Catholic Community (English)

The head of the Holy See’s delegation to COP30 addresses environment ministers from around the world, stressing the need to strengthen multilateral cooperation and not lose sight of “the human face of the climate crisis.”

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Answering questions from journalists in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV decries recent measures against migrants in the United States, and he calls for treating people “with humanity and dignity.” He also denounces the killings of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria and expresses hope for a ceasefire and dialogue in Ukraine, where "people are dying every day."

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Last week we looked at how most Catholics probably don’t need individual spiritual direction.  

Free will is God’s most powerful gift to us. He doesn’t want slaves or zombies acting out of fear or force.  

Freely giving your life to God daily because you love him – even when it’s really hard – is exactly what he’s longing for.  

Individual spiritual direction should always aim to give a person more freedom, not less.  

To get there, you might need to develop better habits and more self-control. You can probably at least start on this without a spiritual director.  

You might need to get yourself some catechesis, and to form good habits of daily prayer and regular use of the sacraments. 

You might need to purge your spiritual reading of sentimental junk food and read some healthier stuff instead. 

But if you struggle with even these basics, then individual spiritual direction probably won’t help you.  

So who might actually need – and benefit from – individual spiritual direction?  

You might be trying to work out what state of life God wants you to be in. 

Should you marry someone who’s in your life right now and is amenable to the idea? (Remember to ask the person first if they’re amenable.) 

Should you enter religious life or the priesthood? Or stay single for the Lord’s sake? 

Are you facing a choice about training for a new career, or undertaking a course of study? 

Is there some specific work you feel God might be calling you to do?  

Have you recently gone through something terrible – a sudden death, abandonment, job loss, or divorce? 

Spiritual direction can help you to process what’s happened and find your way back to God. 

This should also be supported by good counselling or therapy, because spiritual direction isn’t meant to replace these things.  

There are also a very few people who seem to be experiencing a lot of mystical or supernatural phenomena. 

Before you panic: most Catholics have religious experiences. It’s normal for people who live with at least one foot in the supernatural world. 

These might be visions of the imagination, or hearing vocal responses to prayers, or spiritual dreams.  

You are probably not a saint just yet. But if you think it’s happening a lot, then seek spiritual direction from someone sensible.  

They can help you discern how much of this is real and helpful, and how much might be coming from an unhealthy place inside you, or an external evil source.  

You’ll notice that the spiritual direction I’m talking about here is only for a certain period.  

We get ideas from the lives of the saints that we will have a lifetime relationship with a spiritual director, but that’s not the case. 

(Your director will also probably not ask you to write your spiritual diaries and later weep tears of joy during your canonisation process.)  

So if you really need one – how do you find a good spiritual director? As I said last week, they’re in short supply.  

I promised you three steps, so here’s step two: an easy low-level way to get some individual spiritual direction.  

Find a sensible priest (ask around if you must). 

Contact him and ask if he’ll be your regular confessor, because you need extra help right now for whatever it is. 

See what he says. He might be too busy, so ask him for a recommendation.   

But if he’s open to it, he might get you in for an initial chat, and after that you can go to confession to him regularly.  

When you go into the confessional, tell the priest that it’s you, and then make your confession. 

You should then get slightly more focused advice and direction than an anonymous penitent would.  

Remember: if he’s a sensible priest, there will be a queue. This is not a counselling session.  

But if you think you need longer – for example, if something unexpected has happened – then ask to see him individually at another time, outside confession.  

And if you are very blessed, you’ll achieve step three: a spiritual director who can see you for longer sessions. 

So don’t despair if you can’t find an individual spiritual director right away. There are things you can do instead that will help you just as much.  

Silent mental prayer and good spiritual reading (yes to the Bible and the Catechism; no to unapproved private revelations) will support you.  

Making a retreat is helpful. Sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament in adoration is also helpful.  

You can go a long way just by doing the basics and getting them mostly right.  

The post How to find good spiritual direction appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Next year marks the 30-year anniversary of the devastating fire that ruined the heritage-listed St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta and Parish Priest at the time, Monsignor John Boyle has released his first book about the historical event that captivated the public, politicians and the Australian media.    

On 19 February 1996, an arsonist lit a fire that ripped through St Patrick’s Cathedral which took 40 firefighters from six brigades a whole day and evening to pour 13,500 litres of water onto the flames every minute.  

As Boyle states in his book, “it was like fighting the devil with water pistols.”   

The devastation was felt nationwide with Prime Minister Paul Keating visiting the site several times, along with NSW Premier Bob Carr, Governor General Sir William Deane, the heads of the Anglican and other churches and even the Rebel bikie gang coming to assist in the aftermath.   

The arsonist Jason Humphries watched the cathedral burn. He was captured, arrested and sentenced.  

Monsignor Boyle later went to jail to forgive him which received praise and backlash from the community.   

The extraordinary tale of loss, grief, resilience, rebirth, rebuilding and community spirit is expertly and entertainingly told in Monsignor’s own words. Tested by Fire was launched at a special event on Thursday, 31 October 2025.   

Tested by Fire is published by St Pauls Publications in collaboration with the Diocese of Parramatta, and is available for purchase at the St Patrick’s Cathedral bookshop or at St Paul’s Publications.  

Speaker on the evening, Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell AFSM said, “These events don’t just happen and our firefighters go to them and walk away without thinking about them anymore. They have a personal, direct impact on our people as well. There’s that empathy between the firefighters and the people who are experiencing the loss.”  

“I think Monsignor Boyle has done such a wonderful job capturing all the elements of the story,” he said.   

The book was commissioned by Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta, who asked Monsignor Boyle to document not just the fire, but also the faith, service, and dedicated community that supported the rebuilding of the Cathedral.   

“Monsignor Boyle is one of the most qualified living witnesses to write an account of the destruction of the old St Patrick’s, which was a shocking and emotionally powerful event. His book also chronicles how the Diocese responded to the challenge of rebuilding the Cathedral after the fire,” said Bishop Vincent.  

“Readers will be treated to a fascinating account of how Divine Providence accompanied the efforts not only to construct a stunning new Cathedral but to create a seamlessly cohesive architectural marvel,” Bishop Vincent said.  

Tested by Fire explores Monsignor Boyle’s pivotal role in the Cathedral’s rebuilding, working closely with then-Bishop Kevin Manning, and world renowned Roman-born architect Romaldo Giurgola – who was also the principal architect for Australia’ New Parliament House. Giurgola’s St Patrick’s Cathedral design respects the cathedral’s heritage while embracing modern liturgical design.    

“It looks a bit strange at first – the seats face each other,” Monsignor Boyle explained in reference to the new cathedral rebuilt and dedicated on 29 November 2003.  

“The idea is to gather around the altar. In Catholic worship, the altar is a central piece of furniture, and the design reflects community and shared worship.”  

The post New memoir tells the story behind the burning of St Patrick’s Catholic appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Syria launches its first public trial over deadly clashes in March, during which pro-government fighters killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority in their coastal homeland. The case is widely seen as a test of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s promise of accountability.

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From 28 to 30 November, Castel Gandolfo will be host to 'Restarting the Economy', a global meeting promoted by The Economy of Francesco. The international event will be aimed at rethinking the economy in light of the Jubilee, focusing on social justice, care for the Earth, and freedom from debt.

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Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov 18, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

On the 37th anniversary of his death, Bangladesh’s Christian community honored an American Holy Cross priest and microcredit pioneer who transformed their economic future — Father Charles Joseph Young, whose cooperative credit union has grown from 50 members and barely any money in 1955 to 46,000 members with $122.6 million in capital today.

On Nov. 14, the country’s most respected cooperative, the Christian Cooperative Credit Union Ltd., Dhaka — known as Dhaka Credit — and other cooperatives marked Young’s death anniversary with events including tributes at his grave, a Mass, and public discussions on his life and impact.

“If Dhaka Credit had not stood by me today, I would not have been a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur,” said 45-year-old Shukli Kubi, a Garo tribal mother of two.

Kubi, originally from a rural area in Mymensingh Diocese in central Bangladesh, came to Dhaka in search of a livelihood and started working in a beauty parlor for just 500 taka (the equivalent of $4 today) about 15 years ago. After gaining experience, she has now opened a parlor of her own and is considering a loan from Dhaka Credit to expand.

“I easily took a loan from Dhaka Credit to buy at least 150 decimals of land in the village and opened a beauty parlor in Dhaka, where 10 employees are now working,” she said.

Many workers in Kubi’s parlor have gone on to open their own, albeit on a smaller scale, and she is planning to expand further. “I tell people, save some money in Dhaka Credit and take a loan to buy land for yourself or start a business like me,” Kubi said.

Dhaka Credit is a cooperative run by lay Christians in Bangladesh, founded in 1955 under Young’s leadership. The organization, which started with only 50 members and a capital of 25 taka (the equivalent of about $0.20 today), now has 46,000 members and a capital of about $122.6 million. It operates the Divine Mercy Hospital Ltd., a 300-bed facility — the first hospital established by lay Christians in the country — with more than a thousand employees.

At the time of its founding, Catholics in Bangladesh were financially vulnerable and often forced to take loans from landlords at high interest rates. Young established the credit union movement to lift the Christian community out of poverty, explained Michael John Gomes, president of Dhaka Credit. Gomes noted that, due to Young’s influence, more than 250 cooperatives now exist in parishes across the country.

To keep Young’s legacy alive, Dhaka Credit established the Father Charles J. Young Foundation, which benefits people of all religions in Bangladesh. The foundation seeks to create employment for poor and educated unemployed youth via skills training, educational support, and research.

American-born Young established a housing project for Christians in Bangladesh. He was born May 3, 1904, in Auburn, New York, the fourth and youngest child of Daniel F. Young and Mary Anne (Jennings) Young. He grew up in St. Mary’s Orphanage in Rochester, run by the Sisters of St. Joseph, received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1929, and was ordained a priest on June 24, 1933.

Upon his arrival in Bangladesh, Young served in various parishes, spending much of his life among the Garo tribal people. In 1953, the then-archbishop of Dhaka, Lawrence Leo Graner, CSC, sent him to study cooperatives at the Coady Institute, St. Francis Xavier University in Canada. Upon his return, he established Dhaka Credit.

According to the book “Father Charles J. Young, CSC, Father of Credit Union in Bangladesh,” by Father Richard William Timm, CSC, Young dedicated himself to forming credit unions for the poorest, recognizing their dependence on moneylenders and understanding their needs from firsthand experience.

The American priest believed the purpose of credit unions was to help people learn to be frugal — not for charity or profit but for service.

Swadhin Mandal, who started with several loans from Dhaka Credit to build a rent-a-car business, is now a successful entrepreneur employing 10 drivers with eight cars. “If Father Young had not started this cooperative movement, I would not have been able to start this business today,” Mandal said.

After the 1947 partition, Young played a critical role in alleviating a housing crisis and resolving the Garo land problem. During the devastating cyclone of 1970, Young hurried back from leave in the U.S. to participate in relief and later co-founded the Christian Relief and Rehabilitation Organization — the precursor to Caritas Bangladesh.

Young and the Catholic Church made a significant contribution during and after the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, including arranging management training for funds received by Caritas and establishing a residential hostel for students in Dhaka.

Poverty alleviation and community self-development were significant challenges during Young’s era, recalled Babu Markus Gomes, vice chairman of the Father Charles J. Young Foundation. “Father Young is the father of Dhaka Credit and the credit union movement, but he did not seek to be its president. He spread this movement throughout the country, leading those for whose quality of life this union was created,” Gomes said.

“He spread the word of Christ to everyone, regardless of race, religion, or caste. Whenever someone wants to build a credit union, they recall this great priest — people of all faiths remember him, and the word of Christ spreads throughout the country as a result,” Gomes added.

Young died on Nov. 14, 1988, in a road accident while riding his motorcycle to his residence. He was buried at the Holy Rosary Church’s cemetery in Tejgaon, Dhaka.

“We can work to canonize Father Young based on his life’s immortal contribution to humanity,” Gomes said during a recent homage at Young’s grave.

Holy Cross Father Hubert Liton Gomes, a cooperative expert, said if the Church is willing, the cause for canonizing Young could move forward.

“Canonizing is not a one-day task; it requires research, prayer, and effort. The Church has to consider many things, but we can take the initiative,” said Gomes, secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has concluded its 2025 annual plenary assembly held in the Diocese of Damongo, during which key pastoral priorities and national concerns for the coming years were outlined. The assembly took place from 7 to 14 November under the theme “A Synodal Church at the Service of Justice and Peace in Ghana.”

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ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 18, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Father Carmelo De Palma, a priest known as the “hero of the confessional,” was beatified Nov. 15 in Bari, Italy.

Pope Leo XIV recognized the new blessed during the Nov. 16 Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, saying De Palma “was a diocesan priest who died in 1961 after a life generously spent in the ministry of confession and spiritual accompaniment.” 

“May his witness inspire priests to give themselves unreservedly to the service of God’s holy people,” he added.

The beatification Mass in Italy was celebrated by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. In his homily in the Bari cathedral, the prelate emphasized that “spirituality, when authentic, is always combined with charity toward one’s neighbor,” Vatican News reported.

“That our blessed lived out this sacramental fraternity is demonstrated both by the numerous testimonies given by priests during the process for his beatification and canonization, and by the subsequent dedication shown by the diocesan clergy in promoting and supporting this cause,” the cardinal said.

He also noted that many faithful found in De Palma “a spiritual guide to progress in their personal response to that ‘vocation which unites us all as baptized, living members of the one people of God: that is, the vocation to holiness.’”

De Palma, Semeraro added, was “for countless faithful a minister of reconciliation and forgiveness” and “a clear and balanced guide” for those who asked for his help “in discerning God’s will for their own lives.”

Who was Father Carmelo De Palma?

De Palma was a diocesan priest who dedicated his life to the ministry of confessor and spiritual direction of the faithful, priests, seminarians, and especially the Benedictine nuns of St. Scholastica in Bari, Italy.

He was born on Jan. 27, 1876, in Bari. After being orphaned, he entered the seminary in his hometown at the age of 10. He was ordained a priest in Naples in 1898.

On June 17, 1900, he was appointed chaplain of St. Nicholas Basilica in Bari, where he served by celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and encouraging various pastoral initiatives.

Later, the basilica was entrusted to the Dominican Fathers by order of the Holy See, and De Palma was appointed spiritual director of the Benedictine nuns of St. Scholastica in Bari as well as the Oblates of St. Benedict. 

Over the years, his health deteriorated severely due to chronic colitis, arteriosclerosis of the heart, and progressive vision loss. In February 1961, he celebrated Mass publicly for the last time, and because of his illness, he continued to celebrate the Eucharist in his room, where he also continued to hear confessions.

He died in Bari on Aug. 24, 1961, of heart failure. The miracle that led to his beatification was the inexplicable healing of a Benedictine nun who had a severe spinal cord injury that prevented her from walking.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Chiclayo is celebrating following the inauguration and blessing of a large statue of Pope Leo XIV, located in a central roundabout in the city. The statue now welcomes visitors to the northern Peruvian city where Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, served as bishop and apostolic administrator from 2014 to 2023.

The 16-foot white statue, standing atop a 6-foot pedestal, weighs half a ton and is made of fiberglass and resin. The statue was created by artist Juan Carlos Ñañake of Piura, Peru, who collaborated with six other artists over a three-month period.

“It has been an artistic and spiritual challenge. We wanted Pope Leo XIV to reflect serenity and approachability. His smile will welcome all who come to Chiclayo,” said the artist, according to the Andina news agency.

“This work symbolizes the gratitude of the people of Lambayeque to the Holy Father for his message of love, hope, and unity,” highlighted Félix Mío Sánchez, regional manager of foreign trade and tourism for the Peruvian government. The provincial municipality of Chiclayo also participated in the unveiling of the monumental sculpture.

The statue will be part of the Pope Leo tourist route.

The bishop of Chiclayo, Edinson Farfán, emphasized that “by blessing this sculpture, we renew our commitment to walk together: Church, state, institutions, and citizens under God’s gaze, to continue serving Pope Leo XIV with humility and generosity.”

