According to the website Catholic-Hierarchy, which specializes in information about bishops worldwide, the previous youngest bishop in France was Étienne Guillet, bishop of Saint-Denis, a 50-year-old prelate who was also 48 when he was appointed bishop.

“I accept this appointment with confidence. I have always trusted the Church, and so I say that if it calls me to this mission, I respond ‘yes’ with confidence,” the bishop-designate stated in an interview with KTO.

Bernard shared that over the last eight years as vicar general he has had the “joy of accompanying his brother priests,” and he expressed his desire to get to know and to “journey together,” guided by the Gospel with “the people of God who have been entrusted to me.”

Bernard will receive episcopal consecration and take possession of the Diocese of Soissons on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. local time at Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais Cathedral in Soissons.

Who is the youngest bishop in France?

Bernard was born on Jan. 26, 1978, in Bourg-la-Reine in the Diocese of Nanterre. According to an Oct. 31 statement from the Vatican Press Office, he studied at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Issy-lès-Moulineaux and completed an internship at the Municipal Conservatory of Viry-Châtillon.

After studying at the Saint-Paul Seminary in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, he earned a licentiate degree in theology, specializing in catechetical and practical theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 2005, for the Diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes.

Within that particular Church, he held several positions, including: diocesan delegate for the pastoral care of altar servers (2005–2009); “parochus in solidum” (sharing responsibility for more than one parish) in the deanery of Brétigny (2006–2008); and diocesan delegate for vocations, as well as a member of the Council for the Protection of Catholic Education (2008–2011).

He also served as parish priest and dean of Brétigny (2009–2014); “parochus in solidum” and dean of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes, as well as rector of the cathedral of Évry (2014–2018); and episcopal vicar for Catholic education and diocesan delegate for the formation of seminarians (2015–2018).

Furthermore, he has served as vicar general and moderator of the Évry curia; as a member of the Diocesan Council for Financial Affairs, the Parish Mutual Aid Fund, the Board of Directors, the General Assembly, and the Association of Friends of the Cathedral (since 2018); as coordinator of pastoral sector leaders (since 2021); and as head of the Fidei Donum program for foreign priests (2021–2022).

Until now he was responsible for the permanent diaconate, childrenʼs catechesis, ecumenism, pilgrimages, relations with Judaism, and prison and hospital chaplaincies.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“It is not the role of the Church to adjudicate the causes of this dispute or the responsibility for the lack of its resolution,” the Presidium of the Polish Bishops' Conference, headed by Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdańsk, said in an Oct. 31 statement.

The Polish prelates called on politicians to calm the conflict and asked for “the initiation of constructive dialogue and the peaceful resolution of all difficulties."

The bishops appealed to the faithful to pray “for light and wisdom for the rulers and all those responsible for public life.”

Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno, Polandʼs primate, urged all sides of the political dispute to “seek a common solution” through talks. The heads of Polandʼs religious orders called for dialogue “on the basis of respect for the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the applicable legal order.”

Archbishop Andrzej Przybylski of Katowice and military Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz also urged prayer.

A fight over the bench

The tribunal decides whether Polish laws are constitutional. Who gets to sit on it has been contested since 2015.

This term the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, elected eight judges. President Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the opposition Law and Justice party, swore in three. The other five took their oath in parliament instead, and Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski barred them from ruling.

On Oct. 30 one of the five, Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, struck back. She suspended Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, for one month. The courtʼs official account on X replied that she “is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.” Many legal experts doubt she had the power to issue the order, though some say it can be justified as a case of “higher constitutional necessity.”

Nawrocki turned his plane around on the way to Senegal and was inside the building in the early hours of Oct. 31. A statement in his name, read out by Paweł Szefernaker, head of the presidentʼs cabinet, called the nightʼs events “a forcible takeover of a constitutional body.” Hundreds of people gathered outside.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk was just as blunt in a televised address: “In certain matters, there can be no compromise.”

Others want to start over. Szymon Hołownia, whose Poland 2050 party sits in Tuskʼs coalition, has backed a “constitutional reset” — a move that would replace the entire bench. This idea has long been pushed by the opposition right-wing Confederation and left-wing Together parties.

Either way, Tuesday may not settle anything: The daily Rzeczpospolita reported that none of the judges seated before the current parliament will attend the assembly Korwin-Piotrowska has called for Nov. 3. Without them, it would fall short of its quorum of 10.

European Union reactions

In Brussels and Strasbourg, reactions split along political lines: Michael McGrath, the EU justice commissioner, told Politico the tribunal “needs to be able to function in accordance with the Polish constitution and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU” and that “the Venice Commission has been clear that appointing the new judges lies within the power of the Sejm.”

The Venice Commission is the Council of Europeʼs advisory body on constitutional law.

However, McGrath stopped short of backing the suspensions, and conservatives in the European Parliament saw it the other way.

“The Tusk governmentʼs actions constitute a clear and grave violation of the rule of law,” said Nicola Procaccini, co-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. “We support President Nawrocki in defending Polandʼs constitutional order.”

In an interview with Mark Irons of “EWTN News In Depth,” the 98-year-old Simoni explained how he escaped death through remaining steadfast in faith.

Simoni was imprisoned and tortured for practicing his faith, and eventually his death sentence was commuted to forced labor. Simoni continued secretly to say daily Mass as the Communist Party tried to eradicate religion across their region.

Though many understood the risks involved, no one informed the communist authorities. Had the regime discovered what he was doing, he said, he likely would have been hanged. He credited his survival solely to Godʼs grace.

After the Party of Labor of Albania was dissolved in 1991, Simoni was freed from manual labor under state surveillance. He doesn’t speak much about torture he experienced.

“They also took me into the army … and had me march, for 16 hours marching ... without eating, or drinking, I was dying,” Simoni said. “Thank God, he wanted me to be saved. There it was the hand of God that protected me.”

In 2014, Pope Francis was moved by this priest’s testimony and named him one of 17 international bishops and priests to the College of Cardinals in 2016. Pope Francis described him as “a living martyr.”

Simoni travels across countries bringing the Gospel to all people while also speaking of his experience in communist Albania. His visit to the United States this November comes 63 years after the assassination of Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Simoni said he holds no resentment toward those who persecuted him and his fellow Catholics. Earlier this year he returned to the prison where he was tortured and was able to celebrate Mass publicly.

"We are required to pray for every enemy, that God has mercy, to see them all in heaven, because Christ has shed his blood for us all,” he said.

A district court in Tarnów, southern Poland, on Oct. 29 found Bishop Andrzej Jeż of Tarnów guilty and sentenced him to two years' “restriction of liberty,” a noncustodial penalty. Instead of prison, 1,000 zlotys (about $254) of his monthly salary will go to a childrenʼs charity.

The court also ordered him to pay 10,000 zlotys (about $2,538) on each count into a state victims' fund. Prosecutor Marcin Stępień had sought a suspended sentence and a fine of 20,000 zlotys (about $5,075).

The verdict is the outcome of the first criminal trial of a Polish bishop on that charge. The diocese has announced it will appeal.

The courtʼs reasoning

“The court believes that the defendantʼs task was merely, and yet as much as, to file the appropriate notifications, not to assess individual cases,” Judge Małgorzata Adamczyk said.

She found the bishopʼs testimony not credible.

The curia said it “does not agree with the courtʼs decision” and stressed that, in both cases, the curia made formal notifications to law enforcement authorities. It expressed “deep regret for the harm and suffering of all persons harmed by sexual crimes.”

At the trialʼs opening in February, Jeż, who has led the diocese since 2012, pleaded not guilty and apologized to those harmed.

Since July 2017, Polish law has required that authorities be immediately informed of credible knowledge of the sexual abuse of a child under 15.

The first case concerns former priest Stanisław P., who prosecutors found had harmed at least 95 children in Poland and Ukraine. Prosecutors closed the case in 2022 as time-barred.

The curia said the bishop had concrete information only in 2019 and notified prosecutors in 2020. Stępień countered that a Church tribunal had found the priest guilty in a 2013 decree issued by Jeż and that this earlier finding meant the delay left the abuse of 23 boys time-barred.

The second case concerns a priest, Tomasz K., accused of abusing minors between 2008 and 2010. The curia said the bishop learned only in late 2021 that a victim may have been under 15 and reported it that December, while prosecutors said the curia knew in 2017. The priestʼs case is pending in Nowy Sącz.

Other Polish bishops, including Bishop Jan Tyrawa and Archbishop Andrzej Dzięga, have resigned after Vatican inquiries into their handling of abuse claims. None faced criminal charges.

Antonio García Condado, 78, the town pharmacist, was one of the first to see dozens of bodies trapped beneath the wreckage and to assist injured passengers who did not even have the strength to cry out for help.

He was finishing breakfast when his daughter alerted him that a train accident had occurred. Without a second thought, he got into his car and drove toward the area. At first, he believed it was only a minor incident.

“When I got there, it all seemed very minor. There was no traffic, hardly any cars. I said to myself, ‘Well, this can’t be very serious.’ But as I got closer to the AVE train’s cab, there was no cab. It was a mass of twisted metal, bodies, and dying people,” he recalled a day after the tragedy, still visibly shaken, in an interview with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

‘Some were moving their hands among the bodies’

What struck him most was the deathly silence that hung over the scene.

“There were no screams. Perhaps they didn’t even have the strength to speak. Some were moving their hands among the bodies,” he explained.

Journalists from various news outlets repeatedly asked García what he had witnessed. But repeating the story did nothing to lessen the impact of the scenes he had seen. Every time he told it, García became emotional once again.

“I was deeply affected by the farewell of a dying man to his wife: ‘Maite, I love you very much. Take care of the children.’ The last words he said moved me greatly: ‘God is good,’” he recalled.

Shortly afterward, he noticed another survivor who was calmly asking for help despite the severity of his injuries. García described a young man standing behind him, remarkably composed, asking for an ambulance.

“Then I noticed that his arm had been severed. He had lost his arm. I broke down. I think I even cried,” he said.

After that initial shock, he realized just how serious the situation was and immediately returned to his pharmacy. He gathered all the medical supplies he could and mobilized his entire family.

“I came back here empty-handed to get supplies, especially painkillers. My son came with me, my daughter too, my wife, and my assistant. We practically emptied out the pharmacy and all went back, trying to solve whatever problems we could,” he explained.

When he returned to the accident site, security forces directed him to enter from another access point. There he encountered an even more devastating scene on the other side of the train.

“One carriage had been crushed into another. Just imagine the bodies that were in there. It was horrifying,” he said.

Within minutes, the disaster area involving the two crashed trains, a Renfe AVE carrying 397 people and an Iryo train carrying 147 passengers, filled with the activity that accompanies major catastrophes: dozens of ambulances crossing paths with funeral-home vehicles, fire trucks, Civil Protection units, and officers of the civil guard.

Faith, the only comfort in the midst of tragedy

Throughout the morning, García assisted emergency teams however he could, supplying medicines and medical materials when stocks began to run low.

“What affected me most was that first moment, when I saw people asking for help and I couldn’t do anything, because I was practically alone. It was a tremendous feeling of helplessness,” explained the man of deep religious conviction.

For him, faith in Christ has been and remains his greatest source of support.

“When believers experience traumas this great, we always turn to the same thing. I think it brings tremendous comfort. It’s the only way to keep going forward.”

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The front of a Renfe train traveling at 200 km/hr (124 mph) had slammed into the last cars of an Iryo train at kilometer 118 of the Madrid-Seville railway line, leaving behind a horrific scene with dozens dead and injured. As of Thursday, the preliminary death toll was 69.

Without hesitation, the priest went to the site to accompany the victims trapped in the train cars.

According to his account, he arrived around 11 a.m., two hours after the collision, and joined the relief effort improvised by dozens of volunteers, many of them members of his parish.

‘Our minds turn to God and we look up to heaven’

The first thing he saw was “a huge line of injured people emerging from the train cars,” he told Nicolás de Cárdenas, correspondent for EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Residents of the town did what they could to help, transporting the injured in their own vehicles to Urda so they could receive medical care.

“These are moments that, humanly speaking, break your heart, but very quickly our minds turn to God and we look up to heaven,” Fernández said.

Among the injured, he especially remembered a man who approached him and said: “Father, give me a hug, I’m alive.”

That encounter set the tone for the entire day.

“I said to myself, well, this is how you can draw near today: by giving a hug. So that’s what I spent the entire morning doing while I was at ground zero, holding people’s hands and giving them a hug.”

‘Trust in God, for God is good’

He later went to Urda’s municipal sports hall, which had been converted into a field hospital. Many desperate relatives arrived there looking for news about their loved ones.

“There is no consolation for them. They want to know immediately what has happened. Where is my relative? Where is my loved one? And so what I tried to do was calm them, reassure them, and tell them: What matters is hope. Have hope. Trust in God, for God is good,” he recounted.

‘We are priests, but we are human’

For hours, the priest continued the same mission he had begun beside the railway tracks: accompanying the suffering of people who had lost everything in a matter of seconds.

He also acknowledged that on “many occasions” he ended up crying with them.

“We are priests, of course, but we are human, and the pain and sorrow of our brothers and sisters affect us too,” he explained.

The pope’s affection

From the Vatican, the Holy Father’s spiritual closeness was not long in coming. Pope Leo XIV said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragic railway accident.

In a telegram signed, as is customary, by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, he assured his prayers “for the eternal repose of the deceased” and expressed his “heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” together with words of comfort and his hope for a speedy recovery for the injured.

In the message, addressed to Chaves, the pontiff acknowledged the work of those involved in the emergency response, encouraging “members of the rescue teams to persevere in their relief and assistance efforts” following the disaster.

Finally, the pope imparted his heartfelt apostolic blessing to all those affected as “a sign of hope in the risen Lord.”

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The accident occurred in Urda, Toledo province, at around 9 a.m. local time when a Renfe AVE train reportedly rear-ended another train operated by the Iryo company, causing at least two passenger cars of the second train to derail.

Authorities have reported a death toll of more than 60, surpassing the number of fatalities in the accident that occurred in Adamuz in January, which claimed the lives of 45 people.

Father Fernando Fernández de Bobadilla, the parish priest of Los Yébenes, a town near the site of the accident, spoke to COPE (a radio station owned by the Spanish Bishops’ Conference) from the disaster scene while attending to the victims.

“Right now, I’m holding an IV bag in one hand and another bag in the other. It’s horrific,” he said. “They’ve already begun removing the deceased. They place a black wristband on those who have died, a red one on those in critical condition, and a yellow one on those who can be treated. The two people I’m with right now have red wristbands, and I’m waiting for them to be taken away.”

In its message, the CEE expressed its “condolences to the families of the victims and prays for the eternal rest of the deceased and for the recovery of the injured,” while also joining “in the grief of those affected.”

The bishops called for prayers for all the victims during the religious services of the Christian community, so that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, comforter of the afflicted and queen of peace, the Lord may grant the gift of life to the victims, and hope to their families and all those affected.

The CEE also commended to God “all those involved in emergency response efforts, those caring for the injured, and those providing support to the families of the victims.”

Many prelates have likewise assured their prayers and closeness in the wake of the event.

The archbishop of Toledo and primate of Spain, Francisco Cerro, expressed on behalf of his entire diocesan Church his “profound concern” and closeness to all those affected, assuring that they are offering prayers “for those who have been injured and for all those going through moments of distress and uncertainty as a result of this accident.”

The primatial archbishop further stated that nearby parishes, the local vicariate, and the diocesan Caritas “make themselves available to all those affected and their families, to offer them the help, accompaniment, and support they may need during these difficult times.”

“The diocesan Church of Toledo, like a house with open doors, joins in the pain and worry that this event is causing, and invites the faithful to lift up their prayers for those affected, their families, and the first responders,” he added.

The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, and the archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses, have also shared expressions of consternation and prayers via social media. Saiz stated quite directly: “prayer, closeness, and support for the victims and their families.”

Meanwhile, the archbishop of Granada, José María Gil Tamayo, also offered his condolences, while the bishop of Getafe, Ginés García Beltrán, prayed “that the Lord may sustain and bring comfort to those affected.”

Messages in a similar vein have also been posted by the bishop of León, Luis Ángel de las Heras, who offered “our condolences and our prayers to the God of life” as well as by the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, José Ignacio Munilla; the bishop of Málaga, José Antonio Satué; and the bishop of Vitoria, Juan Carlos Elizalde, who remarked: “May the Lord be their comfort, and may we, as brothers and sisters, accompany the injured and the families who have lost loved ones during these moments of sorrow.”

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

In a joint pastoral letter on migration, published Oct. 24, the bishops also warned that restrictive policies are making it nearly impossible for refugees to enter their countries and defended well-integrated migrants against expulsion.

“Migrants must be carefully integrated into their new countries; otherwise, serious problems arise,” the bishops wrote.

The letter, titled “The Earth Is Our Common Home,” is signed by the six members of the Nordic Bishops' Conference, which covers Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland. They are its president, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, Norway; its vice president, Bishop Raimo Goyarrola of Helsinki; Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm; Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen; Bishop David Tencer of Reykjavik, Iceland; and Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo, Norway. The conference prepared it for Oct. 25, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

At least 4.6 million people living in the five countries, about 1 in 6 residents, were born abroad, according to national statistics offices. In Sweden, 20.8% of residents were born abroad and in Finland 10.9%. Immigrants make up 19.6% of Icelandʼs population, 17.5% of Norwayʼs, and 13% of Denmarkʼs.

Duties and limits

“Each country naturally needs to assess how many migrants it is able to receive,” the bishops wrote. “When this does not happen, and when more people are received than can be integrated well, social problems result.”

Quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, they said migrants are “obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.” This “must not be seen to exclude their legitimate right to preserve their own heritage,” they added.

