Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall for his Wednesday general audience on Jan. 15, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 15, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday called for a global commitment to eradicate child labor, saying injustices committed against “the invisible little ones” are a gross violation against God’s commandments.

The Holy Father told groups of pilgrims attending his Jan. 15 general audience that they should be aware that millions of children — “the most beloved of the Father” — are trafficked for organ harvesting, to become child brides, or are forced to work as slaves, drug dealers, prostitutes, and for the porn industry.

“This is very bitter in our societies,” he told pilgrims gathered inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall. “Unfortunately, there are many ways in which children are abused and mistreated.”

“Child abuse, of whatever nature, is a despicable and heinous act,” he continued. “It is not simply a blight on society. No, it is a crime!”

During the address, the pope decried the widening social divide that has left many children even more vulnerable to exploitation.

“Widespread poverty, the shortage of social support tools for families, the increased marginality in recent years along with unemployment and job insecurity are factors that burden the youngest with the highest price to pay,” he lamented on Wednesday.

To eliminate the reality of forced child labor, the pope said it is “necessary to awaken the consciences” of individuals, institutions, and nations to work in solidarity to protect vulnerable boys and girls.

“When we purchase products that involve child labor — how can we eat and dress, knowing that behind that food and those garments there are exploited children who work instead of going to school?” the Holy Father asked. 

“Awareness of what we purchase is a first act in order not to be complicit,” he emphasized. 

Praising the wisdom of countries and international organizations that have enacted policies to protect children’s rights, the pope stressed that they must “shift their investments to companies that do not use or permit child labor.”

The Holy Father also implored journalists to raise awareness of the issue and to help find solutions: “Don’t be scared, criticize these things!”   

Asking for the intercession of St. Teresa of Calcutta, the pope prayed that the “mother to the most disadvantaged and forgotten boys and girls” will help all those committed to denouncing child labor.

“With the tenderness and attention of her gaze, she can accompany us to see the invisible little ones, the too many slaves of a world that we cannot abandon to its injustices,” he said.

Before imparting his final blessings to pilgrims following a circus performance inside the Paul VI Hall, the pope expressed his closeness with the victims of the Jan. 3 Myanmar earthquake. 

Following the disaster, the country’s Kachin state was struck by a landslide on Monday that killed at least a dozen people and displaced several families.

He also asked people to continue to pray for the many countries at war, including Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel, reminding his listeners that “war is always a defeat” with a high human cost.

“Let us pray for the conversion of the hearts of weapons manufacturers because their products help people to kill,” he said.

On Jan. 7, 2025, two religious sisters were kidnapped in the Archdiocese of Onitsha in Nigeria. / Credit: Diego Cervo/Shutterstock

ACI Africa, Jan 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The two members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ, (IHM) who were abducted on Jan. 7 from the Archdiocese of Onitsha in Nigeria have regained their freedom, the leadership of the sisters’ congregation in the West African nation has said.

In a statement that ACI Africa obtained on Tuesday, IHM secretary-general in Nigeria Sister Maria Sobenna Ikeotuonye said the two sisters were “released unconditionally” and that they are “in good health.”

“I bring to your notice in joy that our dear Sisters Vincentia Maria Nwankwo and Grace Mariette Okoli, who were kidnapped in the evening of Tuesday 7th January, 2025, have been released unconditionally and in good health,” Ikeotuonye said in the statement dated Jan. 13. 

Ikeotuonye went on to acknowledge with appreciation those who accompanied IHM members in prayer during the weeklong tribulation following the abduction that took place in Anambra state in the southeastern region of Nigeria. 

“We thank God and thank you all for your prayers and support all through these rough and uncertain days,” Ikeotuonye said. “May God forever be blessed through Mary our mother.”

Sisters Vincentia Maria and Mariette were kidnapped along Ufuma road while returning from their vocational association’s meeting at Ogboji in Anambra State.

