Catholic News
- God is 'the fullness and meaning of our lives,' Pope preaches at Jubilee of Consecrated Life (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated a rare Thursday Mass in St. Peter’s Square yesterday for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life (video). “You have come to entrust your lives to the same mercy to which, through your religious profession, you once committed yourselves to bear witness, because living out your vows means abandoning yourselves like children into the arms of the Father,” Pope Leo preached. God is “the fullness and meaning of our lives,” the Pope continued. “For you—for us—the Lord is everything ... The Lord, to whom you have given everything, has rewarded you with such beauty and richness, and I would like to urge you to treasure and cultivate what you have received.” - Brief papal letter to bishops accompanies Dilexi Te (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV penned a brief handwritten letter in English (image) to the world’s bishops to accompany Dilexi Te, his first apostolic exhortation (CWN analysis). “It is with great joy that I write to you, following a practice begun by Pope Francis more than ten years ago, associating the entire Episcopal College at important moments of Papal Magisterium,” Pope Leo wrote. “May ‘Dilexi te’ help the Church to serve the poor and help bring the poor to Christ.” - Pope Leo on poverty: Not just the voice of Pope Francis (News/Analysis) (CWN)
“For us Christians,” the problem of the poor leads to the very heart of our faith,” writes Pope Leo XIV in his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, released on October 9. In this, the first major teaching document of his pontificate, Pope Leo insists that care for the poor is an essential and obligatory aspect of the life of faith. - Advocate for respect for migrants' dignity, Pope tells Chicago union leaders (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV yesterday thanked Chicago labor union leaders for their “welcome of immigrants and refugees, especially your support of food pantries and shelters.” “While recognizing that appropriate policies are necessary to keep communities safe, I encourage you to continue to advocate for society to respect the human dignity of the most vulnerable,” Pope Leo continued. “By doing so, you are putting into practice the call of my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, who urged every union to be re-born each day at the peripheries.” The Pontiff’s comments came three days after Chicago’s mayor strongly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions in the Illinois city. The union leaders, accompanied by Cardinal Blase Cupich, also presented the Pontiff, a Chicago native, with a T-shirt with the words “Da Pope.” - Sostituto calls for 'healthy decentralization' in the Church (Vatican News (Portuguese))
Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra called for “healthy decentralization” within the Church as he reflected on synodality and subsidiarity in a lecture to canon lawyers in London. Vatican News reported that Archbishop Peña Parra spoke of a need “to find a balance between two opposing risks: on the one hand, a return to a hierarchical and top-down approach that stifles the role of the faithful; on the other, a chaotic system that threatens the unity and mission of the Church.” As the Sostituto (officially, the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State), Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra coordinates the internal affairs of the Roman Curia and reports to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State. - Pope encourages US Hispanic ministry leaders to accompany the poor and the stranger (Vatican News)
Addressing over 100 Hispanic ministry leaders from the US, Pope Leo XIV said that “you have a very great task in your hands—to accompany people who truly, deeply need a sign that God never abandons anyone: the least, the poorest, the stranger, everyone.” “You, through the service you offer in ministry, are clearly [offering] that testimony that is so important—perhaps especially in the United States, but also throughout the world, a world that suffers so much from war, violence, and hatred,” the Pope added in his extemporaneous remarks, delivered in Spanish on the evening of October 7 in the San Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. - The Church 'denounces the false impartiality of the market,' Cardinal Czerny says at press conference (CWN)
At yesterday’s Vatican press conference for the publication of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te (video), Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, emphasized that “recent Church teaching understands that poverty results from structures of sin. Selfishness and indifference solidify in economic and cultural systems.” - Jerusalem Patriarchate welcomes ceasefire agreement (Vatican News)
The Latin-rite Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a statement welcoming a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and expressing “ardent hope” that the agreement will be honored and become “the beginning of the end of this terrible war.” The statement underlined the “absolute urgency” of bringing humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza, and called for prayer “that this step may open a path to healing and reconciliation for both Palestinians and Israelis.” - USCCB's pro-life chairman criticizes FDA approval of generic abortion drug (USCCB)
The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities criticized the Food and Drug Administration for approving a generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone. “It is jarring and contradictory that, at the same time that the Food and Drug Administration is conducting a much-needed review of the supposed safety of the abortion pill for women, it is nonetheless approving a new generic for this deadly drug,” said Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio. - Vatican spokesman: Peter reminds us that the poor are the heart of the Gospel (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te (CWN analysis) “is not a text about the Church’s social doctrine, nor does it analyze specific issues,” a Vatican spokesman wrote in an editorial published yesterday. “Rather, it sets forth the very foundations of Revelation, highlighting the powerful bond between the love of Christ and His call for us to draw near to the poor.” Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said that “the centrality of love for the poor is, in fact, at the very heart of the Gospel itself, and therefore cannot be dismissed as a ‘pet concern’ of certain Popes or theological currents, nor be presented as a merely social or humanitarian consequence extrinsic to the Christian faith and its proclamation.” - El Paso bishop shares migrants' letters with Pontiff (CNS)
