Supporters of Venezuelan leader Nicholás Maduro gather Jan. 24 in Caracas, Venezuela’s city center to protest after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the Venezuelan president had been captured and flown out of the country. Many Venezuelans are also celebrating Maduro’s removal from office. Photo: Jeampier Arguinzones/AP

[Episcopal News Service] Following last weekend’s U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the removal of President Nicholás Maduro from office, Episcopal leaders have released statements calling for prayers and peace in the South American country. They expressed both support for Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s removal and concern over the legality of the attack. 

“The Episcopal Church’s General Convention has a long-standing policy that ‘condemn[s] in any nation the first use of armed force in the form of a preventive or pre-emptive strike that is aimed at disrupting a non-imminent, uncertain military threat,’” The Episcopal Church said in a Jan. 3 Action Alert released by the Episcopal Public Policy Network. “Even as we recognize that intervention in sovereign states can sometimes be necessary to prevent atrocities, we discourage ‘the abuse of this norm to rationalize military actions in sovereign states for political ends.’”

In the early hours of Jan. 3, the U.S. military attacked Venezuela, taking Maduro and his wife into custody. The attack followed months of strikes against so-called drug-carrying boats, the seizure of two oil tankers and a massive buildup of U.S. forces off Venezuela’s coast.

Before the attack, the Trump administration did not seek congressional approval, as required by the U.S. Constitution; legal experts suggest the strike also violated international law.

Maduro, an authoritarian ruler who has been accused of human rights abuses and other violations, has led Venezuela since the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013. In 2024, Maduro was declared the winner of an election declared fraudulent by independent monitors. He and his wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, have been charged by the United States with narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. They both pleaded not guilty during their federal court appearance on Jan. 5 in New York.

The Episcopal Diocese of Venezuela, based in the capital, Caracas, has 10 parishes, 14 missions and four preaching stations. Ecuador Litoral Bishop Cristóbal Olmedo León Lozana is the provisional bishop of the diocese, which is part of the church’s Province IX.

“Episcopalians in Venezuela carry out vital ministries in increasingly challenging conditions, and we fear for their well-being and their church community if these military interventions, and any form of U.S. occupation, lead to more instability and violence,” The Episcopal Church’s statement said.

Church leaders have been communicating with Lozano, standing committee leadership and Honduras Bishop Lloyd Allen, who serves as president of Province IX, according to the statement.

Los Angeles Bishop-elect Antonio Gallardo, who continues to serve as rector of St. Luke’s/San Lucas Episcopal Church in Long Beach, California, is from Venezuela and has family living there, including his mother, siblings and cousins. He said in a Jan. 3 Facebook post in English and Spanish that his “heart is experiencing mixed emotions” after Maduro’s capture.

“When the Venezuelan people celebrate the extraction of Maduro, they get a renewed sense of hope, a sense that they almost lost after these many years of trying to elect other leaders in elections that [were] very likely rigged,” Gallardo said in his Facebook post.

While Gallardo’s “heart is full of joy” for Venezuelans, his “heart is also afraid of what may come to them.” After Maduro’s capture, U.S. President Donald Trump said during a Jan. 3 news conference that the United States will “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” to new leadership. Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who has served since 2018, was sworn in Jan. 5 as the country’s interim president.

“When the U.S. government says within a few hours of the operations, words like ‘We are going to run the country,’ and ‘We will rebuild the oil infrastructure before a transition,’ it makes me fear that the Venezuelan people may have shifted from one form of oppression to another,” Gallardo said. “I don’t think this military operation was about the people in Venezuela, when here in the U.S., we treat Venezuelans and other immigrants of color with cruelty.”

In its statement, The Episcopal Church urges Congress to call for an investigation of recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela, and for support of a “peaceful transition that respects the rule of law and the will of the Venezuelan people.”

El Camino Real Bishop Lucinda Ashby concurred. “As a church that spans many nations and cultures, we are mindful that decisions made by governments can have profound consequences far beyond their borders,” Ashby said in a Jan. 3 statement to the Salinas, California-based diocese. “Our faith calls us to witness to the dignity of every person and to seek paths that lead toward peace rather than further harm.”

When former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was primate of The Episcopal Church from 2015-2024, he visited every diocese except Venezuela over safety concerns due to violence and civil unrest under the Maduro regime.

Following U.S. military operations and Maduro’s removal, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted a prayer vigil for Venezuela on Jan. 3.

“I bid your prayers for our nation, for the people of Venezuela, for the members of our military, for those who were killed or captured, for the Congress and for the uncertain future before us,” Arizona Bishop Jennifer Reddall said in a Facebook statement announcing the prayer vigil. “We pray for those good things which Jesus has taught us to pray for: for peace, for justice, for righteousness and mercy and for the healing of the world and the children of God.”

New York Bishop Matthew Heyd, in his Jan. 5 email newsletter, also called for prayers for Venezuela and for Venezuelans living in the Diocese of New York, as well as for members of the U.S. armed forces.

“As Christians, we proclaim an incarnational faith. We believe in human dignity and human possibility,” he said. “That’s the bright thread that we follow through disorienting times. We can at once denounce despots and affirm the rule of law.”

