Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the East (right) receives Ahmad al-Shar’a, the head of Syria’s transitional administration, on Oct. 26, 2025, at the patriarchal residence in Damascus. / Credit: Syrian Presidency

ACI MENA, Oct 28, 2025 / 11:32 am (CNA).

In a sign of diversity and coexistence in post-transition Syria, Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the East on Sunday received Ahmad al-Shar’a, the head of Syria’s transitional administration, at the patriarchal residence in Damascus.

Al-Shar’a was accompanied by Maher al-Shar’a, secretary-general of the presidency, and Maher Marwan Idlibi, governor of Damascus, at the Oct. 26 meeting.

According to a post published on the official X account of the Syrian presidency, the purpose of the visit was to “learn about the situation of the Christian community.” The presidency added that the visit “reflects the shared commitment to strengthen national values and foster unity among the people of the nation.”

During the meeting, Yazigi presented to Al-Shar’a the so-called “Muhammadan Covenant” or “Prophetic Charter,” a document attributed to the Prophet Muhammad said to guarantee the religious and social rights of Christians. Although scholars debate the authenticity of the text and whether it dates back to the seventh century, the patriarch’s reference to it served as a symbolic call to renew efforts to protect Christians and build bridges of understanding between Muslims and Christians.

For his part, Al-Shar’a wrote in the patriarchal guest book the Quranic verse “You will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ That is because among them are priests and monks, and because they are not arrogant.”

He concluded with the inscription: “Damascus is the cradle of the first coexistence known to humanity… Preserving it is a covenant, a pledge, and a duty… With all love.”

Although it was not the first encounter between Al-Shar’a and Christian religious leaders, the meeting was significant because it was his first official visit to a church since taking office in January. It also marks his second meeting with Yazigi, the spiritual leader of Syria’s largest Christian community.

Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church worldwide, was the first patriarch to meet with Al-Shar’a in April. Aphrem recently described that meeting as “constructive and positive,” saying: “We were able to understand from President al-Shar’a his direction and vision. He certainly provided us with reassurances about Syria’s future, a Syria that embraces all its sons and daughters.”

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV signs his apostolic letter on Catholic education, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” at the end of a Mass for Rome university students in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 27, 2025. The document was published on Oct. 28, 2025, to mark the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on Christian education. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 28, 2025 / 10:21 am (CNA).

Amid contemporary challenges to schools and universities — hyper-digitalization, social insecurity, and the crisis of relationships —  a Catholic education should courageously teach the whole human person, Pope Leo XIV writes in a new apostolic letter.

In “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” Leo reflects on the role of a Catholic education 60 years after the Oct. 28, 1965, proclamation of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on Christian education.

“The Church celebrates a fruitful educational history but also faces the imperative to update its proposals in light of the signs of the times,” the pope writes in the letter, published in Italian on Oct. 28.

“We are aware of the difficulties: hyper-digitalization can fragment attention; the crisis of relationships can wound the psyche; social insecurity and inequalities can extinguish desire,” he says. “Yet, it is precisely here that Catholic education can be a beacon: not a nostalgic refuge but a laboratory of discernment, pedagogical innovation, and prophetic witness.”

In the eight-page document, the pontiff identifies three priorities for the educational community: cultivation of an interior life through space for silence, discernment, and dialogue with one’s conscience and with God; formation in a wise use of technology and artificial intelligence that puts the human person first; and education in language that is peace-building, nonviolent, and open to others.

He also notes the importance of making Catholic education financially accessible.

“Where access to education remains a privilege, the Church must push open doors and invent new paths, because ‘losing the poor’ is equivalent to losing the school itself,” he writes.

Digital challenges

Pope Leo in his letter draws attention to the digital environment and its impact on education, underlining that “technologies must serve the person, not replace them. They must enrich the learning process, not impoverish relationships and communities.”

“A Catholic university and school without vision risks soulless efficiency, the standardization of knowledge, which then becomes spiritual impoverishment,” he says.