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso said that Pope Leo XIV had tears in his eyes as he read migrants’ letters during an October 8 audience. Bishop Seitz, who chairs the US bishops’ Committee on Migration, said that Pope Leo was “very affirming of the work that we are doing in the United States, especially our work directly with immigrants.” Offering strong criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, Bishop Seitz said that “the vast majority of those who are being detained today are not criminals by any reasonable definition of that word, but they are being treated worse than we ought to treat criminals, and it is just so sad to see our nation treating our brothers and sisters in this way—sad, and you know, so wrong.” - Papal encouragement for Catholic Charities USA (Vatican Press Office)
At an October 9 meeting with representatives of Catholic Charities USA, Pope Leo XIV characterized them as “agents of hope for the millions of people who approach the Church in the United States of American seeking compassion and care.” The Pope stressed the importance of the work done by Catholic Charities, particularly in welcoming immigrants. He said: In a special way, Catholic migrants and refugees have become missionaries of hope in many nations, including your own, by bringing with them a vibrant faith and the popular devotions that often re-energize the parishes who welcome them. - Pope urges journalists to guard independence (Vatican Press Office)
Speaking on October 9 to representatives of leading news agencies, Pope Leo XIV said: “I urge you: never sell out your authority!” The Pontiff observed that “news and media agencies are undergoing a period of crisis,” as those who consume the news become ever more prone to “mistaking the false for the true and the authentic for the artificial.” “Information is a public good that we should all protect,” the Pope said. As powerful algorithms control access to the news, it becomes increasingly vital for dedicated journalists to “act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing.” “The world needs free, rigorous, and objective information,” Pope Leo insisted. - Cardinal Koch takes stock of Anglican-Catholic relations (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)
Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, took stock of Anglican-Catholic relations in a recent address in Belgium, at the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Malines Conversations. Expressing sorrow over divisions within the Anglican Communion, Cardinal Koch said that “such profound division within individual communions makes reconciliation between separated communions and churches much more complicated to achieve ... We need to recall that our divisions are scandalous counter-signs and so redouble our efforts to transcend them. Above all, we need to intensify our prayer.” Cardinal Koch’s address took place before the election of Dame Sarah Mullally as archbishop of Canterbury. - Ukrainian Catholic leader recalls Fátima warning about Russia (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
In his weekly video message, the head of the Ukranian Greek Catholic Church discussed recent war developments and recalled the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparitions at Fátima. “The Fátima revelations warned that the errors that would come from Russia could poison the whole world,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. “During World War I, these words were understood as a warning about the danger of Soviet communism—the ‘red dragon’ that threatened humanity.” “But this ‘red dragon’ has not vanished; it has merely changed its face and continues to kill not only in Ukraine but throughout the world,” he continued. “Therefore, the Blessed Virgin Mary calls upon her children to pray for peace.” - Cathedral, other churches vandalized in Munich (OIDAC Europe)
Eight Catholic churches and institutions in Munich, including the city’s cathedral, were vandalized on the night of September 28-29, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe reported. Police arrested a 29-year-old woman and charged her with damaging public property. - Papal message: In discussing synodality, don't disregard the authority Christ conferred on Pope, bishops (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message (full text) in the Pope’s name to participants in a conference on the role of the bishop in a synodal Church. Cardinal Parolin wrote that the Supreme Pontiff hopes that the conference will renew the understanding that “authentic synodality by its very nature requires listening and the participation of all the baptized, according to the vocation of each,” but without disregarding “the authority conferred by Christ on the College of Bishops with the Successor of Peter as its head.” - Gaza priest: 'We hope that Gaza's Calvary is coming to an end' (SIR (Italian))
Referring to peace negotiations, the pastor of Gaza’s sole Catholic parish told the Italian Catholic news agency SIR that “every Way of the Cross has its end, and we hope that Gaza’s Calvary is coming to an end.” “The news that is coming in is not good,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli, IVE, referring to continued Israeli airstrikes and civilian casualties. “We really hope that Gazans can stay and live here and rebuild their lives here. For our part, we are fine, but we are tired and exhausted. Let us continue to work, to pray, to do the good of all, to be instruments of peace.” Father Romanelli ministers at the parish with two other priests (Fathers Youssef Asaad and Carlos Ferrero), along with Incarnate Word sisters and Missionaries of Charity. 450 Christians have taken refuge at the parish. - Mongolia cardinal emphasizes importance of proclaiming the Gospel (Fides)
In a lengthy address at a conference in Rome, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, IMC, the Italian-born apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, emphasized the importance of proclaiming Christ. Recalling that “St. Paul could not understand his vocation apart from proclamation: ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!’,” Cardinal Marengo said that “the mission of the Church is always and everywhere to offer every person the possibility of knowing Christ and his Gospel.” The prelate, who spoke about “whispering” the Gospel, explained: This treasure is destined for the heart, for the deepest and most mysterious part of the person. That is why it is whispered: it is a delicate action, it requires trust, and it presupposes a relationship of sincere friendship. - Pope encourages consecrated persons to forge ahead with 'missionary boldness' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV called upon participants in the Jubilee of Consecrated Life to forge ahead with “missionary boldness”—three days after he told participants in the Jubilee of Missionaries, “Today a new missionary age opens up in the history of the Church.” - More...