As of June 2025, roughly 1.1 million of the nearly 8 million forcibly displaced Venezuelan migrants have fled to the United States. About 600,000 of them legally entered the United States through a humanitarian program known as Temporary Protected Status. Tens of thousands of them have settled in New York, according to New York Times analysis.

Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows has been communicating with several diocesan members with family living in Venezuela, she said in a Jan. 4 statement.

“There is no question that we are living in turbulent times that will demand much of us as people of faith,” Baskerville-Burrows said. Regarding Venezuela, “there is a sense of both optimism and fear for the future.”

Gallardo, who is scheduled to be ordained and consecrated as Los Angeles bishop diocesan on July 11 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, expressed gratitude for the support and prayers offered to Venezuelans after Maduro’s removal.

“I give thanks to God for giving me a heart capable of holding multiple, and at times conflicting, feelings, and more than anything, I give thanks for all the prayers that the people are offering to sustain the people of Venezuela during this time of transition,” Gallardo said.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

2023 Las Posadas celebration at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Thomas

[Episcopal News Service] Members of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a congregation with a large Latino membership, will celebrate Las Posadas next week. The Advent holiday is observed in some Latin American countries and Spain to commemorate Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

The celebration will take place as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts raids throughout the state, leaving immigrant communities in its capital city on alert. Many Latino Christians are avoiding church services for the time being.

“Las Posadas is our way of saying that in this church, in this community, you are not alone and you are not forgotten,” the Rev. Tommy Dillon, rector of St. Margaret’s, told Episcopal News Service. “Mary and Joseph’s story is not just history; it’s happening right now for families who are looking for safety, families looking for housing and people looking for welcome. Every time we open the door to someone who’s in need, we are welcoming the Christ child himself.”

Las Posadas, Spanish for “The Inns,” originated more than 400 years ago in Spain and now is celebrated in at least Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Cuba. It is a novena – a form of worship including special prayers and services lasting nine days – told through improvisational drama from Dec. 16-24, culminating in the Christmas Eve worship service.

The Las Posadas celebration at St. Margaret’s will last one night on Dec. 17 and take place inside the church.

Members of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, celebrate Las Posadas, an Advent holiday observed in some Latin American countries and Spain to commemorate Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. At St. Margaret’s, as depicted in this photo from 2023, participants celebrate Las Posadas with a traditional Mexican meal of tamales and pozole, a soup made with hominy and meat, usually pork, that’s commonly served during Christmas and other holidays. Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Thomas

Typically, during Las Posadas, community members reenact the nativity story each night, often following a child dressed as an angel, and process, singing hymns, to a different host family’s house. When they arrive at the house, some stay with the host family members, acting as the innkeeper, and others as Mary and Joseph seeking shelter. Everyone continues singing as the Holy Family is recognized in the crowd, and then everyone gathers inside the home for a celebration with more singing, food, sweets and, in Mexico, the breaking of a piñata.

At St. Margaret’s, participants will celebrate with a traditional Mexican meal of tamales and pozole, a soup made with hominy and meat, usually pork, that’s commonly served during Christmas and other holidays.

“It is a beautiful religious tradition and a wonderful way to prepare for the arrival of our savior. Everyone is full of hope and peace,” Karla Sikaffy duPlantier, The Episcopal Church’s interim missioner for Latino Ministries, told ENS. “Especially now as ICE is tearing immigrant families apart, Las Posadas reminds us that Mary and Joseph’s journey was a journey of perseverance and the need to be hospitable with our neighbors.”

Throughout December, Louisiana, including Baton Rouge and New Orleans, has been the target of ICE raids in a sweep dubbed by the Trump administration “Operation Catahoula Crunch.” So far, “dozens” of people have been arrested, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The state is home to nine ICE detention facilities, where, as of Nov. 10, 8,137 detainees were being held.

Last month, ahead of the raids, Louisiana Bishop Shannon Duckworth issued a statement upholding the baptismal covenant’s call to respect the dignity of every human being:

“To those living in fear during this time … while we cannot prevent lawful enforcement actions, we can stand with you, spiritually, pastorally and humanely, so that fear does not have the final word.”

Dillon said members of St. Margaret’s Latino ministry, La Mesa, considered canceling this year’s La Posadas celebration but decided to continue the celebration as normal “so that we do not give in to fear.” (Baton Rouge’s Catholic bishop issued an indefinite dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass.)

Volunteers will carpool and offer to accompany Latino families planning to celebrate in person.

“We are going to make room and share the light of Jesus. … We want to be a visible sign of welcoming and for us not to do it just doesn’t seem like it’s the Gospel,” Dillon said. We have to be visible. We have to have courage. But if you don’t feel comfortable coming, there are other people that will walk this route on your behalf.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

Rivera’s ordination marks a significant step toward self-determination for the Havana-based church in Cuba, which formally reunified with The Episcopal Church in 2020 after five years of efforts that included approval by the 79th General Convention in 2018 in Austin, Texas. The diocese is now part of Province II, which also includes the Spanish-speaking Diocese of Puerto Rico.

