughly 300 athletes, the pope said no one wins alone and described sport as “language” of sacrifice, discipline and new beginnings. Pope Leo also urged athletes to promote peace, recalling the Olympic truce and calling sport a space for encounter in a divided world. “I wanted to recall, on the occasion of these Games, the value of the Olympic truce. With your presence, you have made visible this possibility of peace as a prophecy that is by no means rhetorical: breaking the logic of violence to promote that of encounter,” the pope said. Planned Parenthood Shows Abortions, Taxpayer Funding Rise WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) — Planned Parenthood’s new 2024-25 annual report showed an increase in abortions from the previous year’s report, while also showing an increase in government funding. At the same time, it showed a decrease in cancer screenings and prevention services. The organization’s latest annual report reflects its fiscal year as of June 30, 2025, just a few days before President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4. That legislation also included a provision eliminating funds to health providers who also perform abortions — but just for one year. The report showed Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, performed 434,450 abortions, an increase of more than 32,200, or 8 percent, from the previous year’s report. Planned Parenthood reported $832 million in “Government Health Services Reimbursements and Grants,” an increase of about $39.8 million from the previous year’s report. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood reported 389,449 total cancer screening and prevention services — such as pap tests and HPV vaccinations — a decrease from 426,268 the previous year. Tessa Cox, senior research associate at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that women deserve better alternatives to Planned Parenthood. “Yet again, abortions performed by Planned Parenthood hit a record high, demonstrating that abortion remains a top priority for the organization,” she said. Bishop Cozzens in NCEA Keynote: Educators Must Help Heal the Human Heart MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) — The heart “is the place where our deepest longings live, our deepest hopes live, and also our deepest fears,” Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, said on Tuesday, April 7, in a keynote opening the National Catholic Educational Association convention. But too many people have wounded hearts, and it is the job of Catholic educators to help heal them, he said. NCEA 2026 marked the first time in 17 years the conference was held in Minneapolis and drew 3,800 Catholic and religious educators from around the country to the convention center April 7-9 to exchange ideas and research related to education. Artificial intelligence can’t help heal the human heart, and neither can technology, popular culture or politics Bishop Cozzens said. He outlined three practical steps to teach young people that might lead to the healing of their hearts: to understand that hearts are broken; to open young people to the truth that love can heal their hearts; and to teach that “when their hearts are healed, they’ll find joy in making a gift of themselves.” U.S. Bishop Express ‘Grave Concern’ Over ICE Treatment of Pregnant Women WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) — Two U.S. bishops have advised the new head of the Department of Homeland Security of their “grave concern” over the treatment of pregnant women in immigration detention. “There are increasing numbers of alarming reports of pregnant mothers not getting the medical care they need … tragically resulting in miscarriage in some cases, as well as reports of nursing mothers being separated from their babies when detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” wrote Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, in an April 13 letter addressed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The two prelates, who respectively chair the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Committee on Migration, urged ICE “to abide consistently” by an existing directive to avoid arresting and detaining pregnant women aside from “exceptional circumstances,” such as national security or imminent threat of harm. “No matter one’s immigration status, there is no overarching justification for separating nursing infants from their mothers or endangering the health and safety of pregnant women or their preborn babies,” they said. The post News Briefs: April 19, 2026 appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less