International
Pregnant teen receives ultrasound on stage at Mexico anti-abortion rally
AFP
A pregnant 15-year-old girl underwent an ultrasound on stage during an anti-abortion rights protest in Mexico City Sunday, where some 10,000 demonstrators prayed and shouted slogans amid the spectacle.
The March for Women and Life, which wound from the Paseo de la Reforma to a rally in front of the city’s iconic Angel of Independence monument, was made up mainly of Catholic groups pushing back after last month’s Supreme Court ruling that would decriminalize abortion in Mexico.
“The government … is elevating the right to abortion as a right to kill,” 56-year-old protester Alma Bello told AFP. “It worries us a lot, because it is not the feeling of a majority of Mexicans.”
A stretcher was rolled out onto the rally stage for gynecologist Fernando Urquiza to perform an ultrasound on 15-year-old Ana, who is 38 weeks pregnant.
Images of the inside of the teenager’s uterus were broadcast on huge screens on either side of the stage, accompanied by cheers and applause from the crowd.
“All good to go, ready to be born,” pronounced the doctor, who said he was “very excited” to be part of the display.
When asked how she was feeling during the exam, Ana replied only that she was “fine.”
Meanwhile, a rally announcer told Ana the event was “the biggest baby shower I have ever seen.”
Alison Gonzalez, a Catholic activist and head of Steps for Life, the group that organized the march, said the gathering was not meant as a response to any particular event — such as the Supreme Court ruling — but rather as a show of “national support for women.”
“We need policies that reconcile the professional with the maternal, that make sure we can return home safely, that help us move forward in the face of an unwanted pregnancy,” 26-year-old Gonzalez told AFP.
“Legal or illegal, abortion must be out of the question, because women deserve so much more,” she said.
In a highly orchestrated move, groups arrived in buses from far-flung cities such as Morelos in central Mexico and Jalisco in the west — attendees all carrying hundreds of banners, scarves and signs in the signature light blue color of the international “pro-life” movement.
Some factions prayed Hail Marys together, while others shouted chants such as “Legal or illegal, abortion still kills!”
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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