“Our bishop emeritus is the pope of communion; may his example inspire our public and community actions, and may his witness remind us that governing and serving is also an act of love,” he added.

Jorge Pérez, governor of the Lambayeque region, highlighted that the image is also an act of thanksgiving “to one of our brothers, a Peruvian at heart, a Peruvian who walked with us and I am sure walks with us today through his prayers for the well-being of our people.”

Pope Leo XIV obtained Peruvian citizenship in 2015 and this year updated his information to obtain a new Peruvian ID. 

The Augustinian friar spent more than 20 years in Peru, serving in Chulucanas and Trujillo, and eventually as the bishop of Chiclayo.

The mayor of Chiclayo, Janet Cubas Carranza, also thanked Pope Leo XIV “for having put Chiclayo on the world map.”

The unveiling of the statue last week included the traditional northern marinera dance, a performance by Donnie Yaipén, who played his song “La Cumbia del Papa,” a fireworks display, and the inaugural lighting of the sculpture of the first American and Peruvian pope.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Lorna Owens—a Jamaican living in Florida—explains her work raising funds for two organizations providing humanitarian aid to those living without homes, food, water, or medicine.

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Vatican City, Nov 18, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Nov. 18 is celebrated in the Catholic Church as the feast day of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul. Here are three things to know about the historical, architectural, and spiritual significance of these two papal basilicas:

1. Historical significance of the Nov. 18 feast day 

In the fourth century, the world’s first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine, commissioned the construction of two separate basilicas over the burial sites of St. Peter and St. Paul to enable the public veneration of the two great apostles, martyrs, and evangelizers of Rome.

After Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire following the Edict of Milan issued by Constantine in 313, construction of the first Basilica of St. Peter began in 319 and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester on Nov. 18, 326. Historical records indicate that Sylvester consecrated the first basilica built by Constantine dedicated to the apostle St. Paul on Nov. 19 around the year 330.

The masses of pilgrims who came to pray at the tombs of the “Prince of the Apostles” and the “Apostle to the Gentiles” required constant repairs, renovations, and expansion of the two basilicas built by Constantine.

In 1506, Pope Julius II ordered the demolition of the original basilica dedicated to St. Peter to construct the second Basilica of St. Peter, which still stands today. Pope Urban VIII solemnly consecrated the magnificent Basilica of St. Peter 120 years later on Nov. 18, 1626.

Over the centuries the basilica dedicated to St. Paul underwent several renovations and two major reconstructions. The current Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls is the third basilica built above the apostle’s burial site. In 1854 — after the great fire of 1823 and over 30 years of construction work — Pius IX consecrated the newly-built basilica and fixed Nov. 18 as its commemoration date.

2. Architectural significance of the two basilicas 

With histories that span nearly two millennia, both the Basilica of St. Peter and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls bear the marks of changing architectural designs dating back from the Paleo-Christian period to the present day.

The world-famous 16th-century Basilica of St. Peter, visited by millions of tourists and pilgrims yearly, took more than 100 years to construct and was heavily influenced by Western artistic styles of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Designed by the Italian architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the 94-foot-tall bronze canopy, known as the baldacchino, is a Baroque masterpiece that towers above the central altar and stands directly above the tomb of St. Peter. To highlight the primacy of Peter among the apostles, the baldacchino features sculptures of cherubs holding the papal tiara as well as the “keys to the kingdom of heaven,” which Jesus entrusted to St. Peter and his successors. Bernini also designed the keyhole shape of St. Peter’s Square.

Throughout its history, the Roman basilica dedicated to St. Paul was a testimony to the Catholic Church’s ancient past. Before the 1823 fire, the basilica housed artworks and historical artifacts from the Paleo-Christian, Byzantine, Renaissance, and Baroque periods.

Reconstructed to be identical to the basilica destroyed by fire, the art and architecture of St. Paul Outside the Walls has taken its inspiration from different architectural styles dating back from the 11th century to contemporary designs of the 21st century.

The Holy Door of this major basilica was designed by Enrico Manfrini in preparation for the 2000 Jubilee Year. Inside this door stands the Byzantine door, created in 1070, depicting scenes of the life of Christ and the first Christians.

3. Spiritual significance of the two basilicas 

The burial sites of the two patron saints of Rome remain significant places of pilgrimage for Christians.

St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Paul Outside the Walls, two of the four papal basilicas of Rome, are visited by millions of tourists for their historical, architectural, and artistic importance. For Christian pilgrims, the two major basilicas hold a greater spiritual significance that links their faith in Jesus and his Church to two of its most faithful apostles who led the way for Christians throughout the ages through their teachings and witness.

On the June 29, 2024, solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Francis invited all of the Catholic faithful to imitate their example and “open the doors” of the Church during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. 

“The jubilee will be a time of grace, during which we will open the Holy Door so that everyone may cross the threshold of that ‘living sanctuary’ who is Jesus,” the Holy Father said in his homily.

The Holy Door in the Basilica of St. Peter opened on Christmas Eve 2024 to usher in the jubilee year and the Holy Door of St. Paul Outside the Walls opened on Jan. 5, 2025. The former wil close on Jan. 6, 2026, and the latter will close on Dec. 28, 2025.

This story was first published on Nov. 18, 2024, and has been updated.

Ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit this week to the Italian hill town of Assisi to close the 81st General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), the Bishops' leader, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, addresses his fellow Bishops with a call to promote peace in the war-torn world and to counter exclusion of the marginalised.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While "creation is crying out" and millions of people suffer the effects of climate change and pollution, politicians are failing to act, Pope Leo XIV said.

As the U.N. Climate Conference, COP30, began its final week of meetings Nov. 17, the pope sent a video message to Christian representatives and activists from the global south who were holding a side event to the conference in Belem, Brazil.

The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 at COP21 "has driven real progress and remains our strongest tool for protecting people and the planet," Pope Leo said in the video.

"But we must be honest: it is not the agreement that is failing, we are failing in our response," he said. "What is failing is the political will of some." 

While Pope Leo did not specify which nations were at fault, the U.S. government was not represented at COP30 because U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement.

"True leadership means service, and support at a scale that will truly make a difference," the pope said. "Stronger climate actions will create stronger and fairer economic systems. Strong climate actions and policies -- both are an investment in a more just and stable world."

"Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat," Pope Leo said.

"One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes," he added. "To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity."

As government representatives from most of the world's countries -- more than 190 nations registered delegations -- struggled to finalize agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels, Pope Leo told the Christian activists he believed "there is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius, but the window is closing."

"As stewards of God's creation, we are called to act swiftly, with faith and prophecy, to protect the gift he entrusted to us," the pope said.

In safeguarding creation as a gift of God, he said, "we walk alongside scientists, leaders and pastors of every nation and creed."

"We are guardians of creation, not rivals for its spoils," the pope said. "Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and behind climate cooperation."

Despite the challenges, Pope Leo told the activists, "you chose hope and action over despair, building a global community that works together."

The efforts have made a difference, he said, "but not enough. Hope and determination must be renewed, not only in words and aspirations, but also in concrete actions."
 

Reading I 2 Maccabees 6:18-31

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Alleluia 1 John 4:10b

Gospel Luke 19:1-10

• Readings for the Optional Memorial of Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
• Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

CNA Staff, Nov 18, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 18 the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, a French religious sister who came to the United States as a missionary in the 1800s. 

Rose was born on Aug. 29, 1769, in Grenoble, France. On the day of her baptism, she received the names Philip, honoring the apostle, and Rose, honoring St. Rose of Lima. She was educated at the Convent of the Visitation of Ste. Marie d’en Haut and became drawn to contemplative life. At the age of 18, she became a novice at the convent. 

During the revolution in France, Rose’s community was dispersed and she ended up returning to her family home. After the Concordat of 1801, she tried to rebuild her community’s monastery but was unable to do so. 

In 1804, Rose heard of a new congregation — the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She became a novice in the society that same year. 

Despite her great desire for contemplative life, Rose also felt a calling for missionary work. 

In a letter she wrote to Mother Madeleine Sophie Barat, the foundress of the society, Rose described an experience she had during adoration: “I spent the entire night in the New World ... carrying the Blessed Sacrament to all parts of the land ... I had all my sacrifices to offer: a mother, sisters, family, my mountain! When you say to me ‘now I send you,’ I will respond quickly, ‘I go.’”

In 1818, Rose was finally sent to do missionary work. Bishop Louis William Valentine DuBourg, the St. Louis area’s first bishop, was looking for a congregation of educators to help him evangelize the children of the diocese. At St. Charles, near St. Louis, Rose founded the first house of the society outside of France.

That same year, Rose and four other sisters opened the first free school for Native American children in the United States. By 1828 Rose had founded six schools.

The saint once said: “You may dazzle the mind with a thousand brilliant discoveries of natural science; you may open new worlds of knowledge which were never dreamed of before; yet, if you have not developed in the soul of the pupil strong habits of virtue, which will sustain her in the struggle of life, you have not educated her.”

Rose always carried a desire to serve Native Americans. In 1841, at the age of 71, she established a school for Potawatomi girls in Sugar Creek, Kansas. She spent a year with the Potawatomi, spending much of her time in prayer because she was unable to help with much of the physical work. They gave her the name “Quah-kah-ka-num-ad,” which means “woman who is always praying.”

In 1842, Rose returned to St. Charles and died there on Nov. 18, 1852, at the age of 83. She was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II on July 3, 1988, and is buried at the Shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne in St. Charles, Missouri.

This story was first published on Nov. 18, 2024, and has been updated.

Vatican City, Nov 17, 2025 / 19:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV urged parishes to invest in liturgical formation, especially for lectors, while also encouraging people to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and calling for attention to be paid to popular piety.

While receiving participants in a course organized by the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome at the Apostolic Palace for diocesan liturgical pastoral workers, the Holy Father said that “in the dioceses and parishes there is a need for such formation” and encouraged the creation of “biblical and liturgical courses” in places where such formation programs are lacking.

Through such courses, the pope said the institute could help local churches and parish communities “to be formed by the word of God, explaining the texts of the weekday and feast day Lectionary.”

For the pope, it is important that the liturgy be “expression of a community that cares for its celebrations, prepares them, and lives them to the full.”

Regarding biblical formation combined with liturgical formation, he recommended that those in charge of liturgical ministry pay “particular attention” to those who proclaim the word of God.

Referring to lectors and those who regularly read the Scriptures, the Holy Father said that “basic biblical knowledge, clear diction, the ability to sing the responsorial psalm, as well as to compose prayers of the faithful for the community are important aspects that implement liturgical reform and help the people of God grow on their path.” 

“We are well aware that liturgical formation is one of the main themes of the entire conciliar and postconciliar journey,” Leo XIV stated.

In this regard, he affirmed that while “much progress has been made” there is still “a long way to go.” “Let us not tire: Let us enthusiastically resume the good initiatives inspired by the reform and, at the same time, seek new ways and new methods,” he urged.

The pope said the aim is “to foster the fruitful participation of the people of God as well as a dignified liturgy that is attentive to different sensibilities and sober in its solemnity.”

Among other things, he expressly asked the diocesan liturgy to promote the Liturgy of the Hours and to nurture the dimension of “popular piety.”

“Among the aspects linked to your service as directors, I would like to mention the promotion of the Liturgy of the Hours, care for popular piety, and attention to the celebratory dimension in the construction of new churches and the adaptation of existing ones,” he stated.

“In many parishes, then, there are also liturgical groups who must work in synergy with the diocesan commission,” the pope noted.

Parish liturgy committees

The Holy Father continued: “The experience of a group, even small but well motivated, that is concerned with the preparation of the liturgy is an expression of a community that cares for its celebrations, prepares them, and lives them to the full, in agreement with the parish priest.”

“In this way, we avoid delegating everything to him and leaving only a few people responsible for singing, proclaiming the word, and decorating the church,” he explained.

Similarly, he lamented that these parish groups “have dwindled to nothing, as if they had lost their identity.” Therefore, he called for a commitment to make “this area of Church life attractive again, capable of involving people who are competent or at least inclined to this type of service.”

He thus encouraged liturgical leaders to propose to parish priests “formation courses to start or consolidate liturgical groups in the parish, training their members and offering suggestions for their activities."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Today we take a first look at the theme for the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress which we will host here in Sydney. What did Jesus mean when he held the bread and said ‘this is my body’? And what implications does it have for our lives that Jesus gave his body ‘for’ us? With Fr. Daniele Russo

The post RE Search Episode 117: This is my body, given for you. appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

The first survey of the well-being of Australia’s Catholic clergy has found that most priests and permanent deacons are thriving.  

The 164-page report was commissioned by the bishops and conducted by the National Centre for Pastoral Research and the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office. 

Its observations are based on responses from an on-line questionnaire which captured the views of 27 per cent of Australian clergy and from in-depth personal interviews with 78 priests and deacons from a range of backgrounds.  

Archbishop Christopher Prowse, chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry, said that the report could prompt an examination of conscience for priestly ministry in Australia. 

“Some of the findings you will see are very complimentary and show signs of great joy in the priesthood by so many,” he wrote. “Other conclusions are more worrying and could well be the subject of the ongoing formation of clergy and their pastoral care.” 

Based on the survey data and informed by research from overseas, “Thriving & Surviving in Ministry” presents a largely positive view of clergy well-being in a challenging and sometimes hostile environment.  

Australia’s clergy are increasingly diverse.  

At the end of 2023, there were 1,810 diocesan priests in Australia, 1,003 religious priests and 204 permanent deacons. About 53 per cent were born in Australia and 41 per cent in a non-English-speaking country.  

This contrasts with the ethnic make-up of Australian Catholic lay people, of whom 72 per cent are Australian-born, and only 21 per cent born in a non-English-speaking country. Only 1.2 per cent said that they identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. 

On many metrics Australian clergy are thriving. About 75 per cent reported that they had “good” or “very good” self-confidence. About two-thirds had a healthy diet, 61 per cent were getting enough rest, and 55 percent had high energy levels.  

Most were very positive about life, with 71 per cent feeling hopeful and 61 per cent feeling joyful frequently, especially those from non-English-speaking backgrounds. 

And by and large, Australian priests are working hard – an average of 8.6 hours daily. Half of the priests under 40 are working more than 10 hours. Paper-pushing was the main activity, but 80 per cent spent up to two hours a day administering the sacraments and 69 per cent on pastoral activity.  

Nearly all of them – 95 per cent – valued their work. Many highlighted the central role of the Mass in their ministry, especially celebrating the Eucharist, preparing homilies, and “breaking the Word open”.   

On the spiritual side, nearly 80 per cent described their relationship with God as “good” or “very good”. They valued prayer routines like daily Mass, spiritual reading, the divine office, retreats, and theological podcasts. Almost four out of ten had a spiritual director.  

This generally sunny panorama has been achieved despite an overcast environment for the Catholic Church in Australia.  

The revelations flowing from Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have left deep scars. Many priests knew offenders or victims or relatives of victims. Many reported that they felt stress, anxiety, and shame; many felt that their priestly identity and credibility had been harmed; many fear unjust accusations; many struggle with the workload of assuring adequate safeguarding.  

However, despite these challenges, says the report, “a few clergy saw opportunities for deeper trust in God and renewed ministry commitment.” 

This was not the only difficulty. Despite the broadly positive picture, priests reported issues like strained relationships with bishops and their fellow priests, loneliness, overwork, uncertainty about retirement, an increasingly secular society, and mental health.  

Underlying these stresses is the shortage of priests and vocations. Between 2003 and 2024, the number of priests fell by 11 per cent from 3,158 to 2,813. Often the gaps have been filled by overseas priests, but they sometimes struggle to adapt to Australian ways.  

The report hints at occasional tensions between older, more “progressive” priests and young, more “conservative” priests. “We get along but have different outlooks and sometimes [are] theologically divergent,” commented one of the respondents.  

All surveys, especially on-line ones, have limitations and Thriving & Surviving is no exception. “A study such as this one has the potential for bias and underreporting, particularly in sensitive areas such as mental health,” the authors point out.  

Nonetheless, they continued, “many participants expressed gratitude for their ministry and a profound sense of vocation, even in the face of adversity.” 