In a statement following the abduction of the two women, Ikeotuonye appealed for spiritual solidarity, saying: “We solicit your fervent prayers and supplications to God that they may be released as soon as possible and come back to us safe and sound.”

“We commend our Sisters Vincentia Maria and Grace Mariette to the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary for their speedy release from the hands of their kidnappers,” she stated in her statement dated Jan. 8, a day after the abduction incident. 

Nigeria has been grappling with Muslim extremist violence since 2009, perpetrated by groups such as Boko Haram, which reportedly persecute Christians, sometimes kidnapping them for ransom and, in some cases, killing them.

A 2025 report by the pontifical charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need International brought some hopeful news showing that fewer clergy and religious were kidnapped in 2024 compared with the previous year, 2023, and that in 2024, none of the abducted clergy and religious were killed.

Sabrine Amboka contributed to this story.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

The Vatican City’s Governor’s Palace (Palazzo del Governatorato in Vaticano), the building that is the seat of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State in the Vatican Gardens. / Credit: Some pictures here/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican City State has toughened sanctions for those who try to illegally enter its territory in areas where free access is not allowed.

In a decree issued last month by the Holy See, the monetary sanctions and prison sentences for those who violate the strict security regulations of Vatican City have been considerably increased.

The document, signed by Cardinal Fernando Vérguez Alzaga, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, provides for monetary fines ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 euros (about $10,200 to $25,700) and prison sentences ranging from one to four years. 

These fines will apply especially to those who enter by means of violence, threats, or deception, bypassing border controls or security systems. In addition, those who enter with expired permits or do not meet the established requirements will receive administrative sanctions ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 euros (about $2,060 to $5,145).

The decree emphasizes that the penalties can be increased if the crime is committed with firearms, corrosive substances, by a person in disguise, or by several people together. Likewise, if illegal access is made in a vehicle, the penalty can increase by up to two-thirds.

The document also stipulates that unauthorized overflight of Vatican airspace, including through the use of drones, may be punished with prison sentences from six months to three years in addition to a fine that could reach 25,000 euros (about $26,000).

Anyone convicted of illegal entry will be banned from entering Vatican territory for a period of up to 15 years. If this sanction is breached, the offender may be punished with a prison sentence of one to five years.

In addition, the Vatican’s promoter of justice may summon any person who has committed an offense to appear before the court the day after receiving the complaint or immediately after questioning him.

Vatican City is the smallest state in the world and currently has a population of just over 800 inhabitants. The city-state covers 0.17 square miles. If it were perfectly square, the Vatican would be less than a half mile by a half mile.

The Vatican City State includes areas with free access, such as St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Museums, which require prior security checks.

However, there are other entrances flanked by high walls, such as Porta Santa Ana, Piazza del Sant’Uffizio, or Porta Perugino, reserved for authorized personnel or visitors with special permits.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Credit: Pavel1964/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 14, 2025 / 18:05 pm (CNA).

A bill to prevent biological males from competing in women’s and girls’ sports passed the United States House of Representatives in a mostly partisan vote Tuesday afternoon. 

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, would deny federal funding to any K–12 school, college, university, or other educational institution that permits biological males in female athletics.

“It shall be a violation … for a recipient of federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, or facilitates an athletic program or activity to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls,” the text of the four-page bill reads.

The Republican bill would do this by amending Title IX — a 1972 federal law that prohibits discrimination based on a person’s “sex.” It would clarify that the word “sex” in Title IX’s section on athletics refers to a person’s “reproductive biology and genetics at birth” — not a person’s self-professed gender identity.

“The House has delivered on its promise to protect women’s sports,” Steube said in a statement. “Americans are united in our belief that men have no place in women’s sports, whether it’s breaking records, entering locker rooms, or stealing scholarship opportunities.”

“Denying biological truth erases fairness in sports and puts women’s safety and opportunities at risk,” he said. “Today’s passage sends a clear message to the Senate — protecting women and girls in sports is not negotiable.”

