Catholic News
- Pope, at press conference, defends willingness to speak out in defense of life in France (Vatican News)
At a press conference on his flight from France to Rome, Pope Leo XIV defended his willingness to speak out on behalf of the right to life. “I went primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the Good News, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ Himself says when He says I am the way, the truth, and the life, so to speak the truth that Jesus offers us.,” Pope Leo said in response to a French reporter’s question. “The defense of life is something that as you all know the Church teaches, believes very deeply.” “The Church, because of Jesus Himself, wants to be close to those people [the sick and disabled] and to affirm the values that life itself I think holds for all of us,” the Pope continued. “So, I would say, if that’s politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics. It was to teach what the Church really believes.” The Pontiff also addressed questions about sexual abuse, the war in Ukraine, the housing crisis, and AI. - Break the chains of resentment and seek the peace of the heavenly city, Pope preaches in Metz (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV concluded his apostolic journey to France with the celebration of Mass in Metz Cathedral (video 1, video 2). - Pope calls on European leaders to learn from St. Benedict, Venerable Robert Schuman (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV called on European leaders to learn from the example and words of Venerable Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the post-World War II European order—and not to “overlook another founding father of Europe, Saint Benedict.” - Pope Leo warns against using God's name to justify violence, oppressoin (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV departed from Lourdes (video) and flew to Metz (video) on September 28, the final day of his apostolic journey to France. - Cardinal McElroy rips ICE deporations (Archdiocese of Washington)
In a strongly worded homily, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington denounced ICE deportation efforts. “We witnessed the indiscriminate raids on farmworkers and Home Depot parking lots, nursing homes and schools, and we recognized that this was a war on every undocumented immigrant in our land, including those who had been here for decades and contributed enormously to the economy and culture of our nation,” he preached on September 27. “We saw their suffering and the injustice of it, but we just crossed to the other side of the road and passed on by.” Cardinal McElroy continued: When our government laid siege to the city of Minneapolis with wanton violence and the killing of those who had spoken up in resistance, we were outraged. We could not believe that the mask had become the new symbol of American justice. We said it is unacceptable for our government, in our name, to send poorly trained troops en masse into the streets of our cities to crush the growing opposition to the wholesale war on so many innocent people. But in the end the American people saw the suffering, crossed to the other side of the road, and passed on by. “Jesus weeps all across our nation for the children who have been arrested, detained, transported to far-off centers with terrible living conditions, and cut off from their families,” the prelate added. “For us as a nation we can pass by no more. We must stop, recognize the evil that is being carried out in our name, and fight every dimension of it. - Archbishop Randazzo: 'The Church does not renew herself by abandoning her roots' (Vox Canonica)
Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, who was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts earlier this year, discussed the relation between synodality and canon law in the life of the Church. “Some over-enthusiastic interpretations of synodality may view this moment as an opportunity simply to cut away what is perceived to be dead wood,” he said. “The danger is that, without careful discernment, what is intended as renewal can become unnecessary damage, weakening the tree rather than allowing it to flourish.” “Therefore, what is needed is careful, thoughtful, intelligent, and faithful cultivation of the tree,” Archbishop Randazzo continued. “The Church does not renew herself by abandoning her roots, but by allowing those roots to nourish new growth.” “If I could offer one final piece of advice, it would be to spend time in a good library and browse the shelves rather than relying solely on online excerpts or summaries” on canon law, he added. “That approach may seem old-fashioned; yet I remain convinced that reading books slowly and allowing oneself to be guided by the pleasure of discovery broadens one’s intellectual horizons, bringing one into contact with themes, authors, and perspectives that might otherwise go unnoticed. “ - French abuse survivors speak of Pope's empathy, frankness (OSV News)
French abuse victims who met with Pope Leo on September 27 said they were moved by the Pope’s empathy—with one victim saying that he made the sign of the cross for the first time since he was abused 65 years earlier. “When he saw what state I was in, he took me in both arms,” said Jean-Marie Delbos. “I never imagined it would be the Pope holding me. It was an extraordinary moment.” - 5 stabbed in attack on Polish Benedictine abbey; 1 priest dies (OSV News)
A Ukrainian man entered the kitchen of a Polish Benedictine abbey, took a knife, and stabbed five people. Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz died in the attack at the abbey in Jaroslaw. - With 66 seminarians in formation, Archdiocese of Baltimore sees vocations surge (Catholic Review)
