null / Credit: Radioshoot/Shutterstock

Washington D.C., Aug 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The 2025 EWTN Catholic Radio Conference has drawn hundreds of attendees to Washington, D.C., this week to discuss and learn more about Catholic radio as an evangelization tool.

During the conference, attendees have had the opportunity “to network with each other, learn things from each other, and discuss things that have worked, and things that haven’t worked, in Catholic radio,” EWTN Radio General Manager Jack Williams told CNA. 

Among the attendees, Williams said about 65 are associated with affiliate stations who carry the network’s radio programming in different parts of the country. He noted that many of them didn’t necessarily start off their careers in radio but are people who “heeded Mother Angelica’s call.”

On a live EWTN broadcast in 1995, hosted by network foundress Mother Angelica, “she put out the call that if anybody had, or could procure, an AM or FM radio station she would give them the programming for free. And that’s essentially what we’ve been doing since 1996,” Williams said. “By the end of that year, she had six people; now we have over 440 affiliates around the country.”

The conference always starts with a retreat day, and this year the group gathered for their retreat at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The days following the retreat have included workshops and professional development opportunities on various topics.

The topics discussed are tailored to what the attendees want to learn more about based on a sampling of affiliate groups that EWTN calls the “Affiliate Advisory Team.” They “meet on a monthly basis and talk about various issues facing the radio world in general, and Catholic radio in particular,” Williams explained.

“We use feedback from that group to help plan the topics for the workshops and the things that we think will best suit the operators that will help to propel them forward.”

Along with the workshops, the conference welcomed various speakers, including EWTN Chairman of the Board and CEO Michael Warsaw and EWTN News Vice President and Editorial Director Matthew Bunson.

During his Aug. 28 keynote address, Bunson, who hosts the network’s weekly “Register Radio” program, reviewed the relationship various popes have had with radio and how their work can serve as a guide for radio professionals.

The popes have “understood that radio had a role to evangelize, to proclaim Christ Jesus, to lead a profound cultural service, a service to truth, to justice, and to human dignity,” Bunson noted.

The popes’ work in radio dates back to Pope Pius X in 1931 when he began his broadcast that allowed him to speak “directly to the faithful across continents.”

Then in 1957, Pope Pius XII continued to “highlight the importance” of religious radio. Bunson said: “He exhorted bishops to increase and enhance programs, deal with Catholic affairs, and emphasize the need for well-trained priests and laity in the fields, seeing radio as a new means to fulfill Christ’s command to preach the Gospel.”

Pius XII “underscored a fundamental principle” that technology, when ethically used, can be “a powerful ally in the service of faith,” Bunson explained. 

“In the Second Vatican Council’s important 1964 document about the means of social communications, the famous document Inter Mirifica, the bishops made sure to include radio in the list of the great forms of expression that have to be put to use by the Church ... [to] reach and influence not only individuals but a whole human society.”

Pope Paul VI “expressed even more vividly the power of radio. He wrote: ‘TV and radio, they have given society new patterns of communication. They have changed ways of life ... broadcasters have access to the minds and the hearts of everyone.’”

Pope John Paul II “further articulated Catholic radio’s mission, stating that it is entrusted with the task of ‘proclaiming the Christian message with freedom, fidelity, and efficacy.’”

Bunson said Catholic radio and other forms of Catholic social communication “have an obligation to understand the real media landscape.” It “requires continuous adaptation, updating, solid human, cultural, professional, and spiritual formation to the community.”

By reflecting on the popes, those working in Catholic radio can learn “to have clarity in self-identity, to be as professional as possible, [and] to follow the call of the Second Vatican Council to utilize all the means of social communications that are before us.”

Bunson added: “Authentic Catholic radio … must be built on from the ground up with a strong Catholic identity.”

Pope Leo XIV accepts the Medal of St. Augustine from Fr. Robert P. Hagan, O.S.A., prior provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova (R) and Fr. Joseph Farrell, O.S.A., vicar general of the Order of St. Augustine (L) in a video released on Aug. 28, 2025. / Credit: Screenshot from the YouTube page of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 05:10 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV expressed his gratitude to receive the Medal of Saint Augustine, awarded by the United States Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, and affirmed that the spirituality of the Doctor of the Church has marked his life and ministry.

“To be recognized as an Augustinian, it’s an honor held dearly. So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine,” he said in a video message shared on St. Augustine’s feast day, Aug. 28.