In a Sept. 14 interview with Episcopal News Service, Rivera, who’d previously served as a priest in Puerto Rico, described the Diocese of Cuba as “very special.”

“This diocese is like none other. The people are beautiful and happy with a lot of energy, lots of charisma, many gifts,” Rivera said. “The people sing with such immense joy and live their experiences through Christ despite the difficult economic situation in the country.”

As bishop, Rivera succeeds Puerto Rico Bishop Rafael Morales Maldonado, who had been serving as bishop provisional since 2023 following the resignation of former Cuba Bishop Griselda del Carpio. She had served as bishop diocesan since 2010, including during the diocese’s reunification with The Episcopal Church.

Rivera – who previously served as rector of Parroquia Ayudada San José in the Rio Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico, said he estimates that at least 2,000 Episcopalians live in Cuba as of 2025 – with some congregations reporting hundreds of members. The diocese has 47 churches and more than 30 missions.

“If it is also God’s plan, my goal as bishop is to help double or triple the number of churches,” Rivera said. “Cubans share a great love and commitment to God, and they have faith that everything will work out.”

The service took place three days after the House of Bishops concluded its Sept. 10-15 meeting in the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, where Rivera also was present.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was the chief consecrator for Rivera’s ordination service.

“The ordination of Angel Rivera is another milestone in our journey to strengthen the Anglican presence in Cuba that began in 1871,” Rowe told ENS in a Sept. 15 written statement. “Together, we are witnessing to the world that divisions among governments mean nothing to citizens of God’s kingdom who follow the Risen Christ.”

The church in Cuba became a missionary district of The Episcopal Church in 1901, but the two churches separated in the 1960s, after Fidel Castro seized power and diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States disintegrated.

For much of that time, Cuban bishops were appointed by a church body known as the Metropolitan Council of Cuba, which allowed the diocese to remain connected to the wider Anglican Communion. Rivera is the first bishop of Cuba in more than four decades to be chosen by election rather than by appointment.

“I feel so honored that I get to serve the Episcopalians in Cuba,” Rivera said.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

Episcopal bishops pose for a group photo at the House of Bishops’ Sept. 10-15 meeting at the Coral Costa Caribe Beach Resort in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. Photo: Frank Logue

[Episcopal News Service — Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic] After visiting several mission sites in the Santo Domingo-based Diocese of the Dominican Republic, engaging in conversations on The Episcopal Church’s role in today’s society and worshiping alongside some 800 Dominican Episcopalians, Episcopal bishops and their spouses are leaving their fall gathering with a “sense of what the expressions of the local church are.”

“We have a lot to learn from dioceses that are part of The Episcopal Church but are outside the context of the United States,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe told Episcopal News Service in a Sept. 14 interview. “I think there’s a lot for us to learn from the Dominican Republic, which has a tremendous ministry of schools and churches and hospitals. This is instructive for us. I think it’s been a surprise to people the level to which the church is relevant to the culture of the Dominican Republic.”

This Sept. 10-15 meeting was one of two biannual in-person House of Bishops gatherings. The fall meetings typically occur during non-General Convention years and, as was the case this year, usually include bishops’ spouses

This gathering of 82 bishops and 38 spouses was notably the first time the House of Bishops had gathered in the Province IX diocese, which has about 5,000 members and 67 missions.

Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime told ENS that he always looks forward to the House of Bishops gatherings, and meeting in the Dominican Republic this time provided “another context for the church that many of us have never experienced.”

“When I think about the [Sept. 13] worship service, I didn’t expect to see so much joy for one service,” Lattime said. “The joy that everybody experienced – the music, and the dancing during worship is ubiquitous here. Everybody here’s doing it all the time, and that’s great joy that I really appreciated.”

During the House of Bishops’ fall 2025 gathering in the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic, some bishops and their spouses visited historic places in Santo Domingo Sept. 13 on a tour led by the Dominican Development Group. Here the bishops pose for a group photo while visiting the Fortaleza Ozama, the oldest colonial fortress in the Americas overlooking the Ozama River. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

Some bishops and spouses further experienced Dominican culture and history with a Sept. 13 tour of Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, led by Christy Wallace and Miquea Saintivil, executive director and director of field operations of the Dominican Development Group. The Evans, Georgia-based nonprofit supports the Diocese of the Dominican Republic’s ministries through project planning, fundraising and other development initiatives.

While in Santo Domingo, the bishops and spouses visited the Colonial City, the first permanent European settlement in the Americas that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While in the Colonial City, they toured the Fortaleza Ozama, the oldest colonial fortress in the Americas overlooking the Ozama River, and the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, the archiepiscopal see of the Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo and the oldest cathedral in the Americas. Both structures were built in the early 16th century.

Rochester Bishop Kara Wagner Sherer and her husband, John W. W. Sherer, were part of the Santo Domingo tour. Wagner Sherer told ENS that the tour and other times they left the Coral Costa Caribe Beach Resort to explore the Dominican Republic, where most House of Bishops meetings took place, were “invaluable.”

“The worship service and the cultural tour with the Dominican Development Group gave us a taste of the history and the culture and present-day issues,” she said.

