Catholic News
- Mass shooting during Mass at Catholic school in Mineapolis (AP)
At least two children were killed, and another 17 people wounded, when a shooter opened fire on the congregation at a Mass being celebrated at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on August 27. The shooter was identified as Robin Westman, a young man who had chosen to live as a woman, and who posted a disturbing hate-laced manifesto online before the massacre, in which he announced “I am not well.” After shooting through the windows of the school, he shot himself, and died of the wound. Pope Leo XIV sent a message to Archbishop Bernard Hebba of Minneapolis expressing “his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child.” - Pope, at audience, reflects on arrest of Jesus in Garden of Gethsemane (Vatican News)
At his weekly public audience in August 27, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying that this was “the hour in which the light of the greatest love can be revealed.” The Pope called particular attention to the Gospel passage in which Jesus says, “I am He,” noting the reference to God’s revelation to Moses: “I am.” At that point, the Pontiff remarked, the soldiers fell backward. While showing His power, Jesus nonetheless accepted arrest, and expressed concern only about His disciples. Knowing the pain that awaited Him, the Lord did not try to escape. The Pope observed: “This is what true hope consists of: not in trying to avoid pain, but in believing that even in the heart of the most unjust suffering, the seed of new life is hidden.” - Pope, in message to Italian liturgists, hopes faithful will 'rediscover churches as places of worship' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV sent a message to Archbishop Claudio Maniago, president of the Centro Azione Liturgica [Liturgical Action Center], as the Church in Italy commenced its 75th National Liturgical Week. - Caritas strongly condemns Israel's 'machinery of annihilation' in Gaza (Caritas Internationalis)
Caritas Internationalis, the Church’s confederation of relief and development agencies, strongly condemned Israeli actions in Gaza. “On August 20, 2025, Israeli forces stormed Gaza City, where nearly one million displaced civilians had sought refuge, many already starving,” Caritas stated. “Gazans have long endured a deliberate descent into starvation. This is not a tragic accident.” “The siege of Gaza has become a machinery of annihilation, sustained by impunity and the silence, or complicity, of powerful nations,” Caritas added. “Famine here is not a natural disaster, but the outcome of a deliberate strategy: blocking aid, bombing food convoys, destroying infrastructure, and denying basic needs.” Caritas issued seven demands, including “an immediate and permanent ceasefire,” “unrestricted humanitarian access to end starvation and provide care,” and the “release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained persons.” - New papal appeal for peace in Gaza (Vatican News)
At his public audience on August 27, Pope Leo XIV renewed his plea that “an end be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death.” He said: I appeal for all hostages to be freed, a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated, and humanitarian law to be fully respected—especially the obligation to protect civilians and the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations. - Pope Leo welcomes return of refugees to Chagos, condemns forced exile (Dicastery for Communication (French))
Pope Leo XIV received a group of refugees from the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean and welcomed their impending return to their native islands, over five decades after their removal by the United Kingdom. “I am pleased that your cause has been very successful, since the return of the Chagos Archipelago to the Republic of Mauritius was recently obtained through the signing of a treaty,” Pope Leo said on August 23. The Pope added: The renewed prospect of your return to your native archipelago is an encouraging sign and has symbolic force on the international scene: all peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and in their rights, in particular the right to live on their lands; and no one may compel them into forced exile. - Syria's new government is not persecuting Christians, prelate says (CWN)
The vicar apostolic of Aleppo emphasized in an interview that Syria’s new government is not persecuting Christians. - Cardinal Parolin reflects on liturgy and hope (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, delivered the opening address at the Church in Italy’s 75th National Liturgical Week, an event held this year in Naples. In his address, entitled “The liturgy nourishes and sustains hope” (video), Cardinal Parolin discussed hope, contemplation, action, and peace. Citing the example of the parish in Gaza, “Cardinal Parolin stressed that the liturgy must increasingly become a ‘place’ of closeness, hope, freedom, hospitality, and refuge,” according to Vatican News’s summary of his remarks. “The Cardinal also called for a liturgy that is ‘inclusive, intercultural, and welcoming’ in today’s increasingly multicultural Italian parishes—a liturgy that is the fullest expression of ‘synodality.’” Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the event, which began on August 25. - Myanmar's government announces plans to demolish cathedral, Buddhist sites (UCANews)
Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture announced plans to demolish Sacred Heart Cathedral and 19 Buddhist sites in Taungoo, a city of 110,000, as part of an archeological excavation. The Catholic community “is powerless to defend their beautiful cathedral,” said Father Xavier Wine Maung, the cathedral parish priest. “My only hope is to plead for leniency, asking them to save at least the main church building. It doesn’t matter if they demolish other buildings in the compound.” - USCCB calls for racial equity, justice in Hurricane Katrina anniversary statement (USCCB)
