Catholic News
- Let us together promote peace and justice, Pope tells Norway's Lutheran leaders (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received bishops of the Lutheran Church of Norway this morning and prayed that “we may always grow together in our service to the promotion of peace and justice.” - Papal message: Christ transforms us in the liturgy (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo’s name to the Church in Italy’s 76th National Liturgical Week, which is taking place in Catania. In the message, dated August 6 and released on August 25, Pope Leo said that in the liturgy, “the mystery of Christ takes hold of us, transforms us, and causes us to be born as new creatures.” The message also said there is a need to recover a “more profound sense” of actuosa participatio (active participation) in the sacred liturgy. - Leading German bishop has 'great concern' AfD could win election, 'great respect' for lay homilies (Kirche+Leben)
The president of the German bishops’ conference expressed “great concern” that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could win the state election in Saxony-Anhalt next month. “Ethnic nationalism and Christianity are incompatible,” said Bishop Heiner Wilmer, S.C.J., of Münster. “I am already very grateful for prophetic voices and for people who take to the streets. But I think we should become even more courageous overall. I can imagine even more resistance.” Asked how he would implement the Vatican’s recent reaffirmation that only clergy are permitted to preach homilies during Mass, Bishop Wilmer said: Even though I am still quite new as Bishop of Münster, I know that many baptized women and men in our diocese have dealt with this topic for years and have incorporated a culture. I have great respect for this tradition and feel deep gratitude. Of course, I also have respect for the feedback from Rome. At the same time, I am firmly convinced that the wonderful female and male pastoral workers in our diocese will find a good way to deal with the circumstances. I have great confidence in them and am very grateful to them for their outstanding work and witness. - Vatican gives aid to food initiative for Ukrainian soldiers (Vatican News)
The Dicastery for the Service of Charity responded positively to a request for aid from the Ukrainian village of Berestia, where women volunteer to prepare meals for soldiers on the front lines. “I didn’t expect them to place so much emphasis on having received the assistance specifically from the Office of Papal Charities,” said Father Viktor Bilous, a staff member of the apostolic nunciature in Ukraine. “Even when they welcomed us, they told us, ‘Representatives of the Pope have come to us.’ ... We prayed together, I blessed the food, and we also prayed for our soldiers.” - US dioceses vary in granting, denying religious exemptions to vaccines (National Catholic Register)
The National Catholic Register examined the varying diocesan policies on vaccination and admission to Catholic schools. According to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s note on the morality of COVID vaccines, “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary ... Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent.” - Conversions surge on US college campuses (EWTN News)
Conversions to the Catholic faith surged in 2025-26 on college campuses in the United States, according to data obtained from nearly 60 college chaplaincies by the Hallow app. The number of catechumens and candidates at Texas A&M University grew from 121 in 2024-25 to 204 in 2025-26. After Texas A&M, schools with the largest number of participants in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults included Arizona State University, the University of Illinois, the University of Oklahoma, and Kansas State University. - Edmonton archbishop condemns attack on Sikh temple (Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton)
Archbishop Stephen Hero of Edmonton, Alberta, condemned an attack on a Sikh temple in the Canadian city. “That such an attack could take place in a house of worship in our city, during a time of prayer, is most disturbing,” said Archbishop Hero. “Please be assured of our love and concern for the men injured in this event, their families, and your entire Gurdwara community as you contend with the repercussions of this senseless act of violence.” - Knights of Columbus' Supreme Knight named to Vatican dicastery (OSV News)
Pope Leo XIV named Patrick Kelly, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, as a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, provides that members of the dicasteries meet (typically) every two years in plenary session to discuss “matters and questions of greater importance.” Other American members of the dicastery include Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington and Helen Alvare, a law school professor known for her pro-life commitment. - Pope to celebrate Mass for Care of Creation in Pontifical Gardens (Vatican News)
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Laudato Si’ Centre for Higher Education announced that Pope Leo XIV will celebrate the Mass for the Care of Creation at Borgo Laudato Si’, within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo. The Mass will take place on September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (background). The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments recently approved the English and Spanish translations of the Mass for the Care of Creation, promulgated in Latin last year. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, C.S., pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said that “for the Church, safeguarding Creation and promoting human dignity are two sides of a single mission, strongly rooted in the Christian faith. We believe God created the world and the human family out of love, and precisely out of love, He entrusted us with the care of our brothers and sisters and the custody of Creation.” - Pope Leo: In persons with intellectual disabilities, we see Christ's gaze (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV praised the work of Marsodeto, an organization based in Toledo, Spain, that assists persons with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy. - Pope Leo hails 'noble mission' of military, law enforcement personnel (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the “noble mission” of members of the military and security agencies. - Bishop Barron sees unregulated border as 'morally very dangerous' (Bill O'Reilly)
The bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said that the Church has a nuanced position that calls for compassion treatment of immigrants while upholding a country’s right to defend its borders. Bishop Robert Barron spoke with commentator Bill O’Reilly about “something I’ve seen very clearly, the chaos caused by an open border, and I mean the moral chaos, just the issue of child sex trafficking, which is staggering, and the more we read about that, and more that becomes clear to us, the more we see that an unregulated border is a morally very dangerous proposition.” Bishop Barron also weighed in on preemptive war: In classical just war teaching, let’s say Augustine and Aquinas, there was a legitimacy to a preemptive war, even to correct a moral evil Aquinas says, but in the more recent teaching, let’s say the last 75 years, the popes have really moved against preemptive war just given the destructive capacity of modern warfare, and they’ve said that’s only in case of clear unjust aggression that war can be fought. - Archbishop Gallagher begins 3-day visit to Russia (@TerzaLoggia)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, began a three-day visit to Russia today. Archbishop Gallagher is scheduled to meet with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; and Yuri Ushakov, the Assistant to the President of Russia for Foreign Policy. On the final day of his visit, Archbishop Gallagher will meet with clergy and religious, celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, and meet with the nation’s bishops. Last month, Archbishop Gallagher visited Ukraine and hailed Ukrainians’ faith and courage. During the visit, the Russian military launched a missile and drone attack that struck the neighborhood of the apostolic nunciature, where the prelate was staying. - Ukrainian Catholic leader urges defense of nation's independence (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
In an independence day message, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that “each of us bears responsibility for our present and our future, especially now that we must defend this independence, taking up arms if necessary.” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said on August 24 that Ukraine’s government has the “responsibility to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. It is the responsibility to rid ourselves of everything that destroys us from within, such as corruption.” “Today we are grateful to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, our heroes of the present, who—both on the front lines and in the rear—are ensuring that our homeland remains free, united, and independent,” the prelate added. “Let us pray, remember, give thanks, and continue our work.” - Father Hamel's sister, killer's mother spread message of peace (Vatican News)
The sister of the Servant of God Jacques Hamel (1930-2016) and the mother of one of his Islamist terrorists who killed him spoke in an interview of the friendship that has developed between them. After she prayed, “My God, tell me who could be suffering more than I am,” Roseline Hamel sought out Nassera Kermiche. “When she arrived at my door and I opened it, I was so emotional and so happy that no words would come out of my mouth except: ‘Forgive me, forgive me,’” said Kermiche. “That was all I could say, because I needed her forgiveness.” - Papal message to Waldensians calls for witness to human dignity in AI era (Vatican News)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo’s name to Bishop Derio Olivero of Pinerolo, Italy, as the Synod of the Waldensian Evangelical Church met in the area. “Faced with the digital revolution, which seems to suggest the overcoming of the human, the Pope urges us to recognize that Christians are called to bear witness together to the freedom of human beings created in the image and likeness of God,” Cardinal Parolin wrote. The Waldenses originated in 12th-century France. - Detroit archbishop assigns auxiliary bishops to parish ministry (Detroit Catholic)
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of Detroit assigned two of his three auxiliary bishops to parish ministry yesterday, in addition to their other responsibilities. Auxiliary Bishop Robert Fisher will administer a Vietnamese parish. Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Monforton, the former bishop of Steubenville, was appointed moderator of two families of parishes, as well as a member of the team of priests who minister in the parishes. Detroit’s third auxiliary bishop, the former nuncio Archbishop Paul Russell, was accused in 2022 of sexually abusing a minor decades earlier. - Singapore cardinal distinguishes Sacred Tradition from traditions (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore)
In a reflection on today’s Scripture readings at Mass, Cardinal William Goh of Singapore distinguished Sacred Tradition from “lesser traditions that are not strictly essential for the faith of the Church.” Citing particular devotions to saints and apparitions, Cardinal Goh said that “unfortunately, some fail to differentiate between Tradition and traditions, regarding the latter as equally important as the former.” “In other words, they fail to distinguish between the essential doctrines of the faith and the cultural practices developed in different societies,” he continued. “Worse still, they often attempt to impose these cultural and personal traditions on others, treating them as the absolute norm for how faith and life should be lived.” Cardinal Goh concluded, “Let us be faithful to the Sacred Tradition of the Church—the deposit of faith handed down since the time of the Apostles—and cherish the traditions the Church has developed over the centuries to make the faith concrete and real in our lives.” - Pope visits San Marino, calls for respect for primacy of conscience (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV visited the nation of San Marino earlier today and, in an extended reflection on liberty, invoked the example of St. Thomas More as he called for a respect for the primacy of conscience. - Lebanon's president calls on Pope Leo to press for Israeli withdrawal (CWN)
President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon called on Pope Leo XIV to press Israel to abide by a June agreement to withdraw its forces from Lebanon. The Vatican responded by stating that the Holy See has “serious concerns about the difficulties that are being encountered in implementing” the agreement and that it “assured the President of its support for efforts in this regard.” - More...