“There is a risk that migrants isolate themselves and fail even to attempt to adapt to their new circumstances,” the letter says. “Over time, this tendency generates unease and conflict.” Migrants “are to be encouraged to integrate but not subjected to forced assimilation.”

Refugees and the well integrated

The bishops said social problems arising from poor integration lead to “new strictures in policy, so that it becomes near impossible to enter within our borders even for refugees and asylum seekers, who stand under the protection of international norms to which our countries are obliged.”

“In some cases, this development has reached the point where it is considered good to send away as many people as possible, including those who are well integrated and who make significant contributions to our societies,” they wrote. “The Church must raise her voice in defense of those who are in danger of being subjected to unjust treatment without due cause.”

The bishops recalled that “the Catholic Church was rebuilt, after the centuries of persecution, in our Nordic countries by migrants who brought their Catholic faith to us.” Parishes, they wrote, “often function as integration workshop.”

“To foster love of oneʼs nation, to value its traditions and heritage, is a good thing,” the letter says. “Narrow-minded nationalism, however, must be abhorrent to Catholics and to all people of good will.”

Citing Pope Leo XIVʼs visits to the Canary Islands and Lampedusa and his call to “disarm our language,” the bishops said public coverage of and discourse about immigration “tend to become harsher, less nuanced, and more aggressive.”

“Europe is searching for a new balance in this area,” they wrote. “We must be realistic about our limitations, human and material. Still, we must be ready never to reject a suffering brother or sister who calls on us for help.”

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“Persecuted and Forgotten?” outlines how Christians are being forced from their homes through conflict, extremism, and religiously motivated violence in 18 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America between August 2024 and June 2026.

According to research by ACN, 220 million Christians are directly exposed to persecution worldwide. The latest data from Pew Research Center indicates that anti-Christian harassment, ranging from verbal abuse to killings, occurred in 165 countries in 2023, up from 160 in 2021.

At the launch of the report in Portcullis House, London, John Pontifex, head of press for ACN UK, told EWTN News: “By virtue of our shared faith, we identify, inevitably, particularly strongly, with those of our brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith, and we recognize that itʼs an accident of birth that sees them in that situation of persecution and us in a situation of much greater liberty.”

He added: “There are Christians that suffer persecution in more countries than is the case with any other faith group. Up to 165 countries are those where Christians suffer from discrimination, oppression, or persecution. Thatʼs far more than any other religious group, so we need to share their story, and to tell people, our friends, our family, our parish, our [politicians].”

The report outlines how the persecution of Christians by authoritarian regimes has grown to unprecedented levels in countries where there is an anti-West sentiment.

Chinese authorities have intensified their oppression of Christians, as they aim to align religious doctrine more closely with communist principles. This has led to mass detentions, clergy being jailed on legal technicalities, churches closing, and online religious content being controlled.

The report tells of the persecution in Nicaragua, where the regime increased its crackdown on Christians, arresting and exiling clergy, preventing ordinations, seizing Church institutions, and preventing people entering the country with Bibles.

The report also outlines how the arrests of Christians doubled within 12 months in Iran, as crackdowns have intensified.

“Weʼre calling on all countries around the world and the U.N. to fully implement Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrines religious freedom,” Pontifex said.

“Weʼre not calling for special treatment but simply calling for people to band together, to stop acts of oppression — be it people being kidnapped for their faith, be it people being forced from their jobs for reasons to do with their faith …  And indeed, for those who are unfairly tried and sentenced to life imprisonment, for crimes theyʼve not committed,” he said. “Like blasphemy laws, which are arbitrarily enforced. And then recognizing there are people who are often asked to pay the ultimate price. This should stop.”

Sub-Saharan Africa was one particular area of focus, listing Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as territories with the worst extremist attacks since the height of the Daesh (ISIS) violence in the Middle East.

The report outlines how jihadist violence in the Sahel region has led to militant groups now controlling 40% of the country.

“They often coerce villagers to follow Islamic customs, making women veil their faces in public and men grow beards. Those who refuse are expelled or even publicly executed. Where insurgents allow Christians to practice their faith, this is restricted to inside churches, and it cannot be taught to children,” Pontifex explained.

Speaking to the conference about the Christians suffering from this oppression, Caroline Hull, national director of ACN UK, said: “These are people just like you and me. If someone said, ‘Will you give up your faith or I will take your children?’
what would you do? If someone said, ‘Iʼll let you get out of prison if you turn your back on Jesus Christ’? These are fair questions to ask ourselves, and we need to remember that these are people just like us.”

In October 2025, receiving an ACN delegation, Pope Leo XIV declared that religious freedom is “a cornerstone of any just society for it safeguards the moral space in which conscience may be informed and exercised… Religious freedom, therefore, is not merely a legal right or a privilege to us granted by governments; it is a foundational condition that makes reconciliation possible.”

ACN is a Catholic charity founded to help Christians in need where they are persecuted, oppressed, or in pastoral need through support, charitable work, and generating awareness.

On Nov. 18, ACN will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its #RedWednesday campaign, which raises awareness about the persecution of Christians worldwide.

The full report is available to read here.

The decisions came at the close of the bishops' 406th plenary assembly in Zakopanel.

In their final communiqué, the bishops said the bills passed by the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, weaken the legal protection of unborn children. Even if the bills fail later, “the mere fact of processing them fosters the shaping of social acceptance of abortion as a morally neutral solution,” they wrote. The bishops also urged lasting help for women in difficult circumstances.

The Sejm passed both bills on Oct. 20. The first, a penal code amendment approved 217-213, would remove the offense of helping or persuading a woman to have an abortion outside the law. It would also shield medical staff from prosecution for abortions performed to protect a womanʼs life or health or in cases of severe fetal impairment.

The second bill, approved 233-203, would restore abortion up to viability when tests show a high likelihood of severe and irreversible fetal impairment or an incurable life-threatening illness. It would make abortion free in the public health system and require it within 72 hours of consent.

Since a 2020 Constitutional Tribunal ruling, abortion in Poland has been legal only when the pregnancy threatens the womanʼs life or health or results from a crime.

The bills went to the Senate on Oct. 21, but no vote date has been set. President Karol Nawrocki said in January 2025, before his election, that he would not sign a law restoring the rules in place before the 2020 ruling.

“The bishops express their opposition to such a policy, which does not build but destroys,” Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdańsk, the conference president, told a press conference.

Abuse commission

The bishops also approved a revised statute for the Commission of Independent Experts to Study the Sexual Abuse of Minors in the Catholic Church in Poland and chose Piotr Franaszek, a historian at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, as its chairman.

The commission, established in March after three years of preparation, is to study abuse since 1945. It cannot begin work until it gains legal status, which requires approval from the Interior Ministry. The revised statute answers the ministryʼs comments and will be resubmitted; it will be published only after government review.

“We are at the very beginning, but we have an appointed commission, a statute, and a chairman,” Franaszek told reporters.

The prince “will therefore withhold” approval from the bill adopted by the principalityʼs parliament, the Princely House said in an Oct. 20 statement.

Under the constitution of Liechtenstein, a nation of about 40,000 people between Switzerland and Austria, no law takes effect without the reigning princeʼs approval.

The statement said Alois “remains convinced that the proposed reform is not compatible with ensuring adequate protection of unborn life as a fundamental legal value.”

The statement added that Alois supports better information, counseling, and support for women before, during, and after pregnancy.

The bill would have allowed abortion up to 12 weeks. The activists behind the initiative pushing for legalization also sought to lift the advertising ban and have health insurance cover abortions.

Abortion remains a crime in Liechtenstein except in cases of rape or grave danger to the womanʼs life or health. Since 2015, women who have abortions abroad, usually in Switzerland or Austria, have not been prosecuted.

The initiative gathered 4,970 signatures, nearly a quarter of eligible voters. Liechtenstein’s parliament, the Landtag, approved it by 13-12 and, by the same margin, declined to put it to a popular vote, EWTN News reported in September.

Alois had said in June that he would veto the measure.

Voters narrowly rejected legalizing abortion in a 2011 referendum after Alois said he would veto it if approved. In 2012, more than three-quarters of voters rejected a proposal to remove the princeʼs veto over laws approved by referendum.

The initiative committee said the veto was the first Alois has used during his reign, SRF reported. Its members had met Alois at Vaduz Castle hours before the announcement. The committee called for a protest in Vaduz on Saturday.

There are no official statistics on abortions in Liechtenstein.

Before the Landtag vote, Bishop Benno Elbs, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vaduz, said in an Aug. 21 statement that the existing rules had proven themselves and that protecting unborn life must go hand in hand with counseling and practical help for parents. The archdiocese had not commented publicly on the veto as of Oct. 23.

According to Church teaching, human life is under Godʼs special protection from the moment of conception.

“With the authority conferred by Christ upon Peter and his successors, I therefore affirm, in communion with the bishops of the Catholic Church, that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always a grave moral offense,” St. John Paul II declared in 1995 in Evangelium Vitae.

The bills passed the lower house, Sejm, but still need Senate approval and the presidentʼs signature.

Reuters reported that Nawrocki has signaled he would block any liberalization and that the legislation is “almost certain to be vetoed.”

The first bill, an amendment to the penal code, passed 217-213 with three abstentions, according to the Polish news agency PAP. Opponents included the Law and Justice (PiS) party and 14 members of the Polish Peopleʼs Party (PSL), a partner in the governing coalition.

It would repeal the provision under which anyone who terminates a pregnancy with the womanʼs consent outside the law faces up to three years in prison. Helping or persuading a woman to have such an abortion would also no longer be a crime. Women themselves are not penalized under current law. A similar bill failed 218-215 in July 2024.

The second bill passed 233-203 with one abstention. It seeks to reverse an Oct. 22, 2020, Constitutional Tribunal ruling that abortion for severe and irreversible fetal impairment is unconstitutional. Such abortions have not been legal since the ruling was published in January 2021.

Abortion is now legal only when the pregnancy threatens the womanʼs life or health, or up to 12 weeks if it resulted from a crime.

PiS lawmaker Marcin Warchoł criticized Prime Minister Donald Tuskʼs coalition, saying abortion is murder and that the law shapes consciences, according to the Catholic weekly Niedziela. He said the “December 13 coalition,” a reference to the date Tuskʼs government took office in 2023, wants “a soulless and amoral society.”

The coalition lacks the three-fifths majority in the Sejm needed to override a veto, according to the news portal naTemat.

As a candidate in January 2025, Nawrocki said on Polsat News he would not sign a law restoring the so-called abortion compromise in place before the 2020 ruling. He said he could not allow children with Down syndrome to be aborted, PAP reported at the time.

Catholic perspective

“As a person and a bishop of the Church, I will not change my mind,” Bishop Artur Ważny of Sosnowiec wrote in a statement published the same day by the Polish edition of Aleteia.

He added that the defense of the defenseless, especially the unborn human being, is an absolute foundation he cannot and does not want to abandon.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception and that formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense (Nos. 2270, 2272).

In his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, St. John Paul II wrote that direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

In 2020, abuse allegations against Kentenich became public, and the Diocese of Trier suspended his beatification cause in 2022.

The appeal, published Oct. 15 on the movement’s German website, explicitly invites accounts of experiences “perceived as crossing boundaries or as abusive.”

“Historical research into the allegations against Father Joseph Kentenich is in full swing and far from complete,” the movement said.

Schoenstatt has a contact page for people seeking to participate.

“Incriminating evidence may be confirmed; it may equally turn out that allegations must be seen in a different light and that the suspicion against him cannot be substantiated,” the organization said.

Submissions will be “collected, treated confidentially and not prejudged.” Because the research will likely take years, it said, “hasty judgments should be avoided.”

“For many people in Schoenstatt, Father Kentenich is one of the formative spiritual figures of their lives,” the movement said. That bond “is not devalued by open research — any more than open research could erase negative experiences.”

Accusations raised in 2020

In 2020, Church historian Alexandra von Teuffenbach accused Kentenich of engaging in manipulative and coercive behavior with members of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, citing files from a 1950s apostolic visitation.

The movement rejected the accusations. “We firmly reject the accusation that Joseph Kentenich was guilty of sexual abuse of members of the Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary,” its leadership said in a July 2020 statement.

In May 2022, Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier suspended the cause, opened in 1975, after consulting the Vatican.

“The discussions of the last two years have shown that there is a need for in-depth research into the person and work of Joseph Kentenich,” he said at the time. The diocese said the suspension was not a judgment on Kentenich’s life and work.

Born in 1885 and ordained a Pallottine priest in 1910, Kentenich founded Schoenstatt in 1914 in Vallendar, near Koblenz. After a Vatican-ordered visitation, he was separated from the movement in 1951 and spent most of the next 14 years in Milwaukee. He died in 1968.

According to the movement, Schoenstatt is present in more than 110 countries worldwide today.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The coach was accompanied by Rafael Louzán, president of the Royal Spanish Football (Soccer) Federation (RFEF, by its Spanish acronym) and other representatives from the Spanish soccer scene.

“It is a tremendously moving experience. You all know of my devotion to the Virgin of the Pillar, and I feel very happy and proud to be here with all of you,” said De la Fuente following the offering of the trophy, as reported by la Iglesia en Aragón (The Church in Aragon) website.

The national team coach, who personally carried the trophy for much of the visit, also spoke about what it meant to him to return to the shrine. “Above all, it was an emotional experience, an indelible memory that I will carry with me forever,” he remarked.

Hundreds of people followed the ceremony both inside and outside the basilica. Among those in attendance were Archbishop Carlos Escribano of Zaragoza, and Father Juan Sebastián Teruel, dean of the metropolitan chapter of the cathedral.

‘With gratitude, humility, and emotion’

The offering of the cup to the Virgin was led by Louzán, who addressed her on behalf of the federation.

“Today we come to your feet, on behalf of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, to offer you this World Cup with gratitude, with humility, and with emotion,” he stated, as reported by the official RFEF website.

In his remarks, the president of the RFEF recalled the bond connecting the Virgin of the Pillar to the history and faith of Hispanic peoples, “who also find a shared passion in football.”

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Louzán also prayed that the Virgin might accompany those who are part of the Spanish football community, helping them to experience their wins with humility and to show solidarity toward others.

“Help us to make football a school of camaraderie, effort, and solidarity — a place where we learn to reach out a helping hand and to place the good of the team above our own self-interest,” he added.

Before concluding, he once again entrusted the trophy to the Virgin: “Our Mother, receive this cup and the affection with which we offer it to you. May we, under your guidance, find the strength to continue working together and to bear the name of Spain with pride and responsibility. Long live the Virgin of the Pillar.”

Archbishop’s remarks

Escribano also spoke, highlighting what in his view enabled the national team to achieve its goals.

“Teamwork, conviction, faith, and leadership have shown us everything we can accomplish,” he stated.

The prelate noted that Spain already holds two world titles and expressed his hope for further victories: “There are already two stars, and hopefully there will be many more in the future much like the ones you see in the Virgin’s chapel.”

The president of Aragon’s petition

Jorge Azcón, president of the Aragon autonomous regional government, asked Louzán to deliver some special gifts to the entire team: ribbons that represent the approximately 14 inches height of the statue of the Virgin of the Pillar for every member of the Spanish national team.

“I believe, my dear president, that you must commit to me to ensure they reach each and every one of them,” he said.

The World Cup returns to Zaragoza

The visit took place three months after thousands of people in Zaragoza celebrated Spain’s World Cup victory.

Before heading to the basilica, the delegation took part in an official event at city hall. The mayor of Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca, recalled the joy the city experienced during the tournament.

The delegation’s itinerary also included a visit to the construction site of the new La Romareda stadium. Zaragoza is preparing for the 2030 World Cup, for which the sports venue is expected to have a capacity of over 40,000 spectators.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The event, organized by the Enraizados Foundation under the heading “God: A Light in Public Life?”, took place Oct. 19. It began with a prayer that included the following petition: “Transform our homeland into an anteroom to the heavenly homeland.”

During the gathering, the Franciscan archbishop took part in a roundtable discussion with Higinio Marín, rector of Cardenal Herrera CEU University; Sen. Fernando Gutiérrez, who represents Melilla; and Bieito Rubido, director of El Debate online news.

Sanz explained that he is frequently accused of being a bishop “who gets involved in politics,” a charge he acknowledges is fair, noting that he “rarely disappoints” in that regard with some of his homilies and writings.

“I say everything I can. I engage in politics whenever I am able,” he stated, further clarifying that by “politics,” he is referring to “the ministry of bearing witness within the ‘polis’ — in the city.”

He explained that in these statements, he’s not sharing “nonpartisan proposals, but rather values ​​in which I believe, values ​​I have learned from God and his Church.”

“When I point out lies and liars, I never mention their names, nor do I ever cite their political affiliations or acronyms. They provide those themselves when they take it as being directed at them,” Sanz noted.

Furthermore, the prelate maintained that there is a place for God in society, a “legitimate possibility for him to accompany us” as a God who “is not a rival, who does not replace us, but who, with discretion, always accompanies us.”

‘There are no atheists and believers, but rather believers and idolaters’

When asked about the invitation extended by St. John Paul II in his homily inaugurating his pontificate to open “wide the doors to Christ” within “the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, and the vast fields of culture, civilization, and development,” Sanz highlighted that the Polish pontiff had first issued a call not to be afraid.

Sanz further pointed out how Europe, “from the French Revolution onwards, has increasingly leaned toward a kind of suspicion, indifference, and hostility toward the presence of the Christian event.”

The archbishop of Oviedo also stated that “in our society, there are no atheists and believers, but rather believers and idolaters.”

Citing the poet T.S. Eliot, the prelate contended that “when a person has lost faith in the true God, he has ceased to be a believer,” because he is always left with three lesser gods which are not gods, yet ones that people are unwilling to renounce: power, money, and sex.

