Catholic News
- Pope, at jubilee Mass, calls for a servant Church that is 'entirely synodal' (CWN)
Preaching at Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday (booklet, video), Pope Leo XIV called for “a Church that is entirely synodal, ministerial and attracted to Christ and therefore committed to serving the world.” - Be guardians of Christ's tomb in expectation, charity, and hope, Pope tells Order of Holy Sepulchre (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Pope Leo XIV thanked the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem for their charitable support of the Church in Jerusalem and recalled their historic role as guardians of Christ’s tomb. Addressing over 3,500 members of the order in Paul VI Audience Hall during their jubilee pilgrimage, Pope Leo reflected on trusting expectation, service, and the goal of “eternal communion with God in Paradise.” “Dear friends, today the Church once again entrusts you with the task of being guardians of Christ’s tomb,” the Pope concluded. “Be so in the trust of expectation, in the zeal of charity, in the joyful impulse of hope.” - Pope rips inequalities in global economy (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV denounced inequalities in the world economy, using unusually strong language, in an October 24 address to the Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements. The Pontiff was particularly harsh in his words on the treatment of migrants. ““Ever more inhuman measures are being adopted—even celebrated politically—that treat these “undesirables” as if they were garbage and not human beings,” he charged. The Pope decried “systematic arbitrariousness” in the distribution of wealth, and said that “by not having human dignity at its center, the system fails also in justice.” In his talk the Pope spoke out against the promotion of a gaudy and expensive lifestyle, the encouragement of online gambling, and the “cult of physical wellbeing, almost an idolotry of the body, in which the mystery of pain is reduced to something totally inhuman.” - Vatican diplomat sees use of AI in military systems as 'unprecedented danger to humanity' (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN committee meeting, a Vatican diplomat emphasized the “urgent need to recommit to disarmament, to overcome divisions, and to make full use of every established forum for this purpose.” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, lamented “a new arms race marked by the integration of artificial intelligence into military systems with enormous destructive potential and the extension of competition into domains such as outer space and missile defense. These developments pose an unprecedented danger to humanity.” “While the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction remains a cause of profound alarm, the challenges arising from the widespread use and proliferation of conventional weapons are equally grave,” the prelate added. - Vatican interreligious gathering marks 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (Vatican Press Office)
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism have organized Walking Together in Hope, an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions. During the October 28, event, Pope Leo XIV will address representatives of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, and traditional African religions. - German archbishop highlights Pontiff's concern for pastoral care of illegal immigrants (Vatican Radio (German))
In an interview that followed a recent papal audience, Archbishop Stefan Hesse recounted, “I told him that in the Archdiocese of Hamburg, a third of the Catholics have a migrant background.” “Above all, his question was: How are people who are illegally in a country, who don’t have papers, doing?” the prelate continued. “And, above all, how pastoral care for these people would be possible.” Archbishop Hesse told Vatican Radio that Sunday Mass is celebrated in Hamburg in over 20 languages. “Of course, I notice that it’s becoming difficult to find priests in the home countries who will then go on missions [to Germany], because there aren’t that many left,” he said. Responding to a question on synodality, Archbishop Hesse said: The clocks tick somewhat differently in different parts of the world. And it probably won’t be possible to synchronize all of this so easily; instead, we have to consider: How can a universal Church remain and be a universal Church in a pluralizing society, in all possible parts of this world? ... I have the impression that the two popes are very different: Francis, with his temperament, has thrown a lot of things into the church, so to speak, perhaps also shaken things up and perhaps even brought a bit of unrest. And Leo seems to me more likely to be the one who organizes and brings things together a bit. - Vatican dicastery releases 'Catholic Approaches to Mining' (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has released “Catholic Approaches to Mining: A Framework for Reflection, Planning and Action.” “There is still much to be done so that each local Church can accompany the human development of their people where mining is planned, going on, or has ceased,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, the dicastery’s prefect. “As the efforts continue, our Dicastery remains ready to listen, encourage, advise.” The 39-page document is not a document of the dicastery per se; its authors are Caesar A. Montevecchio and Séverine Deneulin. Montevecchio is assistant director of Catholic Peacebuilding Network at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; Deneulin is director of integral human development at the Laudato Si’ Research Institute. - Brazilian cardinal decries evangelical missionary work that destroys indigenous culture (Kathpress.at)
Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, OFM of Manaus, Brazil, traveled to Vienna, where he denounced attacks against indigenous people, including violence, mining, and lack of respect for land rights. Cardinal Steiner also condemned evangelical Protestant missionary activity that destroys indigenous culture. In contrast, according to the Austrian bishops’ news agency’s summary of his remarks, the Catholic Church “has chosen a different path and, among other things, has had liturgy and books translated into indigenous languages. Indigenous believers and seminarians have received special training to preserve their ancient traditions.” - Italian bishops address inland depopulation, poverty (CEI (Italian))
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, led a delegation of Italian bishops that met with civil officials about inland provinces experiencing depopulation and poverty. “This issue is very close to our hearts because the stability of communities is at stake: where man lives he must enjoy all constitutional rights,” said Archbishop Giuseppe Baturi of Cagliari. “It is necessary to find articulated responses, based on subsidiarity and not on the logic of assistance, which see the communities as protagonists of their redemption.” - US missionary kidnapped in Niger (Al Jazeera)
