Catholic News
- At jubilee Mass, papal tribute to three 20th-century Italian laymen (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for participants in the Jubilee of Instiutional Ceremonial Offices and upheld three Italian laymen as “shining examples of hope and justice, of humility and dedication to the State”: the Servant of God Alcide De Gasperi (1881-1954), Ven. Salvo D’Acquisto (1920-1943), and Blessed Rosario Livatino (1952-1990). “If a state does not convert from the injustices that threaten it and from the corruption that ruins it, it risks dying,” Pope Leo preached. “May the memory of their life and death spur us on to the conversion that they themselves experienced.” The jubilee was not announced on the Vatican’s jubilee website, and the number of participants was even smaller than the 2,000 who attended the concurrent Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies. The papal Mass did not take place in a church, but in the Hall of Benediction of the Apostolic Palace. - Holy See concerned about nuclear facilities in war zones, Vatican diplomat says (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN meeting on the effects of atomic radiation, a leading Vatican diplomat said that the Holy See is “particularly concerned about the risks posed by nuclear facilities in zones of conflict.” “The ongoing hostilities around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant serve as a stark reminder of the grave dangers that arise when civilian nuclear infrastructure becomes entangled in war,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Urgent preventive measures must be taken to guarantee the safety of civilians and protect creation.” The prelate concluded: Addressing the effects of atomic radiation is not only a scientific or technical matter, but also a moral imperative. Protecting humanity from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, ensuring assistance for victims and caring for our wounded environment all form part of this moral responsibility. The Holy See therefore calls on the international community to intensify its efforts to prevent and mitigate the effects of radiation, in order to safeguard present and future generations. - 'We don't already have the answers to all the questions,' Pope says in tribute to Nicholas of Cusa (CWN)
In the seventh special jubilee audience of 2025, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Nicolas of Cusa (1401-1464), a Renaissance cardinal and scholar whose works included De docta ignorantia [On learned ignorance]. - Pope addresses 7 questions on synodality (Dicastery for Communication (multilingual))
During the recent Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, Pope Leo XIV addressed questions from seven participants. “The synodal process, as Pope Francis reminded us on numerous occasions, was intended to help the Church fulfil her primary role in the world, which is to be missionary: to announce the Gospel and to give witness to the person of Jesus Christ in every part of the world and to the ends of the earth,” Pope Leo said. In addressing the questions, the Pope referred to the importance of listening to the Word of God, listening to one another, and prayer. “The Jubilee is an invitation to conversion, reconciliation and new life that we have received from Jesus Christ,” he said. “These are aspects that can truly inspire us to continue being Church (siendo Iglesia) and building paths of inclusion, inviting many more—everyone—to accompany us, to walk with us.” - USCCB president: Fund SNAP, end government shutdown (USCCB)
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said that as the “government shutdown continues, the US bishops are deeply alarmed that essential programs that support the common good, such as SNAP, may be interrupted.” “This would be catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table and places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio. “I urgently plead with lawmakers and the Administration to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that these lifesaving programs are funded, and to pass a government funding bill to end the government shutdown as quickly as possible.” - Pontiff says he will do everything possible to end Russo-Ukrainian war (Odessa Journal)
During a recent meeting with the Latin-rite bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Pope Leo XIV said he would do everything possible to bring the Russo-Ukrainian war to an end. “It was a very warm and inspiring meeting with the Holy Father,” said Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi. “We had half an hour to talk about Ukraine, the war, and the path toward a just peace. The Pope knows our situation well, is deeply concerned about it, and is seeking ways to resolve it.” “I also asked him to continue praying for Ukraine and to urge others to do the same, especially on the eve of another difficult winter,” the bishop added. “The Pope assured [me] that he will continue to pray and do everything possible to bring the horrors of war to an end as soon as possible.” - Cardinal Czerny speaks to popular movements about 'dream come true' (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
Speaking to the recent Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development delivered an address entitled “Dream Come True.” “Three dreams come together into one,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ. “The Word of God takes up the cry of those crushed by the system and demanding change. This is the ancient dream of Jubilee, and this is what Jesus did; this is Pope Francis’s dream of world meetings to plant the flag here in Rome at the Vatican; and this is Pope Leo’s invitation to both the Popular Movements and the Church to walk together in the third millennium.” Pope Leo XIV also addressed the gathering. - Vatican official: Married couples are called to holiness as workers in the harvest (Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life)
Addressing a conference on the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s parents, a Vatican official said that Christians spouses “have a specific mandate to evangelize and to transmit the faith to new generations, to be a ‘sign’ of the presence of God’s love through their human love, expressed in marriage.” We should proclaim “the vocation of marriage and the path of holiness it opens to those who choose to embrace it,” said Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. “When in the Gospel of Luke we hear the Lord ask to send out workers into his harvest field, we must not think that these workers are only pastors or religious,” but “above all, Christian spouses.” - Dilexi Te is a beacon for Haiti, prelate says (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a front-page article in the Vatican newspaper, a Haitian bishop lauded Dilexi Te, Pope Leo’s apostolic exhortation on love for the poor. “For us in Haiti, Dilexi Te truly represents a prophetic text,” said Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne, the vice president of the episcopal conference, who is recovering in the US following an attack by criminal gangs. The document “goes beyond the theoretical: it is a beacon on our path that illuminates a wounded people, crucified by their history.” - 'The Church will forever be our last and only home,' Gaza Christian youth says (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
In a column published in the Vatican newspaper, Suhail Abo Dawood, a Christian young adult who was severely injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza’s sole Catholic parish, looked back on two years of war. “On October 25, 2023, we lost our home,” he recalled. “Then we also lost our grandparents’ home, so we live in the church compound as our only home. Because of the lack of medicine in hospitals, my uncle died of kidney problems, and then my grandfather also died of his illness.” “On July 17, 2025, an attack suddenly struck our church compound: I was seriously injured, and sadly, my grandmother also died,” he continued. “The Church will forever be our last and only home; it is the House of God! Thank you, God, for allowing us to live in your warm home; you are generous.” “We always pray for peace and love in our land and in the world,” he added, as he thanked Pope Leo for “his efforts to spread peace throughout this devastated world.” - 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.” - 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.” - 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.” - 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.” - 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.” - 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.” - More...