Catholic News
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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.” - 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.” - 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. - Europe's bishops announce new Ecumenical Charter (CCEE)
The Joint Committee of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) announced that a revised Charta Oecumenica (Ecumenical Charter) will be signed at Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome on November 5, with Pope Leo addressing signatories the following day. The CCEE represents European Catholic bishops’ conferences; the CEC is a fellowship of over 100 Orthodox and Protestant communities. The original Charta Oecumenica was signed in 2001; the revised version, according to the CCEE, will be “in line with current ecumenical needs.” - Italian archbishop calls on Europe to send ships to convey migrants from Africa (Vatican News (Italian))
Following boat accident that left scores of migrants dead off Tunisia’s coast, an Italian archbishop called on European nations to send ships to convey migrants to Europe. Archbishop Gian Carlo Perego of Ferrara-Comacchio, the president of the Italian bishops’ Migrantes Foundation, called for attentiveness to the needs of “the people fleeing countries where fundamental rights are not protected and where they have lost everything due to environmental disasters and wars.” “Once again, we do not want to create humanitarian and legal channels of entry, but rather we prefer to build walls, forgetting that migrants, as Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have recalled, are a blessing,” he said. Archbishop Perego added: We must not abandon asylum seekers to human traffickers, but we must make the Mediterranean a route along which we can accompany them on ships arriving from all over Europe. The key word is accompaniment, and there should be a European plan of accompaniment. - 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. - Papal condolences for death of Cardinal Menichelli (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolence to Archbishop Angelo Spina of Ancona-Osimo, Italy, following the death of Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, who governed the see from 2004 to 2017. As he expressed condolences and prayed for the late prelate’s soul, Pope Leo described Cardinal Menichelli as a “generous priest” and “dear brother who served the Church and the Holy See with devotion.” - St. John Paul II's appeal for openness to Christ remains timely, Pope Leo tells pilgrims (CWN)
Addressing Polish-speaking pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for yesterday’s general audience, Pope Leo XIV said, “Today we celebrate the liturgical memorial of St. John Paul II. Exactly 47 years ago, in this Square, he exhorted the world to open itself to Christ. This appeal is still valid today: we are all called to make it our own.” - Russia's intentions for Ukraine recall Nazis' intention for Jews, Major Archbishop says in Oslo (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
In a meeting with King Harald V of Norway, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that “Russia has declared that this war aims to ‘finally resolve the Ukrainian question,’ just as Nazi Germany sought to finalize the Jewish one.” “The very fact that we are here before you today is a miracle. We were all on Russian execution lists,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said on October 21. “If Ukraine had been occupied, we would no longer be here—we would not be sitting in front of you now, but would be in torture chambers.” The Major Archbishop added, “14 million people have fled their homes—that is almost three times the entire population of Norway. Almost 170,000 square kilometers were mined—that is half the territory of Norway. Four million homes were destroyed—that is almost all the homes of Norwegians.” - Cardinal Parolin rues Israeli settlers' treatment of West Bank Christians (Vatican News)
Addressing questions from journalists, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, rued Israeli settlers’ treatment of Christians in the West Bank, particularly in Taybeh. “This is certainly a very complex issue,” he said, “but we fail to understand why these Christians, who are simply living their normal lives, should be subjected to such hostility.” Cardinal Parolin also lamented recent violence against journalists and said that the Holy See remained “full of hope” about the Gaza peace plan, despite recent violence. - Pope encourages foundation that honors murdered nuncio (Dicastery for Communication)
In an audience yesterday, Pope Leo XIV encouraged members of the Monsignor Courtney Fraternity in their charitable work. The foundation is named after Archbishop Michael Courtney (1945-2003), who was assassinated in Burundi, where he was apostolic nuncio. “Your contribution to the construction of a monument in Minago—the site of his assassination—as well as your involvement in the project to build a health center, your daily charitable works towards the poor, and so many other initiatives, transmit a powerful message to the Church in your country,” Pope Leo said. - Annual Report finds over 5 billion lack religious freedom (Aid to the Church in Need)