The poverty rate in the Dominican Republic, with a population of about 11 million people, is at 22.8%, according to the World Food Programme. Food insecurity affects about 14% of the population. The Dominican Republic, located east of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, also is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with frequent threats of floods, droughts and other natural disasters.

On the first day of the gathering, Rowe gave a report updating bishops on structural changes in The Episcopal Church and the challenges many church leaders say they are facing today, including the polarized political environment; humanitarian crises and conflicts worldwide; the church’s decline in membership, and the troubles facing the U.S. economy and fewer congregational pledges; and difficulty in managing canonical processes, maintaining generative relationships and handling conflict.

Rowe told the bishops, “Our objective is always to ensure that The Episcopal Church can make a strong, sound and effective witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by supporting ministry on the ground.”

In his sermon during the Sept. 13 worship service with local clergy and lay Episcopalians, Rowe said the Diocese of the Dominican Republic is doing just that, with its ministries based on what he and the bishops saw during their Sept. 11 visit to different diocesan missions, calling its members “living examples of the Kingdom of God.”

Wagner Sherer also said that she “appreciated” visiting the diocesan missions and worshiping with local Episcopalians outside the resort.

“It was clear that [Dominican Episcopalians] had been excited and preparing for our arrival for several years,” she said. “It’s also clear that they have a lot to teach all the dioceses about being a community proclaiming the message of Jesus through their worship, through their schools, through their clinic, and that is inspiring and helpful for my own people to hear about and imitate at home.”

Rowe echoed a similar sentiment, noting that Episcopal churches are “not monolithic culturally or otherwise.”

“To come and see [the Diocese of the Dominican Republic], this is a gift of The Episcopal Church,” Rowe said. “To come and see it – not just to hear about it or watch it, but to experience it – it’s been a learning experience for us and, for me, a real inspiration.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

The Gospel procession during the Sept. 13 Eucharist at the Coop Marena Beach Resort in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. Episcopal bishops and about 800 Dominican Episcopalians worshiped together as part of the House of Bishops’ Sept. 10-15 gathering. Photo: Courtesy of Frank Logue

[Episcopal News Service — Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic] Episcopal bishops, their spouses and about 800 local clergy and lay Episcopalians worshiped together Sept. 13 here at the Coop Marena Beach Resort as part of the House of Bishops’ fall gathering in the Santo Domingo-based Diocese of the Dominican Republic. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe preached, and Dominican Republic Bishop Moisés Quezada Mota celebrated.

“At this time, the bishops are here with us, the priests and lay people – I am thankful to God,” Grecia Bodre told Episcopal News Service. Her husband, the Rev. Isaac Pringle, is a priest serving parishes in Boca Chica.

The special Eucharist, mostly in Spanish with some English, included Spanish-language worship music and Dominican Episcopalians, many dressed in traditional Dominican folk costumes, sharing their excitement with the bishops and their spouses.

In his sermon, Rowe reflected on the 82 bishops and 38 spouses’ visits to different diocesan missions, including the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Santo Domingo, and nearby schools. “After seeing the ministries of your diocese over the course of the last week, it’s clear to me that you have taken this Great Commission to heart. You are living examples of the Kingdom of God,” he said.

Grecia Christian Reynoso, the Diocese of the Dominican Republic’s chancellor and a member of Executive Council, told ENS that she “loved” Rowe’s sermon and was “very proud and grateful” to worship with the bishops.

“I pray for Bishop Sean Rowe because I understand what he wants to accomplish to move the church forward,” Christian Reynoso, a cradle Episcopalian, said. “We feel the bishops’ love in being here in the Dominican Republic.”

Episcopal bishops, their spouses and about 800 local clergy and lay Episcopalians worshiped together Sept. 13 at the Coop Marena Beach Resort as part of the House of Bishops’ fall gathering in the Santo Domingo-based Diocese of the Dominican Republic. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, left, preached, and Dominican Republic Bishop Moisés Quezada Mota, right, celebrated. Photo: Courtesy of Frank Logue

Quezada Mota told ENS in a Sept. 14 interview that he believes more Episcopalians from the diocese, which has about 5,000 members and 67 missions, would have attended the worship service if more space had been available.

“The key to their passion is that they are convinced in their faith in Jesus Christ,” he said. “They worship with their heart. They want to adore and serve God, and that enthusiasm to become witnesses to others with their testimonies will help The Episcopal Church grow.”

This Sept. 10-15 meeting is one of two biannual in-person House of Bishops gatherings. The fall meetings typically occur during non-General Convention years and, as is the case this year, usually include bishops’ spouses.

This is the first time the House of Bishops has gathered in the Dominican Republic and Rowe’s second meeting as primate of The Episcopal Church. The bishops were originally scheduled to gather in the Province IX diocese in September 2023, but instead met on Zoom to allow then-Presiding Bishop Michael Curry – who was scheduled to undergo surgery halfway through the meeting’s dates – to participate.

Rowe told ENS in a Sept. 14 interview that the House of Bishops “felt really, really bad” about delaying the gathering in the Dominican Republic for two years, but pointed out that, since 2023, the diocese has launched and continued an evangelism initiative. The diocese is also in the process of building new churches and ministries throughout the country.