Inevitably this deep dive into the well-being of the clergy has exposed knotty problems for Australia’s bishops.  

But Archbishop Prowse cited encouraging advice that Pope Leo XIV gave to seminary staff in July. “Cultivate friendship with Jesus… we need personally to experience the closeness of the Master, to know we have been seen, loved and chosen by the Lord by pure grace and without merit on our part, because it is above all our own personal experience that we then exude in our ministry.”  

The pope’s words and “this unprecedented survey”, says Archbishop Prowse, should “engender even greater joy in the ministry of priests and their well-being for many years to come.”

The post Despite challenges, Australia’s priests and deacons are thriving appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

In its 2025 report, the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, or OIDAC, noted “a significant rise in personal attacks” against Christians in 2024.

The OIDAC Europe Report 2025, which was published 17 November, identified 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2024, a slight decrease from the 2,444 incidents recorded last year.

However, personal attacks against Christians increased to 274, up from 232 in last year’s report. It also noted a “sharp spike in arson attacks targeting churches and other Christian sites.”

According to OIDAC Europe’s findings, most anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Austria.

Among the most notable crimes was the killing of a 76-year-old monk during an attack at the Monastery of Santo Espíritu del Monte in Gilet, Spain; a man shot dead in January 2024 by Islamic State militants while attending Sunday Mass in Istanbul; and the near-destruction of a Catholic Church in Saint-Omer, France, by arson.

The report also documented 516 anti-Christian hate crimes; however, when “theft and break-ins at religious sites are included, the figure rises to 1,503.”

“Alarmingly, 94 arson attacks were recorded – almost double the previous year’s total. One-third (33) of these occurred in Germany, where the Bishops’ Conference recently warned that ‘all taboos have been broken’ regarding church vandalism,” the OIDAC said.

The report also highlighted restrictions against Christians, particularly individuals prosecuted for silent prayer near abortion facilities, including the case of Adam Smith-Connor, a UK army veteran convicted in 2024 and ordered to pay 9,000 British pounds (US $11,700) for praying in silence within a buffer zone around an abortion clinic.

Noting the rise in attacks against Christians, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, known as COMECE, called on the EU to appoint a coordinator on combating anti-Christian hatred in Europe, similar to coordinators afforded to Jews and Muslims on the continent.

“We consider that the time is mature for this step, while not questioning the specificity of Jewish and Muslim communities, which are already covered by similar coordinators. It is not a question of victimism, but equal access to tools of protection,” Alessandro Calcagno, COMECE adviser for fundamental rights, said 4 December.

According to Father Manuel Barrios Prieto, COMECE general secretary, the call for an EU coordinator for combating anti-Christian hatred was met with “surprise.”

“There was a reaction at the beginning of surprise that we asked this because if one sees it from outside, one says that Christianity is the majority religion in the European Union, so there’s not really this problem,” Father Barrios Prieto told OSV News12 November.

“But we know that this problem exists. So the first reaction was surprise. But we haven’t felt, at the moment, that there is a strong opposition to this request. We haven’t perceived that,” he said.

However, he noted that there is a mentality that questions the appointment of such a coordinator because Christians are not a minority group and expressed doubts that the EU would be quick in appointing one because “it is not seen as a priority.”

While physical violence against Christians has been on the rise, there is also an increasing rise in alleged anti-Christian bias or discrimination in what Pope Francis described in 2016 as a “polite persecution” that is “disguised as culture, disguised as modernity, disguised as progress.”

The OIDAC Europe Report also highlighted cases of “legal and social restrictions” affecting Christians in Europe, including that of Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen.

In Finland, prosecutors have taken their case against Räsänen, who was acquitted of hate crimes, to the country’s Supreme Court, sparking concerns that expressing long-held religious beliefs or church teachings is subject to persecution.

The Finnish politician was first charged in 2021 with incitement against a minority/ethnic group over the 2004 publication of a booklet she wrote titled “Male and Female He Created Them,” and published by the Luther Foundation, an organisation of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese. Bishop Juhana Pohjola was charged along with Räsänen for his role as publisher.

The parliamentarian was also accused of hate speech over a tweet in which she criticised the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s participation in the 2019 Pride events and questioned how the “church’s doctrinal foundation, the Bible, fit in with shame and sin being elevated to a source of pride.”

In March 2022, the Helsinki District Court dismissed the charges against Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola, declaring that it was “not the role of the district court to interpret biblical concepts.”

Prosecutors sought to overturn the ruling in 2023. However, the Helsinki Court of Appeals upheld the court’s decision, prompting prosecutors to take their case to the Supreme Court.

In a statement to OSV News 5 November, Anja Tang, director of OIDAC, said the case against Räsänen illustrated “a growing concern across Europe.”

“Increasingly broad or vaguely defined laws against ‘hate speech,’ ‘discrimination,’ and similar offenses are being used to prosecute individuals who peacefully express their religious convictions on moral issues,” Tang said.

Tang told OSV News that Räsänen’s case is indicative of a pattern that “threatens to erode religious freedom and other fundamental rights, and create a chilling effect that discourages open debate.”

“Ultimately, this trend risks silencing voices that uphold historic Christian teachings on morality in the public sphere,” she said.

In the United Kingdom, the University of Sheffield reportedly added a trigger warning for literature students on parts of the Bible, including the Gospel accounts of Christ’s crucifixion and the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis, saying that the biblical accounts contained “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

Backlash to the trigger warning, which was revealed by the UK’s Daily Mail following a Freedom of Information request, prompted a statement from the university saying the warning was “a content note (and) is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

For Father Barrios Prieto, such cases are often due to a mentality that “Christians are not inclusive.”

“Just yesterday, I read a report from the Federation of Catholic Associations in Europe that has complained that when applying for EU funds, they are discriminated against ideologically for not being inclusive,” he told OSV News.

“I wouldn’t define it as persecution, but maybe as a ‘polite discrimination’ that is happening,” Father Barrios Prieto added.

Father Barrios Prieto told OSV News that Christians, especially those in Europe, are called to do all that is possible to be witnesses to their beliefs without “fear of losing our jobs or not being promoted in our careers, or put aside or neglected.

“I think this is a fight we all have to do in Europe. It’s a cultural fight,” he said.

The post New report notes ‘significant rise’ in ‘personal attacks’ on Christians in Europe appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

At a time when young people spend so much time in “digital environments,” members of the Catholic Biblical Federation need to ask how they are fulfilling the Second Vatican Council’s mandate to give everyone access to the Bible, Pope Leo XIV said.

“What does ‘easy access to Sacred Scripture’ mean in our time? How can we facilitate this encounter for those who have never heard the Word of God or whose cultures remain untouched by the Gospel?” the pope asked members of the federation’s steering committee and its regional representatives.

Pope Leo welcomed the group to the Apostolic Palace 17 November, expressing particular concern for people who “find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests.”

At the end of the audience, Mary Sperry, associate director of the US bishops’ Office for the Biblical Apostolate, presented Pope Leo with two large white binders. They contained a preview copy of The Catholic American Bible, slated for publication in 2027.

Meeting on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, Pope Leo asked members of the group to reflect on how they individually and as a federation respond to the call “to hear the Word of God with reverence and to proclaim it with faith.”

“The church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel,” he said. “From the Gospel she continually rediscovers the direction for her journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who teaches all things and reminds us of everything the Son has said.”

A key part of that, he said, is helping everyone have access to a Bible so they can “encounter the God who speaks, shares his love and draws us into the fullness of life.”

Translations of the Bible, which the federation promotes, are essential for that, he said, but so are initiatives like encouraging “lectio divina,” a prayerful reading of Scripture.

“Ultimately,” Pope Leo told federation members, “your mission is to become ‘living letters … written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,’ bearing witness to the primacy of God’s Word over the many voices that fill our world.”

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Pope Leo XIV sends a videomessage to the bishops and cardinals of the Global South participating in COP30 in Brazil, urging cooperation and stressing that it is not too late if we choose deeds over words.

Read all

 

By Cecilia Seppia, OSV News

Missionaries in Congo denounced a “shameful silence” of the international community as 20 people were killed in a terrorist attack 14 November at the North Kivu village of Byambwe, in Congo, according to Vatican News.

Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for the Christian community in North Kivu, where members of the Allied Democratic Forces, a group loyal to Islamic State, attacked a clinic run by the Presentation Sisters, killing 15 people before stealing medications and burning the clinic down.

They went to nearby homes as well, killing another five people, Vatican News reported.

“Let us pray that all violence may cease and that believers may work together for the common good,” the pope said during the Angelus prayer on 16 November.

After the massacre of patients, the ADF set the hospital ablaze, killing several women in the maternity ward.

The attack was confirmed to Vatican News by Father Giovanni Piumatti, an Italian priest who has served for over 50 years as a Fidei Donum missionary in the Diocese of Butembo-Beni.

Speaking to Vatican News from Italy, he described the massacre as a “typical ADF attack,”
in which apart from killing civilians, the terrorists set ablaze their homes.

“Before destroying everything, they looted all the medical supplies – I believe that was their main objective,” he told Vatican news.

“Panic spread everywhere. The army pursued them, but despite its efforts, the terrorists escaped. They seem to be better armed and equipped than the regular forces,” he said.

The missionary underlines a sophisticated brutality of ADF forces.

“What is most tragic – beyond the sheer number of innocent victims – is the way they kill,” Father Piumatti said. “They slit civilians’ throats, decapitate them – it’s horrific. Here they killed mothers as they were breastfeeding their babies. These massacres are beyond imagination, and they happen almost every week. Many go unreported,” he told Vatican News.

The same group is believed to kill at least 43 people, including children, in a brutal 27 July overnight attack on a Catholic church in Komanda in eastern Congo.

Vatican News said that the Little Sisters of the Presentation who run the hospital in north Kivu, provide vital medical care in a remote area that lacks functioning hospitals. They mainly assist women in childbirth, but the facility also includes clinics and surgical units.

“The ADF have been active in this region for at least three years,” Father Piumatti continued.

“Many of the fighters come from Uganda. They attack indiscriminately – on the roads, in villages, in the fields while people work. In addition to killing, they kidnap children and young people for training. They often act under the influence of drugs, and they drug the captives they abduct.”

“When preparing an attack, the adults strike first, then force the young recruits to continue the killing with machetes. They are utterly brutal,” he told the Vatican media outlet.

The sisters, now working on the streets, continue to assist survivors however they can.

As of 16 November, there appeared to be no casualties among the sisters, though many newborns are believed to have been kidnapped. “It is horrifying and heartbreaking to witness and hear such things,” Father Piumatti said.

The missionary priest condemned what he called the “shameful silence” of the international community, denouncing the West’s complicity in supporting certain forms of violence and terrorism for economic gain.

“Kivu is rich in mineral deposits – a land full of precious resources that has always been contested,” said Father Piumatti. “That is why these Islamist groups receive backing. The ADF are the most ferocious, but they are not the only ones supplied with weapons and money to keep trade flowing. These conflicts serve commercial interests – and the world’s silence is profoundly troubling.”

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Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov 17, 2025 / 16:58 pm (CNA).

The secretary of the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops’ Conference has criticized the death sentence given to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as unilateral and politically motivated, reaffirming the Church’s opposition to capital punishment.

Bishop Ponen Paul Kubi, CSC, of the Mymensingh Diocese, told CNA that the verdict handed down Nov. 17 by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal was “one-sided” and that “the accused had no lawyer and that the current government used political power to give this verdict.”

“The Catholic Church has never supported the death penalty,” Kubi said. “I think that even if Sheikh Hasina committed a crime, she should be punished in a way that is remedial.”

Describing the verdict as an abuse of power, Kubi added: “If we judge in a hurry and give a verdict as we wish, we are no longer living in civilization, we have gone back to the primitive era.”

The Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina, 78, guilty of crimes against humanity related to the deadly crackdown on student-led protests in July and August 2024. The court sentenced both Hasina and her former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, to death in absentia. Former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was sentenced to five years in prison after turning state witness.

The 453-page verdict, broadcast live on state television beginning around 12:30 p.m. local time Monday, found Hasina guilty on three of five charges, including ordering the use of drones, helicopters, and lethal weapons against protesters, and failing to prevent mass killings.

Background to the uprising

In July 2024, student protests against job quotas escalated into a mass uprising that forced Hasina to flee to India on Aug. 5. A United Nations investigation team reported that at least 1,400 people were killed, though Bangladeshi activists believe the number exceeds 2,000.

Hasina has been living in exile in India since fleeing the country. In a statement released through her Awami League party on Facebook, she called the verdicts “distasteful, biased, and politically motivated,” claiming they were made by “a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.”

Divided public reaction

The verdict prompted sharply divided reactions across Bangladesh. While the banned Awami League held protest marches in several parts of the country, ordinary people held joy marches in most areas, including Dhaka, where sweets were distributed.

“We will be completely happy only when Sheikh Hasina comes to the country and is hanged,” Tarif Hasan, a Dhaka University student who participated in the celebration march, told CNA.

Professor Asif Nazrul, law adviser to the interim government, described the death sentence as “the greatest achievement in establishing justice” and called it “another victory day for the July Uprising.”

A public hearing on the case is scheduled to take place, and the interim government has formally requested India’s cooperation in extraditing Hasina to face the tribunal. National elections in Bangladesh are expected to be held in February.

CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

When Jessica Williams became pregnant with another man’s child while she and her husband were separated, her husband pressured her to abort the child.

As soon as she took the first abortion pill, mifepristone, she regretted it. 

“As a nurse, the reality of what I had done had hit me hard,” said Williams, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time. “Here I was working to save lives and about to take one of my own child’s lives.” 

But as a nurse, Williams knew that in spite of the pill cutting off the progesterone supply to her child, the baby might still be alive. She hadn’t yet taken the second pill, misoprostol, which would expel the child from her body.  

When she found a pregnancy center, First Choice Pregnancy Services in Las Vegas, staff immediately brought her in for an ultrasound.

“They provided a free ultrasound, and that moment changed everything,” she said. 

Her baby was still alive.

First Choice helped her through the abortion pill reversal process, a practice to reverse the effects of mifepristone soon after the woman takes the first abortion pill. 

Now, her daughter is a “healthy” and “thriving” 3-year-old, Williams said when she shared her story at a Nov. 17 online press conference.

Williams is one of many women who have received help from pregnancy resource centers. 

Pregnancy centers across the U.S. “provided over $452 million in total medical care, support and education services, and material goods in 2024,” according to a Nov. 17 report by the Charlotte Lozier Institute. 

Pregnancy centers saw a total of 1 million new patients last year, “which is the equivalent of each center serving a new client every day in 2024,” Karen Czarnecki, the head of Charlotte Lozier Institute, said during the press conference. 

During the press conference, Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called pregnancy centers the “beating heart” of pro-life movement.  

Pregnancy centers, Dannenfelser said, “are going to the roots of the problem” by providing support for mothers across the board, whether they are struggling with addiction, domestic abuse, homelessness, completing school, or any other challenge. 

Report debunks false claims about pregnancy centers 

Dannenfelser noted there are some claims “often unchecked in the media” that call pregnancy centers “fake clinics” or say they “don’t have licensed medical staff.”

“This is flat-out false,” Dannenfelser said. “Eight in 10 centers are providing free or low-cost medical services, staffed by over 10,000 medical professionals.” 

More than 80% of these centers provide ultrasound services, according to the report. Many of the centers also provide STD and STI testing and treatment, as well as abortion pill reversal, like in Williams’ experience. 

The report also found a 98% satisfaction rate among their clients — something Williams attested to.

“They greeted me gently and were nonjudgmental,” Williams said of the staff and volunteers at the pregnancy clinic she went to. “They provided a safe, calm space for me, emotionally, spiritually.”

“They gave me information and education without pushing me in any direction,” she continued. “They simply supported me in whatever path I chose.”

More than three years later, Williams still keeps up with the women at the clinic.

“I’m meeting with these ladies every month still,” Williams said. “They’re just a phone call, a text away, anything I need. I mean, we’re just almost becoming a family now.” 

