- Pope, at interreligious gathering, highlights importance of prayer for peace (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV thanked participants in an annual interreligious peace conference for “coming here to pray for peace and for showing the world just how important prayer is.”“Gathered here today, we express not only our firm desire for peace, but also our conviction that prayer is a powerful force for reconciliation,” Pope Leo said at the conference. “Those who practice religion without prayer run the risk of misusing it, even to the point of killing.”The Community of Sant’Egidio has organized the conference each year since Pope St. John Paul II’s world day of prayer in Assisi in 1986. The theme of this year’s conference, the 39th, was “Daring Peace.” - EU's 'migration czar' meets with Pope, speaks of need to combat illegal immigration (@magnusbrunner)
Magnus Brunner, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration (or “migration czar”) met with Pope Leo XIV.“I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss the well-being of Christians in Europe and around the world,” said Brunner. “We also touched upon Europe’s approach to migration, firmly grounded in its values. Brunner also thanked the Pope for his “guidance and enduring commitment to peace and dialogue.”In an interview with Vatican News, Brunner distinguished legal immigration, “which we need and support,” from illegal immigration, which he linked to smuggling and human trafficking. Criticizing the EU’s oversight of migration in the 2010s as lackadaisical, Brunner said that “we must restore to the people of Europe the feeling that we are once again in control of what happens in Europe.” - Pope Leo 'not in a hurry' to change Church discipline in the Amazon, bishop says (Vatican News (Portuguese))
Following an hour-long papal audience with the leaders of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, a Brazilian bishop who was present said that Pope Leo is “not in a hurry” to change Church discipline regarding ministry there—a likely reference to the priestly ordination of married men.Auxiliary Bishop Zenildo Lima of Manaus, Brazil, spoke of “the Pope’s openness in commenting on the needs and ministerial steps for the Church in the Amazon. With great serenity, the Pope stated that he is not in a hurry with the processes, but prefers more solid, well-defined paths.”The bishop said that the Pope urged the leaders of the ecclesial conference “not to be in a hurry to try to structure things,” since “certain situations manifest themselves much more as charisms of the Holy Spirit.” - Morocco cardinal: 'We must abandon the false paradigm of true religion, false religion' (Vatican News (Italian))
In a reflection for the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, said that “we must abandon the false paradigm of ‘true religion, false religion.’”“Religions, for their part, have the responsibility to offer paths of meaning and truth, not of domination,” said Spanish-born Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB. “No religion can appropriate the truth, as if it were its sole owner. No one possesses the truth; if anything, it is the truth that possesses us all, and in every religion there are glimmers of truth.”The prelate also called for “conditions that allow everyone to live in religious freedom and to find answers to the questions that arise in religions.” (The US State Department has documented restrictions on religious freedom in Morocco, including prison terms for the crime of “undermining the Islamic religion.”) - Vatican diplomat rues withdrawals from land mine treaty (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN discussion on conventional weapons, a Vatican diplomat rued the decision of several nations to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty against land mines.“These weapons inflict indiscriminate and enduring harm on individuals, communities and the environment, leaving a deadly legacy long after conflicts have ended,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “The fact that they can be inadvertently activated by anyone, especially innocent civilians, makes them incompatible with the principles of humanity and international law.”Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland have announced their decisions to withdraw from the 1999 treaty; Russia, like the US, China, and India, never signed the treaty.Archbishop Caccia also criticized rising military expenditures and supported a draft treaty that would prohibit lethal autonomous weapon systems (“killer robots”). - Belarus: jailed priest reportedly pressed to implicate papal nuncio (Forum 18)
A Catholic priest who is imprisoned in Belarus was offered his freedom if he agreed to plant incriminating evidence on the apostolic nuncio during a prison visit, according to a report received by the Forum 18 news service. Another prisoner, recently released from the jail in Minsk, says that secret-police officers told Father Henryk Okolotovich that he could win his freedom and return to his congregation is he asked the nuncio to visit him, and planted a flash drive on the nuncio. The priest refused, his fellow inmate said. Father Okolotovich was convicted in December of treason, after a closed trial. He was charged with sending intelligence information about military aircraft to foreign powers—a charge that the stoutly denies. - Major ecumenical gathering concludes with 'Call to All Christians' (World Council of Churches)
