Catholic News
- Pope Leo: In the AI age, the Church needs artists (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV told a gathering of artists and curators that “the Church looks upon you with esteem, gratitude and hope; that she needs you, and that she wishes to walk alongside you, so that together we may safeguard the grandeur of humanity entrusted to us.” - Children join Pope Leo in reciting Rosary for peace (CWN)
1,300 people, including 700 children, joined Pope Leo XIV at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens to recite the Rosary for peace (video). - Press conference offers overview of extraordinary meeting on Amoris Laetitia (CWN)
Three speakers at a Vatican press conference (video) discussed the upcoming extraordinary meeting on the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia. - EU official discusses Ukraine war, Middle East with Pontiff (@kajakallas)
Pope Leo XIV received Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission’s vice president, in an October 2 audience. “We discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine and the need for a just and lasting peace, the situation in the Middle East and the urgent humanitarian needs, as well as the growing danger posed by societal polarization and AI,” Kallas wrote in a social media post. “I thanked His Holiness for his unwavering commitment to international law, multilateralism and his clear voice in defense of human dignity.” - Cardinal Parolin: Elderly, young suffered from response to COVID (Holy See Mission)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, said that “COVID-19 both exposed and aggravated social fragmentation, at times with the result that older persons were abandoned and many young people suffered from isolation and loneliness, inhibiting their personal and affective development.” “Therefore, greater attention should be given to mental health, particularly that of the youth, while accompanying people in discovering that life has value, that each of us is loved, awaited and called to a task in the world,” Cardinal Parolin said at a recent UN meeting on pandemics. Cardinal Parolin reiterated the Holy See’s position that “universal health coverage is a moral imperative, which is rooted in the principle of the ‘equality of all in dignity and rights’ and which reflects our increasing interdependence and interconnectedness.” - Vatican diplomat: AI should not decide our future (Holy See Mission)
In a talk at an event devoted to Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo’s encyclical on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence, a Vatican diplomat said that “technology will definitely shape our future. But it should not decide what kind of future it is.” “That choice remains ours,” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said on October 2. “The landscape the encyclical portrays compels us, as international community, to take up our part of the work and to take actions, keeping the dignity of the person at the core and the integral development of each individual as the pole star.” - Roman Curia considering Universal Safeguarding Framework (Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors)
The president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors told commission members that curial dicasteries are considering a Universal Safeguarding Framework proposed by the commission earlier this year. “As agreed during our last Assembly, together with our Secretary I submitted the Universal Safeguarding Framework (USF) to the Holy Father for his consideration,” Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, France, said at the commission’s autumn plenary assembly, which concluded yesterday. “He received it very favorably and informed us that the text is now being examined by the competent bodies of the Roman Curia.” - Catholic Primate, Anglican leader plead for dialogue amid renewed unrest in Northern Ireland (OSV News)
Warning that “too much is at stake,” the Primate of All Ireland and his Anglican counterpart called for reconciliation in North Ireland amid renewed unrest. “We share the conviction that the greatest commandment, and the greatest witness anyone can give to the Gospel in our world today, is in love of God and love of neighbor,” Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Rt. Rev. John McDowell said in a joint statement. “We are willing to do all that we are asked to guide the feet of all, in the name, and after the example of Jesus, on the way of peace, and the building up of a better future for all.” - Tennessee Christian leaders call for commutation of death sentence following botched execution (The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee)
Tennessee’s Catholic bishops, joined by Episcopal Church and Lutheran counterparts, called on Gov. Bill Lee to commute the death sentence of a convicted murderer who survived a botched execution. The bishops said in an earlier statement that “the Church, shepherded by Pope Leo XIV, has restated its opposition to the death penalty as an attack on human dignity and unnecessary to protect society while still punishing those convicted of horrible crimes.” - Blessed Sacrament desecrated at Spanish parish (OIDAC Europe)
An unknown vandal, or vandals, broke into the tabernacle, desecrated the Most Blessed Sacrament, and stole the ciborium from the parish church of Santa Maria de Lagostelle in Guitiriz, in northwestern Spain. The September 19 incident was a “direct affront to the Eucharist, the center of the faith and life of the Church, which deeply wounds the religious feelings of Catholics,” the Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol said in a statement. A Mass of reparation was held on September 29. - USCCB committee chairman lauds Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (USCCB)