Pregnancy centers also provide material, educational, and emotional support. For instance, 92% of centers offer material items to women in need. On average, each pregnancy center distributed six-packs of diapers and five baby outfits every day, according to the report. 

First Choice “provided diapers, material support, emotional and spiritual support groups, parenting resources, community connections, and just so much practical help in general,” Williams said. “It was a level of compassion that carried me through my entire pregnancy.” 

Offering material support is a growing effort in the pro-life movement. At pregnancy centers, material support has grown by more than 300% from 2019 to 2024.

Many pregnancy centers also offer a variety of other resources, including childbirth classes, breastfeeding consultations, and outreach to victims of human trafficking. 

“Even right now, they’re doing a monthly get-together — we get to network with other mamas,” Williams said. “We’re [able] to access any resources.”  

The majority of pregnancy centers also help support women who are recovering from abortions.

Williams said the women at the clinic “understood the pressure and fear” she was under to abort. Even after the reversal, her husband drove her to an abortion clinic when she was 16 weeks pregnant “to finish the job,” she said. 

“The clinic was on the same exact street [where] I saved my baby,” she said. “I couldn’t do it and demanded he take me home. I now know that the strategic location has also saved many other babies.” 

“They created a safe place for me to heal and feel supported,” she said of the clinic.

I was thrilled to have the theme for the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028 officially announced last month: “This is My Body, Given for You.” 

Over the past six months, it was extremely difficult not to crack like a Jordan Almond, subjected as I was to intense interrogation by those who wished to have the proposed theme of the congress revealed ahead of time.  

Now that Pope Leo XIV has approved the theme and everybody knows what it is, I am free to sing like a songbird and shall do so. 

There will be an elaborate theological symposium held in the days preceding the congress, focussing on the theme, and I do not wish to anticipate what will be discussed there. 

Similarly, there is an extended reflection text on the theme being composed as we speak, and I do not wish to pre-empt the many thousands of beautiful words that will be published in that work next year.  

I do, however, want to luxuriate for just a moment on how brilliant the IEC28 theme is. 

It uses the very words of Christ himself on the night he was betrayed, instituting the Eucharistic sacrifice.  

It unites the personal and communal aspects of the Eucharist – “given for you”.  

Christ sacrificed himself for each of us personally (in the singular), but also for all of us as members of his mystical body, the church (in the plural), drawing us out of darkness into his own marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9)  

The theme also emphasises the incredible proximity of Jesus. 

He is not a theory, he is not remote: he is here, right now, present with us and for us in the Eucharist.  

His real presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, should strike us; the intimacy of communion at Mass should transform us.  

As Pope Francis noted in his prayer intention message for July of 2023, “If you are same at the end of Mass as you were at the beginning, something is wrong.” 

The emphasis of the IEC28 theme on the “body” is perhaps the aspect that will resonate most profoundly with our contemporary society, which has so many obvious difficulties with the innate dignity of the human person, the inviolability of human life, and the notion of the fundamental unity of body and soul.  

Finally, and significantly, the theme highlights the sacrificial love of Christ.  

In emphasising this fact, it is hoped that IEC28 will result in new followers, new Christians, who will be drawn to believe what the Church faithfully professes: “that Christ shed his blood for each of us and that no one is beyond the scope of his universal love” (Fratelli Tutti, 85).  

Moreover, when we are each reminded of the Jesus’ redeeming love on the cross, we should all feel moved to respond.  

Just as he gave his life for us, we too are called to offer our lives to God and to others.  

In 1964 the Second Vatican Council reemphasised the ancient theology of the Church in stating, “what the soul is in the body, Christians must be in the world.” (Lumen Gentium, 38) 

As Christians, we are called to be a leaven: we receive the Body of Christ and become the Body of Christ – we are exhorted to draw the world and those around us up to heaven. (Luke 13:20) 

Just as the candles which we burn at Mass give light by being consumed and “giving of themselves,” we too are called to emulate Christ in illumining the world by giving our lives for others.  

There are reams more I could write on this topic, but this article is intended to whet your appetite, not sate it. 

In summary, the theme for IEC28 is a stellar encapsulation of all that Christ has done for us and all that we are called to do in response.  

With that in mind, and with the congress just around the corner in 2028, let us “fix our eyes on Jesus” and “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.” (Hebrews 12:2, Ephesians 5:2) 

If you would like more information on the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, or to be added to the mailing list for updates, please email: iec2028@sydneycatholic.org  

The post “This is My Body, Given for You” appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 17, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

Robert P. George, a Catholic academic focused on philosophy and law, resigned from his board position at the conservative Heritage Foundation on Nov. 17 after the think tank’s leader Kevin Roberts posted a video defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes.

In the interview, Carlson and Fuentes bonded over criticism of Israel, and Carlson pushed back on Fuentes for tying his criticisms of Israel to Jewish identity and blaming “organized Jewry” for the American support of Israel. Jewish organizations and some conservative and other political commentators argued that Carlson platformed Fuentes’ views and kept a friendly tone without adequately pushing back against antisemitic claims. Carlson allowed Fuentes to speak uninterrupted and challenged general blame levied against Jewish people but did not address each specific claim Fuentes made.

Roberts, who has since apologized, said in his initial video that he abhors “things that Nick Fuentes says” but urged debate instead of “canceling him.” He said Heritage would stay friends with Carlson and criticized the “venomous coalition” attacking Carlson.

In the video, Roberts said: “Christians can critique the state of Israel without being antisemitic.” Roberts issued an apology for using the term “venomous coalition” amid accusations that it was an antisemitic trope and said Heritage would continue to fight antisemitism. 

George said in a Facebook post that he would resign from the board because Roberts did not fully retract his initial video when he issued an apology.  

“Kevin is a good man,” George said. “He made what he acknowledged was a serious mistake. Being human myself, I have plenty of experience in making mistakes. What divided us was a difference of opinion about what was required to rectify the mistake.”

George said he was saddened to leave Heritage and prays the think tank “will be guided by the conviction that each and every member of the human family, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, or anything else, as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, is ‘created equal’ and ‘endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.’”

“The anchor for the Heritage Foundation, and for our nation, and for every patriotic American is that creed,” he said. “It must always be that creed. If we hold fast to it even when expediency counsels compromising it, we cannot go wrong. If we abandon it, we sign the death certificate of republican government and ordered liberty.”

A spokesperson for Heritage said in a statement to CNA that George is “a good man,” thanked him for his time at Heritage, and looks forward to “opportunities to work together in the future.”

“Under the leadership of Dr. Roberts, Heritage remains resolute in building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish,” the statement read. “We are strong, growing, and more determined than ever to fight for our republic.”

Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut, said in response to George on Facebook that he disagrees with George’s decision to resign “when Heritage is trying to make amends and needs support of the adults in the room, lest it be tempted by the ancient evil about whose promotion Kevin Roberts was initially too sanguine.”

Wolfgang said the “continuing beatdown” on Roberts appears to be a proxy for the pre-Trump Republicans seeking to “take back the reins of the party from the Trumpers.” Though he told George, “I’m not saying that’s you,” he added that the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party and the “MAGA” wing should be unified in opposition to antisemitism.

The Oct. 27 interview of Fuentes by Carlson has more than 6.2 million views on YouTube. In the interview, Fuentes discussed Republican efforts to “cancel” him starting when he was 18 years old. Those efforts often focused on his criticism of Israel and derogatory comments toward Jewish people and other ethnic minorities.

Fuentes and Carlson agreed in criticism of Israeli military action in Gaza, opposition to American financial and logistic support to Israel, and objections to politicians receiving political donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Carlson objected when Fuentes said neoconservatism and advocacy for Israel was rooted in Jewish identity and blamed “organized Jewry” for wars. Carlson retorted that many supporters of Israel are Christian Zionists, like Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee, and many Jewish Americans, such as Dave Smith, are critical of Israel.

In the interview, Carlson said collectively blaming Jewish people is “against my Christian faith” and “I just don’t believe that and I never will.”

The interview has fractured American conservatives. Some denounced Carlson for his friendly tone throughout the interview. Others noted his pushback against some of Fuentes’ views and the political relevance of Fuentes, who has a large fanbase among young conservative men.

Twelve-year-old Eimear is preparing to make history at this year’s Carols at the Cathedral on 16 December, when she takes her place among the boys in the St Mary’s Cathedral choir, in the iconic event which will see girls and boys singing together for the first time in 200 years.   

She and her fellow female choristers are making history, making St Mary’s the second cathedral in Australia, and the first Catholic one, to have girls joining the boys in its choir. 

It was 1818 when Catherine Fitzpatrick first began training young voices to lift in praise to God within the sacred walls.  

Even before official clergy arrived, she courageously established what would become Australia’s oldest permanent musical institution, a tradition that has endured for over 200 years.  

“There’s a grace in ageing, and it’s beautiful to see the choir still singing wonderfully after over 200 years,” reflects Fr Roberto Keryakos, St Mary’s Cathedral Choir chaplain.  

“It’s a source of pride and joy for those connected to its history, and to witness this new chapter with the girls joining in is incredible.”

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP says sacred music “moves our entire being towards God, to contemplating his beauty, truth, goodness, to experiencing his love, our communion with him and each other.”  

Yet preserving this sacred tradition requires more than inspiration; it demands substantial resources and unwavering commitment. It costs $3,500 per year to support each chorister, providing them with world-class musical education, intensive training, and the necessary support to excel.  

With 37 young choristers currently in the program, support helps ensure these talented young people receive the formation they need to carry forward this 200-year tradition.  

Year 6 student Eimear’s dedication reflects a deep love for her faith and her passion for singing. She catches a 6.52am bus each morning and she’s usually one of the first choristers to arrive by 7.30am for 7.45am rehearsal.  

After a full day of classes – including piano lessons, flute lessons, and singing instruction – she returns for afternoon choir practice and evening Mass. She typically doesn’t get home until 7.30pm. That’s a 13-hour day for a 12-year-old. 

“If things are important to her, she does it. She just takes it all on board,” says her mother. 

Eimear will be a busy chorister this Christmas. She will be singing First Vespers on Christmas Eve in the presence of parishioners and Archbishop Fisher.

Then she’ll return for midnight Mass, one of the busiest Masses of the year in the packed cathedral. Finally, after perhaps five hours of sleep, she’ll sing the Christmas Day Mass with the archbishop and a full orchestra.   

“As a fundraiser for St Mary’s Cathedral, I know how vital your support is at Christmas,” said Tania Penny, senior fundraising and marketing manager within the Development and Fundraising Office.   

“When I met Eimear and her mum, I was struck by the passion and faith these young choristers bring to every note. This Christmas, let’s stand behind them. Your gift today will help keep the cathedral’s legacy endure.”  

If you would like to support Eimear and her fellow choristers, you can donate here.

To purchase tickets to Carols at the Cathedral please go here. 

The post Help support young voices and fund historic cathedral choir this Christmas appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV sent a message Nov. 17 to participants in the meeting for “Building Communities that Protect Dignity,” promoted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The Holy Father said that efforts to build communities where the dignity of minors and the most vulnerable is protected and promoted are a matter that he holds “deep in his heart.”

The pontiff explained that “dignity is a gift from God” and that it is not something obtained through merit or force but rather “a gift that precedes us: It is born from the loving gaze with which God has loved us individually and continues to love us.”

“In every human face, even when marked by weariness or pain, there is a reflection of the Creator’s goodness, a light that no darkness can extinguish,” he affirmed.

The pope thus emphasized that “by taking responsibility for the lives of others, we learn true freedom, the kind that does not dominate but serves, that does not possess but accompanies.”

“Consecrated life, an expression of the total gift of oneself to Christ, is called in a special way to be a welcoming home and a place of encounter and grace,” he underscored.

The pope therefore affirmed that “whoever follows the Lord on the path of chastity, poverty, and obedience discovers that authentic love is born from the recognition of one’s own limitations: from knowing that we are loved even in our weakness, and it is precisely this that enables us to love others with respect, tenderness, and a free heart.”

In this regard, he emphasized the purpose of the meeting: “to share experiences and paths taken in learning how to prevent all forms of abuse and how to be accountable, with truth and humility, for the processes of protection undertaken.”

He also urged the participants “to continue with this commitment so that communities become ever more examples of trust and dialogue, where every person is respected, listened to, and valued.”

“Where justice is lived with mercy, the wound is transformed into an opening for  grace,” the Holy Father said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Detroit has announced a restructuring process that will lead to church closures and parish mergers as a result of declining church attendance, its archbishop said.

Archbishop Edward Weisenburger announced in a letter over the weekend that due to a shrinking Catholic population in the archdiocese, a two-year restructuring process will see some parishes close while others will be collected into groupings called “pastorates,” led by one pastor and his team.

He said the “struggle to care for buildings and parish structures where there are very few people” is preventing the Church there to focus on “areas where the Church is growing.” 

Weisenburger said that currently there are 900,000 Catholics in the archdiocese, and fewer than half of those attend Mass regularly. Many parish buildings were constructed at a time when there were 1.5 million Catholics in the archdiocese.

Because of this, the archbishop said there are too many buildings to maintain and it has been “stretched too thinly to serve as well as we want.”

According to the archdiocese, there has been a “dramatic decline in baptisms, first Communions and confirmations, and a steady decline in marriages” since 2000. 

In 2010, 252 priests served the archdiocese. There are 224 today, and that number is expected to shrink by 40% in the next decade. In addition, the majority of active priests are over the age of 50. 

Three-quarters of parishes are also projected to shrink in the next five years, and currently 67% of parishes have fewer than 600 weekly Mass attendees. 

The archbishop encouraged his flock not to give in to “anxiety or despair” but said he believes “the situation we are facing is one that holds real and blessed opportunities. I believe with all my heart that God is inviting us to reimagine parish life, priestly ministry, and our mission.”

He said the restructuring will be guided by three pillars: “vibrant parishes,” “flourishing priests,” and “mission ready.”

The timeline for the restructuring began in March, when Weisenburger — who had just been installed as the sixth archbishop of Detroit — held 17 listening sessions across the archdiocese over several months. After data from the sessions was analyzed and he consulted with priests and other parish leaders, Weisenburger announced the restructuring on Nov. 16. Priests will meet in January 2026 to develop the pastorate models, and additional listening sessions in parishes will then take place.

The plan will be implemented beginning July 2027 through July of the following year.

In his letter, the archbishop told Detroit Catholics they can follow each step in the restructuring process in the Detroit Catholic, the archdiocese’s free online news source.

The archdiocese said 30 other dioceses across the United States are currently restructuring due to declines in numbers and participation. This month, the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, also announced a restructuring plan.

Dubuque Archbishop Thomas Zinkula said the restructuring was necessary due to “dramatic shifts in population, culture, and finances within our archdiocese. We are using only 37% of our church capacities each weekend. Since 2006, Mass attendance is down 46% throughout the archdiocese.”

I wish I could be shocked by the antics of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) but unfortunately, nothing it does surprises me anymore. 

This week, the ALRC has released its issues paper on its review of surrogacy laws in Australia, inviting submissions on the proposals raised and questions asked by 19 December 2025. 

I would like to think it accidental that submissions to this inquiry are due just before Christmas, when churches across the country are busy preparing for one of our greatest feasts, but over the years, I have seen too many inquiries on critical social and ethical issues rammed in the last few weeks of the year to think they all must be a coincidence. 

But even more concerning than the timing are the proposals that the ALRC presents for comment. 

As a starting point, the ALRC takes surrogacy as an unmitigated good, the legal, economic and social barriers to which need to be removed. 

In terms of the legal barriers, the ALRC wants to remove any criminal penalties for commercial surrogacy arrangements, in Australia and overseas, establish a legal mechanism for money to be paid for surrogacy services, and only provide civil penalties rather than criminal for a breach.  

Given that the existing criminal sanctions have never been enforced, it is hard to imagine that civil penalties will be much of a deterrent to bad and exploitative practices. 

The ALRC wants to severely restrict the ability of the courts to provide any oversight at all. 

For example, under current NSW law, any baby born of a surrogacy arrangement in this state is legally recognised as the child of its birth mother, and intended parents are required to apply to the Supreme Court to have legal parentage transferred to them.  