Fourteen men entered the seminary in Baltimore this year, bringing the total number of archdiocesan seminarians to 66. The growth in seminarians “has not been sudden,” said Archbishop William Lori. “It’s been building every year, and this is due to a lot of people praying before the Blessed Sacrament. It’s due to a good vocations team. It’s also due to pastors who are encouraging vocations in their parishes—and to parents who are generously open to the possibility that their son might have a priestly vocation.” Twelve men are expected to be ordained for the archdiocese in 2027, the highest number in five decades. - USCCB publishes update on Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador (USCCB)
The Office of Policy and Advocacy of the US bishops’ Secretariat of Migration has published a brief “Update on Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador.” The update addresses two questions: “What is TPS and why is it important for Salvadorans in the United States?” and “How has the USCCB responded to this issue?” “TPS is a temporary form of humanitarian relief for people from a designated country, allowing them to remain in the United States legally when conditions in their country of origin make safe return impractical or impossible due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions,” the update stated. “In 2001, El Salvador first received its TPS designation after a devastating earthquake, and more than 200,000 Salvadorans were granted TPS. As of March 2025, over 170,000 Salvadorans had TPS.” - Pope Leo laments 'false compassion' of assisted suicide, tells the sick they are not a burden (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV met with sick pilgrims at Lourdes and said that “medicine must never become the servant of programmed death.” - Pope calls for recitation of Rosary in October for peace (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV appealed to the faithful to pray the Rosary for peace during October, the month dedicated to the Rosary. - Seek the Immaculate Virgin's support and intercession, Pope says during procession at Lourdes (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV took part in the torchlight procession last night at Lourdes (video) and said that the Blessed Virgin Mary’s support and intercession are vital for Christians. - Pope, in address to French bishops, emphasizes Marian devotion, bold witness to Christ (CWN)
In a wide-ranging address to the bishops of France, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of Marian devotion and bold witness to Christ in the public square. - Pope meets with 7 abuse victims (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV held a two-hour meeting with seven abuse victims at the bishop’s residence in Lourdes on September 27. “The Pope met each of them individually and in private, listening to their stories, to the pain and suffering they had endured—sometimes, sadly, with the complicity or silence of those who could have helped them—and to their proposals to ensure that this does not happen again,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement. “He spent a few moments in prayer with some of them.” - We must repent today, not tomorrow, Pope preaches at Lourdes (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV issued a call for repentance as he celebrated an outdoor Mass on September 27 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (video 1, video 2). - Child euthanasia begins in the Netherlands (The Catholic Weekly (Sydney))
A two-year-old child with brain damage was killed by euthanasia in the Netherlands in 2025. One committee of doctors found that “all facets of ‘being human’ in terms of motor skills, behavior and personality were seriously affected, and this would not improve.” A second team of doctors, however, found “no continuous unbearable suffering.” - Blessed Sheen's baptismal church to be part of 1st parish named for him (OSV News)
The first parish named for Blessed Fulton Sheen will be located in his native Diocese of Peoria, and will include the church where he was baptized. St. Mary Catholic Church, where Blessed Sheen was baptized, is located in El Paso, Illinois, a town of 2,800. It is scheduled to be merged with the church in Benson, a nearby town of 400; the new parish will bear Sheen’s name. - Cardinal Parolin, at UN, underscores dignity of human person, importance of peace (Vatican Press Office)
In a wide-ranging address to the United Nations General Assembly, Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed concern about the breakdown of multilateralism, reiterated the Holy See’s commitment to peace, and emphasized the centrality of the dignity of the human person. Human dignity “is not conferred by the State, by economic productivity, or by technological capacity; it is intrinsic, rooted in the fact that every person is willed and loved by God,” the Secretary of State of His Holiness said on September 26. “From this flows the sacredness of life, from conception to natural death, as well as the imperative to safeguard the human person and that every society that aspires to be regarded as civilized has a duty to protect.” - El Paso bishop asks: Are we listening to the children at the border? (National Catholic Reporter)
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, coauthored on op-ed with the executive director of the Hope Border Institute: “The children on the border are speaking. Are we listening?” Bishop Seitz and Dylan Corbett wrote that “the Church has long described its work among migrants as speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. The impulse is generous, but we distrust the phrase, because it risks flattering the speaker. It assumes an absence where there is none.” “The children of whom the Holy Father speaks are not silent,” they continued. “They ask, in the plain grammar of children, where their mother is and when they are going home. The angels in Matthew’s verse have no trouble hearing them. If a child seems voiceless, the fault lies with those who have stopped listening.” - More...