The legislation passed the chamber 218-206, with 216 Republicans voting in favor of the bill and zero Republicans voting against it. Only two Democrats, Rep. Henry Cuellar and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, voted in favor of the bill. Another 206 Democrats voted against it. 

Title IX was adopted into federal law more than 50 years ago. Although the law says nothing about “gender identity,” President Joe Biden’s administration interpreted its prohibition on “sex” discrimination to include discrimination based on a person’s self-asserted “gender identity.”

Numerous states and athletic associations representing girls and women have sued the government over the administration’s reinterpretation of Title IX. The suits warned it would overrule their state laws that separate athletics, locker rooms, bathrooms, and dormitories on the basis of biological sex.

A federal court struck down the Biden-era regulation last week, finding that the Department of Education exceeded its authority in its reinterpretation and that the rule itself violates the United States Constitution.

“For over 50 years, Title IX has opened doors for millions of young women,” Rep. August Pfluger said in a statement. 

“Now, we’re reinforcing those foundations with iron-clad protections that ensure fair competition remains truly fair,” he continued. “As a father to [three] young girls, I am relieved that we are championing commonsense policies that empower and protect women’s sports.”

The bill now heads to the Senate, which has a 53-47 Republican majority. The bill needs 60 votes to overcome the filibuster and reach a final vote. This means seven Democrats would need to join Republicans in the chamber to send the bill to the president’s desk.

Several gay rights advocacy groups have expressed their opposition to the bill. 

“We all want sports to be fair, students to be safe, and young people to have the opportunity to participate alongside their peers,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement after the vote.

“But this kind of blanket ban deprives kids of those things,” she said. “This bill would expose young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look. It could even expose children to invasive, inappropriate questions and examinations.”

Several conservative groups praised the bill.

“Girls shouldn’t be spectators in their own sports,” Alliance Defending Freedom President Kristen Waggoner said in a statement.

“Allowing males who identify as female to compete in girls’ sports ignores the biological differences between the sexes — destroying fair competition and erasing women’s athletic prospects. … As we continue to witness increasing incidents nationwide of males dominating girls’ athletic competitions, it is imperative to affirm that biology, not identity, is what matters in athletics.”

Even if the legislation is unable to pass the Senate, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to take federal action on his first day in office to “stop the transgender lunacy,” which includes keeping “men out of women’s sports.”

Ordinandi lie prostrate during the Litany of Saints during an ordination Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sept. 29, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 14, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Italy generated fresh controversy last week when it published a new document on the formation of priests that some media and members of the clergy interpreted as an opening toward the ordination of homosexual men.

Bishop Stefano Manetti of Fiesole, Italy, president of the bishops’ commission for the clergy and consecrated life, has subsequently sought to nip those interpretations in the bud by clarifying in Avvenire, the Italian Bishops Conference’ newspaper, that “this is not a correct reading” of the text titled “The Formation of Priests in Italian Churches: Guidelines and Rules for Seminaries” and posted Jan. 9 on the website of the Dicastery for the Clergy.

The referenced norms were initially approved last November by the Italian bishops when they met in their general assembly in Assisi. Paragraph 44 of the text states among other things that “the objective of the formation of the candidate for the priesthood in the affective-sexual sphere is the ability to accept as a gift, freely choose, and responsibly live chastity in celibacy.”

After the release of the original text, Father James Martin, a Jesuit and promoter of the LGBTQ Outreach apostolate, reacted in a post on X, providing his own translation of the Italian text: “In the training process, when reference is made to homosexual tendencies, it is also appropriate not to reduce discernment only to this aspect but, as for every candidate, to grasp its meaning in the overall picture of the young person’s personality, so that, by getting to know each other and integrating the objectives inherent to the human and presbyteral vocation, reaches a general harmony.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen in a Vatican-approved document the suggestion that discernment about whether a gay man may enter the seminary cannot simply be determined by his sexual orientation,” Martin commented.

“My reading of this — and it is only my reading — is that if a gay man is able to lead a healthy chaste and celibate life, he may be considered for admission to the seminary. So, as I see it, this is something of a step forward,” the Jesuit priest concluded.