The court will only approve this if a number of preconditions have been met. 

The ALRC’s proposal is to remove the requirement of judicial oversight and allowing a new (and undoubtedly, expensive) bureaucracy to approve surrogacy agreements prior to a child being born.  

The bureaucracy would never have to meet or interview the surrogate mother or the intended parents but could simply make the approval based on application forms sent through.  

Once approved, the child is immediately registered as the legal child of the intended parents from the moment of birth. The only time court intervention would be required would be if the arrangement occurred overseas or it had not first been approved by the bureaucracy. 

This is a dramatic change to the current law and strips away significant protections from the surrogate mum. 

Even the mandatory protections the ALRC proposes to be contained in law are limited. For example, the ALRC considers one individual and one joint counselling session to be a sufficient safeguard before entering into a surrogacy arrangement. [While it’s probably more than what kids wanting puberty blockers are currently given, it’s not enough to ensure someone understands the enormity of this process.] 

In terms of the economic barriers, not only does the ALRC propose to allow for significant amounts of money to change hands (including an unspecified, subjective amount for things like the discomfort experienced during pregnancy,) it also wants the assisted reproduction, psychological assessments and counselling involved to be available through Medicare, ie. taxpayer-funded. 

And in terms of the social barriers, the ALRC wants surrogacy services to be freely advertised and is equivocal on whether requiring a criminal history check for intended parents might be a bridge too far.  

With the above being just a handful of the 41 proposals contained in the ALRC paper, it is hard to see that this will not be another predetermined outcome from the ALRC. 

The only safeguard for vulnerable women and children will be that the Australian government is courageous enough to reject its recommendations. 

Who wants odds? 

The post Monica Doumit: Yet another surrogacy push appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 17, 2025 / 13:03 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Detroit plans to welcome Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa for a pastoral visit in December to help fundraise for efforts in the Holy Land.

“It is a blessing for the faithful of Detroit to welcome Cardinal Pizzaballa, whose courageous witness in the Holy Land strengthens the entire Church,” said Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of Detroit in an announcement.

Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, is set to visit Detroit Dec. 4–7. He will celebrate Mass and take part in events to fundraise for “the dire situation and enduring hopes of the Church in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem,” the archdiocese reported.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has roots dating back to 1099 but was reestablished in 1847 by Pope Pius IX. It encompasses Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus. 

Members of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem work to preserve the holy sites visited by Jesus and the saints of the early Church. 

“The Christian presence in the very places Jesus lived and taught is under threat,” the Detroit Archdiocese said. Christians make up a small minority of the population and are facing personal and financial struggles, including employment discrimination and social pressures.

Despite the persecution, Christians in the Holy Land “heroically maintain and protect the holy sites sacred to us all,” the archdiocese’s statement said.

Fundraising efforts

Pizzaballa’s visit is scheduled to begin with “An Evening of Hope” on Dec. 4. The fundraiser dinner will be hosted by the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, an Eastern-rite diocese based in Southfield, Michigan.

On Dec. 5, Pizzaballa is set to be the keynote speaker at the “United in Faith: Bridging Hearts from the Motor City to the Holy Land” fundraiser in Plymouth, hosted by the Archdiocese of Detroit. Pizzaballa will share firsthand insights into the situation of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the next steps for the Church.

Christians in the Holy Land are counting on the faithful’s “solidarity to keep their ancient faith alive in its homeland,” the archdiocese reported. “Through the generosity of the faithful, we will help sustain their critical mission through pastoral care, education, and humanitarian outreach.”

On Dec. 7, Pizzaballa is set to end his trip by celebrating Mass at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak.

Pizzaballa’s “visit reminds us that the Church is one body, united across every border and culture,” Weisenburger said. “It is also an occasion to renew our solidarity with the Christian community of the Holy Land and to bring greater attention to the humanitarian challenges they continue to face.”

In Rome, Pope Leo meets with Vatican diplomatic staff serving worldwide, urging them to be "pilgrims of hope, especially where people lack justice and peace."

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Rome Newsroom, Nov 17, 2025 / 11:26 am (CNA).

Members of the Lebanese Catholic diaspora are anticipating Pope Leo XIV’s three-day visit to Lebanon, taking place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, with great hopes the new pontiff will continue his papal predecessors’ solidarity with the Middle East’s most Christian country.

While Lebanon’s current population currently stands at 5.8 million people, an estimated 14 million to 18 million people of Lebanese origin live in other countries, according to a 2024 Australian National University Migration Hub report.

Since the mid-1970s, millions of Lebanese have left the country after witnessing decades of instability and destruction brought about by the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War, military invasions by neighboring Israel and Syria, and, more recently, the country’s 2020 economic collapse.

Though many fled their homeland in search of peace and security abroad, many Lebanese held on to their Eastern Catholic identities and passed on their religion to their children, including the parents of U.S. vocations director for the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Father Charbel Boustany, FFI.

Born in Sydney two years after his family left Lebanon to escape the civil war, Boustany told CNA his parents passed down their Maronite Catholic identity to their children, whom they raised in Australia.

Eastern Catholic Churches follow the pope but celebrate liturgies similar to those of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Leo’s visit will be the third formal papal journey to Lebanon. The priest told CNA he believes the visit from the bishop of Rome will be “a beautiful expression of the full communion that unites the Maronite and Roman Catholic Churches.”

“The fact that Pope Leo has chosen Lebanon for his first apostolic journey speaks volumes about the importance of this small yet deeply symbolic country — not only to the Church but to the world,” he said.

Though the majority of Lebanese Catholics belong to the Maronite rite, Melkite Catholic Elie Bassila told CNA Leo’s visit is significant for all Christians — Catholic and Orthodox — who belong to “the family of the Oriental Churches” in Lebanon.

“For us Melkites in particular, who cherish our Byzantine heritage and our long-standing commitment to communion with Rome, the pope’s visit reaffirms the value of our identity and our mission within the wider Church,” he said.

At a time when the future feels uncertain due to regional conflicts as well as sectarian divisions eroding national unity, Bassila said he believes Christians need to see and feel the support of the Holy Father. 

“This visit comes at a historically decisive moment for Lebanon,” he said. “It is more than a gesture of solidarity — it is a visit of hope.”

“We need the head of the Church to stand with our families, with our brothers and sisters of every community, and to reaffirm the importance of fraternity and dialogue among all who call Lebanon home,” he added.

Both Bassila and Boustany are praying Pope Leo’s visit will help Lebanese — living in Lebanon or abroad — to rediscover or renew their sense of faith, hope, and love in God, especially when daily life can feel like a struggle for mere survival. 

“Lebanon is a country that has endured immense suffering but continues to bear witness to faith and resilience,” Boustany said.

John Paul II’s solidarity with Lebanon throughout civil war

Recalling earlier pontificates, Boustany — who was named after the Maronite mystic St. Charbel — said St. John Paul II’s solidarity with Lebanese people has had a profound impact on generations of families living in and outside of Lebanon.

“One of his most memorable statements, made in 1989, still resonates deeply: ‘Lebanon is more than a country; it is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism for East and West,” Boustany told CNA, quoting the Polish pope’s message of peace in Lebanon.

“That vision still inspires many Lebanese today,” he said.

For Bassila, that phrase “became part of our national identity” and “remains one of the most powerful messages ever spoken to the people of Lebanon.”

Having left Lebanon as a young adult to work as an international humanitarian aid worker, Bassila has vivid childhood memories of the Polish pope’s visit to his homeland seven years after the civil war ended.        

“I was 10 years old when Pope John Paul II visited Lebanon on May 10–11, 1997, and that date is engraved in the Lebanese collective memory,” Bassila told CNA.  

“His visit — essentially the first full papal visit to Lebanon — came just after the end of the civil war, at a time when people and families were still wounded, struggling, and trying to rebuild their lives,” he continued.

Throughout the duration of the civil war approximately 150,000 people were killed, 17,000 went missing, and hundreds of thousands more people were left displaced, according to an Associated Press report.

Describing the highly-televised visit as a “true national event,” Bassila recalled how “the highway from the airport to the Melkite Basilica of St. Paul in Harissa was completely filled with crowds” waiting to greet the leader of Catholics worldwide.

“It was festive in a way Lebanon hadn’t experienced in years,” he shared with CNA. 

“I still recall our Orthodox neighbor buying a huge Vatican flag and heading out to greet the pope — something that, for me, symbolized unity and a rare moment of joy shared across communities,” he continued.

Benedict XVI’s call for unity, dialogue in the Middle East

The second papal visit to Lebanon was made by Pope Benedict XVI about a year after the Syrian civil war broke out on March 15, 2011.

During the 2012 visit, Benedict promoted interreligious dialogue and promulgated his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente in Beirut on the Sept. 14 feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross.

Boustany, who had already entered religious life in Australia by the time of Benedict’s visit to Lebanon, closely followed the three-day papal visit through Catholic media.

“I also recall how Patriarch [Bechara Boutros] Raï spoke about the Holy Father’s amazement at being welcomed with such joy not only by Christians but also by Lebanese of other faiths,” he said, reflecting on comments made by the head of the Maronite Church.

“It was a remarkable testimony to Lebanon’s spirit of coexistence,” he added.

Catholic actors at COP30 are amplifying the “cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” while urging negotiators to pursue justice-based climate finance. CAFOD brings the experience of its partners across the globe who work with communities facing life-threatening climate impacts.

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Vatican City, Nov 17, 2025 / 10:39 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV lamented that there are cultural spaces where the Gospel is “distorted by particular interests” during a meeting with the Catholic Biblical Federation at the Vatican on Monday.

“New generations inhabit new digital environments where the word of God is easily overshadowed. New communities often find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests,” the pope said Nov. 17.

The Catholic Biblical Federation is an international organization — led by Cardinal Luis Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization — whose main goal is to promote the knowledge, dissemination, study, and pastoral ministry of sacred Scripture around the world.

The pontiff made clear that the group’s mission and vision “should always be inspired by the conviction that the Church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel.”

He added that “ensuring easy access to sacred Scripture for all the faithful is essential so that everyone may encounter the God who speaks, shares his love, and draws us into the fullness of life” and said translations of Scripture “remain indispensable.”

Leo invited the group to reflect on what “easy access” to sacred Scripture means in our time and “how can we facilitate this encounter for those who have never heard the word of God or whose cultures remain untouched by the Gospel?”

The pope expressed the hope that these questions will inspire “new forms of biblical outreach, capable of opening pathways to the Scriptures, so that God’s word may take root in people’s hearts and lead all to live in his grace.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

At least 32 people have been killed in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo when a bridge at a copper and cobalt mine collapsed due to overcrowding. Enormous financial interests in the mineral-rich region have long fuelled strife and conflict, resulting in corruption, displacement and an acute humanitarian crisis.

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The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a U.S. draft resolution backing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

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EWTN News, Nov 17, 2025 / 10:06 am (CNA).

On Nov. 5, the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality voted 26-12 to back the pro-abortion initiative “My Voice, My Choice” — just weeks after pro-life advocates held the largest gathering in the Parliament in more than a decade to challenge the initiative’s push for EU-funded cross-border abortion access.

The Oct. 15 conference, hosted by the European Centre for Law and Justice and co-organized with the One of Us federation, drew 300 participants including eight members of the European Parliament, former EU Commissioner for Health Tonio Borg, and former Slovenian Prime Minister Alojz Peterle.

Six women shared testimonies about their personal experiences with abortion — stories of regret, trauma, and long-term emotional consequences they say are often overlooked in policymaking.

Funding for My Voice, My Choice from pro-abortion foundations

While the committee’s draft resolution on My Voice, My Choice carries no binding legal effect, it nonetheless sets a symbolic precedent that has drawn sharp criticism from pro-life organizations across Europe. A European Citizens Initiative (ECI) allows EU citizens to propose legislation directly to the European Commission if they gather at least 1 million verified signatures from citizens across a minimum of seven member states.

My Voice, My Choice, supported heavily in Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Italy, collected 1,124,513 signatures and raised 923,028 euros from private donors and pro-abortion foundations.

Along with backing the draft resolution, the committee also approved an oral question to the European Commission — a formal parliamentary procedure used to demand an on-the-record explanation. In this case, it asks the commission how it intends to respond to My Voice, My Choice, ensuring the issue moves beyond the committee level and into a public parliamentary debate.

Pro-life organizations draw comparisons with an earlier ECI, One of Us, a pro-life campaign that in 2014 secured even greater public backing, collecting 1,721,626 signatures despite operating on a far smaller budget of 159,219 euros and relying largely on volunteer mobilization. 

Yet, despite surpassing the threshold by a wide margin, the European Commission declined to act on its proposals. The outcome remains a point of contention within pro-life circles, who argue it highlights an institutional double standard and political bias in how such initiatives are ultimately treated.

EU funding for abortions outside of home countries?

The Oct. 15 pro-life event focused on the social and emotional context surrounding abortion decisions — from family pressure and economic hardship to instances where abortion followed sexual violence.

According to organizers, the six women who shared their testimonies also contacted all 40 full members of the committee, offering to share their experiences individually. 

Most members did not agree to meet them.

For Nicolas Bauer of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), the lack of engagement reinforces a broader concern. He questioned whether some members of the European Parliament are guided more by ideology than by listening to the diversity of women’s experiences.

The committee’s endorsement of My Voice, My Choice, he explained, reflects a belief among left-leaning groups that abortion is “inherently a right and a social good,” leaving little space for accounts of suffering, regret, or moral conflict.

Bauer explained that the proposal envisions a system in which a woman unable to obtain an abortion in her home country could “receive EU funding to have one in a country where it is available.” 

As an example, he noted that a French woman who is 22 weeks pregnant — beyond France’s legal limit — “could travel to the Netherlands for an abortion, financed by the EU.” 

Such a scheme would, in practice, “harmonize abortion law across Europe by aligning it with the most permissive countries,” regardless of national legislation or moral consensus. He attributed the campaign’s public traction not to broad ideological agreement but to “slick marketing backed by substantial financial resources.”

He further claimed that the European Commission “even helped the organizers of My Voice, My Choice to draft their petition in a way that would maximize its chances of being declared admissible,” contrasting this with the experience of One of Us, which, he noted, “gathered more signatures but did not benefit from the same institutional support.”

Examining top-down strategies

Matthieu Bruynseels, advocacy director for EU affairs at the Federation of Catholic Family Associations, stressed the importance of subsidiarity — a principle rooted in both EU treaties and Catholic social doctrine. He noted that issues such as abortion, gestational surrogacy, and euthanasia lie outside the EU’s direct competencies, yet they continue to be debated at the European level for political reasons. In the wake of My Voice, My Choice, Bruynseels said the federation is concerned about the European Parliament’s growing efforts to incorporate abortion rights into its policies.

The ECLJ plans to return to these themes at its upcoming conference on Nov. 26. The event will examine what it describes as increasingly top-down strategies within the My Voice, My Choice campaign as well as recent trends in ECI funding. It will also highlight Article 33 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which calls on the union to support, not redefine, family and motherhood. As with the October gathering, the November conference will again feature women sharing firsthand accounts of their experiences with abortion.

As for My Voice, My Choice, the initiative will enter its formal institutional phase. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2 in the European Parliament, during which the organizers will present their case to members of the European Parliament, the commission, and other stakeholders. After this hearing, the European Commission will be required to issue an official response outlining whether it intends to propose legislative action, pursue alternative measures, or decline to proceed and explain its reasoning publicly.

For advocates like Bauer, Bruynseels, and many within Europe’s pro-life movement, these unfolding developments highlight a defining question at the heart of EU politics today: Will abortion policy gradually align across the union, or will it continue to reflect the diverse ethical, legal, and cultural traditions of individual countries?

EWTN News, Nov 17, 2025 / 09:06 am (CNA).

Church arson attacks across Europe nearly doubled in 2024, part of a broader surge in anti-Christian hate crimes that included 274 personal assaults against Christians and the killing of a 76-year-old Spanish monk, according to a new report released Monday by the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe).

The report documented 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2024, with 94 arson attacks on churches — nearly double the number recorded in 2023.