He urges schools to avoid “technophobia” while strengthening teachers’ training in the digital sphere and promoting service-learning and responsible citizenship.

“No algorithm can replace what makes education human: poetry, irony, love, art, imagination, the joy of discovery, and even education in error as an opportunity for growth. The decisive point is not technology but the use we make of it,” the pope writes.

What is Christian education?

The pontiff’s document also provides a vision of Christian education that “embraces the whole person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical. … [Education] measures [its value] on the basis of dignity, justice, and the ability to serve the common good.”

He opposes this Catholic vision to a “purely mercantilistic approach” that measures education in terms of functionality and practical utility, he writes.

Leo said forming the whole person means avoiding compartmentalization, because “when faith is true, it is not an added ‘subject’ but a breath that oxygenates every other subject. Thus, Catholic education becomes leaven in the human community.”

Influence of St. John Henry Newman

The pope cites St. John Henry Newman, whom he will declare a new co-patron saint of the Church’s educational mission, throughout his letter. 

Quoting the saint and soon-to-be doctor of the Church, the pontiff writes that “religious truth is not only a part but a condition of general knowledge.”

These words, he explains, “are an invitation to renew our commitment to knowledge that is as intellectually responsible and rigorous as it is deeply human. We must also be careful not to fall into the enlightenment of a ‘fides’ [faith] that is exclusively paired with ‘ratio’ [reason].”

He says this means Catholic universities and schools should be places where questions and doubt are accompanied, not silenced.

“There, the heart dialogues with the heart, and the method is that of listening, which recognizes the other as a good, not as a threat,” he says, pointing out that “cor ad cor loquitur” (“heart speaks to heart”) was St. John Henry Newman’s motto as a cardinal, taken from a letter of St. Francis de Sales: “Sincerity of heart, not abundance of words, touches the hearts of men.”

Leo points out that schools are communities of families, teachers, students, administrative and service staff, pastors, and civil society, founded on God.

The family remains the primary place of education, and “Catholic schools collaborate with parents, they do not replace them,” he affirms.

Ecological responsibility

The pontiff also touches briefly on Catholic schools’ responsibility in the social and ecological spheres.

“Forgetting our common humanity has led to divisions and violence; and when the earth suffers, the poor suffer most,” he writes. “Catholic education cannot remain silent: It must combine social justice and environmental justice, promote sobriety and sustainable lifestyles, and form consciences capable of choosing not only what is convenient but what is right.”

“Triumph Over Evil: Battle of the Exorcists” will be in theaters for one day only on Oct. 30, 2025, and aims to answer questions regarding the truth about exorcisms. / Credit: Goya Producciones

CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Who is the devil? What is an exorcism? How do you protect yourself from demonic attacks? These are some of the questions a new film titled “Triumph Over Evil: Battle of the Exorcists” aims to answer.

Approved by the International Association of Exorcists, a prominent pontifical association, “Triumph Over Evil” is the first authoritative documentary to delve into the various aspects of demonic possession and exorcism as well as the how the Catholic priesthood and the Blessed Virgin Mary take part in the battle against evil. 

The film, which includes never-before-seen commentary from Vatican exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth and others, will be in theaters for one day only on Oct. 30. 

Giovanni Ziberna, a former atheist who converted to Catholicism, directs the film. 

Despite growing up in an atheist household, Ziberna told CNA in an interview that he always felt like God existed. 

“The beauty of creation always made me feel that there had to be something more,” he said. 

The Italian film director shared that it was not until he and his wife were asked to work on a project on the life of St. Veronica Giuliani — an Italian nun and mystic who belonged to the Capuchin Poor Clares — that he first encountered God. He explained that after receiving a blessing for protection from the priests involved in the project, he began to feel a “fire starting from my feet and rising up all over my body.”

“This fire burned away all my preconceived ideas, my pride, my ego, what I thought about God,” he said. “In that moment, I realized that it was God who humbled himself to embrace us in our smallness and misery and also that fire lit in me the desire to conversion, to be baptized; and the desire to know the faith and the Scriptures.” 

