Catholic News

• Universities offer the 'grace of an overarching vision,' Pope preaches to students (Dicastery for Communication)
  At a Mass for pontifical university students, celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica during the Jubilee of the World of Education, Pope Leo XIV preached that universities offer “the grace of an overarching vision.” Pope Leo warned that “today, we have become experts in the smallest details of reality, yet we have lost the capability of an overarching vision that integrates things through a deeper and greater meaning. The Christian experience, however, wishes to teach us to look at life and reality with a unified gaze, capable of embracing everything while rejecting merely partial ways of thinking.” The Pope advised students to “look to the example of men and women such as Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Edith Stein and many others who knew how to integrate research into their lives and spiritual journey.”
• For 1st time, Pope Leo consecrates a bishop (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
  Pope Leo XIV ordained Msgr. Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski to the episcopate during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square, a month after the prelate’s appointment as apostolic nuncio in Iraq. It was the first time that Pope Leo was the principal consecrator of a bishop; before becoming Pope, he was principal co-consecrator of four Augustinian confrères. The “first lesson for every bishop,” the Pope preached, is “humility. Not the humility of words, but the humility that dwells in the heart of those who know they are servants, not masters; shepherd, not owner of the flock.” The Pope asked Archbishop Wachowski to “guard the shoots of hope, to encourage peaceful coexistence, to show that the Holy See’s diplomacy is born of the Gospel and is nourished by prayer ... In Iraq, the people will recognize you not by what you say, but by how you love.” Born in Poland in 1970 and ordained to the priesthood in 1996, Archbishop Wachowski entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2004. Pope Francis appointed him Undersecretary for Relations with States in 2019.
• Synod leaders identify 8 'priority themes' (General Secretariat of the Synod)
  Following the Jubilee of Synodal teams and Participatory Bodies, the 16th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod held a two-day meeting. The Ordinary Council is responsible for implementing the 2021-2024 synod on synodality, officially the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. (The first was held in 1967.) The Ordinary Council listed eight “priority themes” for the implementation phase of the synod on synodality, which culminates in an ecclesial assembly in 2028. Among the themes are “formation in synodal spirituality,” “the link between listening to the People of God and pastoral and operational discernment,” and “accompaniment of those experiencing fears or disappointments regarding the synodal process.”
• A year after lamenting Church's response to abuse, Belgian king meets with Leo XIV (Brussels Times)
  Pope Leo XIV received King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, a year after the king welcomed Pope Francis to Belgium. At the time, the king’s remarks to Pope Francis on the Church and sexual abuse provoked international headlines. In contrast, the king’s audience with Pope Leo was more muted, with The Brussels Times reporting that “the King and Queen expressed satisfaction with the strong relationship between Belgium and the Vatican. Their discussions touched on several global concerns, including Africa, the war in Ukraine, and efforts to promote international peace.”
• Strengthen ecclesial communion and accompany the vulnerable, Pope tells Chilean bishops (Conferencia Episcopal Chile)
  Pope Leo XIV received the leaders of Chile’s episcopal conference and discussed “the Church’s journey in communion and synodality, the current situation of the country on the eve of the November elections and the priority of evangelization,” according to the conference. “The Holy Father encouraged us to keep hope alive and to strengthen ecclesial communion, with particular attention to the most vulnerable people,” said Archbishop René Osvaldo Rebolledo Salinas, president of the bishops’ conference. “We feel in his words a great pastoral closeness and a sincere concern for our national reality.” Chile, a South American nation of 18.7 million (map), is 87% Christian (61% Catholic).
• Final Italian synodal document wins approval, calls for study of women deacons (SIR)
  The Church in Italy concluded its four-year synodal process with the approval of a 72-page final document, Lievito di pace e di speranza [Leaven of Peace and Hope]. The document gained the approval of 781 out of 809 synod participants. Section 71c, which attracted the least support (76,9% of participants), called for the study of women in the diaconate. The document also called on Italian dioceses, by “overcoming the discriminatory attitude that is sometimes widespread in ecclesial environments and in society,” to “commit themselves to promoting the recognition and accompaniment of homoaffective and transgender persons, as well as their parents, who already belong to the Christian community” (30c). The document then asked the bishops’ conference to support with prayer and reflection the “days” promoted by civil society to combat all forms of violence and demonstrate sympathy towards those who are hurt and discriminated against (Days against violence and gender discrimination, pedophilia, bullying, femicide, homophobia and transphobia, etc.). (30d)
• Icons consecrated in world's largest Orthodox cathedral; Ecumenical Patriarch calls them response to heresies (Union of Orthodox Journalists)
  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, traveled to Bucharest to join Patriarch Daniel of Romania in consecrating the icons and mosaics in the latter’s cathedral. The Ecumenical Patriarch said that an icon is not “a simple work of art, nor a decorative element,” but “the vigorous response of Orthodox theology to the heresies that deny the truth of the incarnate economy of God the Word, as well as to those that do not accept the truth of the deification of man.” The National Cathedral of Romania, consecrated in 2018, is the world’s largest Orthodox cathedral.