“You tell me if the people who strut about and impose a thousand and one barriers on you to prevent you from freely expressing your faith are not the people who claim to be atheists or agnostics, yet who are the ones who believe with complete conviction in power, money, and lustful sex,” he challenged.

The temptation of going underground

Furthermore, the prelate warned against the temptation of going underground, because “it could reduce us Catholics within the public sphere, at the heart of the city, to silence and invisibility.”

“If we don’t speak up and don’t make our presence known, we might even receive subsidies,” he remarked ironically. “But if we voice our views rooted in the long Christian tradition and maintain a presence that is critical but not fault-finding, we become a nuisance. Consequently, not only will we never be granted a subsidy — thank God for that because we will continue to be free — but they will also attempt to censure us to the point of pushing us underground by our silence and invisibility,” he explained.

Finally, the prelate argued that Catholics not living in the shadows should be present in “the church, where we celebrate the mystery; the public square, where we bear witness to it; and the atrium, which lies between the two — moving back and forth from the church to the square, and from the square to the church” as witnesses to the truth.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The milestone event at the cathedral in West Sussex gathered key figures across the community — from Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, the papal nuncio to Great Britain, to local priests, religious orders, and lay Catholics — alongside representatives from neighboring Christian churches as well as the Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu traditions, all standing together to mark this new chapter for the diocese.

Reflecting on his personal faith journey, Wang recalled converting to Catholicism decades prior in Harpenden, England. He shared how an icon given to him by a friend during his youth — inscribed with St. Paul’s reassurance that the Lord is faithful and will bring all things to fulfillment — has continually guided his vocation.

When addressing the congregation after the ordination Mass, Wang announced his episcopal motto as “Veritas in Caritate,” from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “to speak the truth in love.” He said this phrase has inspired his whole priesthood — from his teenage conversion to his time in London when he launched the faith formation program “Sycamore” in 2014 and his appointment in Rome as rector of the Venerable English College (VEC).

Wang has a deep, multilayered history with the VEC in Rome, having spent time there both as a student and later returning as its rector. 

From 1992 to 1997, he completed his initial priestly formation at the seminary, earning a licentiate in philosophy from the college alongside a licentiate in fundamental theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. 

Decades later, he returned to Rome to serve as rector of the VEC from 2021 until 2026, where he oversaw the preparation and formation of the next generation of Catholic priests before stepping down upon his new appointment as the bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

In his closing statement, newly ordained Wang said: “It’s not about us, it’s about God, his faithfulness, his love, a beauty that catches us by surprise.”

The declaration, titled “Europeʼs Responsibility in the Time of Artificial Intelligence: A Call to Safeguard the Human Person,” was adopted Oct. 16 at the close of the autumn plenary assembly of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in Brussels and published Oct. 19.

“Humanity stands at a decisive moment in which technological progress must be guided by a renewed commitment to the dignity of every person, justice and fraternity,” the bishops wrote.

The bishops acknowledged the “significant opportunities” AI offers but said its rapid development raises “profound anthropological, ethical, social and legal questions.” They acknowledged the EUʼs efforts to regulate the technology. They urged Europe to act “with urgency, ambition and responsibility” to strengthen its digital capacities and take a leading role in international AI governance.

The 8 principles

The bishops urged the EU and its member states to implement the following principles and promote them in international forums:

• Human dignity and human agency must remain paramount.
• The common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, care for creation, and justice must guide technological innovation.
• Responsibility, transparency, and accountability must accompany AI.
• AI must not become a source of discrimination, exclusion, or manipulation.
• AI must not diminish or displace the uniqueness of the human person, and people must not be “reduced to data or commodities.”
• The digital and technological commons require responsible governance.
• Democracy and the rule of law must be protected.
• AI must contribute to peace and human fraternity.

“Its future must be shaped not only by what technology can do, but by what human dignity, responsibility, solidarity and fraternity require,” the declaration concludes.

The Oct. 14–16 assembly opened with a Brussels presentation of Pope Leo XIVʼs first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published in May, on artificial intelligence. Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Culture and Education, gave the keynote address.

The bishops also sent a telegram to Pope Leo wishing him “a speedy recovery following your surgery.” The pope underwent lung cancer surgery Oct. 13 and was discharged from the hospital Oct. 17.

COMECE, founded in 1980, represents the Catholic bishops' conferences of the EU member states before the EU institutions. Its current president is Italian Bishop Mariano Crociata.

The ministry takes its name from Jesus’ healing of the blind man at the Pool of Siloam (Jn 9:1-41) whereby the blind man receives not only physical but also spiritual sight and puts his faith in Jesus.

Approximately 1,000 people have attended one of the more than 25 gatherings held over the last three years, and the results have prompted the organizers to take the step of formally establishing an association.

Although the initiative does not yet have official ecclesiastical endorsement, it receives spiritual guidance from several priests and will soon be presented to the Archdiocese of Madrid in Spain.

‘I didn’t believe in anything’

Huerta answered a call from EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, while walking the Camino de Santiago along the stretch that leads from Burgos Cathedral to León Cathedral.

Without breaking his stride, he explained with enthusiasm and gratitude how his conversion took place while he was in his garden at home: “I received the love of God. I didn’t believe in anything; I had no faith. In fact, I didn’t even remember that there were four Evangelists. I actually had to look up ‘Gospels’ on the internet,” he admitted humbly.

From that moment on, he experienced “the absolute certainty that God exists and is in our hearts” and that this entails turning to him “in order to become the best version of ourselves and offer that to others.” This same process also took place for his wife, Marta del Sol.

‘The best parties for Jesus’

On their journey of conversion, Javier and Marta made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. While walking the Stations of the Cross, a longing stirred in Javier’s heart: “I had to throw the best parties for Jesus.”

His home has always been open to friends and to hosting the best events. From that point on, the gift for hospitality was placed at the service of evangelization, as they wanted to share the joy they had rediscovered through their faith “with great pride, and without any sense of shame.”

Javier Huerta also felt a deep “need to know more and learn,” which led him to read countless books that showed that faith is reasonable, including works by José Carlos González Hurtado, president of EWTN Spain.

Drawing on all this information, he created a 40-minute video about God and the creation of the universe, which he uses during his events. Through this tool and his own testimony, they created an environment where people “could express themselves and talk about the meaning of life and more profound, transcendent matters.”

Those who attended the initial meetings left “filled with much love” and a desire to share the experience. The experience also resonated with their children, and they began holding double sessions: Fridays for young people and Saturdays for adults, with 45 participants in each group.

“We’ve done this some 20-odd times, and the sessions have always been full. The Virgin has always ensured they were full,” even with people they didn’t know.

Like the early Christians

Javier is convinced that hospitality in a private home helps those who are far from the faith and who harbor “strong resistance” toward going to a parish due to “false stereotypes.”

Following the model of the small Christian communities of the first century, they open their homes and speak about God without getting to “complex theology.”

It’s a matter, Javier explained, of doing what Andrew did for Peter, or Philip for Nathanael: “Bringing them to [Jesus]. And then, God’s grace must be allowed to work.”

On Saturday, Oct. 17, more than 400 people attended a theater in Torrelodones, a town near Madrid, where the association Encuentros Siloé was formally introduced, along with a second video about the person of Jesus.

Under the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The leadership team of Encuentros Siolé was formed under the mantle of the Virgin of Guadalupe. A few months ago, Javier and Marta traveled to Mexico City to participate in an Encounter conference, a Catholic training program for those engaged in apostolic ministry.

There they met Juan Armada and María Soledad Martínez-Avial, with whom they shared their experience, and they committed to working together to shape the association that had just been unveiled.

The fruits, beyond what has already been harvested, seem set to grow even further. For November alone, gatherings are already scheduled in Málaga, Burgos, and at several private homes in Madrid.

‘To reconquer Spain once again’

The creation of Encuentros Siloé, with its special focus on those estranged from the faith, comes shortly after the news that, for the first time, more Spaniards identify as atheists than as practicing Catholics.

Indeed, Bishop Mikel Garciandía recently observed that the country is in a sense a mission field, because “in Spain, the Word has theoretically been sown, but it has been forgotten or considered secondary" in people’s lives.

Javier said he feels deeply challenged by this reality. For this reason, he pointed out that “we must reconquer Spain, a land that belongs to Mary, and once again become a light to the world.”

Beyond home gatherings

The association includes about 25 people committed to the apostolate, all of whom contribute selflessly. Among them are some of the future hosts for these gatherings who will receive specific training to ensure the preservation of the method and doctrinal orthodoxy.

However, Javier and Marta’s experience has made them keenly aware that a one-time encounter is not enough; rather, any journey of conversion requires ongoing accompaniment.

Toward this end, they also hold biweekly online meetings, provide educational resources and reading materials, and strive to build community bonds and provide support for each individual’s personal journey.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

In a statement, the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo said Father Andrii Stebivka was mobilized Oct. 12 in the Rivne region of northwestern Ukraine. It said it had told its priests in advance how to proceed while a deferment was still being processed and the supporting documents had not yet been issued.

“Father Andrii did not follow these instructions, for which he is deeply sorry, and on his own initiative he apologized to the eparchial administration,” the statement said.

According to the eparchy, the priest told his bishop that he is at peace and accepts his present circumstances in the light of God’s providence. The eparchy said he has expressed a wish to serve as a military chaplain and is completing the required training and paperwork.

Neither Father Stebivka nor his parents could immediately be reached Friday to respond to the eparchyʼs statement.

EWTN News first reported the case Oct. 16, citing the priest’s parents, Bohdan and Natalia Stebivka. They said their son, 38, was stopped at a checkpoint while returning from a spiritual retreat. They said a recent parish transfer had delayed the state registration of his ministry and that recruitment officers did not accept the documents he presented.

Clergy in Ukraine are not automatically exempt from mobilization. Under procedures set by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, religious organizations apply for deferments, known as “reservations,” for individual clergy.

The Eparchy of Mukachevo is a Byzantine-rite Catholic diocese in western Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region, with its cathedral in Uzhhorod. It reports directly to the Holy See and is not part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Bishop Teodor Matsapula has led the eparchy since 2024.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Oct. 23, 2026, to include a statement from the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo and to remove details that could not be independently verified. EWTN News did not contact the eparchy before publishing the original story to verify the account of the priest’s parents.

“I call on everyone not to be swept up in the spiral of this violence: Our city and our country deserve better than this,” Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille and president of the French bishops' conference, said in an Oct. 18 communiqué.

In Marseille, he wrote, “shops were looted, churches broken into, the city hall invaded and damaged, a police station ransacked, and members of the police attacked.” The archdiocese has not said which churches were entered.

Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon said in a statement on X that his city “was the scene of clashes, hatred, destruction, and looting that are unacceptable.”

“I am well aware that this violence is the sign of a society that is unwell, but I want to state forcefully once again that it is a dead end,” he wrote.

Organizers postponed a March for Peace that Lyonʼs Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders had planned for Sunday to mark the 40th anniversary of St. John Paul IIʼs 1986 interreligious day of prayer in Assisi, Italy.

No new date has been set.

What happened

The violence broke out Oct. 17 when about 550,000 people marched nationwide in what organizers called a protest against the rising cost of living, according to the Interior Ministry.

One labor union put the figure at 800,000, AFP reported.

The movement grew out of weeks of high school protests over school conditions, during which several schools were severely damaged by the demonstrators, including in Paris, Nantes, Marseille, and Rouen.

In Limoges on Saturday, masked mobs broke into the city hall and set it on fire. In Paris, AFP reporters saw groups of young men in balaclavas disconnect security cameras before smashing their way into shops. Paris looting continued Sunday night, Le Figaro reported.

Other public buildings were also attacked and torched. In Lyon, the tourist office on Place Bellecour was ransacked and set on fire. In Bordeaux, rioters ransacked the regional prefectʼs residence, and firefighters put out fires at the prefecture building, a bank, and shops, Sud Ouest reported.

Nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, the Interior Ministry said. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told France 2 on Monday that authorities took 2,331 people into custody over the weekend, 70% of them adults “very often known to the police and the justice system,” Le Figaro reported. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said about 350 people were arrested in Paris alone on Sunday and overnight.

Prosecutors in Toulouse and several other cities said most of the people they held had no previous criminal record.

Trump and Vance react

In reaction to the images of chaos, violence, and looting across France, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance both pointed to immigration.

“Western liberals imported the third world into France,” Vance wrote on X.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that “the immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” AFP reported.

Nuñez said rioters acted at the instigation of “the ultra-left” and were joined by “opportunistic delinquents,” Le Figaro reported. On Monday, he confirmed security forces had “lost control” at points during the violent riots.

On Monday, Macron refused Nuñezʼs resignation, offered the day before, and pointed to “failures of anticipation and intelligence,” Euronews reported. Darmanin said the authorities had “unquestionably failed.”

According to data from the website Domund100.es, produced by the Pontifical Mission Society of Spain, in 1925 the Church had 297 missionary dioceses, some of which encompassed entire countries.

There were 9,645,173 Catholics in these mission lands, representing 1.68% of the population. A century later, the number of Catholics in mission territories stands at 346,644,968, representing 8.6%.

This spread of the Gospel would not have been possible without the dedication of thousands of diocesan priests and men and women religious who answered the call to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation.”

A hundred years ago, missionaries numbered fewer than 10,000 priests, just over 2,300 male religious, and more than 20,000 female religious. Today, there are more than 100,000 priests, over 76,000 male religious, and more than 200,000 female religious in mission lands.

The Church’s evangelizing work has translated into concrete achievements. For instance, the number of parishes has grown from 627 to over 41,000 in a century.

Although there are no records from that time regarding schools or social institutions such as hospitals, orphanages, and care homes established by the Church in these regions, the comparison over the last 50 years speaks volumes: The number of schools rose from fewer than 50,000 to nearly 125,000, and social institutions increased from 12,000 to more than 26,000.

On average each day, over the last 100 years in mission territories, the Church has seen more than 9,000 people becoming Catholic, two priestly ordinations, five women taking vows as religious, and the construction of one parish church and three new schools.

1,133 missionary dioceses

Currently, the Pontifical Mission Societies support 1,133 missionary dioceses, those that following the initial proclamation of the Gospel do not yet possess sufficient resources of their own to sustain themselves and therefore depend on the Dicastery for Evangelization.

These dioceses, which account for one-third of the Catholic Church, are spread across 138 countries covering almost all of Africa and Asia (with the exception of the Philippines), Oceania (excluding Australia), and the Amazon basin in the Americas.

Given that two-thirds of the worldʼs population lives in these territories and considering the growth of the Catholic faith there, the face of the Church is gradually changing. Indeed, 22 out of every 100 Catholics are African, whereas 40 years ago African Catholics represented barely 7%.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The initiative, called “KI kindgerecht!” (“Child-friendly AI!”), also involves Germanyʼs biggest Protestant body and an association of childrenʼs websites.

“AI is already embedded in many digital applications,” said Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, who chairs the bishops' media commission, in a statement Oct. 14.

"With the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV gives the Church a clear mandate: In the age of artificial intelligence, we must defend human dignity — especially where children are easily exposed to danger."

The initiative “combines protection, participation, and responsibility, and makes clear that digital spaces must serve the good of the child,” he said.

Responsibility must not be “shifted onto parents alone,” Bätzing added. “Precisely because we know how vulnerable children are, we see it as our duty to act as advocates for this group in need of protection — in the digital space as well. Technology must serve the human person, not purely economic interests.”

The Church in Germany is working with academics, educators, and interested providers on a code of conduct for child-friendly interactive AI, built on five principles: safety by design, respect for childrenʼs rights, age-appropriate spaces for participation, data protection, and human review.

The bishops also said providers “must be obliged to comply with child-friendly standards” and called for lasting investment in media education so children, parents, and teachers can learn to use AI confidently.

Vatican sharpens focus

The German initiative comes as the Church globally wrestles with AI and the Vatican sharpens its own focus on minors online.

At its Sept. 28–Oct. 2 plenary assembly in Rome, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors examined how digital technologies, AI, and websites are used in the pastoral care of children and backed wider collaboration with international partners and Curia offices so that “the dignity, safety, and wellbeing of children remain at the heart of technological development and governance,” Vatican News reported.

In March, Pope Leo XIV warned: “We must not allow children to end up believing they can find in artificial intelligence chatbots their best friends or the oracle of all knowledge, dulling their intelligence and their capacity for relationships, and numbing their creativity and thinking.”

Receiving participants of a Rome conference on “The Dignity of Children and Adolescents in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” on Nov. 13, 2025, Leo also warned that “children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to manipulation through AI algorithms that can influence their decisions and preferences.”

In Magnifica Humanitas, the encyclical on artificial intelligence published May 25, the pope wrote that “online phenomena such as grooming, blackmail, and the sexual exploitation of minors are not uncommon, and are made more insidious by the use of fake profiles, algorithms that facilitate dangerous contact, and AI tools capable of manipulating images and videos.”

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

In his keynote speech, “Refugees and Migration in the U.K.: A Catholic Response to People Seeking Sanctuary,” Ryall underscored the important role those working for Catholic organizations play in helping to “turn generosity into something practical and sustainable,” according to an Oct. 13 report from Independent Catholic News.

Ryall further highlighted the importance of commitment to the preservation of human dignity and necessary reforms that should be made in the asylum system in the United Kingdom. The conference took place Oct. 5–7.

Priest in India arrested for molesting 5 minor boys

A Catholic priest in India has been arrested on charges of sexual assault against five minor boys.

Father Siprian Pinto of St. Vincent Ferrar Church at Valencia, Mangaluru, was arrested after one of the victims’ families filed a complaint at the Mangaluru South Police Station on Oct. 15, according to a report from The Hindu.