A major ecumenical gathering concluded by issuing a brief message, A Call to All Christians.After affirming their common faith in the Blessed Trinity and the importance of mission, participants in the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, which took place at a Coptic Orthodox monastery in Egypt, said that “in some contexts, mission has been entangled with histories of enslavement, colonialism, and power. Therefore, in our time, mission must be marked by repentance and a reorientation toward decolonization and justice, reconciliation and unity.”Christian unity “begins to be visible when we live together in ways that embody faith, hope, and love: not in isolation, but in solidarity with those who are marginalized by gender, race, poverty, disability, or ecological devastation,” the participants added.The first such faith and order conference took place in 1927 in Lausanne, Switzerland; the most recent, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in 1993. The conference was the centerpiece of the World Council of Churches’ commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. 350 Protestant and Orthodox communities are members of the WCC; Pope Leo XIV will commemorate the anniversary during his apostolic journey to Turkey next month. - Barcelona's Sagrada Familia is now the world's tallest church (AP)
The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the architectural masterpiece by Antonio Gaudi, became the world’s tallest church on October 31, when a crane lifted part of its central tower into place. The Sagrada Familia now rises to a height of 534 feet above ground level. It will be still taller—564 feet—when the central tower is completed next year. - Abuse victims approve New Orleans settlement (Guardian)
Victims of sexual abuse have approved a proposed $230-million bankruptcy settlement by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The archdiocese reported that over 99% of the creditors voted in favor of the proposal, including virtually all of the abuse victims. A group of bond investors voted against the deal; they have sued the archdiocese of securities fraud. The proposed settlement now goes before a federal bankruptcy court for approval, with a hearing scheduled for November 12. - USCCB president calls for prayer, support for Caribbean hurricane victims (USCCB)
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for prayer and support for the victims of Hurricane Melissa.“I urge Catholics and all people of good will to join me in praying for the safety and protection of everyone, especially first responders, in these devastated areas,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio.Naming four Catholic organizations that are providing assistance, he added, “Let us stand in solidarity by supporting the efforts of organizations already on the ground.” - Catholic-Assyrian Church dialogue focuses on liturgy (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)
Members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East met at the Vatican on October 27-28. It was the 17th such meeting since 1994.The theme of the discussion was “Liturgy in the life of the Church: A comparative study of the Latin and the Church of the East’s liturgical traditions.”The Assyrian Church of the East (CNEWA profile) ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. - Salesforce signs pontifical academy's 'Rome Call for AI Ethics' (Vatican Press Office)
Sabastian Niles, the president of the US software company Salesforce, signed the Rome Call for AI Ethics, an initiative promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life (though not an official text of the academy).The document was first signed by leaders of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Microsoft, IBM, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in 2020; it has since garnered support from other religious and technology company leaders. - Croatian president meets with Pontiff (Vatican News)
Pope Leo XIV met on October 31 with Croatia’s President Zoran Milanovic. A brief Vatican statement released after the meeting said that the conversation had centered on church-state relations, also touching on “various topics of an international and regional nature, with particular attention to the region of the Western Balkans and to regional cooperation.” - Bishop Adoukonou, last Ratzinger student and former Vatican official, dies at 83 (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Bishop Barthélemy Adoukonou, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 2009 to 2017, died in his native Benin at the age of 83.Then-Father Adoukonou was the last doctoral student of the future Pope Benedict at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Pope St. John Paul II appointed Father Adoukonou to the International Theological Commission (1986-1997), and the priest later became secretary-general of the Regional Episcopal Conference of Francophone West Africa (2000-2009).Pope Benedict appointed Father Adoukonou secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture in 2009; two years later, he was ordained a bishop. - Universities offer the 'grace of an overarching vision,' Pope preaches to students (Dicastery for Communication)