An American evangelical missionary, Scott Rideout, was kidnapped from his home in Niamey, the capital of Niger. The West African nation of 26.3 million (map) is over 95% Muslim and 4% ethnic religionist. An Islamist insurgency began there in 2015. - Mass in St. Peter's Basilica recalls St. John Paul II (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Auxiliary Bishop Robert Chrząszcz of Kraków, Poland, was the principal celebrant at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on October 22, the liturgical memorial of Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005). Concelebrants included Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, president of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE); numerous ambassadors to the Holy See were present. Bishop Chrząszcz preached that St. John Paul “took upon himself the burden of the Gospel and carried it to the ends of the earth ... Christ cannot be excluded from human history anywhere on the globe, and at any geographical longitude and latitude.” At the conclusion of the Mass, the faithful processed to St. John Paul’s tomb, where they recited a prayer for peace composed by the Pontiff. - Orthodox leader plans historic meeting of 'Pentarchy of Patriarchs' at Nicea (Orthodox Times)
of Jerusalem to join in the ecumenical celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, to be held on November 28. The Ecumenical Patriarch indicated that two other leading Orthodox prelates, Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and Patriarch John of Antioch, are expected to participate in the celebration, as is Pope Leo XIV. Patriarch Bartholomew described the event as “a tangible manifestation of the unity of Eastern and Western Christianity—of the four Patriarchs of the East and the Patriarch of the West.” Patriarch Bartolomew’s invitation could make the November 28 event the first meeting in history of what he terms the “Pentarchy of the Patriarchate”— the four Patriarchs of the most ancient Orthodox churches (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem) together with the Bishop of Rome, historically also known as the Patriarch of the West. - Bishop resigns from Libyan see at 63; said he would leave only if ordered by Pope (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop George Bugeja, OFM, from the leadership of the apostolic vicariate of Tripoli, Libya. The prelate, a native of Malta and only 63, had led the vicariate since 2017. - Pope to issue document on Catholic education; Newman to be named co-patron of education (CWN)
The prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education announced at a press conference that a papal document on Catholic education will be published on October 28, the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education. - King Charles joins Pope in Vatican prayer service (Vatican News)
King Charles III and Queen Camilla joined with Pope Leo XIV in an ecumenical prayer service in the Sistine Chapel on October 23. Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, the Primate of England, presided at the midday service alongside the Roman Pontiff. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, also particiapated, as did Archbishop Leo Cushley of Edinburgh, Scotland. - Major ecumenical gathering begins in Egypt (World Council of Churches)
The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order is taking place from October 24-28 in a Coptic Orthodox monastery in Wadi El Natrun, near Alexandria, Egypt. The theme of the gathering, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, is “Where now for visible unity?” The first such conference took place in 1927 in Lausanne, Switzerland; the most recent, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in 1993. The conference is the centerpiece of the World Council of Churches’ commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. 350 Protestant and Orthodox communities are members of the WCC; Pope Leo XIV will commemorate the anniversary during his apostolic journey to Turkey next month. - Jubilee Day of Adorers brings thousands to Vatican (Vatican News (Italian))
Thousands of Italian Catholics who take part in Eucharistic adoration attended the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on October 22, the Giornata Giubilare degli Adoratori [Jubilee Day of Adorers]. “The hope of gathering, in the heart of the Holy Year, all those throughout Italy who experience adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in parish and diocesan chapels, support the life of the Church with prayer, and accompany the mission of the Holy Father has become a reality and fills our hearts with joy,” said Father Antonio Pitetto of the Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno, who coordinated the day. Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated Mass for the jubilee participants at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. - Argentine bishops, in election statement, call for commitment to common good (Conferencia Episcopal Argentina)
In a statement for the nation’s midterm legislative election, the Argentine Episcopal Conference called on the faithful to trust in democracy and commit themselves to the common good. Citing Pope Francis’s encyclical Fratelli tutti, the conference stated that “working for the common good and social justice is the highest form of charity, when politics is at the service of love for persons in all their dimensions, and not just economic or technological interests.” - Agenda announced for US bishops' fall meeting; nation may be consecrated to Sacred Heart (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced the agenda of its annual fall meeting, which will take place on November 10-13. In addition to electing a new president, new vice president, and six new committee chairmen, the bishops will discuss migrants and refugees, decide whether to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart in view of the American Semiquincentennial, and decided whether to hold a National Eucharistic Congress in 2029. - Address structural causes of poverty, hunger, Vatican diplomat says at UN (Holy See Mission)
Lamenting widespread hunger and extreme poverty, a Vatican diplomat, speaking at the UN, called on the international community to address poverty’s causes. “My Delegation would like to emphasize that poverty is not inevitable,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “It is the result of structural causes that must be identified and addressed in order to be eliminated.” “The key areas of action are clear and include investing in quality education, creating opportunities for decent work, and establishing comprehensive social protections systems,” he added. “However, this clarity of our solutions stands in stark contrast to the lack of political will.” - More...