Roughly half of the 129 converts are non-Christians; the others are non-Catholic Christians.

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, and Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, also called on Congress to ensure “consistent access to religious and pastoral services for all immigration detainees, subject only to reasonable limitations based on clear guidelines and uniform processes, regardless of a detention facility’s operator.”

The recommended reforms include “the right to apply for asylum at the border should be honored,” “sensitive locations should be protected,” and “immigration enforcement should not focus on those who are contributing to the nation.”

“Can one who abandons the Chair of Peter still claim to be within the Church of Christ?” said Cardinal Robert Sarah, 80, the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021.

“The only solution possible in conscience before God is for the Society of Saint Pius X ... to recognize our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV as the legitimate Pope not only in theory but also in practice, and to submit to his teaching authority and his primacy of jurisdiction without preconditions,” added Cardinal Gerhard Müller, 78, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017.

The 68-year-old prelate, who has led the Anglican diocese since 2023, was previously bishop of Ramsbury (2006-10) and Ely (2010-23).

(The Catholic Church teaches that Anglican orders are invalid: in his 1896 apostolic letter Apostolicae Curae, Pope Leo XIII taught that “ordinations performed according to the Anglican Rite have been and are completely null and void.”)

Archbishop Ndagoso, 66, was bishop of Maiduguri (2003-07) until his appointment as archbishop of Kaduna. Kaduna has been the site of recent anti-Christian violence, as attested by CWN reports (November 18, December 4, February 9).

The prelate succeeds Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, who has completed a four-year term as conference president.

The nation of 243 million (map), the most populous in Africa and sixth most populous in the world, is 47% Muslim, 46% Christian (11% Catholic), and 7% ethnic religionist.

COMECE drew attention to a resolution passed in January by the European Parliament. In the resolution, the lawmakers said that “while Christianity remains the most persecuted religion in the world today, with more than 380 million people affected, there is no European coordinator responsible for combating Christianophobia, even though a coordinator has been appointed to combat Islamophobia.”

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa said that the nonviolent revolution, which led to the removal of authoritarian President Ferdinand Marcos from office, was “not simply people power; it was people power sustained by prayer: Rosaries in hand, hymns in the air, flowers offered to soldiers, and ordinary people standing unarmed before tanks.”

“Brothers and sisters, the greatest danger today is not only historical distortion, but moral fatigue,” Archbishop Garcera warned. “When freedom is treated merely as a memory and not a duty; when faith is reduced to devotion without moral courage; when peace is sought without justice—the spirit of [the revolution] slowly dies.”

A proponent of changes to Catholic teaching on sexual morality, Bishop Wilmer was once rumored to be under serious consideration for appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, reflected on “Becoming Free” and “The Splendor of Truth” in his February 24 Lenten retreat conferences to the Pope and the Roman Curia.