In a Jan. 10 article on the subject, the New York Times trumpeted that the “Vatican allows Italian gay men to train to be priests, if they remain celibate” and that “candidates for the seminary should not be disqualified based on sexual orientation, according to new Church guidelines in Italy.” 

According to Manetti, whose statements were also published on Jan. 10, this approach “is not a correct reading because the paragraph reiterates the norms of the magisterium at the beginning.”

According to Avvenire, paragraph 44 “reiterates, word for word, what is established in No. 199 of the document issued Dec. 8, 2016, by the then-Congregation for the Clergy titled ‘The Gift of the Priestly Vocation: Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis,’ which in turn takes up the content of the instruction published by the then-Congregation for Catholic Education in 2005.”

Both documents establish that persons with “deep-seated” homosexual tendencies cannot be admitted to seminaries.

“The Gift of the Priestly Vocation” states that “in relation to persons with homosexual tendencies who seek admission to seminary, or discover such a situation in the course of formation, consistent with her own magisterium, the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’ Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women.”

Avvenire points out that what is new in the document is in the “discernment” of candidates, especially in the first three years of formation.

“We intend to put the person first by helping candidates for the priesthood to clarify within themselves ... an accompaniment to self-knowledge that is often lacking in the younger generations and that does not exclude even the young men arriving at the seminaries,” Manetti explained to Avvenire.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Catholic Medical Association is arguing that the federal government acted unlawfully when in July 2022 it directed that hospitals and emergency rooms would be required to perform abortions under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).  / Credit: ThamKC/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jan 14, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

A Catholic medical group has filed suit against the Biden administration over the government’s attempt to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions under a 40-year-old federal law. 

The Catholic Medical Association (CMA), a professional guild that promotes and advocates Catholic ethics in the medical industry, filed the lawsuit on Friday in U.S. district court. The legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the CMA.

In the lawsuit, CMA argues that the federal government acted unlawfully when in July 2022 it directed that hospitals and emergency rooms would be required to perform abortions under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). 

That law requires that hospitals provide stabilizing treatment in emergency rooms for any patients who show up. It was originally enacted to ensure that hospitals would not turn away patients who could not afford to pay for medical treatments.

The law itself “does not mandate, direct, approve, or even suggest the provision of any specific treatment,” CMA’s lawsuit argues. It further “says nothing about abortion and does not guarantee access to abortion.”

The government’s directive “threatens to second-guess the medical judgment or moral or religious beliefs of a hospital or physician,” the suit argues.

The filing points out that every state allows abortion to save the life of a mother, and further that no states prohibit miscarriage care or treatments of ectopic pregnancies. Catholic medical directives, meanwhile, forbid “direct abortions.”

The filing says the EMTALA rule violates both federal law and constitutional religious freedom rules.

Matt Bowman, a senior lawyer with ADF, argued in announcing the suit that the federal government has “no business compelling doctors or hospitals to end unborn lives, especially when the law they are citing grants them no such authority.”

“Emergency room physicians can and do treat life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies,” Bowman said. “And every state allows doctors to do whatever is necessary to preserve the life of a mother.”

Various court rulings leave status of federal law uncertain

Challenges to the government’s EMTALA rule have played out in several federal courts over the past few years. 

In January of last year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that emergency room doctors were not required to perform abortions under the federal medical law. In October the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Biden administration’s appeal on that ruling.

In June, meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed that hospitals in Idaho would be required to at least temporarily perform abortions under EMTALA despite the state’s broad abortion ban. 

Bowman told CNA that the various court rulings “can appear to be confusing.” 

CMA brought the suit, he noted, because earlier rulings from various courts have not resolved the dispute at the national level, leaving many medical officials open to being forced to perform abortions under the federal law. 

“At the end of the day, the Supreme Court has not ruled on what we call the merits of this question,” he said. “They have not made the ultimate decision. Everything they do short of that leaves that question open.” 