An official launch of the report will take place Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Conscience. OIDAC Europe compiled the report using official police figures, OSCE/ODIHR statistics, and its own case documentation.

Official numbers do not show the full scale

The spike in arson attacks is particularly prominent: A total of 94 arson incidents targeted churches and other Christian sites — one-third of which occurred in Germany.

France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Austria recorded the highest number of anti-Christian incidents overall. While most attacks were directed at places of worship, OIDAC Europe recorded 274 personal attacks against Christians in 2024, including assaults and threats.

Among the report’s findings are several severe cases, including the killing of a 76-year-old monk in Spain in November 2024 and the near-destruction of a historic church in Saint-Omer, France, by fire in September 2024.

Executive Director Anja Tang emphasized that the figures represent “very concrete acts of church vandalism, arson, and physical assaults that deeply affect local communities,” warning that official statistics still underestimate the scale of the problem.

New surveys from Poland and Spain reveal that nearly half of priests have encountered aggression. However, the vast majority never report these incidents to the police.

“If half of Catholic clergy experience aggression in a Catholic-majority country, hostility towards Christians can no longer be treated as a marginal issue,” Tang said.

Christians under social pressure across Europe

Beyond physical attacks, the report documents the growing legal and social pressure on Christians across Europe between 2024 and 2025.

Examples include the prosecution of individuals for silently praying in so-called “buffer zones” near abortion facilities in the United Kingdom; the ongoing “hate speech” proceedings against Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen for quoting the Bible; and the high-profile employment case of United Kingdom teacher Kristie Higgs. The Court of Appeal in February 2025 ultimately recognized Higgs’ Christian views as legally protected beliefs.

“These patterns highlight the urgent need to strengthen the protection of freedom of religion or belief in Europe — including the right to express and discuss faith-based convictions in the public sphere without fear of reprisal or censorship,” Tang said.

In its recommendations, OIDAC Europe calls for stronger, more coordinated European Union action. This includes appointing a European Union coordinator to combat anti-Christian hatred, similar to existing mandates on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

The organization also urges governments to implement the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) new guide, Understanding Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Christian Communities, and to make systematic and comparable data collection on hate crimes against Christians a key priority.

When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?—Christ in Saint Luke 18:8. From 2013 to 2020, a website called The Wild Voice conglomerated all of Francis' heresies, errors and leftist statements.  After listing hundreds of these, the site-manager apparently couldn’t keep up and stopped compiling it in 2020. Now, Leo continues [...]

Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 17, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Bishops discussed young Catholics’ place in the Church ahead of the National Catholic Youth Conference.

At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, bishops spoke about the young generation as many prepare to attend NCYC. The conference will take place Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis for prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers.

During NCYC, Pope Leo XIV will hold a digital dialogue with teens from across the nation. “When the pope speaks, he speaks to the world, and this will be a wonderful, wonderful moment. This encounter will engage young people in real time,” said Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia. 

At a Nov. 12 press conference at the USCCB fall plenary, Pérez said “there is a deep significance to this encounter.” He added: “It reflects the Holy Father’s desire to connect with young people, with our youth, whom his predecessor … Pope Francis, called ‘the now of God.’”

Pérez said during his time as a priest and bishop, he has noticed teenagers “want a place in the Church.” He said: “They want to be seen, heard, and valued, which is so beautiful ... They want to be loved by the Church.”

“Even in today’s interconnected world, the Church can seem far away from young people. The Holy Father’s choice to encounter the American youth ... is an expression of his closeness to the youth of the world.”

“This moment will mark a powerful opportunity for young people to witness the beauty of the universal Church with our Holy Father and to express their concerns, voices, experience, [and] what’s in their hearts,” Pérez said.

Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York, has attended NCYC more than a dozen times. He told CNA “the energy and the vibrancy of the young people” is why he returns each year.

“It’s not just the local parish or the local diocese, but it’s the national Church and there’s something powerful when we come together,” Espaillat said.

​This year’s event is “the first time ever the Holy Father has a live online interview like this,” at NCYC, Espaillat said. “What I love about it is that the Church in the United States is leading right now. The young people being the focus with our Holy Father is going to be great, and it’s going to produce a lot of positive energy in our Church.”

Espaillat encouraged attendees “to be open and allow yourself to be surprised by the Holy Spirit.” He added: “Don’t go in with a preconceived notion. It is a great event in which there are many, many fruits. I’ve seen young people just come to life at the event.”

Youth draw closer to the Church

As thousands of teenagers plan to gather at the national conference, U.S. bishops further explained why so many young Catholics are looking to the Church. A number of bishops highlighted the Catholic presence on social media is helping to draw them in.

Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts, told CNA the exponential growth of young Catholics coming to the Church is “amazing and exciting.” Byrne, who served as chair for the USCCB’s committee on communications, detailed how much its online presence has grown its outreach to the young generation and wider population. 

“Beginning with the illness of our beloved Pope Francis, through the funeral, and then the transition to Pope Leo, we’ve actually had a 226% growth in our social media on the four platforms we use — TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube,” he said.

“The amazing thing is, it’s still growing. It means that people are seeing it, sharing it,” Byrne said. He specifically noted it’s the “young people” spreading the message online. 

“So we see that we are reaching people,” Byrne said. “But our goal is not to get people locked on their phones. Our goal is to get people locked on Jesus Christ and have the impression be Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church.”

“This is an exciting time. It’s not without its challenges, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity,” Byrne said. “We’re reaching young people who are curious and hungry. It’s so exciting to see the Church continue to speak to the world, because the Church has never lost her relevance.”

The start of the Catholic online presence followed the movement of the new atheists, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said. He told CNA the movement was made up of “people who were really shaping the culture, saying: ‘There’s no purpose of life. We come from nowhere. We go nowhere. There’s no objective moral value.’”

“A lot of people, myself included, began to get on social media with a religious voice,” Barron said. “People who had not heard a religious voice or who were disaffiliated … could find people like me and many others who were actually talking about God and about religion.”

“But I think as a whole generation came of age, they realized what a desperately sad and empty message that is,” Barron said. “There’s this hunger in the heart for God, and so that just reasserts itself. I think a lot of younger people who were raised on this very vapid philosophy began to look to religion.”

As more young Catholics get involved in youth formation whether in their parishes or at larger gatherings like NCYC, Barron said he encourages them to use the opportunities to “build community and build a sense of family with other believers.”

Barron, who is the founder of the Catholic media organization Word on Fire, has gained nearly 3 million YouTube subscribers and millions of other followers across social media platforms. But, he said, “one drawback of social media is that it’s a little private world. It can be a lot of people accessing it, but privately.”

“Maybe through social media an individual finds a path to religion, but then to look around a room and see thousands of other people that are on a similar path — that’s a great thing,” Barron said.

Pope Leo XIV encourages the formation of “those who proclaim the Word of God” to support the liturgical initiation of the faithful and a deeper understanding of Christian worship.

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CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Slightly over 10 years after it redefined marriage to include same-sex couples, the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 declined to revisit that controversial decision, upholding at least for now its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that made “gay marriage” the law of the land.

A decade after that ruling, nearly a million same-sex couples in the U.S. are participating in what the law now defines as marriage. Yet the Catholic Church has continued to affirm the definition of marriage as being exclusively a union between a man and a woman. 

That has been the prevailing definition of marriage around the world for at least about 5,000 years of human history, though many societies have allowed polygamy, or multiple spouses, in various forms. The same-sex variant of marriage, meanwhile, only became accepted in recent decades. 

The Church has held since its beginning that marriage is strictly between one man and one woman. The Catechism of the Catholic Church directs that marriage occurs when “a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life.” It is “by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring.”

Church Fathers and theologians from the earliest days of Catholicism have consistently upheld that marriage is meant to be a lifelong, permanent union between one man and one woman, with St. Augustine explicitly naming “offspring” as one of the blessings of marriage, along with “fidelity” and “the sacramental bond.”

Gay marriage a ‘misnomer’ by Church teaching

John Grabowski, a professor of moral theology at The Catholic University of America, told CNA that marriage in the Catholic Church’s teaching is based on “unity, indissolubility, and [is ordered] toward life,” or the begetting of children.

“Those criteria can only be met in a union between a man and a woman,” he said. “They cannot be met in a union between two men and two women. ‘Gay marriage’ is thus a misnomer in the Church’s understanding.”

The Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage, Grabowski argued, was an act of “judicial fiat” rather than a recognition of what marriage actually is. He said the high court was functioning more as a “cultural barometer” reflecting an erroneous shift in perception on what marriage is.

“It would be similar to if the court passed a rule saying we could call a square a circle,” he said. “It’s just not based on the reality of the natural world.”

The Obergefell ruling came after years of LGBT activist efforts to redefine marriage both within individual states and at the federal level. Advocates had argued that there was no meaningful reason to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples and that to do so constituted discrimination. 

Many critics have claimed that the Church’s broader teaching on marriage actually left the door open for same-sex couples to marry — for instance, they argued, by allowing opposite-sex couples to marry even if one or both of the spouses are infertile, the Church implicitly divorces biological childbearing from marriage itself. 

Grabowski acknowledged that the Church does allow infertile couples to get married (and to stay married if infertility occurs at a later date). But he pointed out that the Church does in fact prohibit marriage for those who are impotent, or constitutionally incapable of intercourse. 

The key point for the Church, he said, is what St. John Paul II called the “spousal meaning of the body.” The late pope argued that men and women “exist in the relationship of the reciprocal gift of self,” ordered to the communion of “one flesh” of which the Bible speaks in Genesis. 

The Church’s teaching, Grabowski said, “is based on the natural law. It tells us that the way God designed us is for the good of our flourishing, both as individuals and as the good of society.”

Though marriage advocates have continued to criticize the Supreme Court’s decision over the past decade, others have at times suggested a pivot away from directly challenging it at the legal level. 

In 2017, for instance, Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron affirmed his opposition to gay marriage but questioned “the prudence and wisdom” of attempting to legislatively outlaw it at that time. The bishop suggested instead that “personal witness and education” were better tools for the current political climate.

Grabowski acknowledged that one “could say, realistically, the ship has sailed and the political question is dead.”

“But that’s a political judgment,” he said. Catholics should not lose sight of the goal to reestablish correct laws on marriage, he argued.

“In terms of something to hope for, pray for, and to the degree that we’re able to, work for it — that’s something Catholics should aspire to.”

Pope Leo XIV reflects on the need for an ethical approach to healthcare systems, especially in light of the growing use of Artificial Intelligence and technological innovation as tools for management and optimisation of resources.

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Pope Leo XIV encourages consecrated religious to build communities that respect the dignity of every person, in a message sent to a conference promoted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

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Established by Pope Francis in March 2024, the Study Groups have delivered reports on the work carried out so far, starting from the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality. The deadline for delivering the final reports to Leo XIV has been set for 31 December. Among the topics covered are the digital mission, the role of women, ecumenism, polygamy, liturgy, the ministry of nuncios, and the selection of bishops.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At a time when young people spend so much time in "digital environments," members of the Catholic Biblical Federation need to ask how they are fulfilling the Second Vatican Council's mandate to give everyone access to the Bible, Pope Leo XIV said.

"What does 'easy access to Sacred Scripture' mean in our time? How can we facilitate this encounter for those who have never heard the Word of God or whose cultures remain untouched by the Gospel?" the pope asked members of the federation's steering committee and its regional representatives.

Pope Leo welcomed the group to the Apostolic Palace Nov. 17, expressing particular concern for people who "find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests."

At the end of the audience, Mary Sperry, associate director of the U.S. bishops' Office for the Biblical Apostolate, presented Pope Leo with two large white binders. They contained a preview copy of The Catholic American Bible, slated for publication in 2027. 

Meeting on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, "Dei Verbum," Pope Leo asked members of the group to reflect on how they individually and as a federation respond to the call "to hear the Word of God with reverence and to proclaim it with faith."

"The church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel," he said. "From the Gospel she continually rediscovers the direction for her journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who teaches all things and reminds us of everything the Son has said."

A key part of that, he said, is helping everyone have access to a Bible so they can "encounter the God who speaks, shares his love and draws us into the fullness of life."

Translations of the Bible, which the federation promotes, are essential for that, he said, but so are initiatives like encouraging "lectio divina," a prayerful reading of Scripture.

"Ultimately," Pope Leo told federation members, "your mission is to become 'living letters … written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,' bearing witness to the primacy of God's Word over the many voices that fill our world."
 

• Readings for the Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

Reading 1 1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158

Alleluia John 8:12

Gospel Luke 18:35-43

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Meeting with the Catholic Biblical Federation, Pope Leo XIV encourages biblical scholars and pastoral ministers to make the Word of God easily accessible to all people, especially in digital spaces so that younger generations can encounter Christ.

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CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 17, the Catholic Church celebrates the life and example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a medieval noblewoman who responded to personal tragedy by embracing St. Francis’ ideals of poverty and service. A patron of secular Franciscans, she is especially beloved to Germans as well as the faithful of her native Hungary.

As the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II, Elizabeth had the responsibilities of royalty thrust upon her almost as soon as her short life began in 1207. While she was still very young, her father arranged for her to be married to a German nobleman, Ludwig of Thuringia.

The plan forced Elizabeth to separate from her parents while still a child. Adding to this sorrow was the murder of Elizabeth’s mother, Gertrude, in 1213, which history ascribes to a conflict between her own German people and the Hungarian nobles. Elizabeth took a solemn view of life and death from that point on and found consolation in prayer. Both tendencies drew some ire from her royal peers.

For a time, beginning in 1221, she was happily married. Ludwig, who had advanced to become one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported Elizabeth’s efforts to live out the principles of the Gospel even within the royal court. She met with friars of the nascent Franciscan order during its founder’s own lifetime, resolving to use her position as queen to advance their mission of charity.

Remarkably, Ludwig agreed with his wife’s resolution, and the politically powerful couple embraced a life of remarkable generosity toward the poor. They had three children, two of whom went on to live as members of the nobility, although one of them — her only son — died relatively young. The third eventually entered religious life and became abbess of a German convent.

In 1226, while Ludwig was attending to political affairs in Italy, Elizabeth took charge of distributing aid to victims of disease and flooding that struck Thuringia. She took charge of caring for the afflicted, even when this required giving up the royal family’s own clothes and goods. Elizabeth arranged for a hospital to be built and is said to have provided for the needs of nearly a thousand desperately poor people on a daily basis.

The next year, however, would put Elizabeth’s faith to the test. Her husband had promised to assist the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sixth Crusade, but he died of illness en route to Jerusalem. Devastated by Ludwig’s death, Elizabeth vowed never to remarry. Her children were sent away, and relatives heavily pressured her to break the vow.

Undeterred, Elizabeth used her remaining money to build another hospital, where she personally attended to the sick almost constantly. Sending away her servants, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis, seeking to emulate the example of its founder as closely as her responsibilities would allow. Near the end of her life, she lived in a small hut and spun her own clothes.

Working continually with the severely ill, Elizabeth became sick herself, dying of illness in November 1231. After she died, miraculous healings soon began to occur at her grave near the hospital, and she was declared a saint just four years later.

Pope Benedict XVI praised her as a “model for those in authority,” noting the continuity between her personal love for God and her public work on behalf of the poor and sick. He also wrote in 2007, in honor of the 800th anniversary of her birth, that “[Elizabeth] also serves as an example of virtue radically applied in marriage, the family, and even in widowhood. She has also inspired political figures, who have drawn from her the motivation to work towards reconciliation between peoples.”

This story was first published on Nov. 14, 2010, and has been updated.

Tanzania’s Catholic Bishops have endorsed growing calls—both local and international—for an independent investigation into the recent election violence, which resulted in hundreds of deaths.

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The cause of the Servant of God Eileen O’Connor, the ‘Little Mother’, has taken another step forward.

In October 2024, the boxes containing all the acts and documentation collected over four years by the diocesan inquiry were formally presented by Fr Anthony Robbie to the Roman authorities at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The boxes have now been opened and formally identified in the presence of the Roman postulator Fr Martin Roestenburg OPraem and Vatican officials.

