Catholic News
- Every baptized person must proclaim the Gospel, Pope preaches to 500,000 in Chiclayo (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV returned to Chiclayo, the see of the diocese he led from 2014 to 2023, and preached on “the urgent and binding duty of every baptized person to proclaim the Gospel.” - Pope Leo: Catholic universities should not 'bow to utility,' but serve Truth (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV said last evening that the Catholic university is called to be a “place where intelligence does not bow to utility, but rather serves the truth faithfully.” - Pope, in Peru, discusses his vision of synodality (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV discussed his vision of synodality during an address (video) at a Marian shrine in Chiclayo, the see of the Peruvian diocese he led from 2014 to 2023. - Pope visits chapel, encourages faithful to take part in the Church's life (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV visited the Saint Óscar A. Romero Chapel in Chiclayo, Peru (video), and encouraged the faithful to take part in the life of the Church. - Holy See: Put human dignity, common good at center of peacekeeping operations (Holy See Mission)
A leading Vatican diplomat said that the Holy See “encourages renewed multilateral cooperation that places the inviolable God-given dignity of every human person and the common good at the center of peacekeeping efforts.” Addressing a UN committee meeting on peacekeeping operations, Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that “clear, credible and achievable mandates must accompany inclusive political processes, national ownership and genuine reconciliation. The protection of civilians must be at the core of every peacekeeping mission, paying particular attention to children, elderly, displaced persons, and those exposed to sexual violence.” - Lebanon's bishops call for Israeli military withdrawal (SyriacPress)
The Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon called on Israeli forces to withdraw from the nation. The prelates “reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, as well as the need to keep the country neutral in regional conflicts,” the SyriacPress news agency reported. The appeal from the nation’s patriarchs and bishops comes amid the Lebanon war, in which Israeli advances have led to the displacement of Christians from villages in southern Lebanon. - Canadian bishops urge lawmakers not to expand euthanasia (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops)
The permanent council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops called on Parliament to “maintain the exclusion from euthanasia and assisted suicide where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition, and to remove the advance-request provisions” from pending legislation. The bishops also called upon the faithful to take part in a letter-writing campaign against the legislation. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that laws against euthanasia violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. The following year, Parliament legalized the practice. - Leading Ghana bishop looks forward to 150th anniversary of nation's evangelization (Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference )
At the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s meeting this week, the conference’s president devoted his keynote address to the theme of “Communion, Participation and Mission: Preparing the Catholic Church in Ghana for Her 150th Anniversary.” Addressing his confrères and members of the lay faithful at a Catholic high school in the small town of Jamasi, in the Diocese of Konongo-Mampong, Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of Sunyani said on November 9 that “in 2030, we will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s establishment in Ghana.” “We are invited to undertake more than an exercise in historical remembrance,” he continued. “This approaching milestone presents an opportunity for ecclesial introspection, spiritual renewal and pastoral reawakening. It calls us to contemplate, with gratitude, the providential journey of faith entrusted to our predecessors, while discerning with renewed conviction the mission which the Lord continues to place before us.” - Cardinal Tobin undergoes kidney surgery (Jersey Catholic)
The Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, announced that Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., underwent surgery to remove a mass—which turned out to be benign—from one of his kidneys. Cardinal Tobin will refrain from public appearances for “several more weeks,” the archdiocese stated in its November 12 announcement. - Cardinal Müller reflects on recent martyrs (The Catholic Thing)
The prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith offered theological reflections on recent martyrs at a book presentation in Rome this week. Cardinal Gerhard Müller spoke at the presentation of The Martyrs of the New Millennium, a new book by Robert Royal. - Background: World Day of the Poor (CWN)
On November 15, the Sunday before the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Church commemorates the 10th World Day of the Poor. The theme of the Pope Leo’s message for the day—released on June 13, the memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the poor—is “The Lord is the refuge of the poor” (cf. Ps. 14:6). - Vatican theologians unanimously affirm sainthood cause of Wisconsin missionary priest (Diocese of La Crosse)