The Augustinian Province said on Facebook that the Medal of St. Augustine is the highest honor the province can bestow, “given to those who embody the spirit and teachings of St. Augustine, living with deep commitment to Truth, Unity, and Charity.”

The province added: “From his early years in formation to his decades of service in Peru, leadership as Prior General, and now as the first Augustinian pope, Pope Leo XIV has witnessed to a life of generosity, faith, and service. In him, we see a true son of Augustine — dedicated to building unity in the Church, teaching with wisdom, and shepherding with a heart rooted in love. We are honored to bestow upon him this award.”

In his video message, recorded from Castel Gandolfo, where he spent a few days of prayer and rest in mid-August, the pope recalled that the life of St. Augustine still inspires the faithful today.

“His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives. But through God’s grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart,” he said.

Leo emphasized that the example of St. Augustine invites us to put our talents at the service of others: “The life of St. Augustine and his call to servant leadership, reminds us that we all have God given gifts and talents, and our purpose, fulfillment, and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor.”

He assured the members of the Augustinian province that they are called to continue the legacy of the first Augustinians in the United States — such as Fr. Matthew Carr and Fr. John Rossiter — whose missionary spirit led them to proclaim the Gospel to immigrants in Philadelphia: “Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God through friendship, relationship, dialogue and respect for one another.”

He also encouraged the U.S. Augustinians to become instruments of reconciliation. “As a community of believers and inspired by the charism of the Augustinians, we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God’s presence in one another.”

The pope emphasized the importance of listening, following the advice of St. Augustine: “It is within our hearts where God speaks to us.” He added: “The world is full of noise, and our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages. These messages can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy. As a community of faith … may we strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God’s love better.”

The pontiff expressed his confidence that, like Augustine, every believer can find in God the strength to overcome anxiety, darkness, and doubt, and “through God’s grace, we can discover that God’s love is truly healing. Let us strive to build a community where that love is made visible.”

Leo XIV concluded his message by asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, and by offering a prayer for the Church: “May God bless you all and bring peace to your restless hearts, and help you continue to build a community of love, one in mind and heart, intent upon on God.”

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

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Andres (“Andy”) C. Ligot, as Auxiliary Bishop of San José. Father Ligot is a priest of the Diocese of San José and currently serves as vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of San José, and as pastor of St. Elizabeth of Portugal parish in Milpitas, California. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on August 29, 2025, by Monsignor Većeslav Tumir, chargé d’ affaires, a.i., of the Apostolic Nunciature, in the temporary absence of Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Ligot was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Father Ligot was born November 30, 1965, in Laoag City, Philippines. Bishop-elect Ligot studied at San Pablo College Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines, graduating in 1986 with a degree in philosophy. Father Ligot attended seminary at Colegio Eclesiástico Internacional Bidasoa in Pamplona, Spain. He received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines in 1988. Bishop-elect Ligot also studied at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain receiving a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology (1992), a master’s degree in theology (1992), a licentiate canon law (1997), and a doctorate in canon law (1999). Father Ligot was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1992, for the Diocese of Laoag, Philippines. He was incardinated into the Diocese of San José on March 30, 2004.

Bishop-elect Ligot’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar at St. Andrew parish in Bacarra Ilocos Norte, Philippines (1992); and from 1992 to 1995, he served as national coordinator for Evangelization 2000; director of the national office for Catholic School of Evangelization for Asia in Manila, Philippines; parochial vicar at St. William Cathedral in Laoag City, Philippines; and director for the Diocese of Laoag’s Commission on Christian Education. From 1995 to 1999, Father Ligot served as director of the Casa Sacerdotal Padre Baraee and chaplain of the University Medical Center at Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. 

In the 1999 Bishop-elect Ligot was given permission by his bishop in Laoag to minister in California, and he served as a chaplain at the Veterans Medical Center in San Francisco, California, and as a visiting priest at Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. He served in the tribunal for the Diocese of San José as defender of the bond (1999-2000), and judge (2000-2003). He was parochial vicar at St. John Vianney parish in San Jose (2003-2005); pastor at St. Lawrence the Martyr parish in Santa Clara (2005-2009); and judicial vicar for the diocese (2008-2021). Bishop-elect Ligot has been pastor of St. Elizabeth of Portugal parish in Milpitas since 2021, and vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of San José since 2023. 