Now the information will be thoroughly examined before weighing up the merits of the cause in order to make a formal pronouncement on whether Eileen merits to be beatified. Ultimately, the final decision lies with the Holy Father.

Eileen O’Connor was born in 1892 into a family of devout Catholic Irish immigrants, and died in 1921.

A childhood accident left her with severe medical issues, which caused her to become bedridden for much of her young life, while suffering constant pain.

Despite her incapacities, from her sickbed at Coogee she founded Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor (the Brown Nurses) to provide medical care and spiritual assistance to Sydney’s poorest of the poor in their homes.

At a time when there were no social services or government assistance, this idea of going to the homes of the sick poor was truly revolutionary.

With her eyes fixed on the Crucified Jesus, Eileen disregarded her limitations and inspired generations of young women to dedicate themselves to a life of Christian self-offering and service to the poor and dying across the boundaries of culture, race, sex and religion.

She died at the age of 28 and was buried at Coogee where generations of pilgrims continue to visit the tomb. Drawn by her reputation for holiness, they seek her assistance and an answer to their prayers through her intercession.

Despite the continuing and growing interest of the faithful in this remarkable young woman, and the reports of graces received through her intercession, no church authority ever ventured to officially open an inquiry into her life, and the cause languished for many years.

Even though several past archbishops had a devotion to Eileen, the ‘Little Mother’, none could muster the energy to undertake the onerous and lengthy task of preparing for the investigation.

In later years, the cause was somewhat eclipsed by the rise of St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first (and only) canonised saint, and it is understandable that all attention came to be focused on her. Nevertheless, devotion towards Eileen continues unabated to this day.

It was Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP who finally took the plunge, and the diocesan inquiry was formally opened at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on 20 February 2020.

Fr Anthony Robbie was nominated postulator of the cause, and he had the mammoth and arduous task of forming the cause and guiding the work of the teams of canonists, historians and theologians who would prepare the case over the next four years.

The work of documenting, collating and tracing every aspect of Eileen’s life culminated in the closing session of the diocesan inquiry on 16 August 2024.

The many documents and acts were bundled, boxed and sealed and entrusted to Fr Robbie, who accompanied them to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome.

Archbishop Fisher was already in Rome for the Synod on Synodality, and so, in October 2024, in the presence of the archbishop, Fr Robbie and Fr Roestenburg, the Acts were formally presented to the Prefect of the Dicastery, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, and placed in his custody.

Fr Roestenburg was nominated the Roman postulator by Archbishop Fisher on 24 August 2024.

The postulator’s task is to oversee each step of the cause and to make sure it progresses through all the hurdles, rules and regulations of the Roman system.

The first of these steps was to open the boxes of acts and documents sent from Australia. On 3 October 2025, the boxes were formally opened in the Vatican Dicastery offices.

Present were Fr Roestenburg and two Vatican officials. The fairly unceremonious, but important, event marks the official opening of the ‘Roman phase’ of the inquiry. The Roman authorities will now make an assessment of the merits of the documentation that has been presented to them.

All the official acts, original writings, witness reports, reports of the historians and theologians, and so on, will be collated into a voluminous Positio or position paper, which will be sent to various Vatican experts who will analyse the issues in Eileen’s life and hopefully identify signs of heroic virtue in her life story.

If all goes well, and she passes the test, she will be declared ‘venerable’ and from that point on, a miracle will be required to have her declared ‘blessed’.

Meanwhile, we need to ask God to provide a miracle, if it is his will, through Eileen’s intercession, in order to prove beyond any possible doubt that God is favouring this particular cause.

The Prefect of the Dicastery, Cardinal Semeraro, stressed that if no miracle was forthcoming, it was often the fault of us, the faithful, who forget to ask for one. When praying to Eileen, therefore, be ruthless in asking her to send a miracle, for without a documented and proven miracle, the cause will stagnate.

Let us therefore pray that by providing a miracle proving God’s grace and favour, this saintly woman will before long become Australia’s second canonised saint. May many people be touched by her story and find solace and comfort through her example of selfless sacrifice and evangelical love for the sick poor.

The post Sainthood cause for Eileen O’Connor enters the next stage appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Catholic community leader Sam Hardjono has been awarded the Red Cross’ highest honour, an honorary lifetime membership, for his decades of service to the organisation.  

Hardjono previously served as the inaugural general congregational manager for the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Josephites, and was until recently the chair of the Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) NSW board, along with other senior roles. 

Dedicating over 20 years of service to the Red Cross across various positions, he helped steer the organisation through critical roles such as chair of the NSW board from 2015 to 2020. 

Hardjono said his Catholic faith is his “guiding compass” and he had been working with the Red Cross mainly in volunteer roles for decades. 

“You do these things not to expect any award or anything, you do it because you believe in the cause and everything else,” he said. 

After learning about opportunities with the Red Cross in The Catholic Weekly, Hardjono applied and became an advisory board member with the NSW Red Cross board.  

Eventually rising through the ranks to chair of the board, Hardjono was awarded the distinguished service medal for his work during the 2019 Black Summer bushfires.  

“From a governance point of view, it was about ensuring the staff were motivated, and our volunteers, communicating with our other volunteers or our members that were helping or being in different parts of New South Wales during the time,” he said.  

He praised the “incredible tenacity of the staff members and volunteers” as well as ordinary Australians who banded together to help one another during the crisis.  

He also praised his strong Catholic education, which began when he went to an Ursuline kindergarten and continued on through his years at Waverly College in Bondi Junction. 

“It was that formation of faith during that period of time, little did I know something was entrenched in me regarding the community and regarding helping others,” he said.  

Hardjono’s adept skills at management are not localised to the Red Cross as the Josephites issued a statement reflecting on his time at their helm.  

“He brought his energy, insight and passion to this task and committed himself to supporting the mission and vision of the sisters,” it read. 

“He has always been supportive of the not-for-profit sector within the community, showing his heart for mission and using his skills and experience for the common good.” 

EREA also offered its congratulations. 

“Sam has guided the Board through a period of significant consolidation and development across the EREA NSW Colleges, contributing to the establishment of the new entity, faith formation, and the strategic direction of our schools within New South Wales,” an EREA statement read. 

The post Catholic leader given Red Cross’ highest honour appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

On 14 November, hundreds of Sydney’s homeless celebrated an early Christmas in St Mary’s Cathedral Forecourt with food and music at the seventh annual Street Feast. 

The St Merkorious Charity provided a BBQ for the cheery celebration. Its founder and president, Paula Nicolas, was also awarded a Dempsey medal by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP for her years of providing meals and friendship to the disadvantaged. 

“I was shocked to receive the award,” Nicolas told The Catholic Weekly. “Everyone kept it a secret from me today, but it was a lovely surprise,” she said.  

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to share love and compassion to all these people because regardless of whether we’re doing our outreach services, or coming out here to provide food, it’s one small step towards helping people to get into the spirit of love and happiness.”  

The Dempsey medal is awarded annually by the Archbishop to recognise outstanding contributions to Catholic parishes or the local community. 

Archbishop Fisher told the crowd before lunch that they were all “in the prayers and hearts of Sydney.”  

“I’m delighted to be able to share lunch with you all today and to spend some time with you in the sacred heart of Sydney.”  

Other notable attendees included NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman MP.  

“Sydney’s poor and vulnerable are an integral part of our society, and the measure of how decent our society is how it looks after its most marginalised, and I think we just have to remind those who are that there are people who are looking out for them,” Speakman told The Catholic Weekly.  

“The church is a great part of showing that they’re not forgotten, they’re loved.”  

The day was full of music, from flamboyant Joe Trueman, who regaled the crowd with classic covers, and the Sydney Street Choir, who embraced the “Christmas comes early” vibe with carols, including a rejigged version of “Jingle Bells” which got some of the crowd into a dance. 

Mark Butler, a member of the choir, told the crowd before its performance that the Street Feast continues to provide “people like you and me” with hope there will be brighter skies.  

“Today we all come together in the hope that maybe we can all have a bit of joy in our hearts and lives,” he said.  

Mark Purchase, a Vinnies volunteer, said the Street Feast showed the power of community. 

“The whole idea of us coming out here and providing a bit of support is to show how we’re all a community, and the diversity of everyone who has come out here to help people going through tough situations,” he said.  

Alec Dean, a volunteer from Thread Together, a charity which provides clothing for the poor and vulnerable, said the Street Feast was “a demonstration of dignity.”  

“I believe the courage to walk up and grab a shirt or some socks or a coat is one of the forgotten parts of those who are in need daily, and it just helps to give them a little dignity and a bit of warmth in their lives,” he said.  

Marcel de Maria from Gift of Bread, who handed out 150 muffins and about 800 loaves of bread, said the Street Feast was a moment of thanksgiving.  

“Eucharist in the Greek means thanksgiving, it’s a wonderful word,” he said. “And that’s what we do, and that’s what everybody who has been involved today has done. They’ve shared a gift and a part of themselves to help others in need.”  

The post A day of celebration for Sydney’s vulnerable and marginalised appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

This Christmas will not only see St Mary’s Cathedral transformed by a breathtaking light spectacular, but Sydney’s iconic mother church will also resonate with the uplifting sounds of choirs, bands, and performers during daily concerts from 17-25 December 25 in an invitation to experience joy and faith through music. 

This year’s highlight will be a performance by students from the Sydney Catholic Schools Amadeus Music Education program on 18 December at 6.30pm. 

Director of Sydney Catholic Schools, Danielle Cronin, is excited to be a part of the entertainment program, which is so central to the success and ongoing appeal of the annual event. 

“Christmas at the Cathedral beautifully captures what this season is truly about: faith, hope, and community,” she said.

“It’s a chance for families, schools and parish communities to come together at our Mother Church to celebrate the birth of Christ through music and prayer and light. 

“It’s particularly exciting to see our students involved throughout the event, sharing their gifts and talents on the stage.” 

She emphasised that Sydney Catholic Schools has a proud history of providing opportunities for students to experience the transformative power of the creative and performing arts.  

“The Amadeus Music Education Program is an embodiment of this,” she said, “providing instrumental tuition to students from Grade 3 to Grade 8. They can select a brass, woodwind, stringed or percussion instrument, and participate in weekly tuition and play in an ensemble.  

“It gives every child the opportunity to discover the joy of music, while nurturing the next generation of musicians and performers.“ 

Judging by the pedigree of student, teachers and tutors involved in the program, their performance promises to be a highlight of the year; a magical, musical compliment to the state-of-the-art projections on display, this year telling the timeless story of ‘The Little Drummer Boy’. 

“The students performing at Christmas in the Cathedral are part of our Amadeus Artists’ Evolution ensembles, which is our talent development pathway for gifted and high-potential instrumentalists,” said Cronin. 

“We have five entry-by-audition ensembles that are made up of 180 students from across our 147 schools, and each of these ensembles will perform at the event. 

“Having our students perform alongside some of the city’s finest is a wonderful affirmation of their talent and of the quality of our teachers and tutors.”  

Cronin believes that annual family traditions like the Christmas at the Cathedral remind us of the power of shared experience.  

“They draw people from all walks of life into a common space where faith, beauty and wonder unite us,” she said.

“In a world that can sometimes feel divided, moments like these help rebuild that sense of belonging and connection that is so essential to community life.” 

The students will perform throughout the event and promise to produce unforgettable performances for the many thousands of families expected to attend. 

 “It will be the students’ final performances of the year, so it promises to be a memorable occasion,” Cronin says.  

“They’ll be performing a number of popular Christmas carols, and I’m told they have a special showstopping number planned for the finale.”

From 17-25 December, the cathedral will come alive with Christmas projections and entertainment running from 5.30pm to 10.30pm each day.  

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By Rev Dr Greg Morgan

Greg Sheridan’s latest book How Christians Can Succeed Today: Reclaiming the genius of the early church reflects upon the Janus-face of modern Western culture. Whether the future holds peril or promise will depend on which direction we Christians orient our own gaze. 

The vision we are most familiar with focuses upon the ‘continuing crisis’ of faith as evidenced by various socio-cultural indicators – the much-rehearsed statistical decline in religious practice, the ‘nearly ubiquitous’ rise in either hostility or indifference to the Christian message, and the widespread technocratic assaults on human dignity.  As one of Australia’s most perceptive political journalists, Sheridan is acutely aware of such challenges. 

Where, however, his book sharpens and deepens this diagnosis is in his realisation that our culture is not so much ‘secularising’ as it is ‘paganising’. His appreciation of the difference (perhaps particularly influenced by Ross Douthat on this point) is refreshing, to say the least.  

For some time, I have felt that the apologetical efforts of Christians have too often assumed the ‘secular’ to be our primary interlocutor. Whilst this assumption is understandable (given the extensive literature), it may no longer capture the deeper realities of our age. Indeed, I would argue that public discourse has largely moved beyond the idea of the ‘secular’, because the ‘secular’ seems to depend upon a two-fold confidence in both (1) the power of reason to know reality, and (2) the related idea of public discourse as a sphere of metaphysico-religious neutrality; both of which have largely collapsed with the rise of post-modernism and, more recently, meta-modernism. In fact, I remember a professor at Oxford stimulated my own thinking on this score when he asked me (with a touch of irony), “Why is your church so obsessed with the idea of the secular?”  

When it comes to understanding the phenomenon of modern neo-paganism, Sheridan wisely resists the temptation to frame it as a single, all-encompassing narrative. It is not so much, he argues, that “we are a neo-pagan society”, but, rather, that our age has reverted back to “a serious pagan tone” or a new kind of gnosticism that has rendered Christian teachings virtually incomprehensible and, thus, something only to be mocked. (This, again, confirms the collapse of confidence in “secular reason” and dialogue.) Like the paganism of old, neo-paganism is not without attachment to certain immanent “gods”.  The principal difference being that the “gods” of today are not worshipped in temples. They are embodied in cultural idols. The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks captures this shift piquantly:  

‘In countless ways, in its focus on the body, in its emphasis on material goods and physical sports, in its prioritising of politics over personal morality as the way to change the world, in its approach to sexual ethics, abortion and euthanasia, the West today has reverted to the values and practices of pre-Christian Greece and Rome.’ 

Here we turn to the other aspect of the Janus face of our culture and the central thesis of Sheridan’s book – the paradoxical opportunity that modern neo-paganism presents for conversion. In chapters two through six, the reader is given an arresting insight into the ‘genius’ of the early Christians; illuminating how, despite bitter persecution, the faithful were able to pierce the cloud of pagan gnosticism. This most unpredictable of transformations was by no means the fruit of a large budget or a corporatocratic-defensive mindset. Their ‘genius’ arose simply from living and speaking in a manner that made absolutely no sense to the surrounding culture. Sheridan supports this thesis with a wealth of examples, referencing attitudes to sex, slavery, death, and mercy. In all such matters, the early Christians witnessed to a way of life that contradicted that of the pagans. Yet, it was precisely this contradiction that the pagans found perplexingly attractive.  

The rest of Sheridan’s book moves to illustrate how a range of very different contemporary Christians have tapped into the evangelical force that flows from this same counter-cultural approach. What unites them, however, is their love for Christ which compels them to love others in a manner that cannot be reasoned with by our neo-pagan age. In the same way that the early Christians would comfort pagans dying with plague – who had been abandoned by their own families for the sake of self-preservation – so, too, St Mother Teresa converted the attention of the world through her selfless love for the dying in Calcutta. And just as the early Christians astonished their persecutors by responding to injustice and suffering with mercy rather than vengeance, so the hearts of our own nation (and far beyond) have been captivated by the radiant witness of divine mercy in the lives of individuals like Danny and Leila Abdallah. Jordan Peterson gets an honourable mention for refusing to be a mouthpiece for bureaucracy, risking instead to draw upon Christian narrative for moral clarity.  

Sheridan says that every book review should begin with flattery and then present the “hard truth”. With respect to the former, I truly believe that Sheridan’s excellent book can help us meet the prophetic moment that is our time with spiritual insight and courage. However, I fear the harder task is not so much to do with penetrating neo-pagan culture as it is penetrating our ecclesial culture which perhaps at times has sought to imitate (rather than transform) the very self-preservationist tendencies of neo-paganism. On this score, we must remember the words of Our Lord: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it” (Matt: 16:25). This is the secret to success. More will need to be written on this – and practiced – if we are to turn our face toward the way of promise. But Sheridan’s book will certainly help.  