On Day 1 of the Trump administration, “the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could take this mandate away,” he pointed out. 

“But until they do, we’re going to do everything we can in court to protect our clients’ rights to not perform abortions,” he added.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his wife, Lis Cuesta Pedraza, present gifts to Pope Francis during their meeting on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Jan 14, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

The Biden administration in its final days will remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department’s state sponsor of terrorism list, a decision the White House says was facilitated with the help of the Vatican to secure the release of political prisoners there.

A senior administration official told media in a call on Tuesday that President Joe Biden would be lifting Cuba from the list. The Biden administration officially announced the removal on Tuesday afternoon.

The country has been just one of four on the list, the others being North Korea, Syria, and Iran.

The island nation was placed on the list on Jan. 11, 2021, in the waning days of the first Trump administration. The White House said at the time its aim was “denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.”

The White House has coordinated with the Catholic Church, among others, to improve conditions in Cuba and secure the release of political prisoners, the official said on Tuesday. Human Rights Watch says more than 1,000 individuals in Cuba meet the definition of political prisoners. 

The Vatican is backing the removal of the country from the terror list, the official noted, and has previously helped to secure prisoner releases there.

In addition to removing Cuba from the terror list, the White House will also issue the country a waiver from Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which strengthened embargo provisions against Cuba. 

Title III of the law allows U.S. citizens to sue individuals allegedly trafficking in property expropriated by the country’s communist government.

In a Tuesday statement to CNA, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski noted that Cuba “was first removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism during the Obama administration and was put back on the list in the waning days of President Trump’s first administration.” Miami has historically been home to a large portion of Cuban immigrants and Americans of Cuban heritage.

“Cuba, along with Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, is on the verge of becoming a failed state,” the archbishop said. “Cuba lacks fuel and food” and lacks as well the ability “to represent a real threat to the U.S.”

“More than 500,000 Cubans have come to the U.S. in recent months — their presence has not given rise to any increased fears of terrorism,” the prelate added. “Hopefully, being removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism will spur the Cuban regime to release its several thousand political prisoners.”

Cuba is majority-Catholic. Church leaders there for years have been involved in negotiations with the communist government regarding human rights and market reforms.

The country has for decades been accused of human rights abuses. Freedom House lists Cuba as “not free,” with the country sharply limiting civil and political liberties, while “official obstacles make it difficult for churches to operate without interference.”

Pope Francis hosted Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel at the Vatican in 2023. In 2021, amid major protests in the country, the Holy Father professed himself “near to the dear Cuban people in these difficult moments, in particular to those families suffering the most.” Francis also visited the country in 2015.

St. John Paul II likewise famously visited the island in 1998, becoming the first pope to do so. While there he openly prayed that the communist nation would become one of “freedom, mutual trust, social justice, and lasting peace.” Pope Benedict XVI also visited the nation in 2012.

Opus Dei founder St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer in Mexico in 1970. / Credit: Opus Dei/Flickr

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 14, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Opus Dei, the nearly century-old Rome-based personal prelature, has released a lengthy response to the October 2024 book “Opus,” accusing the book of giving “a false picture of Opus Dei based on distorted facts, conspiracy theories, and outright lies.”

The book, written by journalist Gareth Gore, describes Opus Dei as “a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect” that “pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world’s largest banks.”

In a comprehensive analysis of the book published on Monday, Jan. 13, the Catholic organization — which was founded in 1928 by St. Josemaría Escrivá — said it provided Gore with “broad cooperation” while he researched the work, including offering “abundant documents and materials” and “many hours openly answering questions.”

Nonetheless, the group said “not a single good deed by anyone in Opus Dei is recorded; not a single response from Opus Dei is included to the many charges leveled against Opus Dei in the book.” 

Members of Opus Dei’s worldwide communications team indicated that “when we saw the marked bias of the book and its numerous factual errors, those of us who had been in contact with Gareth Gore from the Opus Dei Communications Office decided to prepare a document” to “correct the record and to provide an essential perspective that the author has withheld from readers of the book.”