“I think God’s timing is a blessing. …It was clearly important for [the House of Bishops] to be here,” Rowe said. “I think it’s a statement to the church that the Dominican Republic – this land and the people here – is also a part of The Episcopal Church, and an important part of it.”

Christian Reynoso and Quezada Mota both said the two-year delay, based on the worship service’s large attendance and “enthusiasm,” was “worth the wait.”

“Waiting and preparing for the gathering became a source of motivation and strength for us in the diocese in that we continued the labor to show who we are as Episcopalians – Dominican night on the beach, organizing trips to show our different missions and planning the Holy Eucharist with everyone,” Quezada Mota said. “God gave us this time of reflection, enthusiasm and hope.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

On the second day of the Sept. 10-15 House of Bishops gathering in the Dominican Republic, bishops and their spouses split into groups to visit local diocesan ministry sites. Some bishops visited the Iglesia Episcopal San Andrés in Santo Domingo, which also houses an early childhood and elementary school. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic] Episcopal bishops and their spouses spent the second day of their fall gathering visiting different missions operated by the Santo Domingo-based Diocese of the Dominican Republic, including its cathedral and nearby schools.

The missions visited by the 82 bishops and 38 spouses on Sept. 11 are among the Province IX diocese’s 67 missions serving 5,000 Episcopalians and the local communities.

“We feel highly rejoiced with the bishops’ visit here in the Dominican Republic,” the Rev. P. Obispo Encarnación, vicar of Iglesia Episcopal San Andrés in Santo Domingo, told Episcopal News Service.

San Andrés is connected to the Colegio Episcopal San Andrés, an early childhood and elementary school. The bishops who visited San Andrés were greeted by students dancing in school uniforms and Dominican folk dresses. While they toured the school, students in one classroom sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and welcomed them in Spanish and English. Outside, more students assembled for a special dance performance for the bishops. Some students gave presentations on what they’re learning in school, such as Dominican history and music.

Lexington Bishop Mark Van Koevering says hello to students at the Colegio Episcopal San Andrés Sept. 11 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The students greeted visiting bishops with song and dance. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

Also in Santo Domingo, the capital, some bishops visited the Catedral Episcopal de la Epifanía – Cathedral of the Epiphany – where they were greeted with live clarinet, violin and organ performances. Chicago Bishop Paula Clark and Arkansas Bishop John Harmon told ENS that they were impressed by the cathedral’s community outreach despite its small size.

“[The congregation is] meeting the needs of the people according to the Gospel,” Clark said.

Harmon said he was surprised to learn that Epiphany had a woman dean “long before” any Episcopal seminary in the United States had a woman dean.

“It shows that they have been committed to theological education for a very long time in the Caribbean despite limited resources,” he said. “They’re doing great work – doing a lot with a little.”

In San Pedro de Marcorís, some bishops visited the Iglesia Episcopal San Esteban, which also has an elementary school and the Clínica Esperanza y Caridad, a medical center.

The Rt. Rev. Austin Rios, the San Francisco-based Diocese of California’s first Latino bishop, told ENS that visiting San Esteban reminded him of his experience with ministries when he lived in Rome, Italy, for 12 years as rector of St. Paul’s Within-the-Walls Episcopal Church. He said San Esteban’s ministry “feels very similar” to the ministerial work being done in Italy. 

“I felt a lot of resonance … I am so thankful to see the joy and also the resilience that comes with doing this kind of ministry and seeing how it’s affecting people’s lives,” Rios said. “The great people we encountered at St. Esteban and in the Dominican Republic have been incredibly hospitable. It’s a wonderful gift to be here with the rest of the House of Bishops.”

Students at the Colegio Episcopal San Andrés in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, greet visiting bishops Sept. 11 with posters, live musical performances and presentations. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

This Sept. 10-15 meeting is one of two annual in-person House of Bishops gatherings. The fall meetings occur during non-General Convention years and, as is the case this year, usually include bishops’ spouses. The fall 2025 meeting is also notably the Most Rev. Sean Rowe’s second House of Bishops as presiding bishop.

In Boca Chica, a popular beach town for tourists, students at Colegio Episcopal San José also greeted visiting bishops with live musical performances. The elementary school is part of the Iglesia Episcopal San José, which also operates a retirement home for the community.

While touring the San José church, retirement home and school, the bishops listened to a priest preach about diversity in the global church and being “united in we all share the same blood in Jesus Christ.”

Minnesota Bishop Craig Loya described his experience visiting San José to ENS as “nourishing.”

“I think one of the advantages and the gifts of convening the House of Bishops in [the Dominican Republic] is it’s a way of reminding us all that we really do have this global, diverse church, and that is really part of our great gift as a church,” Loya said. “We’re grateful to be here.”

The House of Bishops gathering is underway through Sept. 15. The bishops will continue business and affinity group meetings and discussions, plenaries and other listening sessions. On Sept. 13, the Diocese of the Dominican Republic will host a special Eucharist with Dominican Republic Bishop Moisés Quezada Mota celebrating and Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe preaching. The local Episcopalians and bishops will engage in fellowship following the worship service.

