Catholic News
- Pope underlines climate urgency in message to COP30 (Vatican News)
In a video message to Catholic prelates participating in this weeks COP30 climate-change conference in Brazil, Pope Leo XIV said that current efforts to safeguard the earth are “not enough.” The Pope praised the activists involved in the COP30 conference. “You have chosen hope and action over despair,” he said. But he went on to say that more is needed, “not only in words and aspirations but in concrete actions.” “Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” the Pope said, claiming that “one in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes.” - Leading African, Latin American prelates lament world's ecological state (Vatican News (Italian))
At a symposium in Belém, Brazil—the site of COP30, the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference—leading prelates from Africa and Latin America expressed their anguish. “I come from Africa, and Africa is known for being the continent that pollutes the least but suffers the most from the consequences of climate change,” said Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. “We see the increase in deserts that continues to cause damage, the floods affecting many nations, the voracious exploitation of minerals. We are heading towards catastrophe.” “Instead of an economy focused on profit and the interests of small groups, we must put the human person, life, at the center,” he added. “We must put the care of life at the center of our decisions,” added Cardinal Jaime Spengler, of Porto Alegre, Brazil, president of CELAM (the Episcopal Conference of Latin America). “We cannot compromise with what is called the culture of death. We are all called to be seeds of hope, for a new future.” - Cardinal Zuppi exhorts Italian bishops to serve cause of peace (Vatican News)
In an address to the Italian bishops’ conference, of which he is the president, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna called for work “to restore equality among all women and men today, to relaunch a season of rights and true justice for every people and nation.” Cardinal Zuppi emphasized the need for action to restore peace, especially in “the martyred Ukraine.” The cardinal was appointed by the late Pope Francis as a special envoy to advance peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine—particularly the release of hostages. - Nuclear menace is 'morally indefensible,' Vatican foreign minister says (Vatican News (Italian))
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, delivered a lecture on November 13 in Florence on “The Nuclear Menace: New Scenarios of Risk and the Commitment of Christians.” “The idea of building peace on the threat of total destruction or on the illusion that stability can derive from a mutual possibility of annihilation” is “morally indefensible and strategically unsustainable,” said Archbishop Gallagher. “A balance based on terror and mutual demonstrations of force,” he said, “can in no way guarantee authentic peace; on the contrary, it contributes to increasing the risk and destructive scope of a potential conflict.” The prelate also warned of “an accelerated arms race accompanied by renewed, sometimes frenetic, efforts to expand existing arsenals and their destructive capabilities.” - The Church does not seek to proselytize, Pontiff tells Ghana's ambassador (Daily Graphic)
Benedict Batabe Assorow, Ghana’s new ambassador to the Holy See, offered an unusually detailed account of his recent private audience with Pope Leo XIV, during which he invited the Pontiff to visit the West African nation. Pope Leo expressed closeness to the poor and marginalized and joy in the collaboration of Church and state, Ghana’s state-owned newspaper reported. The Pope also “stressed that the Catholic Church did not seek to proselytize but rather to promote the welfare, dignity and integral development of every human person.” In a 2007 doctrinal note, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that “the term proselytism was often used as a synonym for missionary activity. More recently, however, the term has taken on a negative connotation, to mean the promotion of a religion by using means, and for motives, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel; that is, which do not safeguard the freedom and dignity of the human person.” Ghana, a nation of 34.6 million (map), is 72% Christian (15% Catholic), 19% Muslim, and 9% ethnic religionist. - Vatican diplomat: Catholic institutions under 'extreme duress' in Sudan (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN Human Rights Council meeting on the massacre in El Fasher, Sudan, a Vatican diplomat said that “Catholic-run clinics, schools and community centers in conflict zones have either been forced to close or are operating under extreme duress.” “Their staff, many of whom are volunteers, face daily threats, and many have been displaced,” said Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. “In order to bring an end to the current levels of violence, Sudan requires both sustained humanitarian aid and immediate diplomatic efforts.” The Rapid Support Forces, a belligerent in the Sudanese civil war, perpetrated the massacre. - Vatican officials weigh in on AI (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
The prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication and the secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education discussed artificial intelligence (AI) at a conference organized by the Pontifical University of Salamanca and the International Federation of Catholic Universities. “We must not entrust to artificial intelligence human decisions that have to do with morality and the ability to discern good from evil,” said Paolo Ruffini, the lay prefect of the Dicastery for Communication. “No algorithm can ever replace the beauty of human encounters in the sharing of knowledge,” Ruffini added. “We must mend the rift that is growing between contemporary life and the Gospel message, between the civilization of machines, of communication, and Christian civilization.” Bishop Paul Tighe of the Dicastery for Culture and Education warned against “blindly letting ourselves be guided” by AI results. “There is always an opinion and a direction within the algorithm.” - Outpatient center inaugurated at St. Peter's (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the San Martino Outpatient Clinic outside St. Peter’s Basilica. “The Pope was struck by the fact that among the doctors present, there were also psychiatrists,” said Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. “Our poor also need this kind of care.” - Emotional Philippine bishop decries corruption's toll on poor (CBCP News)
Preaching at a national shrine on November 16, a Philippine bishop decried corruption and linked it to the suffering that followed recent flooding. “I hope those people who victimized the poor can listen to their cries and to the cries of the environment,” said an emotional Bishop Raul Dael of Tandag, as he deplored (in the words of the Philippine bishops’ news agency) “negligence, environmental abuse, and corruption that diverts resources away from communities.” - Pope encourages University of Notre Dame to build bridges (University of Notre Dame)