At a Mass for pontifical university students, celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica during the Jubilee of the World of Education, Pope Leo XIV preached that universities offer “the grace of an overarching vision.”Pope Leo warned that “today, we have become experts in the smallest details of reality, yet we have lost the capability of an overarching vision that integrates things through a deeper and greater meaning. The Christian experience, however, wishes to teach us to look at life and reality with a unified gaze, capable of embracing everything while rejecting merely partial ways of thinking.”The Pope advised students to “look to the example of men and women such as Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Edith Stein and many others who knew how to integrate research into their lives and spiritual journey.” - Vatican will issue document on Virgin Mary's titles next week (CNA)
On November 4, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will release a document on the titles of the Virgin Mary, the Vatican has announced. The document, entitled Mater Populi Fides, will focus particularly on the Virgin’s “cooperation in the work of salvation.” It is likely to address debate over the use of the title “Co-Redemptrix.” - Synod leaders identify 8 'priority themes' (General Secretariat of the Synod)
Following the Jubilee of Synodal teams and Participatory Bodies, the 16th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod held a two-day meeting. The Ordinary Council is responsible for implementing the 2021-2024 synod on synodality, officially the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. (The first was held in 1967.)The Ordinary Council listed eight “priority themes” for the implementation phase of the synod on synodality, which culminates in an ecclesial assembly in 2028. Among the themes are “formation in synodal spirituality,” “the link between listening to the People of God and pastoral and operational discernment,” and “accompaniment of those experiencing fears or disappointments regarding the synodal process.” - Educate yourselves for interior life, Pope urges young students (Vatican Press Office)
Pope Leo XIV met on October 30 with a group of students who were in Rome for the Jubilee for Education. “Being with you reminds me of the years when I taught mathematics to lively young people like you,” the Pope said. He encouraged them to bear in mind the words of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was recently canonized: “To live without faith... is not living but simply getting along.” The Pontiff also passed along the insight of St. John Henry Newman, saying that “knowledge grows when it is shared, and that it is through the conversation of minds that the flame of truth is kindled.” Pope Leo praised the perspective of young people who, in comments on the challenges of education, said: “Help us in our education of the interior life.” - For 1st time, Pope Leo consecrates a bishop (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Pope Leo XIV ordained Msgr. Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski to the episcopate during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square, a month after the prelate’s appointment as apostolic nuncio in Iraq. It was the first time that Pope Leo was the principal consecrator of a bishop; before becoming Pope, he was principal co-consecrator of four Augustinian confrères.The “first lesson for every bishop,” the Pope preached, is “humility. Not the humility of words, but the humility that dwells in the heart of those who know they are servants, not masters; shepherd, not owner of the flock.”The Pope asked Archbishop Wachowski to “guard the shoots of hope, to encourage peaceful coexistence, to show that the Holy See’s diplomacy is born of the Gospel and is nourished by prayer ... In Iraq, the people will recognize you not by what you say, but by how you love.”Born in Poland in 1970 and ordained to the priesthood in 1996, Archbishop Wachowski entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2004. Pope Francis appointed him Undersecretary for Relations with States in 2019. - Final Italian synodal document wins approval, calls for study of women deacons (SIR)
The Church in Italy concluded its four-year synodal process with the approval of a 72-page final document, Lievito di pace e di speranza [Leaven of Peace and Hope].The document gained the approval of 781 out of 809 synod participants. Section 71c, which attracted the least support (76,9% of participants), called for the study of women in the diaconate.The document also called on Italian dioceses, by “overcoming the discriminatory attitude that is sometimes widespread in ecclesial environments and in society,” to “commit themselves to promoting the recognition and accompaniment of homoaffective and transgender persons, as well as their parents, who already belong to the Christian community” (30c).The document then asked the bishops’ conference to support with prayer and reflection the “days” promoted by civil society to combat all forms of violence and demonstrate sympathy towards those who are hurt and discriminated against (Days against violence and gender discrimination, pedophilia, bullying, femicide, homophobia and transphobia, etc.). (30d)