Catholic News
- 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.” - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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.” - 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.” - 'Paying attention in the age of clickbait' is theme of next World Communications Day (Dicastery for Communication)
The Dicastery for Communication announced the theme of the 2027 World Communications Day: “A New Gaze: Paying Attention in the Age of Clickbait.” “We are called to a conversion of our gaze: to look again, with attention and with love,” the dicastery stated in announcing the theme. “Only in this way will we be able to see the world, others, and even ourselves, as Christ sees us: called by name and love.” The World Day of Social Communications (background) is commemorated the Sunday before Pentecost. - 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. - 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.” - Theme of Respect Life Month: 'Mary, Mother of Life" (USCCB)
The theme of this year’s Respect Life Month is Mary, Mother of Life. “Our Blessed Mother is our model for upholding the sanctity of all human life in every stage and circumstance,” said Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. “We entrust all our efforts to protect mothers and babies to her motherly care, which we greatly need at this time. Bishop Thomas encouraged continued prayer and advocacy against abortion pills during Respect Life Month, which begins tomorrow. - 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. “ - 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. - 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. - Pope Leo warns against using God's name to justify violence, oppression (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. - 700,000 attend papal Mass in Paris (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass this afternoon at the Place de la Concorde in Paris (video 1, video 2) and emphasized in his homily that Jesus quenches the thirst present in every human heart. - More...