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(LifeSiteNews) — Acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Kyle Diamantas has promised he will be the “most pro-life FDA commissioner that the FDA has ever had.”   Diamantas made his promise to Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins, according to The Daily Signal.  Shortly after his appointment as acting FDA head, Diamantas reached out to pro-life leaders, including Hawkins, Live Action president Lila Rose, and March for Life president Jennie Lichter.  Diamantas was responding to concerns about his past legal work on behalf of Planned Parenthood, insisting he is pro-life and that he sought to be removed from the pro-abortion assignment.  On Tuesday, the White House confirmed the resignation of FDA chief Marty Makary amid a storm of issues, including internal staff turmoil and his handling of abortion pills, vaccines, and nicotine products. READ: March for Life confirms acting FDA leader regretted Planned Parenthood work On Wednesday, Lila Rose revealed she had spoken with Diamantas, who sought to answer pro-life fears. “He told me he regrets work he performed as an outside attorney for Planned Parenthood in Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando v. MMB Properties,” Rose said. “He shared that he was assigned to the case by his law firm, performed work on it, and ultimately regretted his involvement because of his moral opposition to abortion. He then asked his superiors to remove him from the case. He said that he is pro-life and cares deeply about the pro-life cause.” “I also raised the urgent crisis of the abortion pill,” she added. “Nearly 11% of women who take mifepristone experience serious adverse events, and the abortion pill has killed millions of American babies. Diamantas told me that reviewing the abortion pill is a top priority for him and the administration.” Today I spoke directly with Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas. He told me he regrets work he performed as an outside attorney for Planned Parenthood in Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando v. MMB Properties. He shared that he was assigned to the case by his law firm,… — Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) May 13, 2026 March for Life president Jennie Lichter said she too is now optimistic about Diamantas taking the helm at the FDA.  “Had a great convo last night with Kyle Diamantas, the new acting FDA Commissioner. In other words, within hours of being handed this big new job, he was on the phone with pro-life leaders – which is an encouraging sign of where his priorities lie,” she wrote on X on May 13. “I’m optimistic that the cause of life will get a full and fair hearing at the FDA, incl. real movement on the mifepristone safety study,” Lichter stated. The March for Life is “looking forward to working with” the FDA “in this new era to make sure abortion drug companies can’t continue to lie to women about their drugs that are NOT ‘safer than tylenol,’” Lichter wrote. Had a great convo last night with Kyle Diamantas, the new acting FDA Commissioner. In other words, within hours of being handed this big new job, he was on the phone with pro-life leaders – which is an encouraging sign of where his priorities lie. After talking w him I’m… — Jennie Bradley Lichter (@JennieMFL) May 13, 2026 While Diamantas’ recent comments are encouraging, Rose stressed, “Now we need to see action. The FDA must urgently take action on mifepristone, confront the mounting evidence of harm to women, and address the abortion pill regime that has killed millions of preborn children. We and millions of Americans across the nation who value the right to life expect this administration to advance strong pro-life protections for both mothers and their children.”

BAGHDAD, Iraq (LifeSiteNews) — An Iraqi court ruled this week that a Christian woman is allowed to have her official religious status corrected in the government’s database from Muslim to Christian after she had forcibly been registered as Muslim under Iraqi law despite her Christian faith. In the court’s ruling, reported by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International on May 12, the woman, identified by the pseudonym “Maryam” to protect her identity, affirmed her right to change her official religious status in the government database to reflect her Christian faith. While Maryam was raised in a Christian household, she, along with her sisters, was forcibly classified as a Muslim by the government after her mother separated from her father and then remarried a Muslim man under the Iraqi National Card Law No. 3 of 2016, which stipulates that minors must follow the religion of the parent who has converted to Islam. In January 2025, after she reached the country’s age of majority, Maryam filed litigation to have her religious status corrected to “Christian” in the Iraqi government database. “Maryam was forced by law to carry a religious identity imposed on her as a child — one that did not reflect her beliefs, her upbringing, or her lived reality,” said Kelsey Zorzi, the director of advocacy for global religious freedom at ADF International, which has supported Maryam’s case. “Today’s decision restores her ability to live in accordance with her Christian faith and sets an important precedent for others in similar situations.” READ: Catholic archdiocese in Iraq suffers drone strike on apartment complex by Iran-aligned militants “This decision sends a clear message that individuals should not be bound for life by religious classifications imposed on them as children by their parents or by government policy,” she added. “No state should have the power to permanently assign a person’s religion.” In Iraq, each citizen’s religious affiliation is tracked in the government’s database. While changing one’s religious designation from Islamic to another religion is not illegal, it has several consequences that make it challenging for Christians and other non-Muslims to practice their faith fully. As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List report detailed how in Iraq, as with the entire Middle East, there has been little recovery from the attempts of Islamic States and extremists “to wipe out Christianity entirely.” READ: New report reveals worldwide increase in persecution and martyrdom of Christians As the report details, “Ever since the Islamic State group (IS) arrived on the scene, Christians in those areas of Iraq and Syria have been struggling to earn a living; young Christians in particular face high unemployment and continual hostility, thus encouraging their desire to emigrate.” Emigration, however, simply further diminishes the presence of Christians in the Middle East, making the survival of churches even more difficult. Additionally, “Converts to Christianity from Islam continue to face high levels of pressure from family and community,” because, according to Islamic law, conversion to Christianity is an apostasy punishable with death, though it’s worth noting “apostasy” from Islam is not punishable by death or in any way under Iraqi law. As this week’s ruling came from the Iraqi Personal Status Courts, the State has the right to appeal the decision to the Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court. Meanwhile, Maryam’s two younger sisters remain registered as Muslims but plan to take similar legal action once they reach adulthood.