Bishop-elect Ligot speaks Tagalog, Ilocano, Spanish, and English. 

The Diocese of San José in California is comprised of 1,300 square miles in the State of California and has a total population of 1,903,198 of which 513,000 are Catholic.

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A 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) plaster cross was unearthed in an ancient monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island about 106 miles southwest Abu Dhabi, ACI MENA reported. / Credit: Courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 28, 2025 / 17:37 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Ancient cross discovered in Abu Dhabi points to deep Christian roots in region

The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has announced a new archaeological discovery: a 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) plaster cross unearthed in an ancient monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island about 106 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported.

The artifact was uncovered during excavation work that began earlier this year. According to the Abu Dhabi Media Office, the cross was found in the courtyard of one of the monastery’s houses. The cross is believed to date back to the seventh or eighth century A.D. Its eastern-style design resembles crosses found in Iraq and Kuwait, reflecting the historic connections of the Eastern Church and its spread across the gulf in the early centuries of Christianity.

Church in Thailand equips seminarians to minister to the Deaf 

The Catholic Church in Thailand has launched a training program for seminarians at Fatima Minor Seminary in the Archdiocese of Thare-Nongseng to help strengthen their ability to minister to the Deaf, according to Vatican News.

The program kicked off with training sessions on Aug. 22–24 led by Father Peter Bhuravaj Searaariyah, director of pastoral ministry for the Deaf of the Diocese of Chanthaburi and of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand. The sessions included an introduction to religious sign language terminology, participation in a Thai Sign Language (TSL) Mass, and the recitation of the Liturgy of the Word in sign language, Vatican News reported.

Nigerian priest: Surge in child trafficking a ‘national emergency’ 

A Nigerian Catholic priest is sounding the alarm over the growing trafficking of secondary school children — most often young girls who live in poverty across the west African nation who are taken during and after school hours.

“This is a national emergency. We are dealing with a crisis that threatens the future of our children and the soul of our nation,” Father George Ehusani told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, in an interview on Monday. “When teenagers who should be in classrooms are lured, moved, and exploited by criminal networks, the entire community is diminished.”

Armenian Catholics launch website for St. Maloyan’s canonization

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia has announced the official launch of a website dedicated to the upcoming canonization of Blessed Ignatius Maloyan, ACI MENA reported Thursday. 

The site provides detailed information for the faithful who wish to participate in the celebration, including visa instructions for Lebanese citizens and comprehensive travel packages covering flights, accommodations, and local transportation. The platform also offers specialized services for the Armenian diaspora to facilitate participation in this historic event at the heart of the universal Church.

Climate activists convene in Kenya for interfaith prayer against fossil fuel expansion

Climate activists and faith leaders from across Africa gathered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Aug. 24 for an interfaith prayer session to push for an end to fossil expansion on the world’s second-largest continent.

Convened by the continental Laudato Si’ Movement at the Holy Family Basilica, the prayer vigil was grounded in prayer and moral witness, ACI Africa reported. The movement’s programs manager, Ashley Kitisya, told ACI Africa: “Our goal is to increase moral and spiritual pressure on decision-makers to halt fossil fuel expansion and instead invest in a just and sustainable transition.”

Summit cross in Swiss Alps uprooted in act of vandalism

In the Swiss Alps, a cross and a statue of Mother Mary were torn out of the ground in an act of vandalism, CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported earlier this week. The cross and statue were located in the Basòdino mountain, the second-highest peak in the canton of Ticino.

Roberto Iori, who runs a mountain hut in the area, said: “What also torments me is the fact that the perpetrator of this abominable act probably passed our hut and maybe even slept here. The cross and the Madonna were symbols for mountain lovers … It could be religiously motivated vandalism. It’s not the first time someone has destroyed religious symbols on a summit.”

British MP: Catholic support for Palestinians in Gaza ‘extremely powerful’ 

Independent British member of Parliament Shockat Adam said in an interview with Crux this week that support from the Catholic Church for people in Gaza has been “extremely powerful” and emphasized the Church’s unique role to play in ending the conflict.

“The Vatican has been doing it, but other Christian denominations and even Muslim leaders haven’t been as vociferous and clear on this,” Adam said. “The Vatican has a role to play, have played a role, and should continue to do so … The leadership of the Church addressing parliamentarians and legislators and world leaders is a really powerful avenue of making change.”