The victim alleged that Pinto touched him inappropriately on several occasions and that when he confided in four of his friends about the sexual assault, they said they experienced the same thing, the report said. The boy’s parents approached the bishop, who instructed them to file a complaint. An investigation is now underway, according to the report.

Maronite bishop appointed in Mexico

Father Milad Yaghi, a Lebanese priest serving in Houston, has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as bishop of the Maronite Catholic community in Mexico, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Oct. 12.

Yaghi will serve in the Diocese of Our Lady of Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico, and his episcopal ordination is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2027, in Harissa, Lebanon.

Yaghi was born in 1964 in the town of Shalifa Bekaa, Lebanon, and has served as a mentor for Christian youth in the country and as the personal secretary for the Maronite bishop of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles.

Father Elias Suleiman, superior general of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries, expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV and to the Synod of the Maronite Bishops for choosing Yaghi to take care of the Mexican diocese.

Mauritius having ‘very difficult time’ amid violent unrest

Bishop Jean Michaël Durhône of the Diocese of Port-Louis in Mauritius has appealed for peace and nonviolence as the Indian Ocean island nation grapples with violent protests.

“I am a brother of Mauritius, a brother of the people of Rodrigues, and a brother and sister of everyone living in Mauritius, a country that is going through a very difficult time,” he said in a message on Oct. 13, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported.

“We are witnessing a situation of suffering and anger,” he said of the unrest following demonstrations that erupted last week over water shortages and living costs and escalated after police shot and injured a 27-year-old woman on Oct. 9.

“We must take this situation seriously and ensure that people remain safe,” Durhône said. “There are many people of goodwill working for peace. We are trying to bring everyone together so that peace can return to the country, a peace built on a commitment to non-violence.”

Caritas conference in Cyprus highlights global survey on migrant children

Caritas Italy and Caritas Cyprus hosted a three-day meeting in Nicosia on “Migration in the Eastern Mediterranean: Challenges, Responsibilities, and European Perspectives,” with protection of migrant children as one of the event’s central themes.

“We believe migration policies must be accompanied by safe and legal pathways, as well as effective systems for reception and integration. Here in Cyprus, the need to look beyond borders — and not only political ones — could not be more evident,” Paolo Valente, deputy director of Caritas Italy, said in an Oct. 7 press release.

Cecilia Nicoletti of Caritas Internationalis presented a global survey of 73 Caritas organizations on the topic of migrant children, which found “many are under 14 and are fleeing conflict, violence, persecution and the effects of climate change, at a time when the principle of non-refoulement is increasingly disregarded,” according to the release. The conference also included sessions on migration routes, integration, and global migration.

Asia-Pacific Augustinians hold congress on digital evangelization

The Asia-Pacific Augustinian Conference (APAC) held its Mission Congress 2026 Oct. 5–11 on evangelizing in the digital age, missionary identity, and “interior tourism.”

The congress took place at the pastoral center of the Archdiocese of Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, according to a Licas News report. Joseph Đinh Đức Đạo, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Xuân Lộc, called participants to view digital tools as “secondary to the interior disposition of the evangelizer,” the report said. “If you do not have Christ in your heart, you cannot preach and share Him.”

Father Augustine Huyn Tran, OAD, prior of the Discalced Augustinian Saigon Community, called for missionaries to stay rooted in their spiritual heritage while also using technology to serve their efforts to carry out real-life conversions.

During the opening Mass of the congress, Father Andrew Batayola, OSA, president of APAC, encouraged delegates to practice “interior tourism” by exploring the depths of their hearts through deliberate spiritual journey.

Chaldean Catholics gather in Rome for special Mass

Chaldean Catholics from Iraq and communities around the world gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass celebrated by Patriarch Paul III Nona.

With Aramaic hymns, traditional clothing, and Chaldean flags, the celebration brought together believers from different countries,” ACI MENA reported Oct. 15. In his homily, Nona emphasized that true Christian unity comes through Christ while respecting each community’s identity and traditions.

Chaldeans came to the event from Australia, Canada, the United States, and several European countries, as well as from Iraq, Egypt, and Syria.

Tanzanians urged to pray for founding president’s canonization

Bishop Lazarus Vitalis Msimbe of Morogoro, Tanzania, has presented Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere as a role model for leaders, urging intensified prayers for the canonization of the country’s first president.

“Let us continue praying for Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere,” he said in a homily on Oct. 11, ACI Africa reported. “Twenty-seven years have passed since his death, but the process of declaring him a saint has already begun.”

Nyerere, whose cause was initiated in 2005, served as prime minister of Tanganyika from 1961 to 1962 and as its president from 1962 to 1964. Following the union that established Tanzania in 1964, he became the East African nation’s first president, serving until 1985. He died in 1999 at the age of 77.

“Some leaders, when defending a position and encountering opposition, eventually back down. However, Mwalimu Nyerere did not retreat from upholding the principles he believed were right and essential for the countryʼs development,” the bishop said.

UK bishops merge 3 dioceses

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has concluded its consultation process with three dioceses merged at the request of Pope Leo XIV and the Dicastery for Bishops.

“The priests and deacons of the three dioceses engaged positively and constructively with the discussions about the possibility of a unified diocese being established by the Holy Father,” the bishops said in the conclusion of the consultative report on the merging of the Leeds, Middlesbrough, and Hallam Dioceses, released Oct. 14.

Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds said in the report that “the unification of the three dioceses would help to strengthen the mission of the local Church, support the work of evangelization more strategically, and provide greater opportunities to fulfill our responsibility to reach out to the poor and disadvantaged within our region.”

Running Oct. 16–22, the high-profile visit centers on the theme "Together in Prayer and Dialogue for Peace.”

Koovakad’s itinerary includes visits to London and Birmingham, featuring meetings with representatives from various faith traditions, including members of the Dharmic and Sikh communities.

The weeklong journey includes marking the 10th anniversary of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain and addressing seminarians to emphasize grassroots bridge-building.

The last official visit to the U.K. by the head of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue took place in 2013, when Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran undertook a similar high-profile journey to engage with faith communities in Britain.

As Pope Leo XIV recovers at Romeʼs Gemelli Hospital following a successful surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, high-profile diplomatic initiatives like Koovakad’s U.K. visit are vital for maintaining the Vaticanʼs active global engagement and reinforcing the Holy See’s continuous commitment to interfaith bridge-building and peace.

Speaking ahead of the trip, the cardinal stressed that interreligious dialogue remains a fundamental opportunity for Catholics to witness to their faith. He noted that fostering mutual understanding, respect, and enduring peace is a shared responsibility for all believers.

During his homily, delivered in both Spanish and English, the prelate shared aspects of his experience as a pilgrim and encouraged those present to reflect on what — and with whom — they had journeyed along the Camino de Santiago, the route that leads from various points across Europe to the site where tradition places the tomb of the apostle St. James the Greater.

Regarding the first question — “What were you walking with?” — the archbishop revealed that, beyond his backpack, walking sticks, and physical gear, he completed the route with something more: “With my prayers, with my problems, with my thoughts.”

He also took the opportunity to share that he made the pilgrimage wearing a baseball cap “featuring a photo of our Holy Father, Pope Leo,” to show that “I am Catholic and am walking with him and the Church.”

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As for the company he kept during the pilgrimage, the prelate expressed his joy at having walked the Camino de Santiago not only with a group of his own companions but also alongside other pilgrims from all over the world. He particularly noted crossing paths with an 89-year-old woman and a family with a 7-month-old baby.

“To say that we were walking with everything is another way of saying that we were walking with the Church, together as brothers and sisters. Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church is ‘everyone, everyone, everyone.’ When we are gathered together, Jesus is with us,” he added.

He also noted that the apostle James was very much present throughout the journey. In this regard, he affirmed that James is “not merely part of our past history” but is present today, for “he walked with us at every step.”

Referring to the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar — patroness of the Hispanic world, celebrated on Oct. 12 — Hicks recalled how she appeared to the apostle James in Zaragoza before her assumption into heaven at a time when he was feeling “a bit discouraged” at seeing no fruit from his preaching.

“Our Lady of the Pillar wants only one thing from us. She wants us to know her Son and to find salvation through, in, and with her Son Jesus Christ — in his life, suffering, death, and resurrection,” he added.

Hicks emphasized that the journey of faith is not limited to the Camino de Santiago; rather, “our journey is with Jesus toward heaven, toward eternal life.” In this regard, he added that the pilgrim’s Mass does not mark the end of the Camino de Santiago: “Our journey continues on to eternal life.”

A journey encouraged by Cardinal Dolan

Hicks arrived in Spain on Sunday, Oct. 4, embarking on what he described — in posts shared on his social media — as a “spiritual journey” he had long wished to undertake.

“I have been planning this journey for three years. Ever since I arrived, I kept asking myself, ‘Will I have time to do it? Am I too busy? Should I put it off?’” he explained shortly before traveling to Spain.

While weighing this decision, he received a call from Cardinal Timothy Dolan — his predecessor as archbishop of New York — who told him: “I hear you want to do the Camino. Here is some advice: Do it, do it, do it. I always wanted to do the Camino but never could, and I regret it.”

Taking that recommendation to heart, Hicks decided to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, “following the voice of the Lord.” To that end, he announced that he would disconnect from social media for the duration of the trip.

And that is exactly what he did; upon arriving Sunday in Compostela — standing in the imposing Plaza del Obradoiro beside the cathedral — he picked up his phone again to share that he had felt the Lord’s companionship every step of the way: “Jesus was walking with me the whole time.”

Santiago de Compostela is one of five cities in the world that enjoy the privilege of celebrating jubilee years in perpetuity, alongside Jerusalem and Rome as well as Santo Toribio de Liébana and Caravaca de la Cruz, both in Spain.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Father Sandro Villa was the hospital chaplain of St. Gerald Hospital outside of Milan, Italy, who gave Carlo the anointing of the sick and holy Communion on Oct. 10, 2006, the day before Carlo went into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage caused by the M3 subtype of acute myeloid leukemia.

Villa shared at an event in Assisi, Italy, on Oct. 13, 2020, that he was touched by Carlo’s “composure and devotion” in receiving the sacraments in the hospital room.

“In a small room, at the end of the corridor, I found myself in front of a boy. His pale but serene face surprised me — unthinkable in a seriously ill person, especially an adolescent,” he said.

“I was also amazed by the composure and devotion with which, albeit with difficulty, he received the two sacraments. He seemed to have been waiting for them and felt the need for them.”

Before his cancer diagnosis, Carlo had a great devotion to the Eucharist. From a young age, he expressed a special love for God, even though his Catholic parents had stopped attending Mass.

As he grew older, he started going to daily Mass, often dragging his family members along with him. He made Holy Hours before or after Mass and went to confession weekly.

With his aptitude for computer programming, Carlo built websites to inform others about Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions around the world. On his site, he told people: “The more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”

For Villa, this administration of the sacraments would be his only encounter with Carlo, but he said the look of serenity on Carlo’s face was something that stayed with him.

“After a few years … I learned that he was declared ‘venerable.’ I was amazed that the Lord had allowed me to meet him, if only for a few moments,” he said.

Villa continued: “I decided to learn about his life. I discovered that he was in love with the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and I therefore began to better understand some of his words.”

Dr. Andrea Biondi and Dr. Mòmcilo Jankovic, who treated Carlo in the pediatric clinic of St. Gerald Hospital, recorded their memories together in a paper that was read aloud at the event.

They said: “Carlo was like a meteor with a quick passage through our ward; leukemia took him away before we could get to know him even a little. However, his sweet eyes remain engrained [in our memories]. His gaze was full of attention … of courage, of love, of strong empathy.”

“His faith in God, which he had wanted and still wanted to pass on to others, to his neighbor, shone through him … His gentle eyes … taught us a lot: life, whether short or long must be lived intensely for oneself, but also and above all for others.”

Carlo’s heart stopped beating on Oct. 12 — a date that is now celebrated as a local feast in the Diocese of Assisi and Archdiocese of Milan. His parents had desired to donate his organs, but they were too compromised by leukemia to be donated.

Today St. Carlo’s heart is a relic and is contained in a reliquary in Assisi that is inscribed with his words: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” He was canonized on Sept. 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

This story was first published on Oct. 16, 2020, and has been updated.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Bryant said in a statement that Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge — part of the national Protestant Orange Order fraternity — would not be permitted to hold its parade down Garvaghy Road through a historically Catholic section of Portadown in County Armagh.

The procession “cannot go ahead,” Bryant said, citing local law enforcement opinion that it would lead to violence, disorder, and “a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland.”

Bryant called for “all protests, rallies and demonstrations to be stood down,” arguing that there is “no excuse for a continued ratcheting up of tensions.”

The weekslong tensions have stemmed from historical conflicts in the region between unionists in Northern Ireland who advocate continued rule of the province by the United Kingdom and Catholic-affiliated republicans who largely favor reunification with Ireland itself.

Garvaghy Road itself was the site of numerous conflicts amid the Troubles, the decades-long conflict that saw unionists and republicans engage in regular violent and often deadly clashes. The CAIN Archive at Ulster University estimates that more than 3,700 people were killed in the protracted fighting.

Police have largely banned loyalist marches from taking place on Garvaghy Road since the late 1990s due to regular instances of violence that broke out on that stretch of the unionist parade route.

The High Court of Northern Ireland, however, ruled in August against a ban on the march that had been instituted by the Parades Commission, offering unionists the potential opportunity to march down the street for the first time in years.

In his statement announcing the reinstituted ban on the march, Bryant urged residents to “work together to help repair the damage that has been done” over the past several weeks.

“The community in Portadown has been on the sharp end of intense attention for a number of weeks,” he said. “It will take time to rebuild relations. The least we can all do now is give them breathing space.”

Bishop Michael Router said he would ask the Vatican to dismiss Father Edward Gallagher from the clerical state after he admitted to the charges, which include possession of child pornography, attempted solicitation of sexual activity from a child, and attempted sexual communication with a minor, the BBC reported Oct. 5. Gallagher awaits sentencing on Dec. 9.

"I have already instructed that the documentation required by the Holy See be finalized and transmitted without delay,” Router said in a statement on Oct. 5, according to a BelfastLive report.

“The Church cannot undo the harm that has been caused. Nor can any canonical penalty remove the suffering experienced by victims and survivors. Nevertheless, the Church has a responsibility to respond truthfully, justly, and decisively.”

New Vatican ambassador appointed to United Arab Emirates

Polish priest Monsignor Grzegorz Piotr Bielaszka has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to be the Vaticanʼs new ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), raising him to the rank of archbishop, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Oct. 5.

Born in Poland in 1974 and ordained in 1999, Bielaszka entered the Holy Seeʼs diplomatic service in 2006. His assignments have included Iraq, Panama, Hungary, Peru, and Gabon. He succeeds Archbishop Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis, who was appointed the Vaticanʼs permanent observer to the United Nations in July.

The appointment comes amid continuing tensions in the Gulf following military confrontation involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. The Vatican has repeatedly called for dialogue and negotiations, while maintaining close diplomatic relations with the UAE, particularly since Pope Francis' historic 2019 visit to Abu Dhabi and the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity.

Catholic Church in Korea switches to Italian, Australian liturgical wine

Parishes across Korea will no longer use domestic wine for liturgical celebrations after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea announced on Oct. 7 that an Australian and an Italian brand would become the country’s official liturgical wines.

"Starting from this yearʼs Advent season (the four weeks before Christmas), the Australian ‘Seven Hill’ and Italian ‘Alagna Vini’ wines have been selected as the liturgical wines to be used in all Catholic Masses across Korea,” they said in a statement, according to an Oct. 8 Chosun report.

The change is due to aging grape farmers and diminishing land in Korea, the report said. It marks the first in 49 years since the conference signed a contract in 1977 to use local Majuang liturgical wine.

Ethiopia bishop urges reconciliation amid renewed fighting

Bishop Lisane-Christos Matheos Semahun of Ethiopia’s Eparchy of Bahir Dar-Dessie has urged Christians to reject hatred and refrain from rejoicing over the suffering or death of those they regard as enemies as renewed fighting intensifies in parts of the country.

“Every life lost is a tragedy,” the bishop said in an Oct. 3 reflection, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. Lisane-Christos further called on Catholics to pray for their enemies, care for people affected by the conflict, and support efforts toward dialogue, justice, reconciliation, and peace.

The bishop’s statement comes as BBC reports that Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of an “all-out invasion” in northern Tigray, and Eritrea says in response that it is facing “an unprovoked war of aggression” by Ethiopia.

Hundreds of Catholic young people celebrate care for creation in Baghdad

More than 300 young Catholics gathered in Baghdad for a spiritual event marking the Season of Creation, an annual Christian observance dedicated to prayer and care for the environment.

Through Scripture readings, prayer, and reflections on Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', participants were encouraged to see protecting nature as part of their responsibility toward God and others, ACI MENA reported Oct. 5. Father Amir Kammu explained that environmental problems are also spiritual and moral concerns, particularly because their consequences often fall hardest on the poor.

At the end of the gathering, each participant received a small plant or fish to care for, turning the message of environmental responsibility into a personal commitment.

Glasgow Archdiocese to reduce parishes by half

Archbishop William Nolan has announced widespread cuts to the Archdiocese of Glasgow in Scotland amid dwindling attendance and a shortage in available priests.

“For years now there has been much talk of the need to restructure and reduce the number of parishes in the archdiocese. A plan for that restructuring has now been drawn up, reducing the number of parishes by half and seeing the closure of two dozen churches,” Nolan said in an Oct. 7 statement on Facebook.

The statement noted the number of parishes will be reduced by half and 24 churches will be closed as part of the restructuring plan.