Bishop Gerard Battersby of La Crosse, Wisconsin, announced that the Theological Congress of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints unanimously affirmed the sainthood cause of the Servant of God Father Joseph Walijewski (1924-2006), a diocesan priest who ministered in Peru. “This positive outcome allows the Cause to proceed to the next stage of the process, which involves consideration of the Positio by the Cardinals and Bishops who are members of the Dicastery,” said Bishop Battersby. “While additional steps remain, the favorable vote of the Theological Congress represents a noteworthy affirmation and source of encouragement.” - Turn to Jesus when you suffer, and dare to follow Him, Pope tells 360,000 Peruvian young people (CWN)
During a prayer vigil last evening (video 1, video 2), Pope Leo XIV encouraged the young people of Peru to turn to Christ in their suffering and to “dare to follow him.” - Pope, in Lima address, emphasizes centrality of the family, founded on the love of a man and a woman (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV emphasized the centrality of the family during a meeting devoted to the “challenges and hopes for the future of the Peruvian people” (video). - Look to Christ, who conducts the 'great symphony of communion,' Pope tells Peru's clergy, religious (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Liturgy of the Hours in the Cathedral Basilica of Lima on November 12 and encouraged Peru’s clergy, religious, seminarians, synodal teams, and pastoral councils to look to Christ as the “one foundation on which to build our temple of living stones.” - 'Combine doctrinal fidelity with pastoral closeness,' Pope tells Peru's bishops (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV told Peru’s bishops that the episcopal mission “requires us to combine doctrinal fidelity with pastoral closeness; the celebration of the sacraments with a commitment to our neighbor; and the formation of consciences with a concrete witness of charity.” - 6 abuse victims meet with Pontiff (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV met privately for over an hour with six abuse survivors at the apostolic nunciature in Lima, Peru, on November 12. The Pope “met with each of them individually, listening to their stories of suffering and pain,” Vatican News reported. “He also reflected with them on how to foster a change in mindset through listening to victims, seeking the truth, supporting healing processes, and committing to the creation of safe environments.” The report noted that some of the victims “had previously belonged to groups linked to the Sodalitium of Christian Life,” an institute founded in Peru in 1971, and suppressed by Pope Francis in 2025. - Holy See renews call for 'just and lasting political solution' for Palestinian refugees (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN meeting on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a leading Vatican diplomat said that the Holy See “emphasizes that humanitarian assistance, however essential it may be, cannot replace the urgent need for a just and lasting political solution.” Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on November 12 that “the question of Palestinian refugees must remain high on the international agenda, alongside efforts to achieve a negotiated two-State solution, with the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders, and with an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem.” The UN General Assembly created the UNRWA in 1949, following the partition of Palestine and its aftermath. - USCCB urges ICE to waive proposed $70,000 student-worker fee for foreign seminarians (USCCB)
The general counsel of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), joined by the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reconsider a proposed $70,000 fee for higher educational institutions that recommend that a foreign student take part in a temporary work authorization program. “ICE seems to make no consideration of the unique circumstances facing those preparing for religious service, nor the reliance interests of the institutions preparing them for ministry,” William J. Quinn and Anna Gallagher wrote in a letter to Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security. “ICE simply ignores the realities of religious exercise in this context altogether, even though it knows seminaries are among those institutions certified to participate in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).” “Were ICE to move forward with implementing the proposed fees, at a minimum, we urge it to offer a blanket exemption or fee waivers to avoid unreasonably burdening religious institutions, such as Catholic seminaries,” they added. - FSSP grows to over 600 members (Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri)
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the Vatican-approved institute whose priests celebrate the traditional Latin liturgy, has grown to over 600 members, according to newly published statistics. The institute now has 410 priests, 24 deacons, and 168 non-deacon seminarians. - More...