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German Catholic, Protestant leaders deplore AfD victory (Deutsche Bischofskonferenz)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 10:09:04 GMT

The chairman of the German bishops’ conference, joined by the leaders of the Lutheran church and the ecumenical Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen (Association of Christian Churches), issued a statement today deploring the landslide victory of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the Saxony-Anhalt state election.

“Our worst fears have been realized, but the result must be accepted,” said Bishop Heinrich Wilmer, S.C.J., of Münster and the two other Christian leaders. “The churches are particularly concerned about the coexistence and cooperation of the people in Saxony-Anhalt, and especially about respecting the God-given human dignity that belongs unconditionally to everyone. This concern also extends to the free and democratic order in Saxony-Anhalt.”

“We will closely observe and critically monitor the political actions of the future state government,” the Christian leaders vowed. “We will not look away, and we will not remain silent when human dignity is violated, our democracy is jeopardized, or the rule of law is undermined.”

Bishop Wilmer, Rt. Rev. Kirsten Fehrs, and Rev. Christopher Easthill also acknowledged that “the election result shows how great the dissatisfaction and the loss of trust are. This must be taken seriously.”

Founded in 2013, the AfD party has faced strong criticism for its positions on immigration and Islam.

Pope Leo XIV to Vatican families: 'Families give life and love' (Vatican News)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:09:05 GMT

Pope Leo XIV met with hundreds of Vatican employees and their families on the evening of September 5. Quoting Pope St. John Paul II, he told them that “the family is the mirror in which God sees Himself.”

Giving life and giving love, the Pope continued, are the two “greatest miracles” of family life. “I want to thank all of you, your families, for this great miracle that you are.”

Avoid 'extremes' in liturgical inculturation, Vatican official tells new bishops (Fides)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:09:52 GMT

One of the two undersecretaries of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments told 49 newly appointed bishops to avoid “extremes” liturgical inculturation.

Bishop Aurelio García Macías said on September 4:

We must not be afraid of cultures, neither must we idealize them. We must not be afraid of diversity, neither must we sacrifice communion. We must not stifle the authentic creativity of the Spirit, neither must we confuse it with arbitrariness. We must not turn the liturgy into a museum of immutable forms, neither must we turn it into a permanent laboratory.

Bishop García also told the new bishops to avoid unnecessary innovation, syncretism, and folklore. Syncretism, he said, is a “particularly sensitive issue in areas where traditional religions remain culturally very much alive.”

Liechtenstein's parliament backs abortion (Vatican News)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 10:09:10 GMT

In a 13-12 vote, Liechtenstein’s parliament voted to permit abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. In a separate 13-12 vote, the parliament voted not to permit a public referendum on abortion.

Prince Hans Adam II is the nation’s leader; in 2004, he turned over day-to-day governing power to Hereditary Prince Alois. The crown prince has said he will veto the measure.

“The unborn child possesses an intrinsic and inalienable dignity from the beginning and therefore deserves the same protection afforded to every human life,” said Bishop Benno Elbs, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vaduz.

The prelate also called for “a society in which every child is welcomed and every mother and father receive the support they need to make the right decision for their child.” The nation of 41,000 lacks a maternity ward.

Vatican newspaper reviews Cardinal Sarah's new book on Gregorian chant (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:09:29 GMT

The Vatican newspaper published a positive review of a new book on Gregorian chant by Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

The reviewer, Francisco de Jesús Maria Espinosa Garay, O.S.B. Oliv., said that “for Sarah, Gregorian chant comes from God, and silence allows for its creation because it springs from silence and leads back to it, to meditation. Indeed, unlike noise or loud music, Gregorian chant draws one inward and brings happiness, happiness ‘in God.’”

Vatican official: Marriage is a vocation to be proclaimed to young people (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:09:44 GMT

In a recent Italian-language address, the undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life reflected on the “de-matrimonialization” of society.