Encarnación said the bishops interacting with local Episcopalians while in the Dominican Republic will further increase global unity in The Episcopal Church. “For us here in the Dominican Republic, this is very important because we feel supported by all the bishops worldwide.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

The first night of the House of Bishops’ Sept. 10-15 gathering at the Coral Costa Caribe Beach Resort in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic, included a beachfront dinner featuring live folk music and dance. Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service — Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic] Episcopal bishops and their spouses are here at the Coral Costa Caribe Beach Resort for their fall gathering, presenting an opportunity for the Santo Domingo-based Diocese of the Dominican Republic to shine in the spotlight.

Showcasing the Province IX diocese, which includes 5,000 members and 67 missions, and Dominican culture to his colleagues and their spouses is a “special occasion,” Dominican Republic Bishop Moisés Quezada Mota told Episcopal News Service on Sept. 10, the first day of the gathering. He said Dominican Episcopalians are excited for their diocese to host the House of Bishops’ fall gathering and have been “praying for the bishops every day.”

“We feel honored to have the bishops and their spouses here,” Quezada Mota said. “This week, the bishops are going to see Dominican culture and see the people worship with joy.”

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe leads prayer Sept. 10 before a beachfront dinner on the first night of the House of Bishops’ fall 2025 gathering at the Coral Costa Caribe Beach Resort in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

This Sept. 10-15 meeting is one of two annual in-person House of Bishops gatherings. The fall meetings occur during non-General Convention years and, as is the case this year, usually include bishops’ spouses. 

The gathering of 82 bishops and 38 spouses opened with a Eucharist. Texas Assistant Bishop Hector Monterroso celebrated, and West Texas Bishop Suffragan Angela Maria Cortiñas, the second Latina elected as bishop in The Episcopal Church, preached. Following the Eucharist, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe greeted the bishops and their spouses.

Later in the afternoon, Rowe gave a report updating bishops on structural changes in The Episcopal Church and the challenges many church leaders say they are facing today, including the polarized political environment; humanitarian crises and conflicts worldwide; the church’s decline in membership and the troubles facing the U.S. economy and fewer congregational pledges; and difficulty in managing canonical processes, maintaining generative relationships and handling conflict.

“We try to stay focused on those things that only can be done, or can be done best, at the churchwide level,” Rowe said. “Our objective is always to ensure that The Episcopal Church can make a strong, sound and effective witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ by supporting ministry on the ground.”

Initiatives to address these issues included resisting growing authoritarianism in the United States through legal avenues and “strategic engagement in public discourse.” Rowe also spoke of building capacity for ministry through collaboration with partners, such as the Episcopal Parish Network, the Episcopal Church Building Fund and others. Other initiatives included developing long-term financial strategies; reforming the church’s governance and structures at churchwide and diocesan levels; investing in initiatives that support “innovation” through church planting and other ministry models; building a welcoming Episcopal Church website; working to develop church leaders; realigning the church’s work in global partnerships; and investing in deescalating conflicts before they become Title IV disciplinary matters.

On Sept. 11, the bishops and their spouses will split into groups to visit four local diocesan ministry sites, including two schools, a medical center and the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Santo Domingo, the capital. Later this week, they will meet for theological reflections and discussions, and listen to various presentations, including one by Chris Lacovara, The Episcopal Church’s chief financial officer, on the stewardship of church properties.

Dominican Republic Bishop Moisés Quezada Mota, right, poses in front of an informational booth Sept. 10 on the first evening of the House of Bishops’ fall 2025 gathering at the Coral Costa Caribe Beach Resort in Juan Dolio. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/Episcopal News Service

On Sept. 13, a special Eucharist will take place at a nearby beach resort. Quezada Mota will celebrate and Rowe will preach. Episcopalians from throughout the Dominican Republic will also be in attendance.

“It’s going to be a great party, Quezada Mota said. “It will be a great event for everyone.”

Quezada Mota said he prays that his fellow bishops and their spouses will see that “our church is a dynamic church with many different ministries and theological programs.”

“My prayers are that the Holy Spirit continues guiding The Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic and to continue renewing the church more and more so it can follow its mission – the mission that Jesus Christ reaches more and more people,” Quezada Mota said. “I hope the bishops encountering our country gives my diocese energy and joy so it can continue doing its good work. I am hopeful.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

The suspension of operations comes after El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly on July 23 approved a “Foreign Agents” law, requiring individuals and organizations that receive funding from abroad to register as such.

“We have been forced to leave the country that was our first home. The decision to withdraw physically from El Salvador was one we never imagined making, but in the face of escalating risk, it became necessary,” Cristosal’s Executive Director Noah Bullock and Board President David Holiday wrote in a same-day e-newsletter to supporters.

“With no due process, no legal protections, and no guarantees of safety, our foremost responsibility is to protect our staff and their families. These threats are not theoretical: one of our colleagues has been unjustly detained, and others are being targeted.” 

