Catholic News
- Pope issues apostolic letter on education (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV has issued an apostolic letter on education, entitled Drawing New Maps of Hope, marking the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II declaration on the subject, Gravissimum Educationis. Citing St. Augustine, the Pope says that true education heightens the student’s thirst for truth and for freedom. He also calls attention to the work of St. John Henry Newman, who is now co-patron saint of education. Education, he writes, must serve the cause of human dignity, and enlarge the student’s horizon; he rejects the vision of education as merely training for employment. Pope Leo also reminds his readers that the family home is the first and most important place of education, and the role of the family should never be usurped by other institutions. The Pontiff signed the document as part of the observance of the Jubilee for Education. - Pope Leo outlines his vision for John Paul II Institute (CWN)
In a lengthy address that the Vatican has not yet published in English, Pope Leo XIV outlined his vision for the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, founded by St. John Paul in 1981 and refounded by Pope Francis in 2017. - Leo XIV tells Jesuits: Remain close to Jesus, for the Church needs you at the frontiers (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV told the major superiors of the Society of Jesus that “the Church needs you at the frontiers—whether they be geographical, cultural, intellectual or spiritual.” “These are places of risk, where familiar maps are no longer sufficient,” Pope Leo said in an address in Synod Hall, as he identified three frontiers: synodality in the Church, reconciliation and justice in the world, and technology, especially AI. “There, like Ignatius and the Jesuit martyrs who followed him, you are called to discern, innovate and trust in Christ.” After commenting on the Society’s universal apostolic preferences for 2019-2029, the Pope said: The urgency to proclaim the Gospel today is as great as in the time of Saint Ignatius ... To accomplish this, I encourage you to remain close to Jesus. As the Gospel tells us, the first disciples stayed with him “the whole day” (cf. Jn 1). Remain with him through private prayer, the celebration of the Sacraments, devotion to his Sacred Heart and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In a different yet still powerful way, remain with him by recognizing his presence in community life. - Let us present ourselves honestly before God, Pope tells pilgrims (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV devoted his recent Sunday Angelus address to the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, the Gospel reading of the Mass of the day. “Jesus gives us a powerful message: it is not by flaunting our merits that we are saved, nor by hiding our mistakes, but by presenting ourselves honestly, just as we are, before God, ourselves and others, asking for forgiveness and entrusting ourselves to the Lord’s grace,” Pope Leo told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. At the conclusion of his address, the Pope expressed his closeness to flood victims in Mexico and spoke about the recitation of the Rosary for peace: “as we contemplate the mysteries of Christ together with the Virgin Mary, we make our own the suffering and the hope of the children, the mothers, the fathers, and the elderly who are victims of war.” - Pope, at jubilee Mass, calls for a servant Church that is 'entirely synodal' (CWN)
Preaching at Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday (booklet, video), Pope Leo XIV called for “a Church that is entirely synodal, ministerial and attracted to Christ and therefore committed to serving the world.” - Cardinal Parolin seeks more European involvement in Ukraine peace effort (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that European leaders need to play “a more prominent role” in efforts to end the war in Ukraine, during a conversation with reporters on October 28. “Everyone’s contribution is truly needed,” said that Vatican Secretary of State. He suggested that China, too, might play an important part. As for the Vatican’s involvement, Cardinal Parolin said that he did not know what steps the Church could take, beyond what is already being done. “If we knew, we would already have taken them,” he said. - Eventual elimination of nuclear weapons is 'moral imperative,' Vatican diplomat says (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN discussion of nuclear weapons, a leading Vatican diplomat said that the “Holy See affirms its unwavering conviction that efforts to control, limit, reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons are not an unrealistic prospect, but a possibility and an urgent moral imperative.” “Today, the world is witnessing an alarming resurgence in rhetoric threatening the use of nuclear weapons, accompanied by renewed efforts to expand arsenals,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Such developments, often justified by the flawed logic of deterrence, risk entrenching fear and further destabilize international security.” Archbishop Caccia also said that “the enormous resources devoted to armaments, while so many continue to suffer, constitute a profound moral defeat. True security lies in protecting life, promoting justice, and fostering peace, not in weapons or arsenals.” - Leading Bolivian prelate hopeful as Socialists lose power (Vatican News (Spanish))
The president of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference expressed hope after voters ended nearly two decades of Socialist rule. “For society, it [the election result] represents the hope that the new leaders will seek to lift the country out of the economic stagnation that has so severely affected it,” said Bishop Aurelio Pesoa Ribera, OFM, of El Beni o Beni. “For the Church, it represents a concrete opportunity for better days to come for all the people.” “The most necessary [reforms], and the ones that all Bolivians demand, are those of justice, education, and the health system.” the prelate added. “The new government should allow the Church to continue its social mission: to be close to the poorest and most vulnerable.” - The unity of Estonia's Christians is the antithesis of Soviet regime's hatred, Pontiff says (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV received Estonian pilgrims in Rome for the jubilee and congratulated the faithful for being part of a church that was recently raised to the dignity of a diocese. “I encourage you to pray for one another, and especially for your bishop, whom I warmly greet, so that your unity as a community of faith will always be nourished by the Lord and attract new believers,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. Noting the presence of Lutherans and other non-Catholics, the Pope described their witness of Christian unity as “the very antithesis of the hatred that was so tragically visible during the Soviet regime’s persecution of the Church. Today, as you well know, we still see the logic of war being perpetrated in Europe, and I would ask you to pray fervently for peace.” Estonia, a Baltic nation of 1.2 million (map), is 37% Christian (primarily Protestant and Orthodox); there are only 6,700 Catholics. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2018. - Ukrainian Bibles burned in Russian-occupied territories, Catholic leader says (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
