Catholic News
- Durbin declines Chicago archdiocesan award (Chicago archdiocese)
Senator Richard Durbin has declined to accept a Lifetime Achievement award that he was scheduled to receive from the Archdiocese of Chicago. Durbin’s withdrawal—which was announced, perhaps significantly, by Cardinal Cupich, rather than the senator’s office—defuses a heated controversy within the US Catholic hierarchy. Ten American bishops had protested the award, and the leadership of the US bishops’ conference was reportedly weighing a public statement. In his statement announcing Durbin’s withdrawal, Cardinal Cupich stressed that he had intended to honor the lawmaker for “his singular contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of immigrants, which is so needed in our day.” He insisted that the honor for Durbin, who has consistently supported unrestricted legal abortion, should not be seen as compromising the Church’s stand on that issue. The cardinal went on to lament the polarization of American politics, arguing that “today is that there are essentially no Catholic public officials who consistently pursue the essential elements of Catholic social teaching because our party system will not permit them to do so.” He suggested “some synodal gatherings for members of the faithful to experience listening to each other with respect on these issues.” - Pope sees Resurrection as quiet triumph of love (Vatican Press Office)
At his regular weekly public audience on October 1, Pope Leo XIV said that “Jesus’ Resurrection is not a bombastic triumph,” but a triumph of love. The Resurrected Christ shows no sign of anger and no interest in revenge against those who unjustly persecuted Him, the Pope observed. His first words to his disciples are: “Peace be with you.” ”Jesus is now fully reconciled with everything that He has suffered, the Pope continued. “There is no shadow of resentment.” The Pontiff concluded: This is the heart of the mission of the Church: not to administer power over others, but to communicate the joy of those who are loved precisely when they did not deserve it. - Vatican foreign minister expresses 'profound concern' about extensive rearmament (Holy See Mission)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, expressed the Holy See’s “profound concern over the growing trend towards extensive rearmament.” Addressing a UN meeting, Archbishop Gallagher said that “the Holy See is particularly concerned by the rhetoric contemplating the use of nuclear weapons, coupled with scaled-up efforts to expand existing arsenals and create new types of weapons of mass destruction. These trends risk normalizing what should remain unequivocally unacceptable.” The prelate encouraged nations to ratify or sign the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as “a concrete step towards achieving a world free from nuclear weapons and preventing the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would ensue from their use.” The US, Russia, and China are among the nuclear powers that are parties to the treaty; India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan are not. - Pope stays neutral on Durbin-award controversy (CNA)
Pope Leo XIV has declined to offer a clear opinion on the controversy surrounding the Lifetime Achievement award that the Chicago archdiocese is scheduled to give Senator Richard Durbin. Questioned by reporters at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope acknowledged that he is aware of the controversy, but said “I am not terribly familiar with the particular case.” However, the Pontiff went on to give an unambiguous statement of the “seamless garment” approach, saying: Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life. Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro life. The Pope declined to give his support to either Cardinal Blase Cupich, who has defended the award for Durbin, or the ten American bishops who have protested the honor. Instead he said that it is important to “find the way forward as a Church. The Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear.” - USCCB calls on FTC to end marketing of 'gender affirming care' (USCCB)
Responding to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) request for false and unsupported claims about “gender affirming care” (GAC), attorneys for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said that “the FTC should put an end to the marketing of interventions and procedures that do not heal but rather harm.” Citing the “weak and increasingly questioned scientific evidence” for GAC, the USCCB’s general counsel and assistant general counsel called for “FTC scrutiny of promotional claims related to drugs for GAC.” Turning to the spiritual harm wrought by GAC, the attorneys said that “rejection of our God-given bodies, such as by modifying them to appear as the opposite sex, is a grave matter, and when done with full knowledge and complete consent, is a grave sin ... The Church is also deeply concerned for the spiritual welfare of the medical professionals who administer these drugs and procedures, as their participation likewise involves grave moral consequences.” - 'Profit at all costs' is 'completely unsustainable,' Vatican diplomat says (Vatican News (Italian))
Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, said yesterday that “we need to change our development model. It is now unsustainable.” Speaking at a study seminar of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Vatican diplomat said that “for decades, the idea prevailed that to be happy, one needed to have more and more, and that to grow, one needed to increase GDP, which represented a measure of society’s well-being.” “Overcoming the idea that the economy must be guided by the law of profit at all costs and instead conceiving it as a tool at the service of integral development requires questioning our current development model, which has demonstrated its complete unsustainability,” he said, citing international statistics on hunger as well as environmental concerns. - Jerusalem Christian group: Israeli policies, not Palestinian Authority, are causing Christians to leave (A Jerusalem Voice for Justice)
A Jerusalem Voice for Justice, an organization of Christians in Jerusalem, took issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Bethlehem’s Christians fared better under Israeli rule than under the governance of the Palestinian Authority. The organization’s most prominent members are Patriarch Michel Sabbah (the retired Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem) and Archbishop Attallah Hanna (the current Greek Orthodox archbishop). “Mr. Netanyahu does not speak on behalf of Christian Palestinians and cannot be allowed to twist the truth,” they said. “The reason Christians and many others too are leaving Bethlehem is Israeli occupation and its policies of closures, permits, exclusionary residency rights, etc., and not the policies of the Palestinian Authority.” - Vatican hosts 'raising hope' climate conference (Vatican News (Italian))
The Vatican yesterday hosted a press conference (video) on the Raising Hope Conference, which commemorates the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’. The encyclical’s anniversary “calls us to renewed commitment, because we know that the challenges remain enormous: climate change, biodiversity loss, social inequalities, forced migrations, conflicts that increasingly have environmental roots,” said Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Other speakers at the press conference included Brazilian Cardinal Jaime Spengler; Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California; and Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment. “Tuvalu is the most endangered country in the world,” said Talia. “What for others is a projection of the future, for us is a dramatic present; for us, anything beyond a 1.5-degree rise in temperature means the difference between life and death.” - Pope decries bloodshed in Madagascar (Vatican Press Office)
At his public audience on October 1, Pope Leo XIV said that he was “pained by the news coming from Madagascar, regarding violent clashes between the armed forces and young demonstrators, which have caused the death of some of them and around one hundred injuries.” He asked for prayers for a peaceful resolution of the conflict there. - New prior general takes stock of Augustinian order (Vatican News)
In an interview, the new prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine took stock of the religious institute. Father Joseph Farrell, OSA, said that the order has approximately 2,400 friars and 700 contemplative nuns. Asked about the challenges that the order faces, he said: In some of the traditional places, perhaps we have finances to be able to help with the formation of our men and have fewer men in formation; where some of the newer places, they have the men that want to come in for formation but aren’t necessarily financially structured to support them, either with a house of formation or the friars to be there to help them. Father Farrell also recalled the future Pope Leo’s efforts, when prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, to remain part of the daily life of the community. - October papal prayer intention: for collaboration between different religious traditions (USCCB)
The October papal prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer), is “let us pray that believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice, and human fraternity.” Papal prayer intentions are announced a year in advance and are customarily retained by the new Pontiff following his predecessor’s death. - Vatican congress considers pastoral care of the elderly (Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life)
150 delegates from 65 countries will gather in Rome tomorrow for “Your old men shall dream dreams,” the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life’s Second International Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Elderly (program). “In an evolving world, where even the experience of aging is changing deeply, the Congress aims to address an increasingly urgent need: to develop pastoral care for the elderly that meets the challenges of our time,” the dicastery stated. - Myanmar's faithful are resilient in the face of evil, prelate says (Fides)
Discussing the plight of Catholics in war-torn Myanmar, Auxiliary Bishop Francis Wai Lin Htun of Yangon said that “amidst suffering and in the face of very difficult challenges, we see a vibrant and strong faith.” “Priests are also constantly striving to assist the displaced and provide them with material and spiritual assistance,” he said. “The faithful demonstrate resilience in the face of evil.” Buddhism is the official religion of the Southeast Asian nation of 57.5 million (map); the nation is 74% Buddhist, 9% ethnic religionist, 9% Christian, and 4% Muslim. - Public papal Masses announced for November, December, and January (Vatican Press Office)