Gabriella Gambino’s “reflection highlighted the need to rediscover marriage not only as a private choice of the couple, but as a reality with specific familial, social, and legal significance and, for Christians, as a vocation and a sacrament,” the dicastery stated in an English-language summary. “At the heart of the talk lies the witness of families: for young people, in fact, it is not enough to hear others speak about marriage; rather, they need to encounter married couples capable of demonstrating, through their own lives, that fidelity, commitment, and self-giving are still possible.”

Ghana's bishops call for restraint following chief justice's remarks (Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference )

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:09:03 GMT

The president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference called for restraint after the nation’s chief justice made remarks interpreted as favoring the current administration, and critical of the previous administration.

Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of Sunyani said that “judicial independence is not only a matter of actual impartiality; it also depends on the visible, unmistakable appearance of impartiality. A judge, and especially the head of the Judiciary, must be, and must be seen to be, above the partisan contest.”

At the same time, “calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offense,” said Bishop Gyamfi. “The same standard of restraint must be asked of every public office holder, regardless of who occupies it or which party is in government.”

Maine's Supreme Court, in divorce case, restricts mother's religious influence on child's upbringing (Religion Clause)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:09:52 GMT

Citing a child’s fear, anxiety and panic attacks associated with a Protestant church’s teachings, the Maine Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling restricting a divorced mother’s religious influence on the child’s upbringing.

Ruling in favor of the divorced father’s request to restrict his ex-wife’s influence, the court stated:

Calvary Chapel teaches the Bible “verse by verse, chapter by chapter.” This entails sermons that include ... “quite vivid description[s]” of Hell.... [The church’s pastor] testified that he preaches about the “Second Coming of Christ,” which will involve “seven years of . . . pure hell on earth under the persecution of ... the Antichrist” for those who have not “accept[ed] the terms of God.”

The child has experienced fear and anxiety associated with these teachings. The child has asked [her father, Mathew] Bradeen a lot of questions about Heaven and Hell and about why Bradeen and his other child would not be in Heaven with her. The child has left notes around Bradeen’s house because she fears that the Second Coming is approaching.

Leading Canadian, Mexican, US bishops hold fraternal meeting (USCCB)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:09:48 GMT

The presidents of the Canadian and Mexican bishops’ conferences, joined by the vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and two other prelates, met in Cuernavaca, Mexico, “to share their realities, to listen to one another and to discern paths of collaboration for the mission of the Church in North America,” according to a USCCB statement.

The bishops discussed “human mobility and the question of migration, the dignity of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, evangelization, and the possibilities of pastoral collaboration among the Churches in Mexico, in the United States and in Canada,” according to the eight-page statement, dated September 4.

L'Osservatore Romano highlights Cambodian 'villages of hope' (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:09:02 GMT

The Vatican newspaper devoted the most prominent article in its September 5 edition to what it described as “villages of hope”: six temporary villages built for Cambodians displaced by the 2025 Thailand-Cambodia conflict.

“In Cambodia, thousands of people displaced by the war with Thailand are waiting to return to their home areas,” the newspaper reported. “In the meantime, they have started living again.”

USCCB publishes Stella Maris chaplain list (USCCB)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:09:18 GMT

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a list of priests, deacons, and others who minister as Stella Maris chaplains at over three dozen of the nation’s ports.

Stella Maris, Latin for “star of the sea,” is the official name of the Apostleship of the Sea, the Church’s ministry to seafarers.

Bose monastery hosts conference on St. Pachomius (Monastery of Bose)

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:09:15 GMT

The ecumenical monastery of Bose, Italy, is devoting its 32nd International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality, which begins tomorrow, to the theme of “Abba Pachomius, at the Origins of Community Life.” The Vatican newspaper described the annual gathering as among the most significant of its kind.

St. Pachomius (c. 290-346) wrote the earliest extant rule for monks. The monastery stated that the saint’s significance “lies not so much in the simple fact of having brought monks together in a communal life, but rather in having created a complex structure that encompassed multiple monasteries, both male and female, subject to a single common rule, and in having developed a spiritual discipline founded on obedience to the Scriptures, which emphasized the value of charity, shared responsibility, vigilance, mutual forgiveness, and fraternal service.”