“There are too many parishes but too few people, too many churches but too few priests,” he said. “As for priests, I have been archbishop for less than five years and the number of our active priests is down by a third in that time. Only one of our priests is under the age of 45, most are over the age of 60. Thank goodness we have foreign priests and religious willing to serve in the archdiocese, otherwise the situation would be even more critical than it is.”

Irish priest blocks Nathan Carter concert from taking place at parish

A concert by country music singer Nathan Carter set to take place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Boyle, Ireland, has been canceled after its parish priest objected to the event.

Father John Gannon contacted Carter and informed the musician he could no longer perform at the church after approval had been given to the singer by the parish’s former pastor, according to an Oct. 5 report from the Irish Independent.

Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran backed up the priest’s decision, telling the Irish Independent that the diocesan policy barring such concerts was to “preserve the sacredness of the church as a place of worship.” He added: “That does not mean that it has to be specifically liturgical music, but it should be spiritual, and where singing is involved, the lyrics should be consistent with the message of the Gospel.”

Catholic Church in Egypt opens beatification cause for former Coptic patriarch

The Catholic Church in Egypt has formally begun the cause for the beatification and canonization of Cardinal Stephanos II Ghattas, who served as Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria from 1986 to 2006.

The Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Egypt, led by Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac, has invited the faithful to submit information about Ghattas, who died in Cairo in 2009, ACI MENA reported Oct. 6. The request includes testimonies both supporting and questioning his reputation for holiness, as well as personal writings, letters, and other documents that could assist the investigation.

The opening of the cause marks an important step in examining the life and legacy of the former patriarch but does not mean he has yet been declared blessed or a saint.

Canada hosts rosary rallies across the country

A Catholic group in Canada is hosting rosary rallies across the country on Oct. 10 to pray for its conversion.

The campaign from Canada Needs Our Lady started in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, and has grown from 1,083 to more than 1,550 rallies, according to an Oct. 8 report from Independent Catholic News. “The reaction from Canadians has been very encouraging,” Joseph Gensens, Fatima custodian for Canada Needs Our Lady, said in the report. “We hear from people who are so grateful to have the opportunity to come together and pray the Rosary publicly — not only for Canada, but for their families and their communities.”

Canada Needs Our Lady is an organization that advocates for a return to Christian values in Canada.

In a letter sent to the faithful of his archdiocese, the prelate wrote of his “astonishment and deep sadness” and said that what happened was “totally unexpected and difficult to understand.”

“Let us entrust him to the merciful love of the Lord. Let us pray for his parishioners, shocked by this unexpected news; for Father Jean-Philippe Nollé, his vicar; and for his family and friends, left desolate by this sudden departure,” the archbishop said.

In his letter, the archbishop remembered Card — who had been “deeply affected” some time ago by his brother’s suicide — as “a pastor much appreciated by his parishioners and who moved with ease among his fellow priests, who trusted him.”

He added that he was “very involved in the life of the cathedral chapter, regularly participated in the canons' prayer in the archbishopʼs chapel, and enjoyed staying afterward for coffee with the staff. He always took part with interest in the meetings of the Diocesan Council for Economic Affairs.”

Looking ahead to Card’s approaching 75th birthday, Hérouard said the two had spoken about the possibility of continuing his mission a little past the usual retirement age. Some had noticed that he seemed “tired lately” and was bothered by insects in his house, but no one thought that was “anything dramatic,” the archbishop wrote.

On the archdioceseʼs Facebook page, Michèle Bauchet commented: “This is deeply sad news. [Father] Bernard was a very kind person. He had agreed to officiate at our son-in-lawʼs funeral Mass.”

She wrote that he was to celebrate her golden wedding anniversary Mass in 2027. “We are truly shocked. We pray for Jean-Philippe Nollé and all of Bernardʼs family,” she added.

The French government declared mental health a national priority for 2025 and 2026. A 2020 study by Mutuelle Saint-Martin and Action Sociale found that 9% of French priests showed a depressive syndrome, 40% had a low sense of personal fulfillment, 7% a high degree of exhaustion, and 2% suffered from severe burnout.

The archdiocese has organized several prayer vigils for the priest. The first is Thursday, Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. in Chenôve (Chapel of Saint Teresa). Later that same day, another vigil will be held at 3 p.m. in the church of Corcelles-les-Monts.

Prayers will be held on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6 p.m. at Sainte-Chantal; and on Monday, Oct. 12, from 8:30 to 10 p.m. at the same location. The funeral will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 10 a.m., also at Sainte-Chantal.

Seek help

If you or someone you know is experiencing an emotional crisis or suicidal thoughts, remember that the Catholic Church offers spiritual guidance, prayer, and someone to talk to and encourages seeking professional help.

You can contact helplines, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988 in the U.S.) for your country, or go to your parish, where you will find pastoral support and resources.

The Catholic Church teaches that life is a gift from God. The Church accompanies those who suffer with compassion and without judgment, offering hope, prayer, and consolation to the affected families.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The 15th Italian National Conference of the International Association of Exorcists (IAE) took place Sept. 21–25 at the Fraterna Domus center in Sacrofano, Italy, near Rome. The meeting focused on the pastoral experience of attendees.

3 cases of demonic possession

Father Benigno Palilla, an exorcist of the Archdiocese of Palermo, Italy, described a young woman who was freed after two and a half years of demonic possession, according to IAE’s website. The association said her suffering is common among younger people and is often tied to ceasing reception of the sacraments, atheism, spiritist sessions, and occult practices. Her troubles had led to aggression toward others and self-hatred that reached suicidal thoughts, the association noted. Palilla said her liberation came on the liturgical memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. He said that after she gave her life fully to God, she felt a deep interior peace and a renewed love of life.

Father Angelo Barra, an exorcist of the Diocese of Salerno, Italy, spoke of a young woman who was a victim of domestic violence. After a trip, she began to complain of severe pain that started during Mass. The association said that a priest’s simple reading of passages from Acts 16 revealed an extraordinary demonic action and set off an “interior earthquake.” Blessings, together with the spiritual support of two Catholic communities in Africa, led to her liberation. She later said she had been the victim of a ritual consecration by a sect in the place she had visited.

Father Michele Tenzon, a former exorcist of the Diocese of Ventimiglia-Sanremo, recalled a South American woman whose relatives had “offered her to the spirits.” He said in that case, and in an exorcist’s life generally, what matters is living an authentic Christian life, ongoing formation, and the intercession of the Virgin Mary in prayer.

Sacred music and the Virgin Mary

Father Giuseppe Grassi, an exorcist and director of the Office of Sacred Music of the Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni, Italy, said sacred music and song are closely tied to the heights of the angelic ministry and can be used fruitfully in exorcism, according to the association. The more sacred the music, he said, the more closely it is connected to the liturgical action, because it prefigures the liturgy of the heavenly Jerusalem — from the psalms to Gregorian chant and popular songs in honor of the Virgin.

Mariologist Father Salvatore Perrella, a Servite and former dean of the Pontifical Marianum in Rome, stressed the importance of the Virgin Mary’s place in exorcisms. He pointed to her constant rooting in the word of God, “since Mary is intimately involved in the heart of the mystery of the Incarnation.” Mary, he said, “lived and served with fidelity, intelligence, and sobriety the role of collaborator with the Trinity in the salvation and eschatological glorification of the ‘scattered children of God.’” She is “essential in the life of the Church, interceding and praying for good to triumph over evil,” according to the association.

10 years since Father Amorth’s death

Several exorcists remembered Father Gabriele Amorth, the well-known exorcist of the Diocese of Rome and founder of the association, who died on Sept. 16, 2016, and who is credited with tens of thousands of exorcisms.

Father Francesco Bamonte, vice president of the association, recalled Amorth’s early work with the Servant of God Father Candido Amantini, exorcist at the Scala Santa. Amorth, he said, “understood that for a novice exorcist, simply being appointed by the bishop and receiving the ritual was not enough. It was like being an inexperienced surgeon. Hence the need for the conferences, courses, and regular training sessions promoted by the association.”

Father Aldo Buonaiuto, an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, recalled Amorth’s warnings about choices that expose a person to extraordinary demonic action: dangerous occult situations, fascination with the supernatural, personal ambition, an interior predisposition, and the devaluing of affections.

Father Marcello Lanza of the Diocese of Acerra, Italy, highlighted “the mystical component in the life, vocation, and teachings of Father Amorth, understood as a process of conformity to Christ. This is of great importance in the practice of exorcism, because if the ministry is mystically united to the Liberator, who is Christ, the devil is defeated all the more.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

1. The Blessed Mother herself has repeatedly made the request.

The Spanish prelate pointed out that the fact that over the centuries the Virgin Mary has repeatedly asked for the rosary to be prayed “should have already been enough" for Christians to take up the beads every day.

He proceeded to review some of the instances where she had made this request, either explicitly or implicitly. “She did so with St. Dominic of Guzmán around the year 1208, when she asked for that prayer in the face of the Cathars,” he noted.

At Lourdes, in 1858, there was no explicit command and yet, Munilla recalled, “the rosary was at the heart of the 18 apparitions to Bernadette.”

Some 21 years later, during an 1877 apparition in Gietrzwałd, Poland, the Virgin was cited saying directly: “I desire that you pray the rosary every day” and “pray the rosary with fervor.”

As Munilla sees it, the apparitions at Fátima in 1917 constitute “the central case” in the matter, because it was there that the Virgin insisted upon the practice.

Munilla recalled that on May 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary said: “Pray the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war. She repeated this in June, July, and October, and on Oct. 13, she revealed herself as the Lady of the Rosary.”

Munilla went on to reference what the Virgin Mary said in 1980, in the town of Cuapa, Nicaragua. There, “the Virgin Mary asked Bernardo Martínez to pray the rosary every day — not merely reciting it straight through, but meditating on the mysteries” — as well as “promoting it within the family and the parish.”

In Kibeho, Rwanda, in 1981, she also made a request to pray the rosary, but with a distinctive feature: “There, the emphasis was not so much on the standard rosary but rather on the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows” of the Virgin.

Likewise, the prelate referred to the apparitions between 1983 and 1990 in San Nicolás, Argentina, where “the Virgin appeared under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary and the messages urged that it be prayed.”

Munilla also referred to Medjugorje, where the Church has not issued a ruling on the supernatural nature of the alleged apparitions but has approved the religious and pastoral experience taking place there. It is an experience characterized, he said, by “an insistence on the daily recitation of the rosary.”

2. In praying the rosary, one contemplates the face of Christ with Mary.

The second reason put forward is that praying the rosary allows one to contemplate the face of Christ with Mary through meditation on the joyful, sorrowful, glorious, and luminous mysteries. St. John Paul II affirmed this in his 2002 apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae.

“He points out that the rosary, while Marian in form, is Christocentric; it is a summary of the Gospel,” Munilla noted.

“Each decade presents a mystery from the life of Jesus — joyful, luminous, sorrowful, or glorious — which is meditated upon while reciting the Hail Mary. It means letting the Gospel enter through humble repetition, contemplating the face of Christ with Mary,” he explained.

3. It is accessible to everyone and fosters a familiar relationship with God.

Addressing this point, the Spanish prelate recalled how Sister Lucia, the visionary of Fátima, had explained: “If daily Mass and Communion had been required of us, many would not have been able to fulfill the obligation, because not everyone has access to a daily celebration of the Eucharist.”

However, she continued, “the rosary, by contrast, fits into any state of life, at any time, and in any place.” So much so that Sister Lucia considered it — after the Mass — to be “the prayer most pleasing to God and most beneficial for the soul.”

4. It is a powerful prayer of intercession.

Praying the rosary “is a weapon called for to secure peace and for spiritual combat,” the bishop added. “Leo XIII dedicated a dozen papal documents to it and proposed it as a remedy for society’s great evils. John Paul II linked it again to peace,” he added.

5. Repetition brings inner order.

Fifth, Munilla proposed that praying the rosary “helps us guard our hearts. It sustains faith, hope, and charity. It helps us preserve these three theological virtues and avoid being consumed by the spirit of this world.”

“Repetition brings order to the inner self,” the Spanish prelate continued, emphasizing that “meditation on the mysteries turns oneʼs gaze back to what endures, and Maryʼs intercession sustains what one cannot uphold alone.”

As St. John Bosco would say, Munilla concluded, “the rosary is as necessary for the health of the soul as bread is for the body.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The statue was found on the ground beneath a stone arch at a traffic circle near the southern entrance to the town of Porto-Vecchio. The statue belonged to the local parish, which filed a complaint along with the city, ICI RCFM reported.

Two seasonal hospitality workers, ages 21 and 24, were detained later that morning. According to a statement from the Ajaccio prosecutor’s office reported by Corsican radio station Alta Frequenza, video footage showed one man hanging from the statue, miming a sexual act, and making lewd remarks while the other filmed.

The men are being prosecuted for jointly committing aggravated damage to the statue, to the detriment of the parish and the municipality, and for indecent exposure, Le Figaro reported. They remain presumed innocent and are due to appear before the Ajaccio Criminal Court on Nov. 16.

A court placed them under judicial supervision, ordered them not to return to Corsica, and required them to report regularly to police in their home departments. After an initial attempt to leave was disrupted, both men departed the island by air on Oct. 4, France 3 reported.

Prayer follows anger

Earlier on Oct. 1, more than 100 people gathered outside the gendarmerie following an appeal on social media. At 5:30 p.m., the parish called the community to pray at the traffic circle, drawing elected officials, families, young people, and firefighters in uniform, according to ICI RCFM.

Father Thibault Lambert, pastor of the Porto-Vecchio parish, said his anger and sadness had given way to “joy mixed with pride” at seeing residents united in their attachment to the Virgin Mary, the Church, and their heritage.

The Catholic Church in Corsica expressed support for the parish and said: “We pray for the conversion of those who damaged the image of Mary.” It urged the community to recover “a path of serenity and peace” through the rosary on the first day of the month traditionally dedicated to the devotion, according to a diocesan statement.

Porto-Vecchio Mayor Jean-Christophe Angelini condemned what he called an “unspeakable act” and pledged to replace the statue as soon as possible, France 3 reported.

The Corsican Assembly unanimously adopted a motion condemning the “profanation and destruction” of the statue and expressing support for the parish, Porto-Vecchio residents, and the Catholic community.

Assembly President Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis said the attack had offended part of Corsica’s common heritage and collective identity. In remarks to the Corsican Assembly, she also appealed for restraint, saying respect for what others hold sacred must be matched by responsibility and measure.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated, adapted, and updated by EWTN News English.

In her opinion regarding case C-12/25, “Bisdom Gent,” (Diocese of Ghent) brought by a Belgian citizen who demanded that the Diocese of Ghent delete his baptismal data, Medina opened the door to the possibility that ecclesiastical archives could be required to erase the name of a baptized person who requests such removal after leaving the Church.

To date, the standard practice has been to make a marginal note recording the interested partyʼs wish, without erasing the person’s data.

In an Oct. 5 statement, COMECE noted that the ruling acknowledges that “the assessments required by the case are ‘complex’” and, in several respects, “leaves room for the role of national courts” and also impinge upon “the relevance of Church autonomy and of its freedom of religion,” as well as the importance to the Catholic Church of the “correct administration of the sacraments.”

Concerns and questions

The representatives of the episcopal conferences to the EU emphasized that “several elements expressed in the opinion raise concerns and questions.” In particular, the fact that it “rejects the solution of adding to the baptismal record a marginal annotation of the wishes of the relevant data subject.”

For the Catholic Church, this stance represents a departure from the fact that "across diverse legal systems and state-church relations models — consistent national jurisprudence in the EU Member States has accepted this practice as an entirely adequate legal solution in case of erasure requests concerning baptismal registers.”

“Erasing the name and surname of the baptized person from the record of a baptism entirely deprives the registration of the baptism, as such, of its meaning, value and purpose,” COMECE added, noting: “This crucial aspect seems to have been neglected.”

At the same time, COMECE criticized the ruling for also lacking an analysis of the impact of erasure “on the interests and rights of third parties” — referring to parents, godparents, or the priest administering the sacrament.

Furthermore, COMECE pointed out that the “considerations regarding the possible emotional distress that could result from retaining a person’s data in a baptismal register are also unconvincing.”

‘Significant legal uncertainty’

In addition COMECE expressed concern that, “if confirmed, the orientation provided by the opinion may create significant legal uncertainty for ecclesiastical data controllers” in EU member states, a situation it described as “particularly serious” because such uncertainty “would strike at baptismal registers, which are a central pillar of the Church’s internal functioning and organization, and are vital to enabling it to carry out its mission.”

Furthermore, representatives of the European Union prelates point out that “to avoid misconstructions, it is important to highlight that no general or automatic right to erase data from baptismal records is recognized in the opinion.”

Finally, COMECE recalled that Pope Leo XIV, in a recent speech delivered in Metz, France, cited Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), noting “that the principle of secularism governing the life of states also presupposes respect by national and European authorities for the autonomy of the Churches and the promotion of their freedom of organization, expression, and worship.” 

In its statement, COMECE went on to look forward to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU on the case, trusting “that it will establish a more favorable line with regard to the protection of baptismal registers from erasure.” The COMECE Legal Affairs Commission is also working to prepare a more in-depth position paper on the ruling.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Students began holding protests in late September, citing frustrations with education quality and a lack of funding and resources at schools. By early October, numerous protests became violent with arsons, lootings, and confrontations with police, leading to millions of dollars in damage and hundreds of injuries. More than 5,000 people have been arrested.

Rougé, who leads the French bishops’ conference’s Council for Catholic Education, told Vatican News that the violence reflects “the distress experienced by this generation of young people” in an Oct. 3 interview published by the Vatican-run news outlet.