“We have tried to separate truth from falsehood; to distinguish truths, half-truths, lies, and judgments and interpretations about intentions; to clarify false narratives by giving context and additional explanations,” the team of Opus Dei’s communicators explained.

The resulting 106-page document of “clarifications and fact-checking” effectively seeks to turn lemons into lemonade by addressing in one place all the principal criticisms Opus Dei has received during its nearly century of existence.

“We offer this document with a necessary premise: respect and openness towards critical views, which can usually be helpful,” the document states. “No human institution is perfect” and “being the bearer of a Christian charism does not grant immunity from error,” the authors acknowledge.

“Like other institutions of the Catholic Church, for years we have been following a path of greater awareness of our own weaknesses, which leads to a deeper empathy with wounded people and gives us new sensitivity and light on how to carry out our mission,” the authors continue. “For these reasons, we endeavour to listen to and learn from both fair and constructive criticism, as well as criticism that is neither fair nor constructive.”

Along with the explanatory document, Opus Dei updated its website to include a section on “Additional Sources for Clarification” that addresses both old and more recent controversies surrounding the organization.

Women baptized by Prem Bhai climb to his memorial singing devotional songs during a 2018 observance of the Catholic missionary. / Credit: Anto Akkara

Bangalore, India, Jan 14, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Amid prospects of revival of an anti-conversion law passed in 1978, Christian leaders of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeast India expressed little concern over the development.

“We are the major religious community in the state and we do not expect the government to bring in harsh clauses to trouble us while implementing the court order,” Miri Stephen Thar, the Catholic president of the ecumenical Arunachal Christian Forum, told CNA on Jan. 14.

The revival of the dormant law, passed by the state legislature, has been brought about by the Guwahati High Court, which ordered the state government in September to “frame rules” within six months to implement the law.

The order came after a petition brought by an Indigenous rights activist.

In India, a law can be implemented only after “rules” to enforce it are framed and announced. But since this process had not been followed in Arunachal Pradesh, the conversion law has never been enforced since it was passed 46 years ago.

The latest development drew media attention on Dec. 27 when state Chief Minister Pema Khandu, heading the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, declared that his government will fulfil the order of the high court. 

Khandu made this announcement while addressing the silver jubilee celebration of the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh in Itanagar, the state capital.

Though anti-conversion laws have been enacted by a dozen states, most of them in Hindu nationalist BJP-ruled states from the early 2000s onward, the law has been dormant in Arunachal Pradesh due to the legal flaw.

Compared with stringent laws passed in BJP-ruled states, the Arunachal anti-conversion law remains somewhat innocuous, prohibiting “conversions through force, inducement, or fraudulent means.” It directs a maximum punishment of two years. 

New legislation in other states has made prior permission from government officials mandatory for conversion, made prosecution easier, mandates that the burden of proof be shifted to the accused, and orders stringent punishment — including up to life imprisonment — and high penalties.

“We held a meeting of the Christian legislators [Jan. 13]. Seven of them attended,” said Thar, who is based in Itanagar. 

A meeting of all the 19 Christian legislators including seven belonging to the BJP in the 60-member state assembly, Thar said, “will be held soon to discuss our strategy to deal with this surprise development.”

“We will also hold a state-level convention soon to formulate Christian strategy to lobby with the government as anti-conversion laws are being misused to persecute Christians in several states,” Thar told CNA.

Studies say Christians are the largest religious group in the mountainous Arunachal Pradesh situated in the far east of India in the foothills of the snow-capped Himalayas, bordering China, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

Over 40% of the state’s 1.7 million people — mostly tribal inhabitants — are Christians. Ethnic tribals professing “Indigenous faith” form the second-largest demographic, followed by Buddhists and others.

“The government is duty bound to act on the high court order and frame the rules. That is a legal requirement,” Salesian Bishop George Palliparambil, who heads the Miao Diocese in the state, told CNA.