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, announced the calendar of celebrations at which Pope Leo XIV will preside in November, December, and January. The 15 announced events include 12 Masses and three other traditional events: the Act of Veneration to the Immaculate Conception on December 8, the Urbi et Orbi blessing on Christmas Day, and the First Vespers and Te Deum of thanksgiving on December 31. The Pope will celebrate Mass on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with the Christmas Eve Mass taking place at 10:00 PM. (Last year, it took place at 7:00 PM.) The announced calendar for January is almost certainly incomplete: it does not include the customary January 25 Vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. - Trump issues statement for feast of St. Michael the Archangel (White House)
President Donald Trump issued a “salute” to Christians celebrating the feast of St. Michael the Archangel on September 29. “For 2,000 years, Christians have looked to Saint Michael the Archangel for protection, strength, and courage in times of conflict, distress, and doubt,” the President said. His statement concluded with the full text of the familiar prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. - Pope Leo: In 'healthy secularism,' religion is distinct but not separate from political sphere (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV received members of the European Parliament’s Working Group on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue and called for a “healthy secularism.” “European institutions need people who know how to live a healthy secularism, that is, a style of thinking and acting that affirms the value of religion while preserving the distinction—not separation or confusion—from the political sphere,” Pope Leo said on September 29. “In particular, it is worth noting the examples of Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi.” The Pope also called on Christian politicians to promote dialogue between cultures and religions. He said: Being men and women of dialogue means remaining deeply rooted in the Gospel and in the values that flow from it and, at the same time, cultivating openness, listening and dialogue with those who come from other backgrounds, always placing the human person, human dignity, and our relational and communal nature at the center. - Vatican foreign minister urges nuclear powers to ratify Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (Holy See Mission)
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, appealed to the United States, Russia, China, and the six other “Annex 2” nations to ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which cannot enter into force until these nations ratify it. (The other Annex 2 nations are Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan.) “The Holy See’s consistent position is that peace cannot be secured through mutual fear or the logic of deterrence,” Archbishop Gallagher said at a September 26 UN meeting. “History has shown that even nuclear tests can have catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences, which are not limited to the affected area.” Archbishop Gallagher also warned that “the continuous expansion and modernization of nuclear arsenals, accompanied by increasingly belligerent rhetoric and threats concerning their deployment, perpetuate the dangerous illusion that security can be achieved through the threat of annihilation.” - Bishop discusses continued jihadist violence in Mozambique (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
Archbishop António Ferreira Sandramo of Pemba, Mozambique, told the Vatican newspaper that Cabo Delgado province continues to “bleed” because of the Islamist insurgency there. “The latest massacre occurred on September 22nd when Islamic State-linked rebels attacked the port town of Mocímboa da Praia, killing and beheading several civilians,” the newspaper reported. “Cities and villages continue to be attacked, causing an increase in the number of refugees,” said Bishop Ferreira Sandramo. “The population survives by constantly fleeing from one place to another, finding nothing but precarious and unsafe shelters.” - Clinical abortions down in US in early 2025 (Time )
The number of clinical abortions performed in the US decreased in the first six months of 2025, according to statistics furnished by the Guttmacher Institute. The figures showed a 5% decline in the number of abortions performed in states where the practice remains mostly unrestricted, and an 8% drop in the number of women reportedly crossing state lines to procure abortions. Both figures had increased slightly in 2024. The statistics for clinical abortions do not accurately represent the overall abortion statistics, since the use of the “abortion pill”—which can be obtained over-the-counter and even by mail order—has become increasingly common. The Guttmacher Institute is a “research and policy organization” that until 2007 was an arm of Planned Parenthood. - USCCB rues persecution of Christians in Nigeria, DR Congo (USCCB)
In a statement of solidarity with the bishops of Africa, the chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace said that “due to the rise of extremist violence, Christians, Muslims, and other people of faith are increasingly targeted by campaigns of mass killings, abductions, and forced displacement.” “We remember, in particular, the hundreds of Christian civilians massacred in recent weeks and months in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northern regions as well as in eastern Congo,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan. Bishop Zaidan added that “lifesaving and life-affirming international assistance funding is a crucial complement to these efforts. The Catholic Church and the US government have a shared responsibility to promote the international common good and respect for human life by contributing to international humanitarian and development assistance.” - More...