7 Christians jailed after Hindu groups say they violated anti-conversion laws 

A group of seven Christians in the Uttar Pradesh state in India have been jailed following accusations made by “Hindu vigilante groups” that they violated the northern Indian state’s anti-conversion laws by “converting gullible people to Christianity,” according to a UCA News report.

The arrests took place on Aug. 24 in three separate locations where Sunday prayer services were taking place. Six prayer services were interrupted in total that same day, an anonymous church leader told UCA.

The major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Raphael Thattil. / Credit: Syro-Malabar Church

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).

The Holy See Press Office has published a series of decisions by Pope Leo XIV to bring about unity in the Syro-Malabar Church of India, which has been at serious risk of schism in recent years due to liturgical disputes.

The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 23 Eastern Churches in full communion with the bishop of Rome and follows the Chaldean liturgical tradition. It is the largest Eastern Church after the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and its origins date back to the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle.

Since 1999, the Church has undergone a long period of division as a result of liturgical reforms that were later confirmed by the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church in 2021.

In July, Pope Leo XIV terminated the 2023 appointment of Archbishop Cyril Vasil’ as papal delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church after an internal agreement was reached without his mediation.

Appointments of new bishops

The Vatican reported Aug. 28 that it had accepted resignations, made several episcopal appointments, and created several ecclesiastical provinces in the Syro-Malabar Church.

First, the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church accepted the resignation of the bishop of Belthangady, Mar Lawrence Mukkuzhy, and elected as new eparch Claretian Father James Patteril, “to whom the Holy Father had granted prior assent,” according to information provided by the Holy See.

Patteril, 63, is a native of Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka. He professed his vows in the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1988 and was ordained a priest in 1990.

After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was sent to Germany to study pastoral theology at the Pastoral-Theologisches Institut of the Pallottine Fathers in Friedberg. He has exercised his pastoral ministry in India and Germany.

Carmelite Father Joseph Thachaparambath has been elected bishop of the Eparchy of Adilabad. Born in 1969 in Nalumukku, India, he entered the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation in 1985.

After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest in 1997. His pastoral work has focused on parish life and teaching at various educational institutions within his religious institute. Since 2023, he has served as superior of the Mar Thoma Province.

His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, with the consent of the synod of bishops, has accepted the resignation of Thomas Elavanal of the Missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Sacrament as bishop of the Eparchy of Kalyan.

New ecclesiastical provinces of the Syro-Malabar Church

Regarding the territorial organization of the Syro-Malabar Church, the Holy See has announced the establishment of several ecclesiastical provinces and the assignment of the corresponding metropolitan archbishops.

The ecclesiastical province of Faridabad will be composed of the dioceses of Faridabad, Bijnor, and Gorakhpur. The Diocese of Faridabad will become an archdiocese, with its current bishop, Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, designated as archbishop.

The ecclesiastical province of Kalyan will have the Eparchies of Chanda and Rajkot as suffragans, with Kalyan remaining as the archiepiscopal see. Its first archbishop will be Sebastian Vaniyapurackal, currently bishop of the Major Archiepiscopal Curia.

The ecclesiastical province of Shamshabad, named after the see that is being elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese, will have the Eparchy of Adilabad as its suffragan. Its first archbishop-designate will be Bishop Prince Antony Panengaden, currently the prelate of the same see.

Ujjain is the fourth ecclesiastical province created, taking its name from the Diocese of Ujjain. Its suffragan sees are Jagdalpur, Sagar, and Satna. The current bishop of Ujjain, Sebastian Vadakel, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle, was appointed metropolitan archbishop.

Finally, the Eparchy of Hosur has been designated a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Trichur.

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

Sabrina Steffans displays her newly decorated school parking space. / Credit: Courtesy of First Liberty Institute

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

A rising senior at a high school in Grand Island, New York, Sabrina Steffans, is now allowed to decorate her school parking space with Christian messages after her high school reversed course after initially rejecting her faith-based artwork.

Grand Island High School allows seniors to paint their parking spots “to encourage students to express themselves through positive artwork, to beautify the campus, to build school spirit, and to create a new and exciting radiation to support senior class activities and events.”

When Steffans, a Christian who leads a Bible club at her school, proposed three drawings for her parking space, the school rejected the first two, which had Christian themes.

Steffans said the school approved the third design, “which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything.”

Steffans said after the school rejected the second proposed drawing, “that’s when we kind of decided to take charge and move forward with this [legal action].”

