difficulties – United Yam

‘God is with Nicaragua!’ exclaims first Nicaraguan consecrated bishop in the U.S.

unitedyam September 11, 2025

Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau at his episcopal consecration Mass as the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 8, 2025. / Credit: Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

“Today, we Nicaraguans are making history again. Do not forget: God is with us and God is with Nicaragua!” said Pedro Bismarck Chau, the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at the Sept. 8 Mass for his episcopal consecration, making him the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States.

Amid a festive atmosphere and before a packed Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, where he had been rector since 2020, Chau received episcopal consecration through the laying on of hands by several bishops. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark.

As part of the celebration, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the letter in which Pope Leo XIV officially appointed Chau as bishop and encouraged him to allow himself to be strengthened “by the grace of this jubilee year and you will have reason to be confident in the gift of hope, which does not disappoint. May God continue to bless you and may he bless the people of God in this archdiocese.”

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep

In his homily in English and Spanish, Tobin encouraged the new bishop to remember that “you have been called from among the people of God and for the people of God. Not for yourself, but for the things that belong to God. Indeed, episcopacy is the name of a service, not an honor, for a bishop should strive to serve rather than rule.”

“According to the Master’s commandment, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all … Be a faithful steward and dispenser of the mysteries of Christ. Always follow the example of the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and is known by them, and who did not hesitate to give his life for them.”

The cardinal then recalled that “Pope Francis never tired of repeating to bishops that there are three aspects to a bishop’s closeness to the people he serves: closeness to God in prayer, the first task; closeness to the priests and deacons of the Church; and closeness to the people of God. … Do not forget your roots, do not forget those who have passed on the faith to you.”

‘God is with Nicaragua!’

At the beginning of his address as a newly consecrated bishop, Chau thanked the Deaf community in sign language, recalling that for 17 years they have been a great support and encouragement in his ministry, offering them his prayers and concluding with a clear: “I love you!”

Speaking later in Spanish, he addressed his “dear Hispanic community: Thank you for the faith and devotion you possess. You are a great gift of life for the Church in the United States. Continue, brothers, to be a Church that goes out in search of the lost sheep.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the presence this afternoon,” Chau continued, “of a group of people here from a very small country but with a big and resilient heart that cries out with a phrase that no other country has: ‘Who causes so much joy? The conception of Mary. Mary of Nicaragua! Nicaragua of Mary!’”

The prelate addressed his family, especially his mother: “Thank you, my dearest mother, for everything and for praying so many rosaries for me, three, four, and five times a day that you pray for me. I need them, so don’t stop praying those rosaries for me. OK, Mommy?”

“I love you very much,” he told his family, “you know I love you with all my heart.”

The example of the Virgin Mary

Chau said he hopes to “follow the example of Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today. Happy birthday, Mary! She trusted in God’s plan even though she didn’t know what she was being called to or where it would take or lead her. She renounced all the dreams and aspirations that a young girl would have and put God’s will first.”

Then addressing all those assembled he said: “I humbly ask you to remember me in your prayers to the Lord and to ask the Virgin to watch over me and bring me closer to her son, Jesus, so that I may reflect for you the image of the Good Shepherd. Thank you, and may God bless you all!” he said.

Words of Bishop Silvio Báez

Following the Mass, Bishop Silvio Báez, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Nicaragua, who has been living in the U.S. since 2019, said the episcopal consecration of Chau was a “historic celebration. The first Nicaraguan, born in Nicaragua, to be ordained a bishop in the United States. He was baptized and took his first steps in the faith in Nicaragua.”

“This is a sign of the richness and fruitfulness of the Church of Nicaragua and a message of hope for all the people of God in our country. The fact that Bismarck came from Nicaragua and settled in the United States shows that it is possible to move forward despite the difficulties one may encounter,” he added.

When asked about his meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in August, along with two other exiled Nicaraguan bishops — Carlos Herrera and Isidoro Mora — the prelate said: “The interview with the Holy Father was a moment of grace, a moment of hope, seeing how deeply he holds Nicaragua in his heart as well as the situation the Nicaraguan people are experiencing at this time.”

Who is Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau?

Pedro Bismarck Chau was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua. He studied at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

He completed his ecclesiastical studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange and later earned a master’s degree in counseling from Seton Hall University.

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 24, 2008.

He served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield, New Jersey, from 2008–2012; as director of vocations from 2012–2016; and as head of campus ministry at Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2015–2020.

He also served as pastor of the Pro-Cathedral of Sts. John and Patrick in Newark from 2015–2020 and rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart since 2020.

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

Study: Mental health-related hospitalizations rates doubled for women who had abortions

unitedyam September 1, 2025

null / Credit: GBALLGIGGSPHOTO/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 1, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A recent study found that the rate of mental-health-related hospitalizations doubled for women who had abortions compared with women who gave birth.

The study, published this summer in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, compared abortions with other pregnancies in hospitals in Quebec, Canada, between 2006 and 2022, tracking data on women for up to 17 years.

The study, which compared more than 1.2 million women who gave birth in Quebec hospitals with more than 28,000 women who had abortions, found that “rates of mental-health-related hospitalization were higher following induced abortions than other pregnancies.”

Abortion was associated with a number of mental-health-related difficulties including hospitalization for psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts, the study found.

This association was especially high for women who were younger than 25 years at the time of their abortions, as well as for patients who already had an existing mental illness.

The risk of mental health hospitalization was highest within five years of the abortion. The risk decreased gradually after the five-year point, but only after 17 years did the risk begin “to resemble” pregnancies carried to term, according to the study.

Tessa Cox, senior research associate at the think tank Charlotte Lozier Institute, said the study was “particularly powerful.”

“This recent study out of Canada, which has more comprehensive health care data than the U.S., adds to a mounting body of research suggesting that abortion can harm women’s mental health,” Cox said.

“The abortion industry downplays the evidence, so the fact that this new study included more than a million women and took prior mental health and other related factors into account makes it particularly powerful,” she told CNA.

“Women deserve to have all the facts — and women and men who have been harmed by abortion need to know that forgiveness and healing are possible,” Cox said.

Another scholar called the study “robust,” noting that it followed the data over an extended period of time and had constants that enabled the information to be more accurate.

Michael New, senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor of practice at The Catholic University of America, noted that the study “provides strong statistical evidence that abortion increases the risk of a range of mental health problems.”

New said the study had many strengths, including its large sample size, the way it tracked women over an extended period of time, and how the authors analyzed data from an extended period of time.

This method was rare, according to the study, which noted that “large population-based studies with long-term follow-up are rare yet necessary to understand the mental health needs of women post abortion.”

New called this study’s results “robust,” noting that this study stands firm against criticism that similar studies have faced.

The study is one of several that have investigated correlation between mental health challenges and abortion.

“While other research has found that women who obtain abortions are likely to suffer from mental health disorders, critics of these studies have argued that women with mental health problems are more likely to obtain abortions in the first place,” New said.

“Most importantly it holds constant whether or not the women in the study had been hospitalized with mental health problems in the past,” he said of the Canadian study.