“The Christian community is powerful and diligent to guard against any misuse of the provisions,” Palliparambil said.

In India’s most populous state of northern Uttar Pradesh with a population of 231 million, hundreds of pastors and even senior Catholic priests had been imprisoned on conversion charges.

“The chief minister Khandu is a Buddhist and is known for respect for all communities. He would not turn the anti-conversion law into a tool to persecute Christians by fulfilling the court order,” Bishop John Thomas Kattrukudiyil, who retired as bishop of Itanagar in 2023, told CNA.

Kattrukudiyil noted that Khandu had even promised to repeal the anti-conversion law when he addressed the Catholic celebration of the decennial memorial service of pioneering Catholic missionary Prem Bhai in 2018. 

On the occasion, Khandu had also expressed concerns that the law “could undermine secularism and is probably targeted towards Christians.” He ultimately never repealed the law.

null / Credit: Andy - Rock News/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Jan 14, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The Vatican City State’s first decree regulating the use of artificial intelligence quietly came into effect this month prohibiting discriminatory uses of AI and establishing a special commission to oversee “experimentation” with the new technology at the Vatican.

The decree titled “Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence” was enacted by the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State and came into effect on Jan. 1 following a low-profile publication on the Vatican government’s website the day before Christmas Eve.

The new regulations set strict prohibitions on uses of AI within Vatican state institutions but do not apply to the entire Roman Curia. 

Among the banned practices are employing AI systems that compromise Vatican City security, implementing AI systems that exclude persons with disabilities from accessing its features, and using AI to draw “anthropological inferences with discriminatory effects on individuals.”

The 13-page decree also forbids AI applications that create social inequalities, violate human dignity, or use “subliminal manipulation techniques” that cause physical or psychological harm to people.

Furthermore, any use of AI that conflicts with the mission of the pope, the integrity of the Catholic Church, or the Vatican’s institutional activities is prohibited.

In an effort to oversee compliance, the decree establishes a five-member “Commission on Artificial Intelligence,” comprising officials from Vatican City’s legal, IT, and security departments. 

This commission is tasked with monitoring AI activities, preparing implementation laws, issuing biannual reports on AI within Vatican City and areas governed under the Lateran Treaty. 

The commission will also evaluate proposals for AI experimentation to ensure alignment with the decree’s ethical framework.

The Vatican guidelines draw inspiration from the European Union’s AI Regulation, which came into force in August, emphasizing a risk-based approach to AI applications. 

While safeguarding existing Vatican laws on data protection and copyright, the decree reinforces principles of transparency, inclusion, and ethical responsibility. It mandates that AI systems prioritize Vatican security, data protection, nondiscrimination, economic sustainability, and care for the environment.

AI-generated content within the Vatican must be clearly labeled as “IA” (intelligenza artificiale), ensuring transparency and distinguishing human creativity from machine outputs. The Vatican also retains copyright over such works.

The decree states that “the use of artificial intelligence must not limit the decision-making power of the subjects responsible for the organization, functioning, and coordination of the personnel of the governorate of the Vatican City State by the administration.”

In addition to outlining general principles, the decree provides specific guidelines for sectors such as health care, cultural heritage, judicial activity, and administrative procedures.

In Vatican courts, AI systems may only be used for research, while the decree stipulates that the actual judicial activity of interpreting the law must be reserved for human judges.

Pope Francis’ advocacy for ethical AI governance has been a driving force behind these new regulations. The decree reflects Francis’ ongoing call for regulations that align with AI ethics, as outlined in the Vatican’s “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” a document calling for transparency, accountability, and social justice in artificial intelligence.

Pope Francis has previously called for an international treaty to regulate AI and urged the G7 summit last year to ban the use of autonomous weapons. 

Despite the prohibitions, the guidelines affirm that “science and technology are a product of human creativity understood as a gift from God and have remedied countless evils that afflicted and limited human beings.” 

Additional Vatican laws implementing the AI regulations and guidelines are expected by the end of 2025.