“Violence expresses this distress: setting fire to some high schools, even newly built ones, manifests a destructive form of violence that cannot be condoned,” Rougé said, adding that it expresses “an inner violence among some young people who have not found meaning in their lives.”

The bishop said suffering is linked to the crisis of families, the climate crisis, the economic crisis, the social crisis, and the geopolitical crisis, “and so, consciously or unconsciously, these young people are afraid of the future; they do not see how it can also hold opportunities for them.”

Rougé said young people sometimes do not express this distress, which then “manifests itself through violence.” He said young people may not have “acquired sufficient maturity in language and self-expression to be able to express themselves in another way.”

The demonstrations, he said, are still “a call to be even more attentive to our young people, including in Catholic schools,” in which responsible adults can “help restore a sense of calm, creating spaces for listening and discussion, to accompany these young people.”

Rougé said the Church calls for “peace,” for “a different way for young people to express themselves,” and for “listening to these young people.” He said the public education system should prioritize “enabling young people to build a future for themselves and to receive a rich education that will allow them to move forward in life.”

In the interview, the bishop also noted that Pope Leo XIV addressed young people in France, encouraging them to have “the courage to live out responsibly the mission of building peace.”

“The Holy Father called young people to true freedom, the freedom that Christ gives,” Rougé said. “And to these young people, some of whom also come from social environments that have not been given sufficient recognition, he opened up a sense of purpose for their lives — the path of true freedom.”

Father Christophe Danset, the bishops’ conference’s national delegate for youth ministry, told the Italian Catholic news outlet AgenSIR the violence expressed through these protests paints a very different image than the celebratory gatherings that marked the pope’s visit to the country late last month.

“The beauty of that gathering and the violence of this week are two sides of the same reality of French youth: on the one hand, a genuine thirst, and on the other, a human and spiritual crisis,” he said in an Oct. 2 article.

The theme for this year’s Nov. 13–15 congress is “The Americas and Spain: The Faith That Unites Us — A Round-Trip Journey,” and features a joint statement on the subject titled “Manifesto for Hispanidad.”

The text highlights the institutions that emerged from the Spanish enterprise in the Americas such as municipalities, universities, parishes, and hospitals, which “no international treaty has managed to replicate.”

“None of this is artificial. None of this needs to be invented. It simply needs to be recognized and put at the service of the future,” the manifesto proclaims.

“Isabella the Catholic Monarch did not set a mere promise in motion; she set a civilization in motion,” the manifesto continues. Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, were given the title “the Catholic Monarchs” by Pope Alexander VI through the papal bull Si Convenit for their defense of the Catholic faith.

From this transatlantic civilization emerged the Laws of the Indies governing the Spanish territories in the Americas through which Spain imposed limits on itself, along with the humanist thought of Francisco de Vitoria at the University of Salamanca, the cradle of international law and human rights.

This legacy, the manifesto continues, resulted in nonnegotiable principles such as “the dignity of the human person; the Greco-Latin heritage that gave us reason and the rule of law; the Christian tradition that shaped our concept of community; respect for the law as a limit on power; civil liberties as a condition for a decent life; and a legal framework capable of protecting property, contracts, and enterprise as engines of prosperity.”

More than 500 years after its inception, this civilization comprises a community of 600 million people who share a common language and presents “a demographic outlook that no other Western project can match.”

Furthermore, the manifesto notes that “Hispanidad is not limited to the political sphere or relations between governments and nations” but rather “demands a profound and, if necessary, radical change of attitude to defend, expand, and develop it” as well as a “cultural and moral dimension worthy of its history.”

Ultimately, the organizers of the Nov. 13–15 congress, the Catholic Association of Propagandists (whose stated goal is to propagate or spread the Catholic faith), hold that “reclaiming Hispanidad does not mean looking to the past: It is acting with the confidence of those who start from a position of strength.” For this reason, it urges people to “stop treating as a minor legacy what is, in reality, our greatest competitive and moral advantage in the world to come.”

“Isabella the Catholic Monarch founded it. Vitoria conceived it. The Laws of the Indies codified it. Five hundred years of shared institutions have sustained it. It falls to us, quite simply, to live up to what we have inherited and to make it grow. Together, we are stronger. That is the starting point and also the conclusion,” the manifesto declares.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“The Work of God was not imagined by a man,” he would later say. “For many years, the Lord had been inspiring it in an inept and deaf instrument, who saw it for the first time on the Feast of the Guardian Angels.”

It was, the saint understood, the answer to the prayers he repeatedly addressed to God: “Domine, ut videam!” and “Domine, ut sit!” (“Lord, that I may see!” and “Lord, that it may come to be!”)

On that October day, the founder of Opus Dei was making a spiritual retreat at the Central House of the Vincentian missionaries in Madrid. “I received enlightenment regarding the whole Work ... Deeply moved, I knelt down, I was alone in my room in the interval between talks, and thanked the Lord; I recall with emotion the ringing of the bells of the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.”

On that occasion, Vázquez de Prada notes, St. Josemaría’s mind “was illuminated with a clear, general idea of ​​his mission.”

“The scattered notes the retreatant had brought with him to meditate upon during the retreat consisted of ideas that were, it seems, unsystematized. In the days that followed, he compiled them in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the general enlightenment he had just received regarding the whole work,” the author explains.

Building on that foundation, over the years St. Josemaría “drafted documents that he would later hand to his children in Opus Dei,” Vázquez de Prada continues.

In 1930, he wrote in a letter: “We have come to say with the humility of one who knows himself to be a sinner and of little account (“homo peccator sum” — I am a sinful man [Luke 5:8], we say with Peter), yet with the faith of one who allows himself to be guided by the hand of God, that holiness is not reserved for a privileged few: that the Lord calls all of us, that he expects love from everyone, from everyone, wherever they may be; from everyone, whatever their state in life, their profession, or their trade.”

“For that ordinary, everyday life without pretense can be a means of holiness; there is no need to abandon one’s state in life to seek God — if the Lord has not given a soul a religious vocation — since every way of life on this earth can be an occasion for an encounter with Christ,” the founder of Opus Dei said.

What is Opus Dei?

Its official Spanish-language website defines Opus Dei as “a hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church, a personal prelature, whose purpose is to contribute to the Church’s evangelizing mission.”

“Specifically, the aim is to spread a deep awareness of the universal call to holiness and the sanctifying value of ordinary work,” the website adds.

Among the faithful who discover a “vocation to Opus Dei” and request to join, a distinction is made between numeraries, who live apostolic celibacy and are fully available for the work of the prelature; associates, who also live apostolic celibacy but whose personal, family, or professional circumstances limit that availability; and supernumeraries, whether married or single, who do not commit to celibacy. Priests incardinated in the prelature are drawn from the ranks of numeraries or associates.

According to the most recent data released by Opus Dei, around 94,450 people are part of the institution, which is present in 68 countries across five continents.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“The priority is the victim, not institutional reputation. To achieve this, it is necessary to establish how many such crimes have occurred in the past, since 11 March 1990,” the bishops said in a statement, according to a Sept. 28 Delfi report.

The investigation follows a case involving Father Tadas Švedavičius, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Vilnius who was charged in connection with 34 criminal counts of child sexual abuse, possession of child pornography, and distributing alcohol to minors over the course of 20 years, the report said. The conference will consult the Holy See and Lithuanian law enforcement during the investigation.

Filipino bishops back calls to ban political dynasties

Catholic bishops in the Philippines have voiced their support for a nationwide signature campaign calling for the end of political dynasties in the country.

“Public office must never become a family inheritance. It is a public trust entrusted to the people,” Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. of Cubao said at a launch event for the anti-dynasty initiative known as “Dapat Isa Lang” at the Obispado de Cubao in Quezon City, according to a Sept. 30 press release from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The conference at large backed the initiative in a pastoral statement on Sept. 25, declaring: “As pastors of God’s people, we cannot remain indifferent to matters that touch the moral foundations of our society, the dignity of our people, justice, equality, and the common good. For these reasons, we support the call to enact a genuine, meaningful, and effective Anti-Political Dynasty Law that will faithfully give effect to the mandate of our Constitution.”

2 synod calls expose tensions in Syriac Catholic Church

A dispute over two proposed meetings of Syriac Catholic bishops has brought internal tensions in the Church into public view. Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan called a synod for Nov. 17–20, while another invitation called bishops to meet Sept. 29–30.

The patriarchate said Church law gives Younan the first right to convene the synod and considers the separate September invitation unlawful. It has also rejected claims that the patriarch failed to call a synod in recent years, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sept. 30.

An unnamed source cited by ACI MENA disputed that account and questioned the timing of Younanʼs invitation. The disagreement comes amid wider tensions involving the patriarch and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Younan has publicly accused the cardinal of encouraging bishops to seek his removal, placing the synod dispute within a broader debate over leadership and authority in the Syriac Catholic Church.

Angolan bishop: Religious zeal must not come at expense of family responsibilities

Bishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Angola’s Diocese of Caxito has cautioned Catholics against religious practices that could lead them to neglect their family responsibilities.

“Jesus does not ask for spending more time in the Church than caring for the family,” Camuto said in his homily during Mass at St. Anne’s Cathedral on Sept. 27, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. “Religious involvement should not result in the abandonment of family responsibilities,” he said, citing situations in which “there are even wives whose husbands almost want to separate from them because they spend more time in the Church than at home, taking care of the family, taking care of the husband.”

The bishop further called for stronger formation and accompaniment of members of apostolic groups and movements, particularly through catechesis and participation in the sacramental life of the Church.

Japanese cardinal calls faithful to act on behalf of migrants and refugees

Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo is encouraging Catholics to go beyond words and take action on behalf of migrants and refugees.

Kikuchi echoed calls from Pope Leo XIV to move from “merely managing migration” to “full and immediate protection of human rights” in a Sept. 27 reflection, according to UCA News.

The reflection came on World Day of Refugees, Migrants, and Displaced Persons on Sept. 27. Kikuchi further urged Catholics to reflect especially on the pope’s appeal for children and to ask themselves, “What can we ourselves do for ‘these little ones’?”

Protestant march in Catholic Northern Ireland town permitted; archbishops respond

The Northern Ireland Parades Commission has reversed a ruling previously prohibiting the Protestant Orange Order from marching through the Catholic majority town of Portadown for the first time in nearly three decades, according to a Sept. 30 America Magazine report.

The Sept. 27 march resulted in a clash between Protestant members of the Orange Order and protesters blocking their path from Drumcree Church, according to the report.

Addressing the tension, Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Archdiocese of Armagh and Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland in Armagh issued a joint statement following the Sept. 27 march.

“As our community faces the crisis in Drumcree today, in which so many sincere views, painful histories and important issues are at stake, we cannot think of any time in the last 30 years when this simple message needs to be more urgently heard. How can we be good neighbors to each other?” the archbishops said. “We call for the urgent creation of a constructive, inclusive and reconciling initiative to patiently find a way through this current crisis. Too much is at stake.”

Christian parliamentarian raises security concerns as coalition mission ends in Iraq

The end of the international coalitionʼs mission in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region has renewed security concerns among Christians, according to Ramy Noori Syawish, an elected Christian member of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament.

Syawish told ACI MENA Sept. 30 that the continuing threat from ISIS, armed groups outside state control, and uncontrolled weapons raises questions about the ability of Iraqi and Kurdish forces to respond to another major security crisis. He said smaller communities could be particularly vulnerable because of their declining numbers and dependence on the state for protection. He also pointed to economic hardship and irregular public-sector salaries as factors driving emigration. Syawish said the next Kurdistan Regional Government should prioritize services in Christian areas and address long-running disputes over land and property.

Religion in public life sparks debate over Syriaʼs direction

A series of incidents during the summer has fueled debate over the growing presence of religion in Syriaʼs public life.

The controversies have touched womenʼs dress, education, employment, entertainment, and the way public institutions are being run, according to a Sept. 29 report from ACI MENA. Other disputes followed a dress code directive for female government employees, the separation of male and female students at a Damascus school, and religious questions reportedly included on an employment form.

The debate has also reached the arts, while questions over some public appointments have raised concerns about whether professional qualifications or other considerations are shaping hiring decisions. Some allegations surrounding these cases remain disputed or unverified.

In an interview in the October issue of Herder Korrespondenz, Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp said he traveled to Rome in June to present the matter to the Dicastery for the Clergy and the General Secretariat of the Synod.

Bonny linked a possible arrangement to the Synod on Synodality’s implementation phase. “I trust that an appropriate arrangement can be found by the end of the synodal process in the fall of 2028,” Bonny said according to CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. “It would be a fatal blow to the credibility and implementation of the entire synodal process if no arrangement were reached by then.”

Bonny first outlined his plans in March. He also participated in the German Synodal Way as an observer.

At the German bishops’ plenary assembly in 2022, Bonny said that “Rome must learn to live with a healthy dose of Germanic culture.” He referred to an open style of consultation and discussion, not the ordination of married men; the address was also released as a podcast.

Confidence in Pope Leo

The Vatican has not publicly commented on Bonny’s most recent remarks or announced any decision concerning his proposal.

Bonny told the German magazine he was continuing discussions within the Belgian bishops’ conference and holding conversations with potential candidates about further formation.

He said the Flemish dioceses faced a serious shortage of priests and that any step toward ordaining married men would need the agreement of both the Belgian bishops’ conference and the Vatican.

“How this step could take place with the agreement of the bishops’ conference and the Vatican is a question for the coming months,” Bonny said.

Bonny said canonists had told him canon law offered various lawful ways to address the question, but he did not identify a specific canonical mechanism or say Vatican officials had endorsed one.

He also said his confidence rested partly on Pope Leo XIV’s exercise of his office as a bridge-builder and on conversations with bishops in several countries and continents whom he said faced similar circumstances.

Under Canon 1042 of the Code of Canon Law, a man who has a wife is impeded from receiving sacred orders except when he is legitimately destined for the permanent diaconate. A diocesan bishop cannot unilaterally set aside that impediment or introduce a different priestly-ordination discipline in his diocese.

David Long, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America and a canonist, told EWTN News in March that the question of ordaining married men “does not lie within the authority of a diocesan bishop acting on his own.”

“Any current change in practice in a Latin diocese would require action by the Holy See and could not be accomplished by a unilateral decision by a diocesan bishop, no matter how pastorally urgent the circumstances may be,” he said.

In the book, he presents the apostolate founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer in 1928 through the experiences and testimonies of some 20 members. “Opus Dei” in Latin means the “Work of God,” commonly referred to by members of the apostolate as “the Work.”

Valero has spent many years answering questions about this institution, which has nearly 100,000 members across almost 70 countries worldwide.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he noted that “sometimes, answering the way I used to — ‘from the top down’ —  makes it harder to explain” what it actually means to belong to the Catholic Churchʼs only personal prelature.

Thus, when he was offered the chance to write the book in late 2025, he decided to tackle the challenge “from the bottom up.”

“It is the people themselves who speak about their lives. Having done it that way, I think it is far more effective, because it’s more real. Or rather, it doesn’t explain everything to you, but what it does explain, it explains very well.”

The book’s pages feature a range of members: supernumeraries (men and women with a vocation to marriage); numeraries like Valero and associates (both groups being celibate for apostolic reasons); and assistant numeraries.

The role played by this latter category of members has recently been the subject of controversy due to allegations made by 43 assistant numeraries in Argentina who claimed to have been “victims of trafficking.” Valero said his approach to this specific vocation within Opus Dei “has been a major learning experience.”

“I realized it’s not up to me to explain what that vocation is, but rather for them to explain it, and they do so very well. I was deeply impressed,” explained the spokesman, who has included the testimonies of two assistant numeraries in his book. “One at the beginning and one at the end. To make it clear that this is very important within the Work,” he indicated.

‘It’s a privilege to speak about the things I love’

Throughout his work in communications for Opus Dei as an institution, Valero has navigated periods of intense media activity, such as during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United Kingdom or the release of books like “The Da Vinci Code.”

In the first chapter of the book, where he recounts his own vocation, he notes that Opus Dei “doesn’t promote a political program or a structured project to transform society.” During the conversation with ACI Prensa, he added that the Work “has no program to improve the world, but rather to improve people.”

He further noted: “We have many formation programs to help people become like Jesus Christ — to be in the world, respond to God, sanctify everyday realities, etc., and to encourage and inspire them so that they change the world.”

Thus, Valero argued, trusting in the use of freedom, they can work together on their initiatives to change the world. “It’s an idea we need to develop further because, obviously, we haven’t communicated it entirely well, as many people don’t understand it. We need to communicate better about that.”

Reforming the statutes: ‘The Work changes with the Church’

With the centennial of the founding of Opus Dei approaching in two years, the prelature is undertaking the process of modifying its statutes, as directed by Pope Francis in the 2022 motu proprio Ad Charisma Tuendum.

In June 2025, Opus Dei submitted a proposal for modification and is awaiting the decision of Pope Leo XIV.

“They say the Church is ‘semper reformanda’ [‘always reforming’]. The world changes, the Church changes, and the Work changes along with the Church, because the Work is part of the Church,” Valero explained.

He acknowledged that within the institution, “the way directors govern today is very different from how things were done 40 years ago.”

“Governance in the Work is about accompanying and supporting people. It’s not about giving them orders. I haven’t given any order nor received any order,” he emphasized.

Regarding the statutory reform, the spokesman stated that “we are seeking to refine the legal framework” with the same spirit that guided its founder in the beginning: “Everything that comes from God through the Holy See, we accept with great love. We see that it’s something that God wants and that gives us great peace.”

“We want to imitate Christ and sanctify the world and bring Godʼs love to people. That’s what we are doing now. If the legal framework needs to be changed in some way, well, thatʼs what needs to be done, and thereʼs no problem with that,” he added.