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education praised the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit as a “transformative opportunity for children across the country in both public and non-public school settings.” “The Catholic Church teaches that parents are the first and primary educators of our children, and that parents have the obligation of educating their children in the manner best suited for their development and needs,” said Bishop David O’Connell, C.M., of Trenton, New Jersey. “The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit will create opportunities for families to access much-needed resources to expand their options for choosing the best tools and learning environment for their children.” The prelate issued his statement on October 2, as the IRS published regulations for the credit’s implementation. The United States Conference of Catholic bishops explained that the credit “provides a nonrefundable federal tax credit for contributions to scholarship granting organizations. States must formally elect to opt in to the program in order for the children in that state to be eligible for scholarships funded by the program.” - Relics of Holy Crib at Santa Maria Maggiore to be placed closer to the faithful (Vatican News)
The relics of the Holy Crib in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major will be temporarily moved to a side chapel closer to the faithful, during the restoration of the reliquary and niche in which the relics are normally placed. The relics—five thin pieces of sycamore wood—will return to their normal location on Christmas Eve. - Let us focus on Christ and return to the faith of the Church Fathers, Pope tells Lutheran delegation (CWN)
In an audience with a delegation from the Lutheran World Federation, Pope Leo XIV issued an “appeal to all believers, and especially theologians, to set their minds on Christ and his Gospel.” - Pope Leo: Christians cannot accept a culture of waste (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV told representatives of an Italian utility company that we are “witnessing the uncontrolled consumption of resources” and that “the management and disposal of enormous quantities of waste are becoming increasingly problematic.” - Pope, in video, prays for those struggling with mental health challenges (The Pope Video)
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network released the video associated with his October prayer intention (for mental health ministry). In the video, Pope Leo prays for “our brothers and sisters who struggle with challenges to their mental health, who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.” The Pontiff also prays for “those who care: professionals, family members, volunteers—men and women who, with patience and love, build bridges of understanding and comfort.” - European court: Church must erase baptism record on demand (Belga English)
The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Catholic Church should comply with a request to delete the record of an individual’s baptism. In a case involving the Diocese of Ghent, in Belgium, the Court rule that European data-protection laws apply to baptismal records, and someone who was baptized as a child has the right to have the sacramental record erased. The court allowed, however, that a national court could allow the baptismal record to be retained if the Church offered “compelling legitimate grounds” for keeping it. In its finding the European Court of Justice said that the Catholic Church had not shown that its sacramental records should be treated differently from the records of other institutions, and therefore the Church is subject to data-protection laws. The policy of the Ghent diocese has been to retain the record of an individual’s baptism, but on request to note the individual’s decision to leave the Church. - Cardinal Zuppi, Vatican peace envoy, visits Ukrainian POWs in Russia (Pillar)
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Bologna, Italy, visited Ukrainian prisoners of war during his three-day visit to Moscow. It was his third such visit to Russia since Pope Francis named him a papal peace envoy to Russia and Ukraine in 2023. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, also recently visited Russia—and both prelates visited Ukraine this summer. - Anthropic cofounder made case to Vatican that AI could be conscious (New York Times)
Anthropic cofounder Christopher Olah, who spoke at the presentation of the papal encyclical on artificial intelligence, was “so alarmed by the Pope’s strong position against A.I. consciousness that he proposed pulling Anthropic out of the event,” The New York Times reported. “Privately, once the Anthropic delegation arrived at the Vatican, Mr. Olah and his team lobbied the Pope’s advisers to take the prospect of A.I. model consciousness seriously,” according to the report, which details Olah’s efforts to engage with religious figures about “the possibility of A.I. consciousness.” - Pope creates Donum Missionis Foundation for Dicastery for Evangelization's colleges (Vatican News)
In an October 1 rescript, Pope Leo XIV approved the statutes of the Donum Missionis Foundation, a new entity resulting from the merger of the Domus Missionalis Foundation and Domus Urbaniana Foundation. The new entity, endowed with 1 million euros ($1.12 million), will oversee the care and maintenance of the Pontifical Urban College of Propaganda Fide, the Pontifical Missionary College of St. Peter the Apostle, the Pontifical International Missionary College of St. Paul the Apostle, the Pontifical Missionary College of St. Joseph, the Pontifical International Missionary College Mater Ecclesiae, and the CIAM (International Center for Missionary Animation). - Central African Republic's president, Pontiff discuss peace, development (Journal de Bangui)
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic discussed peace and development in an October 1 audience with Pope Leo XIV, the Journal de Bangui reported. President Touadéra subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The parties, according to a Vatican statement, discussed Church-state relations and the peace process in the strife-torn nation. - More...