Steffans hired lawyers from First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit religious liberty law firm, who wrote a demand letter to the Grand Island school district insisting she had a constitutionally-protected right to freely express her religious beliefs at school.

Days later, attorneys for the school district responded to the demand letter stating that Sabrina could proceed with her original design.

“We are pleased that the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design,” said Keisha Russell, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute. “The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools.”

In response to the threatened lawsuit, Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Brian Graham issued a statement last week saying the district takes “seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment.”

He continued: “While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the board of education and district leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”

Pope Leo XIV speaks to pilgrims at the general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 15:02 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV recalled what the “life and witness” of St. Augustine means for Christians on the day the Catholic Church celebrates his feast day, Aug. 28.

“The life and witness of St. Augustine reminds us that each of us has received gifts and talents from God and that our vocation, our fulfillment, and our joy come from giving them back in loving service to God and others,” the pontiff wrote on a post on X.

Since his election as successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV has continually alluded to his vocation as an Augustinian religious. In his first greeting from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, he exclaimed:

“I am an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’ In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”

Throughout his more than three months as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has consistently included in almost every one of his discourses, catechesis, and statements a pearl of wisdom passed on by the bishop of Hippo.

Not surprisingly, his papal motto, “In Illo uno, unum” (“In the one Christ, we are one”), comes from a homily by St. Augustine, the saintly disciple of St. Ambrose of Milan.

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

Pope Leo XIV addresses a delegation of political representatives and civic leaders from the Diocese of Créteil, France, on Aug. 28, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday encouraged Catholic politicians to live coherently as Christians and follow the Gospel, even when performing their public duties in a secular polity. 

During an Aug. 28 meeting with a delegation of political representatives and civic leaders from the Diocese of Créteil, France, accompanied by Bishop Dominique Blanchet, the Holy Father stated that “a more just, more human, more fraternal world” can only be “a world more imbued with the Gospel.”

Thus, he added, “in the face of the various deviations present in our Western societies, we can do nothing better, as Christians, than to turn to Christ and ask for his help in carrying out our responsibilities.”

For this reason, the pope highlighted the importance of political and social leaders being committed to acting in coherence with their faith, because “beyond mere personal enrichment, it carries great importance and usefulness for the men and women they serve.” 

In this regard, he underlined that such determination “is all the more praiseworthy considering that, in France, due to a sometimes-misunderstood secularism, it is not easy for an elected representative to act and decide consistently with their faith.” 

‘Christianity cannot be reduced to a mere private devotion’ 

Because the Christian message embraces every dimension of the human person, Leo XIV stressed that “Christianity cannot be reduced to a mere private devotion, since it entails a way of living in society infused with love for God and neighbor, who in Christ is no longer an enemy but a brother.” 

To face social challenges, the Holy Father said Catholic politicians must rely “on the virtue of charity that dwells within them since baptism,” a gift of God that, as he cited from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, constitutes a “force capable of inspiring new paths to address today’s problems and to renew profoundly from within structures, social organizations, and legal norms,” bringing charity from the personal realm into the social and political one because “it makes us love the common good and leads us to effectively seek the good of all.” 

Pope Leo XIV also noted that the Christian politician “is better prepared to face the challenges of today’s world, provided, of course, that he lives and bears witness to his faith in him, to his personal relationship with Christ.” 

In this sense, he warned against the temptation to promote values “however evangelical they may be, but ‘emptied’ of Christ, their author,” since they will be “incapable of changing the world.” 

Responding to Blanchet’s request for advice to Catholic politicians, Leo XIV replied: “The first and only one I will give you is to unite yourselves more and more to Jesus, to live and bear witness to him.” 

Coherence in public life 

“There is no split in the personality of a public figure: There is not, on one side, the politician and, on the other, the Christian. Rather, there is a politician who, under God’s gaze and before his conscience, lives his commitments and responsibilities as a Christian!” he added.

To achieve such coherence of life, the pope recalled the call for Catholic politicians “to strengthen themselves in faith, to deepen their knowledge of doctrine — especially social doctrine — that Jesus taught the world, and to put it into practice in carrying out their duties and in drafting laws.” 

He also affirmed the enduring validity of natural law, a norm “that all can recognize, even non-Christians. Therefore, we should not fear proposing it and defending it with conviction: It is a doctrine of salvation that seeks the good of every human being, the building of peaceful, harmonious, prosperous, and reconciled societies.”