Reality versus myths

Finally, Valero expressed his hope that the book would be read by Opus Dei members “to appreciate the variety of ways this vocation is lived out” and also by others “so that they might see, instead of the abstract myths they have heard about, the reality of the people themselves.”

“I am really hopeful that many people will read it and that this will lead to a greater understanding of what Opus Dei is,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The Oct. 1 opinion from Laila Medina, the advocate general at the Court of Justice of the European Union, could prove decisive in a dispute between the Catholic Church and European leaders over whether or not baptismal records can be preserved in Church registers.

The Court of Justice is currently considering the case, which was brought by the Brussels Court of Appeal and which asked for clarification about whether the Diocese of Ghent’s refusal to erase names from baptismal records when requested is in violation of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Catholic leadership has expressed strong concerns over the issue. The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union said in September that baptismal records are not merely a “list of members” of the Church but rather serve as a “record of historical events.”

Allowing baptismal record erasures would “constitute an infringement on the substance of the sacrament” and would “seriously impede” the functioning of the Church, the bishops said.

Pope Leo XIV has also expressed concern in the debate, having reportedly told the European bishops in May 2025 that he “considers the issue very important.”

In her Oct. 1 opinion, which is nonbinding on the justice court, Medina said European data rules apply to the case and that the “data processing in question,” i.e. the baptismal records, “must be in line” with those rules.

The Catholic Church must demonstrate “compelling legitimate grounds” for retaining someone’s name in the baptismal records after the person rejects, Medina said.

The Ghent Diocese had originally responded to the individual’s deletion request by striking through his name but still retaining his entry in a legible form. That measure, Medina said, “does not constitute erasure” under European data rules.

“The data must be rendered illegible to the extent necessary to ensure that the person is no longer identified or easily identifiable,” she said. She argued that “information concerning the fact that a baptism took place at a given place and time may be retained.”

Medina acknowledged that the issue was “complex” and that the European court must make a “case-by-case assessment” regarding such data disputes.

Though the report is nonbinding, advocate general opinions often help shape the outcome of cases in European courts. The Oct. 1 document noted that the judges are “now beginning their deliberations” in the case. A ruling is expected later in 2026 or in 2027.

In September the European bishops told the court that baptismal registers do not “bear witness to the faith of individual persons” but rather serve as a “fundamental evidentiary instrument” that in part helps the Church manage its other records related to marriage and confirmation.

Requiring the deletion of baptismal data, the bishops said, would dictate that the Church “adapt to [a person’s] feelings or opinions” in how it understands baptismal records.

This would require a shift in “theological reflection,” they said, which is “protected by Church autonomy.”

Here are some fascinating facts to know about St. Francis, the Franciscan order he founded, and the Blessed Mother:

• St. Francis had a vision where he saw his friars try to reach Christ by a steep red ladder, but they kept falling off. Then Jesus showed him a second, less steep, white ladder that had Our Lady at the top. He told Francis: “Advise your sons to go by the ladder of my mother.”
• Many have given testimony stating St. Francis was one of the strongest Marian devotees in Church history. Servant of God Thomas of Celano, one of Francis’ friars, said that Francis’ love for the Blessed Virgin was beyond words, “inexpressible … for it was she who made the Lord of Majesty our brother.”
• St. Francis made the Blessed Mother the patroness and queen of the Friars Minor. St. Bonaventure, one of Francis’ early biographers, wrote that Francis placed himself and his order under the protection and guidance of Mary for all time: “On one side we should show Mary in all her poverty of Bethlehem placing the most sweet son of God upon the rough straw of the manger. In the other half of our painting, we would portray Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, and Queen of the Seraphic Order, in the chapel of Mary of the Angels stretching forth her arms in motherly protection over all her Franciscan sons and daughters.”
• It was one of St. Francis’ followers who was instrumental in the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The writings of Blessed John Duns Scotus (d. 1308), one of the greatest Franciscan theologians, led the Church in part to proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854.
• Praying with counted beads was a common method of meditation from the earliest centuries of the Church. Although we don’t have written proof that St. Francis prayed the rosary founded by St. Dominic, we do know that St. Dominic and St. Francis were contemporaries, and so it may be very probable he would know and pray it.

St. Francis’ devotion to the Blessed Mother is summarized beautifully in his “Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary”:

Hail, O Lady,
Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church
and the one chosen by the
most holy Father in heaven
whom he consecrated
with his most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is
the fullness of grace and every good.
Hail his palace!
Hail his tabernacle!
Hail his home!
Hail his robe!
Hail his servant!
Hail his mother!

And hail all you holy virtues which through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit are poured into the hearts of the faithful so that from their faithless state you may make them faithful to God. Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

The Carmelite nun, patron saint of missions, and the youngest doctor of the Church died at the age of 24 and was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She was declared the second patron saint of France in 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, by Pope Pius XII.

The town of Lisieux, a 90-minute train ride from Paris, is where Thérèse spent her entire religious life. It is the second most visited pilgrimage destination in France, after Lourdes, with over 2 million pilgrims every year.

Last year, in Pope Leo XIV’s message on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, he called the faithful to “put Jesus at the centre of your families, your activities, and your choices. Help your children discover His boundless love and tenderness, and strive to make them love Him in return as He deserves: this is the great lesson that Louis and Zélie teach us today, and which the Church and the world so urgently need. How could Thérèse have loved Jesus and Mary so much — and then passed on such a beautiful doctrine to us — if she had not learned it from her saintly parents from an early age?”

Thérèse lost her mother when she was just 4 years old and endured periods of illness and intense emotional sensitivity as a child. At 14, however, she experienced a moment of spiritual transformation where she received a special grace from God.

In France, young children left their shoes by the hearth at Christmas, and parents would fill them with gifts. But her sister Celine didnʼt want Thérèse to grow up, so they continued to place gifts in “baby” Thérèseʼs shoes. As she and Celine climbed the stairs to take off their hats their fatherʼs voice rose from the parlor below. Standing over the shoes, he said: “Thank goodness thatʼs the last time we shall have this kind of thing!” Thérèse froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly, knowing that in a few minutes she would be in tears over what their father had said.

But the tantrum never came. A special grace came over Thérèse as Jesus had done what she could not do herself. She swallowed her tears, walked slowly down the stairs, and went over the gifts in the shoes, as if she had never heard a word her father said. In her autobiography, “Story of Soul,” she referred to that Christmas as her “conversion.”

From childish to childlike

In his book “The Way of Trust and Love,” French priest Jacques Philippe explores St. Thérèse of Lisieuxʼs “Little Way” to holiness. He recalls that “through seemingly insignificant events, God can heal us deeply. Sometimes we feel a call from the Lord to step outside ourselves, to take a step forward, to become more mature, more free. There are times in life when we dwell on our immaturity, our complaints, our laments, our dependencies, and then suddenly one day we are given grace, a gift from God, but one that also calls upon our freedom. There is a choice to be made; it is both healing and conversion: freedom must choose to perform an act of courage.”

He then later proposes: “Let us then ask God this question: What is the ‘yes’ you are asking of me today? What is the small act of courage and trust you are asking me to do today?”

For St. Thérèse, it was about overcoming her emotional sensitivity. For others, it might be learning to control their tongue, be more optimistic, or manage their temper.

A ‘Little Way’ for everyone

From the very beginning of her life, Thérèse desired to be a saint; still, when she entered the convent, she also thought how inaccessible and unrealizable it was when she compared herself to others.

And here, perhaps, is where we can learn one of her most powerful teachings: never lose courage.

She goes on: “Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new … It is your arms, Jesus, which are the lift to carry me to heaven, and so there is no need for me to grow up. In fact, just the opposite: I must stay little and become less and less.”

But by “little,” Thérèse does not suggest we think of ourselves as of small value; instead, she reminds us of an unchanging truth: We are children of God.

As St. John Paul II on his apostolic trip to France in June 1980 recalled: “There is something unique about it, a characteristic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In it, one finds both the confirmation and the renewal of the most fundamental and universal truth. What truth in the Gospel message is more fundamental and universal than this: God is our Father, and we are his children?”

And like children who trust, even if thrown into the air, in the safety of returning to their parents' arms, we must trust in the providence of our Father, with a deep knowledge of his unlimited and unconditional love for us: “In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).

A missionary without ever leaving home

Proclaimed the patron saint of missionaries for her support of the missions through constant prayer and sacrifice despite being a cloistered nun who never left her convent, she said: “My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.”

To many, even in the convent, she seemed like an average, ordinary person. Her greatness showed in the constancy of her love for others in the simplest ways. Perhaps some of the missionary work we are called to do today doesn’t necessarily begin externally but within our hearts. As the saint herself wrote: “A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart.”

Thérèse also found strength in Scripture: “But above all it is the Gospels that occupy me during my prayers; in them I find everything that is necessary for my poor little soul. I constantly discover in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings.”

Her life was characterized by austerity, far from recognition and noise from the world. She died anonymously in 1897 at the young age of 24, and no more than 30 people attended her funeral.

This saint’s life and journal is a legacy for all who want to learn a simple and practical approach toward their relationship with God. Her advice is for everyone: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”

Without them, he warned, the Church would become “a mere federation of individual communities, or even a Christian-flavored NGO [nongovernmental organization],” CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, reported.

Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, the apostolic nuncio, spoke at the opening of the German bishops' conference fall plenary assembly in Fulda, which runs through Oct. 1.

The bishops' conference published the full address.

“The Catholic Church rests on two great pillars of its visible unity — the Petrine ministry and the Eucharist,” van Megen told the German bishops on Sept. 28. “The pope safeguards the unity of faith and ecclesial communion, while the Eucharist sacramentally realizes and nourishes this unity.”

The Eucharist “is not merely a symbol of unity,” van Megen said, but “actually creates and strengthens the communion of the Church.” The popeʼs ministry, he added, “is not an end in itself.” Its task is “to protect and foster that communion which finds its highest expression in the celebration of the Eucharist.”

The Dutch prelate cautioned that the two do not guarantee unity “in a purely organizational or mechanical sense.” Still, he said Christ “has given his Church enduring means through which its unity can be preserved and continually renewed.”

Speaking “as a representative of the Holy See,” the nuncio called Rome “the visible center and the guarantor of the unity of the universal Church, to which the Church in Germany also belongs.” He noted that the Church in Africa differs from the Church in Europe and that “no local Church is more or less a Church than another.”

Van Megen said synodality “can never be the concern of individual groups alone, while others are left behind.” He closed by telling the bishops that “where we remain in communion with him, where we listen to one another, where we preserve unity with the universal Church and the successor of Peter — there the Holy Spirit can open up new paths.”

The gathering in Fulda, in the central German state of Hesse, is also taking up life-protection questions and discussing artificial intelligence.

At a Sept. 29 press conference, Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen said the Church “clearly” rejects legalizing surrogacy, arguing that it makes the child “the object of a contract among adults,” CNA Deutsch reported.

Auxiliary Bishop Anton Losinger of Augsburg warned that gene editing and prenatal genetic testing raise questions about the dignity of people with disabilities.

A question of ‘power’

Five days earlier, in an interview with katholisch.de, a portal run on behalf of the German bishops' conference, van Megen said his “impression is that Germans often want too much, too quickly.” He called the word “power,” common in documents of the controversial Synodal Way, “almost dangerous,” and said he hoped to travel to Rome at the end of October.

The Vatican has been reviewing the bylaws of the Synodal Conference, a planned permanent body meant to implement the Synodal Way, since late March.

The Roman Curia and the German bishops have held talks on its statute since 2025.

A solemn Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, with Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, the papal legate for the basilicas of Assisi, in attendance, Vatican News reported.

Activities surrounding the anniversary began on Sept. 24 and will run until Oct. 5. In addition to liturgical celebrations, cultural events and various charitable initiatives are being celebrated — among them the traditional procession dedicated to the saint at the Porziuncola.

One of the key moments will be the “Transitus,” the observance commemorating St. Francis' final hours before his death.

The new bishop of Assisi, Felice Accrocca, noted that the figure of the saint continues to spark wide interest.

“St. Francis continues to fascinate people from all continents and cultures, thanks to his radical interpretation of the Gospel and his vision of society rooted in peace, fraternity, and hope,” he noted.

According to the prelate, many of the concerns Francis addressed during his lifetime remain relevant today. “Francis is, in fact, ahead of us,” he stated, referring to interfaith dialogue, the pursuit of peace, and care for our common home.

“His vision continues to inspire and challenge us,” he added.

A remembrance that looks to the future

For Accrocca, the anniversary is not merely about looking to the past.

Speaking to Vatican Media, he described the celebrations as a journey “between remembrance and the future.” Remembering Francis, he explained, can offer keys to understanding the present moment.

Accrocca highlighted that the saint’s teachings remain relevant because they constitute “a radical interpretation of the Gospel.”

A city that continues to welcome pilgrims

The October celebrations follow months of intense activity in Assisi.

Between February and March, the exposition of the mortal remains of St. Francis drew nearly 400,000 pilgrims, according to data presented at a press conference reported by Vatican News.

Fraternity will be another theme of the anniversary. Friar Marco Moroni, custos of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis, noted that the saint himself spoke of his brothers as a gift received from God.

“The Lord gave me brothers,” recalled Friar Moroni, quoting the Testament of St. Francis.

The friar explained that the Sacred Convent currently brings together more than 50 friars from some 20 different countries. For him, this life shared by people of diverse cultures demonstrates that fraternity, while not always easy, can be lived out in practice.

“It is also possible in the world,” he affirmed.

The events in October will also hold special significance as they coincide with the 40th anniversary of the interfaith gathering for peace convened by St. John Paul II in Assisi in 1986.

On that occasion, representatives of various religions came together to pray for peace. Four decades later, the anniversary of St. Francis’ death will once again place Assisi at the center of a gathering centered on that same theme.

The life and person of the saint has continued to impact new generations of Catholics. Among them is Carlo Acutis, who, although not from Assisi, asked to be buried there.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

“No matter what happened, we must overcome the evil that happened here, in our abbey, with goodness, love, and forgiveness,” Father Adrian Mantykiewicz told the congregation during his Sept. 26 homily at the Benedictine Abbey in Jarosław, Poland, where the knife attack had occurred two days earlier.

“Therefore, I ask you to forgive, because it has affected all of you,” he said, according to a transcript published by the Polish Jesuit news website DEON.pl.

Police arrested a 31-year-old Ukrainian man for the attack, which killed one priest and sent four other people to the hospital. Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz died at the hospital from his injuries, and Father Marek Pienkowski remains in serious condition in the hospital.

Mantykiewicz told people not to blame the Ukrainian people because only one single person is responsible for the attack. He noted the convent — which is in a small town near the border with Ukraine — has provided support for many people who fled the Russia-Ukraine war.

“From this place, I also want to ask you not to blame the nation from which the torturer belonged, because the evil was committed by a specific person, a specific person who has a name, a life, and is responsible for his actions,” he said. “Other people did not do this. This was one, unique person.”

Mantykiewicz said he speaks in his own name and in the names of Zbojniewicz and Pienkowski when he says “very emphatically that we forgive and we ask you to pray for us.”

“For prayers for Father Stanislaw [Zbojniewicz], for the peace of his soul, for the health of Father Marek [Pienkowski], who is still fighting for his life in the hospital, and for me, that I may return to my duties as soon as possible and continue to serve you here,” he said.

The priest also asked people to pray for the attacker, specifically for “the grace of conversion,” saying “he needs this prayer the most.” He asked “not to respond to evil with evil but with love, support, understanding, and care” and to respect all people in the abbey, in the community, and in the country, including respect for Ukrainian refugees.

Mantykiewicz said in his homily that “this sermon is difficult for me,” but he said first and foremost, “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, I am a disciple of my Master, I am a disciple of my Lord, and Christ teaches me to love.”

“Love that allowed itself to be crucified,” he said. “Love that gave its life for its enemies. Such is my Lord and Master. And I am his servant.”

According to prosecutors, a man identified as Ihor M. faced charges for the attack. According to a statement, the investigation is ongoing, but he was charged with murder, attempted murder, and causing serious injury to victims.

The suspect is receiving medical care, and prosecutors requested a public defender for him. He was appointed a Ukrainian translator.

Families, students, and older people joined a warmly spirited program of personal testimonies, hopeful speeches, and musical performances celebrating life.

The march took place amid continuing political debate in Lithuania over family policy and declining birth rates. Lawmakers also remain divided over reproductive legislation, including access to abortion and in vitro fertilization.

Organizers stressed that the event sought to move beyond abstract slogans and political declarations by focusing on the realities of family life. Speakers addressed motherhood, fatherhood, and the challenges posed by child loss, disability, illness, and old age.

Throughout the march, participants and speakers affirmed the equal dignity of every person — especially unborn children — regardless of health, age, or ethnicity.

Saulius Karosas, a father, illustrated that conviction by describing how welcoming children with special needs reshaped his family’s outlook. After their fourth child, Iva, was born with Down syndrome, the family adopted Motiejus, a boy with the same condition. Karosas said embracing the children transformed the family’s understanding of human worth and beauty and how they recognize the value of others.

Courage and perseverance

The event also drew pro-life advocates from across Europe and the Americas. Featured speakers included Agnese Irbe, OFS, founder of Latvia’s Peripatos Philosophers’ Association; Marcin Perłowski, director of the Polish pro-life foundation Centrum Życia i Rodziny; and Patricia Sandoval, an international pro-life speaker and co-host of EWTN’s “Informe Provida.”

Sandoval described the Vilnius march as deeply moving. “I was impressed by the zeal of the youth that attended the march,” she told EWTN News, noting that they were “on the front line.” She recalled the peaceful atmosphere, in which participants sang “hymns and songs of joy,” and praised the event as “very well organized.”