More than 5 billion people—two-thirds of the world’s population—live in countries that restrict religious freedom, according to an annual report from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The ACN report finds serious violations of religious freedom in 62 countries (of 196 studied). Among these countries, ACN classified the restraints on religious freedom in 38 as “discrimination,” while 24 were severe enough to be called “persecution.” The countries where ACN found persecution are heavily clustered in Asia and northern Africa, with only one such country—Nicaragua—in the Western hemisphere. The report finds that Islamic extremist continues to grow, constituting the main factor in outright persecution in 15 countries and discrimination in 10 more. Sub-Saharan Africa is now the area where jihadist violence is most intense. However the Western world is not immune from anti-religious violence. ACN detailed almost 1,000 attacks on churches in France, for instance; vandalism of churches also spiked in Greece, Spain, Italy, and the US. The ACN report noted that authoritarian governments—notably China, Iran, and Nicaragua—have employed high-tech means of restricting religious activities, including surveillance and digital censorship. ACN found that in only two countries, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, had restrictions on religious freedom eased during the past year. - Papal tweet: Religious freedom is 'a cornerstone of any just society' (@Pontifex)
Referring to Aid to the Church in Need, which this week published a report on religious freedom worldwide, Pope Leo XIV tweeted: #ReligiousFreedom allows individuals and communities to seek the truth, live it freely, and bear witness to it openly. It is therefore a cornerstone of any just society, for it safeguards the moral space in which conscience may be formed and exercised. @acn_int - US bishops: Stand in solidarity with persecuted believers (USCCB)
The chairmen of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace and Committee for Religious Liberty called on the faithful to stand in solidarity with persecuted believers around the world. “Millions of people are denied the basic right to religious freedom, a denial that fuels violent conflict and hinders human development,” said Bishops A. Elias Zaidan and Kevin Rhoades. “In recent years, for example, thousands of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria have been kidnapped and killed by Islamist extremists, while the government has imprisoned members of both religious groups for blasphemy.” The prelates added, “We must stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering, and resolve to do our part to promote religious freedom for all people around the world.” - Subway station dedicated to Blessed Virgin Mary in Iran (Fides)
Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv, of Tehran reflected on the significance of the dedication of a subway station to the Virgin Mary in Iran’s capital. “The interior of the station, similar to the interior architecture of an Armenian church, is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting Jesus and Mary, as well as symbols borrowed from the Church of St. Sarkis, in honor of its community,” he said. “The municipal authorities consider this work of art, managed by the Municipal Organization for Urban Art and Beautification, to be a celebration of Tehran’s multi-religious identity through its public spaces.” - Newly canonized saint calls us to live faith courageously, Armenian Patriarch preaches (Vatican News (Italian))
Patriarch Raphaël Bédros XXI Minassian, the head of the Armenian Catholic Church (CNEWA profile), was the principal celebrant at a Mass of thanksgiving in St. Peter’s Basilica for the canonization of St. Ignatius Maloyan (1869-1915), an archbishop martyred during the Armenian genocide. “The blood he shed, like that of his Master, is the seed for new believers and a living testimony of a Church that never dies, because it is rooted in Christ,” Patriarch Minassian preached. “His holiness is not simply a recognition by the Church, but a voice calling us to live in truth, a call to a faith that is uncomfortable, yet alive and courageous, capable of persevering even in the darkest moments.” “A person willing to sacrifice his life for the truth cannot be defeated, because when his heart belongs to Christ, neither war, nor persecution, nor death can take away his freedom: the freedom of love,” the Patriarch added. Moloyan’s canonization is “a call to all Christians, and especially to Armenian Catholic faithful, to understand that holiness is not reserved for a few, but a universal vocation,” and “invites us to live our faith with courage, authenticity, and ardent love for Christ.” - More...