Pope Leo XIV received Father Robert Dowd, CSC, the president of the University of Notre Dame since 2024, along with other leaders of the university. “The discussion centered on the role Notre Dame and other Catholic universities can play in serving the Church, addressing the challenges of our times, and fostering human flourishing,” according to a statement issued by the university. “The Holy Father expressed gratitude for Notre Dame’s many contributions as a global Catholic research university, and he encouraged Notre Dame to continue its efforts to build bridges.” - Pope gives indigenous artifacts to Canadian bishops (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Pope Leo XIV has given 62 indigenous artifacts to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Holy See and the CCCB announced in a joint statement. The bishops, in turn, will give the artifacts to national indigenous organizations. The artifacts “are part of the patrimony received on the occasion of the Vatican Missionary Exhibition of 1925, encouraged by Pope Pius XI during the Holy Year, to bear witness to the faith and cultural richness of peoples,” according to the statement. - Another priest kidnapped in Nigeria (Aid to the Church in Need)
Armed men attacked St. Stephen’s parish in Kushe Gugdu, Nigeria, early in the morning on November 17. Father Bobbo Paschal, a priest of the Kaduna archdiocese, was kidnapped in the raid. Another man was killed. - Detroit archdiocese announces downsizing plans (Detroit Catholic)
The Archdiocese of Detroit has announced plans for a major “restructuring” to reduce the number of its parishes. Archbishop Edward Weisenburger acknowledged that the archdiocese has been “struggling to maintain buildings, ministries, and structures that were designed for a much larger Church.” The archdiocese reported that the number of registered Catholics is now 900,000—down from a high of 1.5 million—and only half of that number attends Mass regularly. - USCCB encourages 'Cabrini Pledge' (USCCB)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a Cabrini Pledge card, named after St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), an Italian immigrant who became the United States’ first canonized saint. The Cabrini Pledge entails seven commitments, including “to affirm, in word and deed, the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of immigration status or country of origin, seeing each as a child of God before all else,” and “to encourage civic dialogue that places the human person and the sanctity of families at the center of policymaking, especially toward the end of meaningful immigration reform.” - Pregnancy-help centers served 1 million in US in 2024 (CNA)
Pregnancy-help centers in the US provided women with over $450 million in medical care and support in 2024, the Charlotte Lozier Institute reports. The centers served about 1 million patients during that year. At a press conference unveiling the report, Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America rejected pro-abortion charges that pregnancy-help centers mislead women and offer no medical help. In fact, she countered, “Eight in 10 centers are providing free or low-cost medical services, staffed by over 10,000 medical professionals.” - 'So many forms of poverty oppress our world,' Pope preaches on World Day of the Poor (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and 9th World Day of the Poor. “So many forms of poverty oppress our world! First and foremost are material forms of poverty, but there are also many moral and spiritual situations of poverty, which often affect young people in a particular way,” he preached. “The tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness. It challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way, because while it is certainly necessary at times to respond to urgent needs, we also must develop a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness.” “In this Jubilee of the Poor, let us be inspired by the witness of the saints who served Christ in the most needy and followed him on the path of humility and self-denial,” the Pope added, citing St. Benedict Joseph Labre. (Yesterday was the final day of the three-day Jubilee of the Poor.) Following the Mass and his Sunday Angelus address, the Pope shared lunch with 1,300 impoverished people in Paul VI Audience Hall. - Synod's 'study groups' release interim reports (Vatican News)
The special ‘study groups’ set up by Pope Francis have released interim reports on their work, as have two new group established later by Pope Leo. The study groups, commissioned after the Synod meeting of October 2024, were originally asked to submit their reports by June. Pope Leo extended the deadline for final reports to the end of December. Although most of the interim reports focused on the collection of different perspectives and opinions, one noteworthy facet of the report from the study group assigned to discuss controversial issues expressed a preference to instead describe these issues as “emerging,” naming “homosexuality, conflicts and non-violent practice of the Gospel, and violence against women in situations of armed conflict.” The study groups formed by Pope Francis are discussing: the Eastern churches, poverty, the digital environment, priestly formation, the role of women in the Church, bishops, consecrated life, papal nuncios, ecumenism, and “emerging” issues. Pope Leo added two groups, to reflect on the liturgy and polygamy. - Pope highlights plight of persecuted Christians, civilians in DR Congo, Ukraine (Dicastery for Communication)
Reflecting on the day’s Gospel reading of the day (Lk. 21:5-19) during his November 16 Sunday Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the persecution of Christians. “Christians today are still suffering from discrimination and persecution in various parts of the world,” he said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “In particular, I think of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan and other countries from which we often hear news of attacks on communities and places of worship.” Pope Leo also lamented attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Ukraine, expressed his closeness to Ukrainians, and called for prayers for a “just and lasting peace” there. - Papal message to conference on curbing abuse in religious communities (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV has sent a message of encouragement to participants in a conference being held in Rome this week, under the auspices of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, about providing safeguards against abuse in religious orders. The Pope’s message stressed the need for community life that protects the dignity of everyone, especially the most vulnerable. - Brazilian traditionalist bishop meets with Pope in private audience (Catholic Herald)
Pope Leo XIV met in a private audience on November 15 with Bishop Fernando Areas Rifan, whose work in Brazil is dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass. The Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney, which Bishop Rifan heads, was created in 2002 to bring peace to the Diocese of Campos, providing an alternative structure for the many Catholics devoted to the ancient liturgy. “We asked him to continue supporting us,” Bishop Rifan said after his meeting with the Pontiff. “He was very pleased.” Pope Leo faces a decision about the leadership of the traditionalist community in Campos, since Bishop Rifan, who celebrated his 75th birthday in October, is due for retirement. - More...