Courage in the face of difficulties 

At the end of his address, the pope acknowledged that “an openly Christian commitment by a public official is not easy, especially in certain Western societies where Christ and his Church are marginalized, often ignored, and at times ridiculed.” 

Such a commitment also means facing political pressures, including that of “ideological colonization,” Leo said, using a term coined by his predecessor Pope Francis to refer to campaigns by wealthy countries and organizations to influence the values of developing nations.  Leo said that Christian public officials “need courage: the courage sometimes to say ‘no, I cannot,’ when the truth is at stake.” 

“Only union with Jesus — Jesus crucified! — will give you that courage to suffer for his name,” the pontiff declared, recalling Christ’s words: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage: I have overcome the world.” 

In conclusion, the pope expressed his support for Catholic politicians and encouraged them not to lose hope in a better world: “Remain certain that, united to Christ, your efforts will bear fruit and receive their reward.”

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

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York, where a federal court accepted the diocese’s $176 million settlement plan. / Credit: debra millet/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

A federal bankruptcy court has accepted the Diocese of Syracuse, New York’s massive $176 million abuse settlement plan, Bishop Douglas Lucia said this week.

The decision comes after a yearslong negotiation process between the diocese and victims of clergy abuse as well as between the diocese and insurers that will pay into the settlement fund.

Lucia said in an Aug. 27 letter that the diocese will contribute $100 million to the fund, as diocesan leaders first announced in 2023.

Fifty million dollars will come from the diocese itself, with $45 million from parishes and $5 million from “other Catholic entities” associated with the Syracuse Diocese.

The remaining $76 million will be contributed by diocesan insurance companies, the bishop said.

Further “nonmonetary items” in the agreement include provisions such as strengthening diocesan safe environment policies.

The diocese initiated the bankruptcy process in 2020. In his letter, Lucia thanked his fellow Catholics “who throughout these five years have prayed for this resolution and for those whose hearts were broken by the betrayal that came at the hands of Church members.”

“Together I now pray we will grow ever more as the body of Christ in this part of the world community,” he said.

The Syracuse decision comes amid a wave of high-value abuse settlement payouts from U.S. dioceses, including throughout New York.

Abuse victims in New York last month agreed to a massive settlement from the Diocese of Rochester, which is set to pay $246 million to survivors of clergy abuse there.

The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, earlier this year agreed to pay out a $150 million sum as part of its own abuse settlement.

The largest diocesan-level bankruptcy settlement in U.S. history thus far has been from the Diocese of Rockville Centre — also in New York — which last year agreed to pay $323 million to abuse victims.

The largest Church abuse payout total in U.S. history thus far has been at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which last year agreed to a near-$1 billion payment to abuse victims.

People attend a vigil following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. / Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

The leaders of the Minneapolis Catholic school where two children were shot and killed during a mass shooting incident on Wednesday say the school will remain closed for the time being as the community continues to deal with the “unfathomable” deadly incident.

The shooting took place during the all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27. The gunman, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, born Robert Westman, shot through the church’s stained-glass windows with a rifle, killing the two children and injuring nearly 20 children and adults before taking his own life.

The shooting generated global headlines and drew prayers and support from leaders including Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matthew DeBoer and parish pastor Father Dennis Zehren described the crisis as an “impossible situation.”

“No words can capture what we have gone through, what we are going through, and what we will go through in the coming days and weeks,” they wrote. “But we will navigate this — together.”

The leaders indicated the school would remain closed for at least the rest of the week and possibly longer. “As we process and navigate this unfathomable time together, we will be in touch this weekend regarding when school will resume,” they said. 

The statement noted that law enforcement are still carrying out “essential work” on the school’s campus, located several miles south of downtown Minneapolis.

Families in the parish will have access to support services, they said.

“In this time of darkness, let us commit to being the light to our children, each other, and our community,” the statement said. “We will rebuild our future filled with hope — together.”

Pope Leo XIV after the shooting sent his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness” to the victims of the shooting, while Catholic bishops and leaders from around the country likewise called for prayers and support for the school community.

The deadly shooting came after Minnesota’s bishops had implored state lawmakers to provide security funding for local nonpublic schools.

Those appeals from the bishops came after deadly school shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

The prelates had argued that students at Catholic and other nonpublic schools should receive the same level of protection as their public-school peers, though bills to that effect stalled in the state Legislature.