Fraternal correction, united prayer can help us grow in mutual love, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:09:37 GMT

Pope Leo XIV said today that fraternal correction and united prayer can help Christians grow in mutual love.

Pope Leo laments recent attacks on Ukraine, renews peace appeal (CWN)

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:09:46 GMT

Pope Leo XIV today lamented recent attacks on Ukraine and renewed his appeal for peace.

Pope encourages Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament in their vocation (CWN)

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:09:22 GMT

Pope Leo XIV told members of the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament that “your presence is a shining witness to God’s freely-give love, which sows in the human heart a longing to seek and contemplate His face.”

Celebrate your Catholic origins and follow Newman's example, Pope tells Oriel College delegation (CWN)

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:09:15 GMT

Pope Leo XIV received a delegation from Oriel College on September 4 and encouraged the delegation’s members to celebrate the college’s Catholic origins and to follow the example of St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890).

Holy See renews call for ratification of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (Holy See Mission)

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:09:09 GMT

A Vatican diplomat marked the International Day Against Nuclear Tests by calling for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

According to the provisions of the treaty, signed in 1996, the treaty cannot enter into force until all 44 countries that then had nuclear reactors ratify the treaty. Nine nations have not done so: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States.

“The Holy See renews its appeal for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which, three decades after its adoption, remains an urgent priority if it is to achieve its full potential and further strengthen the global norm against nuclear testing,” said Msgr. Robert Murphy, interim chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. “The prohibition of nuclear explosive testing is an essential component of the broader moral and legal imperative to ensure the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and to eliminate existing ones.”

Msgr. Murphy also affirmed the “Holy See’s unwavering support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Most of the world’s nations, including the United States, are parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed in 1968. Seventy-five nations—none of them nuclear powers—are parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, signed in 2017.

Latvia's president, Pontiff discuss peace (CWN)

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 02:09:26 GMT

President Edgars Rinkēvičs of Latvia discussed peace during a September 4 audience with Pope Leo XIV.

Nearly 30% of Pakistan's Catholics expected at national Marian pilgrimage (Fides)

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:09:18 GMT

Despite a forecast of severe rain, more than 500,000 of Pakistan’s nearly 1.7 million Catholics are expected to take part in the annual national Marian pilgrimage this weekend at the national Marian shrine in Mariamabad.

“Many people have already reached Mariamabad, while thousands more from all the dioceses of Pakistan are traveling in pilgrim caravans: on foot, by bicycle, motorcycle, truck and bus,” said Father Qaisar Feroz, O.F.M. Cap., spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan. “It is an impressive nationwide mobilization of faith: families travel thousands of kilometers to pray to Mary, place themselves under her mantle, entrust their lives and difficulties to her, and implore graces from their heavenly Mother.”

Jordan is an example for entire Middle East, bishop says (Vatican News (Italian))

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:09:34 GMT

A bishop who ministers in Jordan’s capital upheld the nation as an example for the entire Middle East.

“It is true, we aren’t just pretending; this is the daily life we experience: tranquility, peace, openness, and moderation,” Auxiliary Bishop Iyad Twal of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem told Vatican News. “Occasionally, we face problems here too, but that is normal; such issues exist everywhere, even in Europe. Yet Jordan stands as an example, and it shouldn’t be considered unusual; the entire Middle East ought to be this way.”

Summarizing his remarks, the news agency of the Dicastery for Communication reported:

An oasis of peace amidst the winds of war in the Middle East. A Muslim-majority country where Christians live respected and feel like full citizens. A hospitable land that hosts 3.5 million refugees out of a population of 11 million, and which is preparing to mark the 2000th anniversary of the Baptism of Jesus in 2030. This is how Bishop Iyad Twal, Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan, describes the situation in his country.