• UN leader pays tribute to Vatican II's Declaration on Christian Education (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has written a message marking the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education. The document “constitutes a point of reference that ought to be emphasized and remembered, given the recognition of the universal right to education,” wrote Guterres. “The assertive nature of this document therefore deserves particular attention, especially at a time when the culture of peace must be actively promoted in social life and the international community.” “The right to education for all deserves special care in a world suffering the devastating effects of war and climate change, the destruction of nature, and pollution,” added Guterres, as he recalled Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. “We are all thus called to defend and safeguard the fundamental right to education, just as we must cultivate a culture of peace and sustainable human development.”
• Amazon ecclesial conference VP discusses rights of ecosystems (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  In an interview published in the Vatican newspaper, Patricia Gualinga, the vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, was asked, “Do nature, animals, and trees have rights comparable to human rights?” She replied: The Constitution of Ecuador recognizes that they have rights: not as individuals but as ecosystems. Obviously, we are talking about fragile ecosystems that can be destroyed: therefore, they have rights... legal rights. Our communities, despite feeding off nature, have internal rules that allow us not to transgress beyond what is permitted. The right of other living beings is to continue to reproduce, to survive, and not to be destroyed and exterminated. “We indigenous peoples have been on the front lines of resistance and defense of these spaces,” she said in response to a question about fossil fuels. “If we can still say that the Amazon exists, it is thanks to the indigenous peoples. This has been our strength, and for this we have suffered consequences: we have been stigmatized, criminalized, persecuted, killed.” The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon was founded in 2020, following the Amazon synod.
• Popular movements issue statement: 'Organizing Hope through an Alliance against Exclusion' (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
  Participants in the recent Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements issued a final statement, “Organizing Hope through an Alliance against Exclusion,” which the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has published in English. After lamenting “a fractured world, wounded by violence, injustice, and contempt for human dignity,” participants agreed to four steps: Commit to Structural, Economic, and Political Actions that Unite Us Strengthen Our Platforms as Popular Movements and Church Design New Public Policy Strategies Globalize the Struggle of Popular Movements and Strengthen Our Communicative Capacity and Unity Pope Leo and Cardinal Michael Czerny addressed the fifth world meeting. The first world meeting was held in Rome in 2014; the Vatican’s press office described the meetings as a “platform built by various movements around Pope Francis’s invitation for the poor and organized peoples not to resign themselves but to become protagonists of change.”
• Pope condemns anti-Semitism on anniversary of Nostra Aetate (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Leo XIV dedicated his weekly public audience on October 29 to the Vatican II declaration Nostra Aetate, marking the 60th anniversary of its promulgation. The Pope said that inter-religious dialogue, the focus of Nostra Aetate, reflects the Gospel encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well, in which the Lord “overcomes the barriers of culture, gender, and religion.” He said: This luminous document teaches us to meet the followers of other religions not as outsiders, but as travelling companions on the path of truth; to honor differences affirming our common humanity; and to discern, in every sincere religious search, a reflection of the one divine Mystery that embraces all creation. Noting that the Vatican II declaration gives special emphasis to dialogue with the Jewish faith, the Pontiff hailed the development of a closer relationship between Catholic and Jews. He also denounced anti-Semitism, saying that “the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”
• Pope addresses 7 questions on synodality (Dicastery for Communication (multilingual))
  During the recent Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, Pope Leo XIV addressed questions from seven participants. “The synodal process, as Pope Francis reminded us on numerous occasions, was intended to help the Church fulfil her primary role in the world, which is to be missionary: to announce the Gospel and to give witness to the person of Jesus Christ in every part of the world and to the ends of the earth,” Pope Leo said. In addressing the questions, the Pope referred to the importance of listening to the Word of God, listening to one another, and prayer. “The Jubilee is an invitation to conversion, reconciliation and new life that we have received from Jesus Christ,” he said. “These are aspects that can truly inspire us to continue being Church (siendo Iglesia) and building paths of inclusion, inviting many more—everyone—to accompany us, to walk with us.”