The chairmen of the US bishops’ Subcommittee for African American Affairs and Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism issued a joint statement for the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane “threw into stark focus the deep racial and socio-economic disparities across various sectors, including environmental justice, systemic housing inequality, and disaster response,” said Auxiliary Bishops Roy E. Campbell, Jr. and Joseph Perry. “As we mark the 20th anniversary of this tragedy we remember those who were lost and displaced but also renew our commitment to racial equity and justice in every sector of public life. “ - Vatican newspaper editor raps Israeli decision to invite social media influencers into Gaza (CWN)
In a front-page editorial in its August 26 edition, the director of L’Osservatore Romano condemned the Israeli government’s decision to permit social media influencers to enter the Gaza Strip while continuing to bar journalists. - Knife-wielding man vandalizes 2 French churches, disrupts Mass (OIDAC Europe)
A barefoot knife-wielding man, apparently under the influence of drugs, vandalized two churches in suburban Paris: the Église Sainte-Marthe des Quatre-Chemins (built in 1876) and the Église Saint-Yves des Quatre-Routes (completed in 1933). “The attacker overturned benches, smashed religious statues and paintings, and disrupted a Mass,” according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe. “He threatened police with a knife, shouting ‘Come closer, I’ll kill you!’ before being subdued by the Anti-Crime Brigade.” - Italian prelates plead for government action to help repopulate rural areas (Chiesa Cattolica Italiana)
139 Italian cardinals, bishops, and abbots signed an open letter taking aim at a government report that spoke of the “irreversible depopulation” of rural areas. The report also stated that “the population can only grow in some large cities and in specific particularly attractive locations.” The signatories of the open letter appealed to the Italian government and parliament not to “put oneself at the service of an ‘assisted suicide’” of small communities. On the contrary, said the signatories, the government should encourage the repopulation of rural areas “with economic incentives and tax reductions, smart working and co-working solutions, agricultural innovation, sustainable tourism, enhancement of cultural and landscape heritage, specific transport plans, recovery of abandoned villages, co-housing, broadband extension, community health services, telemedicine.” Births in Italy have fallen by over 30% since 2008, and there are now more Italians over 80 than under 10. - School employee may not display 'anti-trans' books in presence of students, federal court rules (Religion Clause)
A federal district court ruled that a social worker employed by Intermountain Education Service District in Pendleton, Oregon, is not permitted to display the children’s books He is He and She is She in the presence of students. Magistrate Judge Andrew Hallman ruled that the social worker’s constitutional rights were not violated when the district found that the books constituted an act of hostile expression under the school’s anti-bias policy. The judge ruled that the employee is permitted to display the books when no children are present. - Learn from St. Augustine's City of God, Pontiff tells Catholic lawmakers (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received members of the International Catholic Legislators Network on August 23 and encouraged them to learn from St. Augustine’s The City of God, in which the “Church Father taught that within human history, two ‘cities’ are intertwined: the City of Man and the City of God.” - Papal message to Waldensians, Methodists calls for journey toward full communion (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a telegram in Pope Leo’s name to the Waldensian-Methodist synod, which is meeting from August 24-27 in Torre Pellice, Italy. “I assure you of my fervent remembrance in prayer so that all Christians may journey with sincerity of heart toward full communion, to bear witness to Jesus Christ and his Gospel,” stated the Pope. “We are called to cooperate in the service of humanity, particularly in defending the dignity of the human person, in promoting justice and peace, and in providing common responses to the suffering that afflicts the most vulnerable.” - Cardinal Parolin sees 'unanimity' in condemning violence in Gaza (Vatican News)
The Vatican is “appalled by what is happening in Gaza, despite the condemnation of the whole world,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said on August 25. At an appearance in Naples, the Vatican Secretary of State said that there is “ unanimity in condemning what is taking place” in Gaza. He voiced frustration with the lack of progress toward peace, saying that “there seems to be no openings for a solution.” Questioned about the war in Ukraine, Cardinal Parolin was somewhat more optimistic, saying that “there are many possible solutions and many paths that could lead to peace. But they must be put into practice.” - Pope Leo assures Zelensky of prayer for people of Ukraine (@ZelenskyyUa)
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine posted a message that Pope Leo XIV sent him for the nation’s independence day (August 24). “With a heart wounded by the violence that ravages your land, I address you on this day of your national feast,” Pope Leo wrote. “I wish to assure you of my prayer for the people of Ukraine who suffer from war—especially for all those wounded in body, for those bereaved by the death of a loved one, and for those deprived of their homes.” “May God Himself console them; may He strengthen the injured and grant eternal rest to the departed,” the Pope added. “I implore the Lord to move the hearts of people of good will, that the clamor of arms may fall silent and give way to dialogue, opening the path to peace for the good of all.” The Pontiff concluded by entrusting the nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace. - Put Jesus, the only Savior, at the center of your life, Pope Leo tells French altar servers (CWN)
In an address to French altar servers in Rome for a jubilee year pilgrimage, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of friendship with Christ, the only Savior. - 'Immense river of people' flees Islamist insurgency in Mozambique, Vatican newspaper reports (CWN)
A day after Pope Leo XIV appealed for prayer for the people of Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique, the Vatican newspaper reported on the “immense river of people seeking safety from shootings, attacks, and kidnappings” associated with the Islamist insurgency there. - More...