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The Gospel readings at Mass in November call Catholics “to reflect on the travails of history and the end times,” not to frighten them but to remind them of Jesus’ promise that “evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him,” Pope Leo XIV said.

“Today, in various parts of the world, Christians are subjected to discrimination and persecution,” he told an estimated 40,000 people who gathered in St Peter’s Square 16 November for the recitation of the Angelus prayer.

“I am thinking in particular of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan and other countries from which news often arrives of attacks on communities and places of worship,” the pope said.

Although other factors also are at play, most of the attacks have carried out by Muslim extremists.

But, Pope Leo said, “God is a merciful father and desires peace among all his children!”

The pope also offered special prayers for the Christian community in Congo’s North Kivu province. In the town of Byambwe late 14 November, members of the Allied Democratic Forces, a group loyal to Islamic State, attacked a clinic run by the Presentation Sisters, killing 15 people before stealing medications and burning the clinic down. They went to nearby homes as well, killing another five people, Vatican News reported.

“Let us pray that all violence may cease and that believers may work together for the common good,” the pope said.

Pope Leo also prayed for an end to Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian cities.

“These attacks cause deaths and injuries, including of children, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, leaving families homeless as the cold sets in,” he said. “We cannot grow accustomed to war and destruction! Let us pray together for a just and lasting peace in the tormented Ukraine.”

Even amid conflicts, disasters and persecutions, Pope Leo said, “and in the face of the indifference that seeks to ignore them, Jesus’ words proclaim that the attack of evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him.”

“The darker the hour, the more faith shines like the sun,” he said.

“The persecution of Christians does not only happen through mistreatment and weapons,” the pope said, “but also with words, that is, through lies and ideological manipulation.”

“Especially when we are oppressed by these evils, both physical and moral,” Pope Leo said, “we are called to bear witness to the truth that saves the world; to the justice that redeems peoples from oppression; to the hope that shows everyone the way to peace.”

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Coming Wood You Believe Healing Seminars with Jim Cogley & Luba Rodzhuk:

An Tobar Retreat Centre, Navan, Fri 28^th Nov 7-9.30pm – Recovery from Loss

Saturday 10am-4pm Healing and Integration – Bookings to Spiritans on 086-8416110.

Edmund Rice Centre, Callan – Approaching Christmas – What is Christianity?

This seminar will be an exciting journey of uncovering the riches of the Christian Faith that has become obscured beneath layers of historical accretions.

Sat 13^th Dec 10am-4pm. Early booking advised to Jim Maher on 086-1276649.

For ordering Wood You Believe books: jimcogley.com

For daily services usually 10am.  Sunday 11am. Webcam: ourladysisland.ie

Books can change Lives and clear Minds

Books have a life of their own. They find their way into the most unlikely places and literally transform lives. After twenty-five years of writing, I know to be true. However, as an author I need help with distribution and marketing. The 13 volumes in the Wood You Believe series, while very popular and meeting a real need, are only available locally, online and at seminar events. I am hoping that there may be some who would be involved in parish groups, organizations like AA, Active Retirement or book clubs/shops where these could be made available and make a real difference. They would go to you in multiples of five at almost cost price and the balance can be used at your own discretion. Particularly coming up to Christmas there is a huge demand for presents that are meaningful. If interested ring 087-7640407 for details.

Tues 18^th Nov – The World as we Know it

The world as we know it is almost completely consumer driven. It is one where we are all deeply infected by what might be called ‘affluenza.’ This is that toxic and blinding disease with the basic assumption that more is always better and the more we can accumulate for ourselves is always good. We are conditioned to think that having more is the way to happiness and fulfilment. We fail to reflect and consider that having a full and busy life does not always guarantee fulfilment, or that if we are not content with what we have, then having more may not make any difference. It is fair to say that such invisible assumptions of any culture are as toxic and as blinding as the so-called ‘hot sins’ of drunkards, thieves, adulteress and prostitutes. While these are obvious the others are much harder to recognize and own as our ‘sin’ because we are all inside the same agreed-upon bubble. In the words of a reformed ‘escort’ who had entered the world of business: ‘I discovered that there are much more serious sins being committed in boardrooms than bedrooms!’

Wed 19^th Nov – In but not Of

John’s Gospel speaks of ‘being in the world but not of it.’ Obviously, he is not talking about the world of nature and creation that is inescapable so long as we live. However, he is talking about the system or social order that is humanly constructed. This is all about security, status, pleasure, wealth, possessions and power. These are part and parcel of life and not bad in themselves. Yet they are but limited goods with no lasting value except in the way we choose to use them while we live. Whatever we have we cannot keep but we can put it to good use and act like wise stewards of what is entrusted to us. The problem arises when we make what is limited into an absolute commodity. This is where we make the fatal mistake of becoming identified and defining ourselves in terms of what is temporary and passing, and in so doing lose sight of what is permanent. It is our overidentification with the material world that blinds our spiritual awareness and so while in the ‘world’ we are also ‘of’ it.

Thurs 20^th Nov – Our ‘Normal’ Idols

Whatever we overidentify with as giving us security, status or importance is classed in scriptural terms as an idol which is a false god that will invariably let us down. This is why spiritual writers and teachers from all faiths, in different ways, speak about ‘leaving the world’ which means casting aside the normal systems of illusions. This really amounts to having a spiritual awakening that literally shatters our former illusions and enables us to see that what we thought to be so important wasn’t what it appeared to be. A few minutes in a doctor’s surgery can shatter the illusion that having wealth is everything. Having sacrificed everything on the altar of success may only ring hollow when the marriage fails, because of neglect. We finally have to learn, usually the hard way, ‘to be in the world but not of the world.’ That is, we must compassionately accept the strange way we humans choose to operate and be willing to work inside the system, but never really buy into it. We must see things for what they are and also for what they aren’t. Unless we in some way ‘leave the world’, we can safely assume we are utterly beholding to it.

Fri 21^st Nov – Trapped in the Status Quo

There is a form of immature religion that is widespread. It is where people know that they are against ‘sin’ as they see it in others, but utterly blind to the sin that comes from being trapped in the system. The status quo has been so adopted as the norm that it is unquestioned. However, upon spiritual awakening comes an all-important insight that this world too is pervaded with Spirit and, with the eyes of enlightenment, can be seen as sacred.

This is the essence of the Gospel teaching. The world is good in its wholeness, but our little portion of separated parts is never the whole, so we must leave our addiction to the system to discover the kingdom of God. We must always let go of full control over the parts to love, be part of, and accept the whole.

Sat 22^nd Nov – Wilful or Willing?

Mature spirituality creates willing people instead of wilful people who rely on will-power rather than grace. Christianity is essentially a response to love and grace and freedom, rather than a ginormous effort to become something that we are not. Without this insight, religion largely creates rigid, unhappy, intolerant and judgemental people. When we try to take charge of our own enlightenment, when we try to be fully in control of our own goodness and superiority, our attitude becomes pushing and demanding—ego assertion, even if it looks like religious ego assertion. This is what so many people rightly dislike and mistrust about religious people. There is a deep seated hypocrisy for in the name of the good, will-creates a well-disguised bad. Jesus was a master and genius at recognizing this problem that he found personified in the Pharisees of his time.

Sun 23^rd Nov – Christ the King

‘There is something about the Feast of Christ the King that makes us think that it has been around since the early church. Yet it was only instituted by Pope Pius X1 100 years ago in 1925. This was when Europe was still reeling after the Great War that must have shaken people’s faith to its foundations. I suspect that the  feast was meant to be a reminder that irrespective of what happens either in our personal or world history, God is still on his throne and one day all of history is going to be redeemed and revealed as His-story. That message is good news and something we all need to hear, again and again.

What comes to mind when we think of a king or queen?

Probably a medieval image of someone seated on a throne with a royal sceptre. Clothed in splendour, with majesty enrobed.

Invested with power and authority, someone with a kingdom under his rule.

Living in a palace.

With a royal retinue and servants at his beck and call.

The image presented by St Luke of Christ the King is utterly at variance with all of those images.

The throne of Jesus is a Cross.

His hands a are nailed out in a gesture of perpetual welcome.

His palace is the barren hill of Calvary.

His crown is made not of gold but of thorns.

He is naked and stripped of all glory.

He dies as he lived offering forgiveness.

He was degraded and humiliated as a human being.

He was crucified as a common criminal.

He was flanked on either side by two thieves.

The only sign of kingship was a scrawl above the cross, saying, ‘This is the king of the Jews.’

As some spiritual writer has said, Jesus Christ took the lowest place in the world so successfully that no other human being has ever been able to take it from him. Because he allowed himself to sink to the lowest depths of forsakenness where he felt utterly abandoned even by God himself the Father raised him up to the heights and so we proclaim him as King.

The two thieves and their different responses are very intriguing. One turns his back and curses, the other rebukes him, turns towards Jesus and says, ‘Remember me when you enter into your kingdom’. This request elicits the immortal words, ‘This very day you will be with me in Paradise’.

Undoubtedly, they never thought that they could end up that way. No one wants to end up as a failure with their life in an utter mess. Like all young men they would have had dreams and hopes for their future. Somewhere along the line those dreams were dashed and life became very cruel as it does for so many. We don’t know why they got into a life of crime. Was it their home situation, was it bad company or was it poverty? We don’t know. What we do know is that they had a story and if we knew that story in full it would probably elicit compassion from us rather than contempt. The more we seek to understand where another person is coming from the less inclined we are to be judgemental.

As I read the account, I don’t see Jesus judging either of the two criminals. What’s happening is that one, in his mockery, is blaming everything and everyone for where he has ended up, whereas the other is taking responsibility for his actions. He is the one who defends Jesus as having done nothing wrong and says, ‘In our case we are getting what we deserve.’

This is like Genesis revisited. Both Adam and Eve refused to take responsibility for their actions and so were expelled from Paradise. When God confronted Adam for what he had done, he blamed Eve………

With the good thief we have a man accepting responsibility for what he has done and so being promised entry into Paradise.

Those who always find someone or something to blame make themselves victims. They give away their own power and hold someone else responsible for their pitiable state. It is always someone else’s fault that they are not happy.

Paradise is still only found by those who stop the blaming game and take responsibility for their own lives, actions and happiness. That is kingdom living.

Those who blame others for their happiness, how they feel and what they do will always find themselves shut out from the garden.

Mon 24^th Nov – Point of Entry

On so many occasions in the Gospels Christ teaches about the importance of entering the kingdom via the narrow gate. The eye of the needle is a similar metaphor where he teaches the importance of letting go in order to have, and how identification with externals like roles, wealth or public opinion can prevent our entry to the inner world. The letting go of what we are not in order to discover who we really are stands at the heart of the Gospel. The first beatitude stresses the importance of stripping down and having poverty of spirit as a precondition for experiencing the inner life of the kingdom. Being not of the world while still in it would be another way of formulating this all-important truth. Religion tends to identify with externals while genuine spirituality is a kingdom reality expressed in the richness of an inner life.

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With more than 400,000 viewers since its release as of 14 November, and counting, a new film about the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become an unexpected box office hit in France – and a lightning rod for controversy.

“Sacré Coeur” has completely exceeded initial expectations – with lines to theaters unseen in years – at the same time causing major controversies in France, including cancellation of the film’s public transportation promotional campaign and its screening in France’s second biggest city – all citing the secular nature of the country.

For many, however, the popularity of the film proves that France’s Catholicism is back in the public square.

Released 1 October, the film subtitled “His Reign Will Have No End” focuses on the apparitions of Jesus to a French Visitation religious sister, St Margaret Mary Alacoque, showing his heart to her between 1673 and 1675, in Paray-le-Monial, in the French region of Burgundy.

Produced to mark the 350th anniversary of the apparitions, the docudrama combines historical reenactments, testimonials and expert analysis. It gives ample space to accounts of personal encounters with Christ, often during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The witnesses and speakers are very diverse, ranging from Father Matthieu Raffray, a traditionalist priest known for his strong views on social media, to prisoners, members of parliament and a former drug dealer from Bondy, a town in the northern suburbs of Paris known for its high crime rate.

The film’s directors, Steven and Sabrina Gunnell, were inspired to produce the film after their visit to the Burgundy shrine. Steven is a former member of the French 1990s boy band Alliage. He converted to Catholicism and now works with his wife to produce films related to their deep Christian faith.

The film places great importance on the shrine of Paray-le-Monial. Entrusted to the Emmanuel Community since 1985, the shrine welcomes tens of thousands of pilgrims each year. It was the site of a highly successful jubilee celebration for the 350th anniversary of the apparitions from December 2023 to June 2025.

The jubilee was closely linked to the late Pope Francis’ last encyclical, Dilexit Nos, subtitled “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ,” published in October 2024.

The film’s success came along with criticism – both from inside and outside the Catholic Church.

One common criticism of “Sacred Heart” from within the church is its omission of the Jesuits. The film features St Alacoque’s spiritual director, Father Claude La Colombière – canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1992 – but never notes that he was a Jesuit. Several French Jesuits told OSV News they regretted this, emphasising the Society of Jesus’ key role in spreading devotion to the Heart of Jesus.

Today, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network – rooted in Jesuit spirituality – includes over 22 million Catholics in 92 countries. The Jesuits interviewed said that acknowledging the society, along with other congregations tied to this devotion, would have shown that the Sacred Heart devotion is a vital movement within the universal church, not just a local phenomenon.

Outside the Catholic sphere, controversies rose to the level of “Christianophobia,” in the director’s own words, when public institutions such as town halls were reluctant to screen the film, as happened in Marseille.

The 22 Octover screening at the Château de La Buzine – a municipal cinema – was cancelled, citing a “violation of the principle of secularism” in a public space.

Le Monde reported that the screening had been cancelled minutes before the premiere on the grounds that “a public facility cannot host screenings of a religious nature.”

As the film was about to premiere 1 October across France, MediaTransports, the advertising agency for SNCF and RATP, rejected their planned poster campaign in metro stations and train stations, citing the “religious and proselytising nature” of the project, “incompatible with the principle of neutrality of public service,” Le Figaro reported.

To add to a heated debate about “Sacré Coeur,” on 29 October, Le Monde highlighted the “political” dimension of the film, while expressing its surprise at this “low-budget” nature which “should never have gone beyond the niche audience for which it was intended.”

But for Father Pascal Ide, a priest in the Archdiocese of Paris known as an online film critic, “Sacré Cœur dusts off, decompartmentalises, and depoliticises a central truth of Christianity, which is that God became Heart.”

A doctor of medicine, philosophy and theology, Father Ide expressed his enthusiasm for the film in La Croix on 29 October. “What touched me most was undoubtedly the person of Jesus and his intense desire to personally reach out to each person in the most intimate way, to experience an intense heart-to-heart connection,” Father Ide said.

In a conversation with OSV News, he added: “The film is very rich. There is something for everyone. What is certain is that it has a considerable impact, which speaks volumes about the expectations of an audience that goes beyond practicing Catholics.”

On 3 November, Le Figaro dedicated a full page to the phenomenon of the docudrama, saying that “this film reveals the discreet but real return of religion in French society.”

Popularity of the film is so big, Le Figaro said, that “week after week, the lines grow longer in front of movie theaters – which have been struggling since the beginning of the year.”

La Croix praised the “unprecedented” popularity “for a documentary of this nature,” saying that “the audience, which is growing thanks to word of mouth, is more diverse than the controversy surrounding the film’s release would suggest.”

For Catholic magazine La Vie, “the primary key to success lies in the film itself,” which the magazine described as “a popular catechism” with its own missionary dimension. Based on this observation, many bishops continue to promote it on their diocesan websites.

Le Figaro cited one of the viewers, Jean-Michel, saying: “This film goes beyond the scope of a simple documentary: It’s a real inner journey, an encounter with the living love of the heart of Jesus.”

As the US marks its 250th anniversary next year, the US bishops will consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The decision was taken during a 11 November session of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall plenary assembly in Baltimore.

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