• Pontiff says he will do everything possible to end Russo-Ukrainian war (Odessa Journal)
  During a recent meeting with the Latin-rite bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Pope Leo XIV said he would do everything possible to bring the Russo-Ukrainian war to an end. “It was a very warm and inspiring meeting with the Holy Father,” said Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi. “We had half an hour to talk about Ukraine, the war, and the path toward a just peace. The Pope knows our situation well, is deeply concerned about it, and is seeking ways to resolve it.” “I also asked him to continue praying for Ukraine and to urge others to do the same, especially on the eve of another difficult winter,” the bishop added. “The Pope assured [me] that he will continue to pray and do everything possible to bring the horrors of war to an end as soon as possible.”
• Papal prayers for Jamaica as hurricane strikes (Vatican Press Office)
  At the conclusion of his public audience on October 29, Pope Leo XIV encouraged prayers for the people of Jamaica, which had been hit by the violence of hurricane Melissa, and for Cuba, next in the storm’s path. The Pope offered “his closeness and prayer to the populations affected” by the hurricane.
• USCCB president: Fund SNAP, end government shutdown (USCCB)
  The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said that as the “government shutdown continues, the US bishops are deeply alarmed that essential programs that support the common good, such as SNAP, may be interrupted.” “This would be catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table and places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio. “I urgently plead with lawmakers and the Administration to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that these lifesaving programs are funded, and to pass a government funding bill to end the government shutdown as quickly as possible.”
• Holy See concerned about nuclear facilities in war zones, Vatican diplomat says (Holy See Mission)
  Addressing a UN meeting on the effects of atomic radiation, a leading Vatican diplomat said that the Holy See is “particularly concerned about the risks posed by nuclear facilities in zones of conflict.” “The ongoing hostilities around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant serve as a stark reminder of the grave dangers that arise when civilian nuclear infrastructure becomes entangled in war,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “Urgent preventive measures must be taken to guarantee the safety of civilians and protect creation.” The prelate concluded: Addressing the effects of atomic radiation is not only a scientific or technical matter, but also a moral imperative. Protecting humanity from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, ensuring assistance for victims and caring for our wounded environment all form part of this moral responsibility. The Holy See therefore calls on the international community to intensify its efforts to prevent and mitigate the effects of radiation, in order to safeguard present and future generations.
• Cardinal Czerny speaks to popular movements about 'dream come true' (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
  Speaking to the recent Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development delivered an address entitled “Dream Come True.” “Three dreams come together into one,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ. “The Word of God takes up the cry of those crushed by the system and demanding change. This is the ancient dream of Jubilee, and this is what Jesus did; this is Pope Francis’s dream of world meetings to plant the flag here in Rome at the Vatican; and this is Pope Leo’s invitation to both the Popular Movements and the Church to walk together in the third millennium.” Pope Leo XIV also addressed the gathering.
• At jubilee Mass, papal tribute to three 20th-century Italian laymen (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
  Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for participants in the Jubilee of Instiutional Ceremonial Offices and upheld three Italian laymen as “shining examples of hope and justice, of humility and dedication to the State”: the Servant of God Alcide De Gasperi (1881-1954), Ven. Salvo D’Acquisto (1920-1943), and Blessed Rosario Livatino (1952-1990). “If a state does not convert from the injustices that threaten it and from the corruption that ruins it, it risks dying,” Pope Leo preached. “May the memory of their life and death spur us on to the conversion that they themselves experienced.” The jubilee was not announced on the Vatican’s jubilee website, and the number of participants was even smaller than the 2,000 who attended the concurrent Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies. The papal Mass did not take place in a church, but in the Hall of Benediction of the Apostolic Palace.
• Dilexi Te is a beacon for Haiti, prelate says (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  In a front-page article in the Vatican newspaper, a Haitian bishop lauded Dilexi Te, Pope Leo’s apostolic exhortation on love for the poor. “For us in Haiti, Dilexi Te truly represents a prophetic text,” said Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne, the vice president of the episcopal conference, who is recovering in the US following an attack by criminal gangs. The document “goes beyond the theoretical: it is a beacon on our path that illuminates a wounded people, crucified by their history.”
• Vatican official: Married couples are called to holiness as workers in the harvest (Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life)
  Addressing a conference on the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s parents, a Vatican official said that Christians spouses “have a specific mandate to evangelize and to transmit the faith to new generations, to be a ‘sign’ of the presence of God’s love through their human love, expressed in marriage.” We should proclaim “the vocation of marriage and the path of holiness it opens to those who choose to embrace it,” said Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. “When in the Gospel of Luke we hear the Lord ask to send out workers into his harvest field, we must not think that these workers are only pastors or religious,” but “above all, Christian spouses.”
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