(LifeSiteNews) — Benedictine College issued one-year suspensions to a number of students for widely disseminating a flyer on campus that accused one of the college’s theologians of spreading blasphemy, branded attendees of a campus event as “antichrists,” and suggested that Jewish people — including members of the local community — may be less than human. As addressed in a public statement from the college, the anonymous flyers from a group calling itself “Coalition of Catholics Against Jewish Supremacy” targeted campus parking lots in late April that were subsequently removed from cars by other student groups “who were the first to respond to the attacks.” The college highlighted a release from the student Latin Mass Society as well that expressed “its disgust and utter disappointment at the content” of the flyer. The distributed document objected to a one-day conference held on the Benedictine campus titled “Shoulder to Shoulder: Strengthening Jewish-Catholic Friendship at a Moment of Crisis, Nostra Aetate Beyond 60.” The purpose of the event was framed as “a moment of formation, repair, and renewed commitment to the shared spiritual inheritance that binds Jews and Catholics together — shoulder to shoulder.” The conference was also sponsored in partnership with the “Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism.” According to a bio of one conference speaker, the CCAA was launched by Philos Catholic (part of The Philos Project) in October 2023, the same month acute hostilities broke out between Hamas and Israel that quickly escalated to what Israeli human rights groups, holocaust experts, and many more have judged to be a genocide against the Palestinian people. From early on, the Philos Project’s “core funder” was revealed to be Jewish Zionist billionaire Paul Singer, who has funded many organizations committed to an aggressive military posture in the Middle East on behalf of Israel. He has also served on the board of Commentary magazine, a publication known for advancing hard-line, neoconservative ideology for decades. Philos Catholic came under fire last July when its director, Luke Moon, criticized Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa of Jerusalem for his condemnations of the Israeli army’s deadly strike against Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza that killed three Catholics and injured several more, including the parish priest. He also went on to criticize “Church leaders,” seemingly including Pope Leo, for strong remarks against the bombing. One respondent noticed Moon “failed to express even a scintilla of sympathy and concern for the victims.” Instead, he “immediately jumped to attacking a beloved cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.” Problematic Church citations from earlier centuries The inflammatory “Coalition of Catholics Against Jewish Supremacy” flyer cited quotes from sacred scripture and saints who lived in eras quite different from the present utilizing language and concepts that modern ears would be expected to find abrasive and offensive. For example, it cited a prediction by St. Hippolytus (d. 235 AD), an early Church father, who said the Antichrist would “spring from the Jews.” Student authors then went on to condemn “all those antichrists who have participated in this conference.” It also charged a highly respected theologian at the college with “blasphemy” for proposing the Jews still have a covenantal relationship with God and went on to quote Blessed Peter the Venerable, a 12th century Benedictine Abbot from France who in a broader context addressed Jews as “poor wretches” for continuing to “deny the Son of God,” adding, “Truly I doubt whether a Jew can be really human.” Student’s ‘major violation’ due to discrimination and disrespect According to an apparent letter to one of the suspended students as part of an appeal process, Benedictine Vice Provost for Student Affairs Sean Mulcahy said the student received his disciplinary outcome for “authoring and distributing a flyer that contained discriminatory language and disrespect against a Benedictine College faculty member” that violated the Benedictine College Community Code in the areas of “1) Discrimination; 2) Disrespect; 3) Improper Posting.” “The Student Conduct Board suspended you from Benedictine College effective May 7, 2026, through May 31, 2027,” Mulcahy wrote to the student. “You were banned from campus and any Benedictine College event on or off campus, effective May 8, 2026. You were also interim restricted from participation in Senior Week activities, Baccalaureate Mass, and Commencement through the appeals process.” The Vice Provost later reviewed the evidence as highlighted above and found it to qualify “as a major violation of the Benedictine College Community Code” and thus upheld the suspensions as “within the scope of appropriate outcomes.” Benedictine celebrates Church teaching In its statement on the matter, Benedictine College highlighted how this incident “has truly affirmed that our students, faculty, board of directors and staff are committed to the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church in all matters, including the teaching expressed in Nostra Aetate about the Church’s relationship to Judaism and the Jewish people, who Pope St. John Paul II called our ‘elder brothers in the faith.’” Proudly affirming being “honored to have hosted” the “Shoulder to Shoulder” conference, the statement described the event as presenting “not just Council-level teaching of the magisterium” but also examining “Jewish-Catholic relationships as expounded in the Catechism of the Catholic Church especially Catechism No. 121, which can be found here; Catechism No. 839-840, found here; and Catechism No. 674, which can be read here.” Holy Land Christians warn religious Zionists seeking to drive them out Highlighting the teaching of Nostra Aetate against antisemitism, which is based on the Church’s “rejection of every persecution against any man,” Holy Land Christians have condemned Christian Zionism and warned that radical Jewish influences are striving to drive them off their ancestral lands. In the last several years, cascading reports have emerged of radical Zionist sects in the Holy Land terrorizing Christian towns in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including the destruction of Church-owned property. In Jerusalem, physical assaults and harassment have surged. Earlier this month, video captured a “brutal assault on (a) Catholic nun” who was slammed to the ground and kicked by a Jewish settler named Yonah Schreiber near King David’s tomb. Other reports document desecrations of Catholic symbols and the common occurrence of Christian clergy and religious being spat on and harassed by Jewish terrorists in Jerusalem. Such incidents have highlighted the persistent and even deadly aggressions from radical Jewish sects over land and security in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where Church properties have faced repeated pressures with Christians consistently warning their western co-religionists that radical Zionist movements, most often with government sanction, are seeking to drive them out of the Holy Land.