In late May, Salvadoran police detained Ruth López, a lawyer who led Cristosal’s anti-corruption unit. The Salvadorian government later arrested Enrique Anaya, a constitutional lawyer who had criticized her arrest. Both lawyers remain in custody. 

“The line between defender and victim has collapsed – we are now living the very repression we’ve spent decades working to confront. Even in the face of forced departure, this is not a retreat from our mission – it’s a deeper commitment to it,” Bullock and Holiday wrote in the e-newsletter.  

Cristosal was founded as a partnership between clergy in El Salvador and the United States in 2000. It has since become an independent nonprofit with continued Episcopal support, and has expanded operations to Guatemala and Honduras. 

In early February, the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze forced Cristosal to halt its humanitarian aid program, which had provided protection and reintegration services to some 1,600 internally displaced people in the Northern Triangle, where violence is driven by organized crime, narco-trafficking and, increasingly, political instability.

After the cuts, Cristosal continued to provide legal and accompaniment services in El Salvador to individuals and families whose human rights had been violated by the state due to the absence of the rule of law imposed by the “state of exception,” which began in late March 2022 when President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency, suspending citizens’ fundamental rights by giving authorities the power to arrest and imprison anyone suspected of gang activity without due process.

Cristosal is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and continues to receive support from private philanthropic organizations like the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and from Episcopal churches and Episcopalians, to aid victims of violence, to investigate and seek accountability for human rights violations, and to combat corruption. 

U.S. foreign assistance agencies have recognized Cristosal as a regional leader in the defense of human rights. In 2016, Cristosal received its first federal grant from USAID to assist people forcibly displaced by violence in El Salvador. It then expanded assistance to people in Guatemala and Honduras.

The lawyer, Ruth López, was taken into custody around 11 p.m. May 18 by agents of the National Civil Police. The organization denounced the police’s actions as “a serious human rights violation under international law.”

“The authorities’ refusal to disclose her location or to allow access to her legal representatives is a blatant violation of due process, the right to legal defense and international standards of judicial protection,” Cristosal said while objecting to what it said amounts to “an enforced disappearance.”

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López had been scheduled to participate May 20 in a webinar organized by Episcopal Divinity School. Seminary officials, other Episcopal leaders and global justice advocates are joining Cristosal in drawing attention to the situation while pleading for her safe return.

“We call on Salvadoran authorities to immediately release Ruth López and urge the Salvadoran government to guarantee her physical safety and due process rights,” Amnesty International said in a May 19 letter that was signed by more than a dozen other organizations.

“Authoritarianism has increased in recent years as [Salvadoran] President Nayib Bukele has undermined institutions and the rule of law, and persecuted civil society organizations and independent journalists. Our organizations have been closely monitoring the closing of civic space and attacks on independent press in El Salvador and are deeply concerned at the increasingly pervasive environment of fear that threatens freedoms in the country.”

Lopez’s arrest comes as Bukele’s treatment of detainees has faced heightened scrutiny in the United States, after the Trump administration sent hundreds of migrants to an El Salvador prison under an agreement with Bukele’s government. Many of the migrants reportedly were deported under dubious pretexts, and U.S. judges and critics of the deportations have warned that Trump administration officials may have violated constitutional due process rights.

Cristosal was founded as a partnership between clergy in El Salvador and the United States in 2000. It has since become an independent nonprofit, with continued Episcopal support, and has expanded operations to Guatemala and Honduras. Over the past two and a half years, its staff has assisted over 7,500 internally displaced people in the Northern Triangle, where violence is driven by organized crime, narco-trafficking, and, increasingly, political instability.

López, through her work for Cristosal, had been named one of the BBC’s 100 most influential women of 2024, earning praise for her “tireless dedication to human rights and transparency.”

“I simply do what I think I have to do,” she said in December after being included on the BBC’s list. “It is an enormous responsibility because there are hundreds and thousands of women human rights defenders in our country, brave women throughout our history who have done this all their lives.”

López also is known as a vocal critic of Bukele’s government, which has been accused of corruption. The Salvadoran attorney general confirmed her arrest in an online post on suspicion of “theft of funds from state coffers.” Other critics of the government say there is no validity to the charge.

El Salvador has been living under a state of emergency since March 2022, when Bukele suspended citizens’ fundamental rights and gave authorities the power to arrest and imprison without due process anyone suspected of gang activity.

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

During the 45th anniversary week of St. Óscar Romero’s martyrdom, Cristosal hosted an ecumenical group on a pilgrimage in El Salvador from March 21-24, 2025, to commemorate his life and teachings. Here, the group is at the altar of the chapel inside the Hospital of Divine Providence in San Salvador, where Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980. Photo: Courtesy of Tarrah Palm

[Episcopal News Service] During the 45th anniversary week of St. Óscar Romero’s March 24 martyrdom, Cristosal hosted an ecumenical group on a four-day pilgrimage in El Salvador to commemorate his life and teachings.

“San Romero is a martyr and a saint, but he is more than that. I feel like there are certain faiths or churches that want to put him on an altar far away from the people, but San Romero is among the people. He had a preferential treatment for the poor and he struggled for the people of El Salvador,” Fátima Placas, Cristosal’s former education director who now works in a crisis consulting role, told Episcopal News Service. Placas, who is Salvadoran, was the pilgrimage’s primary coordinator.