Sandoval, who shared her testimony of undergoing three abortions and later working for Planned Parenthood, said speaking in Vilnius held particular significance. “Vilnius is the city of mercy,” she said, describing the opportunity to share her story as “a very emotional and very exciting moment.”

Offering spiritual encouragement to participants, Sandoval urged advocates to remain strong regardless of political outcomes. “Remain steadfast, persevere, and be faithful to do his will,” she said.

From Christian witness to practical help

Speaking to EWTN News, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius said he hoped the event would help “a culture of life grow in Lithuania” — one in which every “human being is welcomed as a gift from the very beginning of life.”

For Grušas, that culture must be experienced concretely. “I would be especially glad to see a practical change,” he said, so that “a woman who feels anxious about her pregnancy knows where to turn, finds someone who will listen, and receives the support she needs.” He also said he hoped “families feel supported by their communities, employers, and public institutions.”

“We build a culture of life through many everyday decisions,” he said. In a city known as the “City of Mercy,” he added: “I hope mothers, children, and families will increasingly experience that mercy here.”

The archbishop also pointed to the responsibility of men. “A man’s steady presence can make an enormous difference,” he said, describing fatherhood as beginning before a child is born through “supporting the mother, listening to her, sharing her concerns, and preparing together to welcome the child.”

Grušas cited St. Joseph as a model of quiet responsibility. “He speaks no words in the Gospels, yet his care for Mary and Jesus is unmistakable.”

He described the march as “Christian witness with a civic dimension,” saying Catholics can participate in public life while seeking the common good. “We must keep in view both the dignity of the unborn child and the real needs of the mother,” he said, calling for public conversation “grounded in respect and followed by practical help.”

Builders of a culture of life

Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas of Kaunas told EWTN News at the march that building a culture of life requires men to embrace their roles as “fathers, leaders, and providers.” He urged them to take an active part in their children’s religious upbringing and formation.

That responsibility, he said, belongs to every Christian. Too often, people assume that “somebody else will do this” rather than recognize that “we are the people who need to take personal responsibility in creating the culture of life.”

For Kėvalas, this means fostering “prayer groups, family movements, and also the consciousness of the culture of life.” Christians, he added, are called to become “collaborators of God” in transmitting life and the Gospel of Life.

Asked what most threatens a culture of life, the archbishop pointed beyond individual social trends to “the faith problem.” The deeper question, he said, is whether people understand that “we are given the gift of life” and are called to give others “the possibility of life.”

He also warned against a materialistic mindset in which families “count the cost” of having children primarily in material terms. Greater trust in God, he said, can foster “a culture of trust and encouragement.”

Ultimately, he called Catholics to reject passivity. “We need to be not those who are just looking or observing life, but ones creating life and building the culture,” he said. He compared this vocation to that of the builders of medieval cathedrals, who laid foundations they would never see completed, trusting that their work would contribute to “a beautiful creation.”

Last update on Sept. 30, 2026, with official number of participants.

Among them will be a 27-year-old woman who will attend alongside a group of Cistercian nuns, hoping the visit will confirm the call to contemplative life she has felt since returning to the faith during the COVID-19 crisis. 

It is no coincidence that Yohanna, a sign-language interpreter for deaf people, has chosen Lourdes to mark this new beginning after years of volunteering with people with disabilities. It is a few dozen miles from here, at the Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Boulaur, one of the strongholds of monastic renewal in France, that her vocation took shape. And it is to join this community as an aspirant that she quit her job in Paris, just in time not to miss the Holy Father’s visit.

Her story reflects a broader generational movement in France, where adult baptisms reached a new record this year, driven largely by young adults. 

‘I wanted to give God everything’

But Yohanna’s story is a singular testament to divine grace. Placed in foster care at the age of 4, she grew up far from any religious practice in a life marked early on by bereavement and solitude.

Like so many of her generation, she first went looking for answers in the spiritual movements close to the New Age that flourish among young French people — an exploration that left its mark, literally, in the tattoos she still carries. She evokes these wanderings today with a smile rather than regret, for it was through them, she believes, that she eventually found her way back to God.

That way opened in the spring of 2020, in a university residence emptied by the first COVID-19 lockdown.

“All the students had left, and it felt a bit like the end of the world,” she recalled. “I had nothing; I had no one. And suddenly there was this thought of God that took hold of me. I became really eager to know more about him.”

She began learning how to pray through online resources and quickly made prayer part of her daily life. Once the lockdown was lifted, she developed a taste for stepping into every church she encountered to pray alone, while avoiding Masses, since she didn’t know any of the customs. The turning point came in 2023, when she moved to Paris and walked into a church on a weekday, just as a Mass was beginning.

“I didn’t even know there was a consecration, although it is the heart of the Catholic Mass. But I spent that whole celebration crying at the back of the church,” she remembered. “And at the end I said to the Lord: OK, I’ve understood. Now I want to give you everything, really everything, my whole life. Do what you want with me. And from that moment on, everything changed.”

After settling in a parish in Paris’s 10th arrondissement, she undertook a period of catechetical formation and received the sacrament of confirmation.

During the National Pilgrimage each August, she serves as an interpreter for deaf-blind pilgrims — an experience that transformed her understanding of the sanctuary. “The real miracle of Lourdes,” she said, “is perhaps simply that we all end up together.”

Her conversion was followed by the call to consecrated life almost immediately, but she was determined not to rush her decision, having been warned that new converts “might be very enthusiastic and immediately think of consecrated life, only to give it up quickly.”

An unexpected call

Guided by her parish priest and the vocations service of the Archdiocese of Paris, she began discerning with apostolic sisters, cloistered life being the last thing on her mind. “Given my personal background, I had enormous clichés about monastic life,” she said. “I imagined all sorts of old-fashioned things.”

It was in the middle of a difficult university year, at the end of December 2024, that she first went to the Cistercian abbey of Boulaur, simply because she “had always heard that monasteries were a good place to rest and get some air.” She has returned every holiday since. When the sisters offered her a stay inside the enclosure, she accepted with the thought that it would only confirm her prejudices.

“I thought that going inside the cloister for the first time would help me understand that this was not my path at all, and that would settle it,” she said. “But when I experienced the cloister for the first time, it was incredible. I felt completely in my place.”

“The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves,” she continued. “Sometimes he leads us to things that at first seem absurd, and afterward you realize that it fits perfectly.”

At the 2025 Jubilee of Youth in Rome, she encountered the universal Church for the first time among thousands of young people “so different from each other, and all there for the Lord.” That experience now shapes her expectations for Leo’s visit to a France witnessing record numbers of adult baptisms. 

Reflecting on the pope’s forthcoming visit to Lourdes, which Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes has described as that of “a simple pilgrim,” she said: “Pope Leo knows what is happening in our country, and I’m sure his words will help us on our way.” The official program already includes a special prayer for France, asking the Virgin Mary for the renewal of Christian families and the flourishing of vocations, “especially priestly and religious.”

Yohanna’s own vocation initially alarmed her foster parents. But faced with her perseverance and joy, they agreed to drive her to Boulaur themselves, giving them an opportunity to meet the sisters and discover the life she is preparing to embrace. From there, they will travel together to Lourdes for the pope’s visit.

“It will be a chance for them to meet the sisters and to see what a monastery really is, not just what people imagine,” she said. “That’s already a big step.”

Her aspirancy, the first step on the long road to the novitiate, is to last until June. She said her heart is “completely open” to what it will reveal. “If God calls me there, I’ll be so happy that I’ll offer him a big yes, with all my heart.”

That text, which was translated by English monk Nicholas Love from a 14th-century devotional work, enjoyed immense popularity among English Catholics in the years leading up to the Reformation; a few hundred surviving manuscripts attest to the public’s love of the book.

One incomplete manuscript of the work, meanwhile, has finally been reunited with several long-lost pages thanks to recent work by English researchers Katie Walter and James Wade.

The two professors, who teach at the University of Sussex and Girton College at the University of Cambridge, respectively, recently published their findings in the journal Notes and Queries in which they detailed what Wade described as their successful effort to “piece together the history” of the manuscript.

Wade told EWTN News that it was known for years that the East Sussex public records office held fragments of a “Mirror” manuscript, though “no one knew where.”

The researchers eventually identified the manuscript pages in the archive. Further investigation revealed that a fuller “Mirror” manuscript held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University was missing those exact pages.

That copy in the Beinecke archive had been known to scholars for years as having been owned by John Gage. A royal courtier in Tudor-era England, Gage’s life was “almost cut in half by the English Reformation,” Wade said.

“Half of his life he spent as a Catholic who was considered orthodox by the Church and the state,” Wade said. “After the Reformation, he remained a Catholic and he didn’t convert.”

Such individuals were known as “recusants.” Wade said that though Gage lived in post-Reformation England the rest of his life, he “refused to convert, he lived his life, didn’t go into exile, wasn’t executed, and didn’t lose his job.”

Gage is a notable historic figure, Wade said, in no small part because he worked for the king even as a practicing Catholic.

“There were plenty of people at the time of the Reformation who kept their Catholic faith,” the researcher said. “But Gage was an administrator who was tasked with orchestrating the dissolution of the monasteries, which meant physically going into monastic houses and basically claiming all their properties for the Crown.”

The “Mirror” manuscript is the only book historians can verify that Gage actually owned, Wade said. It likely came into his possession at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries.

The book would have been seen as heretical in post-Reformation England, as it affirms the validity of numerous sacraments including confession and the Eucharist.

Gage’s signature is found in the manuscript, along with the names of two nuns who historians think owned the book prior to it coming into Gage’s possession.

The book stands as a testament not just to its popularity during the time of its publication but also to Gage’s faith during a period of extraordinary persecution of the Church — a persecution in which Gage himself took some part even as he maintained that faith.

Wade told the University of Cambridge that Gage may have gone to a monastic library and brought the book home. “Another [possibility] is that someone else smuggled it out, and it briefly circulated from hand to hand until Gage acquired it.”

“The key thing is,” Wade said, “he kept it safe when he was meant to destroy books precisely like this one.”

Patrick Vinuales, owner of Hôtels Vinuales — the largest hotel chain in Lourdes — told EWTN News: “The average number of people who would be staying in Lourdes is roughly 20,000. But for the Sunday Mass, there will be something like 150,000 people. We expect altogether an attendance of nearly a quarter of a million people over the weekend.”

“What I think is very important is the enthusiasm of people. A lot of people have been calling us saying even if they couldnʼt come, they were so happy for the pope to come to Lourdes, to reveal more about the message of Our Lady to Bernadette,” he told EWTN News.

Tourism is a big business in Lourdes. The town is widely considered to be the area with the highest concentration of hotels in France outside of Paris — rather unusual for a town with a population of 10,000. Hotel owners have been making the most of the increase in numbers.

Joseph Tedesco, owner of the Grand Hôtel Moderne, built in 1896 by the nephew of St. Bernadette, told EWTN News: “Everybody increased their prices… We made a huge effort to welcome individuals, because usually itʼs mostly big dioceses… but this event made more individuals come and thatʼs a completely different type of business.”

For the major ceremonies, tourists will need to have registered in advance, or they won’t be allowed into the sanctuary. “The biggest challenge is the people who organized the pilgrimage before they knew the pope was coming. There are a lot of people who donʼt have their ticket,” he said. “Our hotel is in the red area, so it wonʼt be accessible [by car].”

Pope John Paul II visited Lourdes in 1983 and 2004. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI visited, which Tedesco recalls. “Two months after I bought the hotel 18 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI arrived… We didnʼt have all this security for sure. But thatʼs maybe because we didnʼt have the geopolitical problem that we have today.”

“This visit is, first and foremost, a visit by the Successor of Peter to strengthen his brothers in the faith and to address our society as a whole,” said Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes.

During this visit, Pope Leo will pray at the grotto and take part in the torchlight procession, meet with bishops of the French Episcopal Conference, celebrate Holy Mass, and meet the staff and sick community at Accueil Notre Dame, the main hospital for sick pilgrims.

He also will meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse in the Church — a major focus for critics who argue the Church hasn’t confronted the problem fully.

The visit also marks an increase in the number of attendees on organized pilgrimage groups. Most visitors to Lourdes come as part of an organized group, often with their local diocese.

Caroline Trainor, a Lourdes organizer for Joe Walsh Tours, told EWTN News she had seen a huge increase in sign-ups. “When they heard that the pope was visiting, they were signing up to come back to be here over the weekend,” she said. “So thatʼs really positive for the future because it brings Lourdes back into the spotlight… Even coming in this morning, you can kind of feel this little ripple of excitement.”

Lourdes’ story can be traced back to 1858, when St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl, had apparitions of Our Lady in a small cave. A shrine was built there, and the Pyrenean town became a pilgrimage site known for its miraculous healings.

Paul Eaton, president of Ireland’s national Carmelite pilgrimage, told EWTN News: “It’s just electrifying. You really have to come here to experience it. It’s just something else… weʼre so blessed to have this honor.”

“When the news first came out, we thought ‘this is not happening!’ That increased our numbers, which was fantastic… Weʼre very lucky because we have an awful lot of the same people that come with us every year who are actually hooked... They love Lourdes. They really, really do.”

Michael Murphy has been coming on pilgrimage to Lourdes for 19 years. He told EWTN News: “Thereʼs a draw that continually brings me back. Itʼs difficult to explain. Itʼs just the serenity and the atmosphere. For the dates and to align with the pope as well, it just made it extra special.”

Organized pilgrimages to Lourdes often have two sides. Pilgrims can either join as someone in need of assistance or as a volunteer. Those with learning or physical disabilities spend the week being assisted by volunteers, who help them with their daily needs.

Clíona, a first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News: “I heard people describing Lourdes before, but I never expected it just to be like this. Thereʼs something about it. Itʼs like a magical place.”

“Itʼs a different experience than Iʼve ever experienced before,” Harry Lynch, another first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News. “I wasnʼt expecting it to be this busy. Everyoneʼs very excited about everything thatʼs about to happen.”

Martin has been visiting Lourdes for 20 years from Ireland. He told EWTN News: “Weʼve got more youth coming now than we had years ago, which is great. With the visit of the pope, we’re getting two trips in one! Thereʼs so much excitement, so much talk about it, and itʼs a great thing for everyone. Some people donʼt get the chance to go to Rome, so they’re getting a real run for their money this year.”

The visit is expected to provide a huge boost to Lourdes’ economy. Natasha Afonso, a local souvenir shop owner, told EWTN News: “When tourists found out the pope was coming, many delayed their trips to align the dates. So, we lost a lot of business in the middle [of the] season, but now it’s growing again.”

“Lourdes is known for its miracles, so it’s good for the publicity, for the young people, and the new generations to come.”

The same study also found that in Spain specifically, the percentage of couples marrying in the Catholic Church is down 83% since 1975.

To address the high divorce rate, the Family Guidance Center (COF, by its Spanish acronym) of the Diocese of Cuenca has developed the Niño equilibrista (Child Equilibrist) program which, following a mutual support group model, provides care for the children of separated and divorced parents.

Marta Guillén Tena, director of the COF, explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the program’s name alludes to the “balancing of loyalties” that a child must deal with when their parents separate, a process that also often involves a legal dispute in which the child is caught in the middle.

“They need to have enough freedom and awareness to know that they can love both their father and their mother equally,” she noted. The children “basically need to feel heard and have their pain acknowledged,” as well as to convey to them that their parents, “come what may, will always be their parents.”

The situation of these children poses a challenge for the Church, given that it preaches the sanctity of marriage and its indivisible unity. What the children go through also presents difficulties when it comes to explaining to them the concept of God the Father.

“Child Equilibrist,” Guillén added, is a broad concept that also refers to adolescents, young people, and even adults who “can identify that child equilibrist that they carry in their hearts.”

‘It seems like they don’t notice, but they do’

The origins of the project lie in a common response from parents seeking help at the Cuenca Family Counseling Center (COF) when they are asked about their children. “What the parents conveyed to us was that their children were doing fine,” the director explained.

However, the reality is that “children, it seems like they don’t notice, but they do” pick up on what is happening around them, which is why the center launched this special, year-long program.

The program is designed to provide these children with tools to communicate with their parents, peers, and other key figures such as grandparents, teachers, or catechists. They are taught to distinguish between what happens within their family and what defines them as individuals.

‘No one is going to judge them’

Teresa Sarabia, coordinator of the Cuenca Family Guidance Center and the program itself, explained that the children are also helped to “understand the grieving process and what they are going through,” to manage their emotions, and to address their relationship with God and the concept of forgiveness, “since they sometimes waver between assigning blame and forgiveness,” Sarabia indicated.

“This is a setting of absolute confidentiality where all the children and their parents are free to express themselves openly. No one will judge them. We welcome them with authenticity and sincerity — nothing is feigned. We do this out of love, for the greater glory of God, not for our own greater glory,” Guillén explained.

For the time being, the program involves adult children partly because, at times, one parent will not give consent, but also because “we felt it was the most urgent priority, since they are the ones who will soon be starting families of their own,” Sarabia noted.

The coordinator said that the focus is the child, “but the idea is to work with the whole family,” so parents are kept informed of the path their children are on, “so that they can talk about it at home later. The idea is to build bridges between them and make this something that can be discussed openly.”

A program for the Church

The program for “The Child Equilibrist” was launched after eight years of preparation involving numerous experts from Spain and abroad. The aim is for the program to be widely adopted and to serve “to give visibility to the very specific pain experienced by these children, regardless of their age. We want them to know that their pain matters to us,” Guillén emphasized.

At the same time, the goal is for other dioceses to adopt it as well: “This is not a program we want to implement solely for ourselves. We are part of one Church, and everything we do is for the whole Church,” she concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.