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. - Sodalitium Christianae Vitae remains active in Peru after suppression, some victims charge (RNS)
Some abuse victims charged that the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (Sodality of Christian Life) remains active in Peru in all but name, even after its suppression by Pope Francis early last year. “The only thing they’ve done is take away the name Sodalitium,” said Jose Enrique Escardó, who alleges he was abused as a teenager by the institute’s co-founder. “The same leaders have stayed in the same places, the same priests in the same places with the same names, the parishes with the same symbols, the same activities, inviting the same members of Sodalitium who have been expelled to continue doing exactly the same with the same financial support that they had before.” In a 2011 statement on its co-founder, the institute said that “we cannot consider Germán Doig as an exemplary person,” granted the “consistency and credibility of the testimonies” against him. - Bishop, pastor discuss worsening suffering in Gaza (Aid to the Church in Need)
Father Gabriel Romanelli, I.V.E., the pastor of Gaza’s sole Catholic parish, told Aid to the Church in Need that the situation there is “more terrible and unlivable every day. Words are no longer enough to describe it.” In recent flooding, “families have lost the little they still had to eat and sleep,” he said. As winter approaches, “heating is impossible, unthinkable.” Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem added that “many families pray by the light of flashlights or candles,” and that “no place in the Gaza Strip is considered safe.” - 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.” - 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. - 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.” - USCCB publishes survey on race, racism, diversity (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published “Experiences of Race, Diversity, and Racism,” a 162-page survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. 75% of Native American Catholics, 66% of African-American Catholics, 54% of Asian Catholics, and 29% of white Catholics say they have experienced racial discrimination (p. 88). 70% of respondents described their parish as “traditional,” and 26% described their parish as “progressive” (p. 46); 34% would like their parish to become “more traditional,” and 24% would like it to become “more progressive” (p. 51). Higher numbers of white Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, African-American Catholics, and Asian Catholics would like their parish to become “more traditional” as opposed to “more progressive”; Native Americans would like their parish to become “more progressive” (as opposed to “more traditional”) by a 26%-25% margin. - 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. - Whistleblowers allege culture of bullying, intimidation at Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Three former employees of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart alleged that its provincial superior, Father Stephen Hackett, engaged in bullying and intimidation. Two have filed workplace injury claims against him. From 2016 to 2023, Father Hackett was the secretary general of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Father Chris McPhee, M.S.C.—Father Hackett’s predecessor as provincial superior—filed an affidavit in support of one of the alleged victims. - 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). - 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). - '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. - More...