Speaking in Norway, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that churches have been closed, and Bibles written in Ukrainian burned, in Russian-occupied territories. “When religion becomes a weapon, and when a leader declares a holy war, a metaphysical war to destroy Ukrainians as a nation, as a culture, as a society, something is wrong with that religion,” the Major Archbishop said. - Could Trump secure release of Jimmy Lai? (Wall Street Journal)
With President Donald Trump in Asia this week, Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn believes that the time is ripe for an effort to secure the release of the imprisoned democracy activist Jimmy Lai. McGurn reports that Trump promised to bring up the case of the Hong Kong activist during his talks with Chinese leaders, and argues that Trump “is the only one who can get the 77-year-old Mr. Lai, arguably the world’s best-known political prisoner, out of jail.” - 6 beatification causes advance (CWN)
In an audience with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved six decrees. - Lebanese leaders, Vatican officials discuss regional peace (Vatican Press Office)
Following a papal audience, Lebanon’s prime minister and deputy prime minister met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, and the prelates discussed bilateral relations and Pope Leo’s upcoming apostolic journey to the nation. “The hopes placed by the Lebanese people in the process of reform and stabilization of the country and broadened to the regional context were then affirmed, with the shared hope that full pacification of the entire Levant will soon be achieved,” according to a Vatican statement. - Prominent Haitian priest kidnapped (Le Quotidien 509)
Father Jean Julien Ladouceur, a parish priest who is also national director of the episcopal conference’s Commission for Catholic Education, was kidnapped, along with three of his associates. A front-page Vatican newspaper article attributed the kidnapping to “perhaps one of the most powerful local gangs in the Delmas area, just outside the capital Port-au-Prince.” - US states rate poorly on religious-freedom index (Catholic World Report)
Most American states scored less than 50% on a religious-freedom index issued by the Napa Legal Institute, which rated states on their protections for faith-based institutions. The Napa study rated Michigan as the worst state for religious-freedom policies, followed by Delaware, Washington, and Maryland. Alabama won the highest score, trailed by Kansas, Mississippi, and Georgia. - Pope rips inequalities in global economy (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV denounced inequalities in the world economy, using unusually strong language, in an October 24 address to the Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements. The Pontiff was particularly harsh in his words on the treatment of migrants. “Ever more inhuman measures are being adopted—even celebrated politically—that treat these “undesirables” as if they were garbage and not human beings,” he charged. The Pope decried “systematic arbitrariousness” in the distribution of wealth, and said that “by not having human dignity at its center, the system fails also in justice.” In his talk the Pope spoke out against the promotion of a gaudy and expensive lifestyle, the encouragement of online gambling, and the “cult of physical wellbeing, almost an idolatry of the body, in which the mystery of pain is reduced to something totally inhuman.” - Vatican diplomat sees use of AI in military systems as 'unprecedented danger to humanity' (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN committee meeting, a Vatican diplomat emphasized the “urgent need to recommit to disarmament, to overcome divisions, and to make full use of every established forum for this purpose.” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, lamented “a new arms race marked by the integration of artificial intelligence into military systems with enormous destructive potential and the extension of competition into domains such as outer space and missile defense. These developments pose an unprecedented danger to humanity.” “While the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction remains a cause of profound alarm, the challenges arising from the widespread use and proliferation of conventional weapons are equally grave,” the prelate added. - Brazilian cardinal decries evangelical missionary work that destroys indigenous culture (Kathpress.at)
Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, OFM of Manaus, Brazil, traveled to Vienna, where he denounced attacks against indigenous people, including violence, mining, and lack of respect for land rights. Cardinal Steiner also condemned evangelical Protestant missionary activity that destroys indigenous culture. In contrast, according to the Austrian bishops’ news agency’s summary of his remarks, the Catholic Church “has chosen a different path and, among other things, has had liturgy and books translated into indigenous languages. Indigenous believers and seminarians have received special training to preserve their ancient traditions.” - Pope, Assyrian Patriarch discuss ecumenical challenges (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV said that “synodality presents itself as a promising path forward” on the road to ecumenical unity, during a October 27 meeting with Catholicos Mar Awa III, the head of the Assyrian Church of the East. In this remarks, the Pope said that the pursuit of ecumenical unity requires “jointly developing a model of full communion, inspired by the first millennium.” Unity among Christian churches, he continued, “should not involve absorption or domination; rather it should promote the exchange of gifts between our churches.” - Be guardians of Christ's tomb in expectation, charity, and hope, Pope tells Order of Holy Sepulchre (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Pope Leo XIV thanked the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem for their charitable support of the Church in Jerusalem and recalled their historic role as guardians of Christ’s tomb. Addressing over 3,500 members of the order in Paul VI Audience Hall during their jubilee pilgrimage, Pope Leo reflected on trusting expectation, service, and the goal of “eternal communion with God in Paradise.” “Dear friends, today the Church once again entrusts you with the task of being guardians of Christ’s tomb,” the Pope concluded. “Be so in the trust of expectation, in the zeal of charity, in the joyful impulse of hope.” - More...