Cristosal is an Episcopal-affiliated independent nonprofit committed to defending human rights and promoting democratic rule of law in Central America. Its executive director, Noah Bullock, is also an Episcopal Church missionary.

In this mural, on a wall in Mejicanos, a municipality adjacent to San Salvador, Oscar Romero is referred to as the “Saint of America.” For many Salvadorans, Romero was the “voice of the voiceless.” ENS Photo/Lynette Wilson

Romero, the former archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, is widely recognized today as a champion of liberation theology. He was a vocal critic of social injustice and the violence between the Salvadoran government’s armed forces and leftist guerrillas that led to a 12-year civil war beginning in 1979. Romero brought global awareness to the killings, human rights abuses and disappearances of civilians in the early days of the war.

“Romero was very comfortable being around people who are poor or displaced or victims of violence, and that’s part of what Cristosal tries to be, too. Romero was about inviting the church to become involved with people who are suffering from human rights in a way that isn’t patronizing,” the Rev. Geoffrey Curtiss, a retired priest in the Diocese of Newark and a Cristosal board member, told ENS.

Romero’s outspokenness led to his assassination on March 24, 1980, when an unknown gunman shot him in the heart while he was celebrating Mass at the Hospital of the Divine Providence in San Salvador. Six days later, during Romero’s funeral at the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador, more gunmen shot at the more than 250,000 mourners, causing a stampede and at least 31 fatalities.

Fourteen Americans traveled to El Salvador for the March 21-24 pilgrimage. They visited faith-based communities, attended worship services, processions, and vigils, and talked with Salvadorans who had firsthand memories of Romero.

On the first day, the pilgrims visited the Hospital of the Divine Providence, followed by the Museum of the Word and Image in San Salvador, a museum dedicated to collecting and preserving memories of El Salvador’s civil war. The pilgrims also visited a museum dedicated to Romero’s life, located inside Central American University, San Salvador, a Jesuit-operated private school. While there, they spoke with Sonia Suyapa Pérez Escapini, a theologian and director of the university’s theology department, and members of the Association for Promoting Human Rights of El Mozote.

The pilgrims spent the second day, March 22, visiting an organization that supports the development of communities in the El Bálsamo mountain range in Santa Tecla, La Libertad. While they were there, a community of families who were displaced during the civil war hosted a special family-friendly commemoration of the 45th anniversary of Romero’s martyrdom.

On day three, the pilgrims traveled to the northern part of El Salvador to visit the Episcopal-Anglican church in Carrizal, a growing congregation that celebrates and preserves its Indigenous ancestral culture and Nàhuatl language. They spent the afternoon engaged in conversation with members of a nearby Catholic parish who use music to promote faith and the fight for dignity and justice. The Anglican Episcopal Diocese of El Salvador is part of the Province of Central America and is led by Bishop Juan David Alvarado, who also serves as primate. 

March 24, Romero’s feast day, was a day of prayer, reflection and devotion. It included a morning Eucharist and walking the Stations of the Cross through San Salvador’s historic center. The procession toward the Catholic Cathedral of San Salvador culminated in an ecumenical Mass led by Alvarado and visiting Romero’s tomb. On the way, procession organizers delivered an anti-mining petition to the Supreme Court of Justice. The pilgrimage then met with human rights advocates who work with Cristosal and learned more about the organization’s year-round work. The pilgrimage concluded later that day.

“We’re most grateful for the people who have opened up their own spaces to share with us their reflections and how the legacy of San Romero drives them, and why he’s still a beacon of truth and justice and human dignity,” Tarrah Palm, Cristosal’s interim director of development, told ENS.

Founded in 2000 as a partnership between El Salvador and the United States, Cristosal, from its base in San Salvador, assists internally displaced people and provides legal and accompaniment services to individuals and families whose human rights have been violated by the state. It also has operations in Guatemala and Honduras.

Cristosal operated a humanitarian assistance program until February, when U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on more than $60 billion in foreign aid to evaluate it against U.S. foreign policy goals. The foreign aid freeze forced Cristosal to cut most of its staff and terminate its humanitarian assistance program, which provided protection and reintegration services to 1,600 internally displaced people. 

Following the Trump administration’s cuts, Bullock, the executive director, told ENS the organization would continue its humanitarian assistance work through philanthropic support and individual donations.

“The program was so valuable to so many vulnerable people who still need help,” said Placas, whose position as Cristosal’s education director was eliminated amid the staff cuts.

Placas, Curtiss and Palm all said Romero’s teachings and emphasis on advocating for the poor and oppressed remain relevant today amid global humanitarian crises.

“His preaching is something that we can absolutely relate to right now, with the wars internationally, and with the disappearance of people in El Salvador, and with the people who have been incarcerated in El Salvador without due process, and with the silences of the hierarchies of the government,” Placas said. “What Monseñor Romero fought for is not something that’s in the past but is still in process now. That’s why his ideas are so powerful and still embraced by every generation.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.