From that point on, he and his wife started their faith journey. They began receiving the sacraments, getting baptized as well as baptizing their children, and having their civil marriage recognized by the Catholic Church.

After becoming Catholic, Ziberna had the opportunity to assist in the ministry of exorcism, where he served as a firsthand witness. This experience inspired him to create the film as a way to show the truth about exorcisms, in contrast to what Hollywood depicts. 

He explained that there is a lot of “misinformation” surrounding this topic, as well as a lack of “theological background,” making it “easy to fall in the devil’s trap.”

Through the film, Ziberna said he wants to “show what a real exorcism is” and how it serves as a “spiritual moment full of light where God’s power wins over darkness.”

Ziberna said he hopes viewers will come away with more knowledge, a desire to “stay closer to God,” and a reminder that the “only real winner over evil is God.”

Once an “ordained” Satanic priest, Bartolo Longo underwent one of the most dramatic conversions in recent Church history. He was canonized a saint on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Oct 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

St. Bartolo Longo — a former Satanist “priest” whose remarkable conversion led him to create a Shrine to Our Lady of the Rosary and spread devotion to the prayer — was canonized by Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 19.

In addition to his example of faith and Marian devotion, Bartolo Longo (Bartholomew in English) can also be a model for those struggling with their mental health, Dominican Father Joseph-Anthony Kress told EWTN News.

Kress, the Dominican order’s promotor of the rosary, said Longo “continued to struggle with mental health, and he continued to struggle with suicidal ideations even after his conversion.”

“As a priest, I’ve seen many people that think that after they convert … that mental health shouldn’t be an issue anymore,” the Dominican said. “But [Bartolo Longo] is a great witness to somebody who struggles through that.”

Originally born into a devout Roman Catholic family, Longo fell away from his faith while studying law in Naples in the 1860s — a period in which the Catholic Church in Italy faced opposition from a nationalist movement fighting for Italian unification. Most of the main leaders of the “Unification” movement were Freemasons who held strong anti-Catholic ideas.

The Catholic Church was also fighting against the growing popularity of the occult, which had a strong presence in Naples at the time.

Longo himself became involved in a Satanist cult and eventually claimed to have been “ordained” as a Satanist “priest.”

However, after Longo struggled for several years with anxiety and depression, including suicidal thoughts, a university professor from his hometown, Vincenzo Pepe, urged him to abandon Satanism and introduced him to his future confessor, Dominican Father Alberto Radente.

Under the guidance of Radente, Pepe, religious sister (and now saint) Caterina Volpicelli, and the woman who later became his wife, Countess Marianna Farnararo De Fusco, Longo came back to his Catholic faith.

One defining moment in Longo’s reversion took place in October 1872, according to Archbishop Tommaso Caputo of Pompei, Italy.

“Longo arrived in Pompeii to take care of the properties of the countess [De Fusco] and, walking through those streets — dangerous because of the presence of bandits and malaria — he felt an inner inspiration: ‘If you seek salvation, spread the rosary. It is Mary’s promise. Those who spread the rosary are saved!’ That day, the young lawyer promised himself that he would never leave that valley [of Pompeii] without first spreading the prayer of the rosary,” Caputo told CNA’s Italian-language news partner, ACI Stampa.

“It all began that day,” the bishop continued. “Longo began by catechizing the peasants; he then renovated the small parish church of the Holy Savior and, on the advice of Bishop Giuseppe Formisano of Nola, Italy, decided to build a new church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary — this church became the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii.”

Kress said that, despite turning away from the occult, Longo continued to struggle with his mental health: Whenever he would be “on the very brink of despair, he recalled the promise of our Blessed Mother to St. Dominic that anyone who promotes the rosary will be saved. And so it was the promises that gave him enough hope to persevere through those dark moments.”

After his conversion, Longo “began to actually go back to the exact places that he participated in these occult activities,” Kress said. “And now, being very firmly rooted in his faith and his devotion to the Blessed Mother would … stand up in these occult practices, seances and things like that, and stand up and with a rosary in his hand and claim these moments for the Blessed Mother and encourage all that were participating to reject their past, reject their ways, and turn to the Blessed Mother for protection and happiness.”

