Catholic News
- Synod's canonical commission calls for diocesan synods, provincial councils every 10 years, 'complete revision' of Code of Canon Law (CWN)
A canonical commission established by Pope Francis proposed changes to 34 canons of the Code of Canon Law in light of the Final Document of the 2021-2024 synod on synodality. - Pope takes stock of journey to France, emphasizes rebirth (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV took stock of his recently concluded visit to France and said that the rebuilding of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris “can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey, offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word: rebirth.” - Do not lose heart amid declining vocations, Pope tells contemplative Dominican nuns (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV encouraged contemplative Dominican nuns not to lose heart amid declining vocations and the closing of monasteries. - Pope appeals for dialogue, humanitarian aid for strife-torn Ethiopia (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV urged belligerents in strife-torn Ethiopian regions to seek peace through dialogue and called on the international community to offer assistance. - Pope renews appeal for Rosary for peace in October (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal to pray the Rosary for peace in October, the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary. - 3 Italian priests killed by Nazis beatified in Bologna (CWN)
Three Italian priests who were slain by Nazi forces in 1944 during the Marzabotto massacre were beatified on September 27. - Pope Leo: 'Let us not hide our faith!' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV asked Portuguese-speaking pilgrims who are present at his September 30 general audience to give public witness to their faith. - Accompany and do not neglect couples that cannot receive Communion, Pope tells Czech bishop (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV told a Czech bishop that couples who cannot receive Holy Communion should be accompanied, rather than neglected. - Pontiff pays tribute to martyrs of Pratulin (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the martyrs of Pratulin, 13 Eastern Catholics who were slain in Poland by Russian czarist forces in 1874. - Cardinal Parolin condemns attacks on Palestinian Christians, reaffirms support for 2-state solution (Holy See Mission)
At a recent UN meeting, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, reaffirmed the Holy See’s support for a two-state solution in the Holy Land. “The Holy See continues to uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, and their legitimate aspiration to live in freedom, security and dignity within an independent and sovereign State,” Cardinal Parolin said. Cardinal Parolin also expressed the Holy See’s “grave concern at the recent decision to expand and establish new Israeli settlements, which further undermines the realization of the Two-State Solution. In this context, the Holy See strongly condemns all acts of violence against Christian communities living in Palestinian territories of the West Bank and reiterates the importance of preserving their historic presence.” - Massachusetts AG finds more than 270 clerics abused nearly 1,000 children in 3 dioceses (CWN)
A report released by the attorney general of Massachusetts found that more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children over the course of a century in the Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester.” - Pope's prayer intention for October: for mental health ministry (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for October 2026 is “let us pray that the mental health ministry be established throughout the Church, helping to overcome the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.” - Cardinal Zuppi in Moscow on humanitarian mission (Vatican News)
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Bologna, Italy, began a three-day mission to Moscow to discuss prisoners of war and the plight of Ukrainian children taken from their families to Russia. “All of this is part of the humanitarian mission entrusted to me initially by Pope Francis and subsequently confirmed by Pope Leo XIV,” said the prelate. “We wish to develop this dialogue further, aware of the suffering caused by the war, and we seek to contribute to bringing it to an end.” The prelate previously visited Moscow at the behest of Pope Francis in 2023 and 2024. - Vatican diplomat decries racism, racial discrimination (Holy See Mission)
A leading Vatican diplomat said that the “God-given dignity of the human person is central to building a true international community where the universal common good can be achieved.” “Despite aspirations, the unity of the human family has not yet become reality due to materialistic and nationalistic ideologies which contradict the values of the human person,” Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations said at a UN meeting on September 28. “In particular, any theory or form of racism and racial discrimination is morally unacceptable.” - Founder of Institute of the Incarnate Word found guilty of abuse (Vatican News)
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life announced that a penal tribunal, as well as an appeals tribunal, found Father Carlos Miguel Buela (1941-2023) guilty of “acts constituting an offense against the sixth commandment, committed with violence against several people.” The late Argentine priest founded the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM); both institutes are now led by pontifical delegates. Some 20 former seminarians accused him of abuse. - Zambian prelate charged with unlawfully obtaining vehicle (ACI Africa)
Archbishop Alick Banda of Lusaka, Zambia, was charged with unlawfully obtaining a vehicle he possessed from 2021 to 2023. “In this moment, we recall the Church’s teaching that every person is entitled to fairness, dignity, and due process,” the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement. “We therefore call upon all concerned to ensure that these principles are upheld without prejudice or intimidation.” - Australian court releases video of Bishop Saunders grooming a young male (7 News)
An Australian court released a deeply disturbing video of Bishop Christopher Saunders grooming a young man. Police installed cameras in the prelate’s home during a four-year investigation into allegations against him. The retired bishop of Broome was convicted last month on one count of sexual penetration and 12 counts of indecent assault. He is now in a maximum security prison awaiting sentencing. - Man sentenced to 70 months for DC cathedral explosives plot (Arlington County Daily Voice)
A man arrested outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington on the day of the Red Mass last year was sentenced to 70 months in prison. Louis Geri assembled 100 homemade explosive devices in a tent outside the cathedral, according to court documents. - Leading Canadian bishop transferred to larger diocese (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV transferred the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) from his current Quebec diocese to a larger diocese within the Canadian province. In 2017, Bishop Pierre Goudreault was appointed bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, a diocese with 81,864 Catholics (2024 figure), according to the online edition of the Annuario Pontificio. Now 63, Bishop Goudreault will lead the Diocese of Trois-Rivières, which has 286,881 Catholics. - Papua New Guinea bishop declares Year of Reverence (AdVaticanum)
In a wide-ranging interview, an American missionary bishop in Papua New Guinea discussed his ministry there, including his decision to declare a Year of Reverence. Bishop Donald Lippert, O.F.M. Cap., said that “I have had, over the last year or so, a bit of a conversion myself into the Traditional Latin Mass. I am, as many of us are, an amphibian. I exist mainly in the Novus Ordo, because that is the reality in which I live, and the Church that I have been called to serve at the moment. But I have come, personally, to see the beauty and the power of the Traditional Latin Mass in my personal life.” Distinguishing good synodality—consultation at the local level—from bad synodality, Bishop Lippert said that “we can see that the Anglican Church has imploded, and that Germany is going off the rails. I do not want that for the Catholic Church.” - More...