Longo, who became a Third Order Dominican in 1871, “is highly relevant today, because after his conversion, he lived his life deeply rooted in the Gospel,” Caputo said.

Three years after first receiving the divine inspiration to spread devotion to the rosary, Longo received the image of Our Lady of the Rosary that became the centerpiece of the Catholic shrine in Pompeii.

The image “was a worn, battered canvas. It arrived in Pompeii on a humble manure cart, but according to the man we now recognize as an ‘apostle of the rosary,’ who was immediately disheartened by the condition of the icon, it became more beautiful every day,” Caputo recounted.

The bishop of Pompeii recalled the many evangelical and charitable works in the town by Longo and his wife, including the foundation of a girls’ orphanage and institutions for children of prisoners.

“Around the shrine, whose first stone was laid on May 8, 1876, and which was consecrated in 1891, roads, squares, services, a tram line, the railway station, the post office, and workers’ houses sprang up. Longo did a lot, but he always considered himself, evangelically, a ‘useless servant.’ For him, everything was the work of Our Lady of the Rosary and her powerful intercession,” Caputo said.

“At the root of every achievement, at the foundation of the work in Pompeii, was always the holy rosary, a wonderful synthesis of the Gospel, contemplation of the face of Christ the Savior through the eyes of the heavenly Mother,” he added.

Longo died in Pompeii in 1926. His last words were: “My only desire is to see Mary who saved me and who will save me from the clutches of Satan.”

“Even today, in Pompeii, everything reminds us of his name and his teachings,” Caputo said.

Veronica Giacometti, a reporter for ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, contributed to this report.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic education, which has changed over the centuries, must continue to evolve to help young people face the challenges not only of technology but of confusion about the meaning and purpose of life, Pope Leo XIV said.

"I call upon all educational institutions to inaugurate a new season that speaks to the hearts of the younger generations, reuniting knowledge and meaning, competence and responsibility, faith and life," he wrote in an apostolic letter.

Titled "Disegnare Nuove Mappe Di Speranza" ("Drawing New Maps of Hope"), the letter was issued only in Italian Oct. 28. It marked the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Catholic Education. 

In the letter, Pope Leo formally declared St. John Henry Newman "patron of the church's educational mission alongside St. Thomas Aquinas."

The pope was scheduled to formally proclaim St. Newman a "doctor of the church" Nov. 1 in recognition of his contribution to "the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine." He was born in London Feb. 21, 1801, was ordained an Anglican priest, became Catholic in 1845, was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and died in 1890.

Even in the face of the digital revolution and the advent of artificial intelligence, Pope Leo said, Catholic schools and universities show "a surprising resilience."

When they are "guided by the word of Christ, they do not retreat but press forward; they do not raise walls but build bridges. They respond creatively, opening new possibilities for the transmission of knowledge and meaning," he wrote. 

Pope Leo asked Catholic educators and educational institutions to focus on "three priorities":

-- "The first regards the interior life: Young people seek depth; they need spaces of silence, discernment and dialogue with their consciences and with God.

-- "The second concerns a humane digital culture: We must educate in the wise use of technology and AI, placing the person before the algorithm, and harmonizing technical, emotional, social, spiritual and ecological forms of intelligence.

-- "The third concerns peace -- unarmed and disarming: Let us educate in nonviolent language, reconciliation and bridge-building rather than wall-building; may 'Blessed are the peacemakers' -- (Mt 5:9) -- become both the method and the content of learning."

At the same time, the pope said, it is obvious that Catholic schools cannot ignore technology or avoid it, but they must be discerning about digital platforms, data protection and fair access for all students. 

"In any case," he said, "no algorithm can replace what makes education truly human: poetry, irony, love, art, imagination, the joy of discovery" and even learning from mistakes "as an opportunity for growth."

In the letter, the pope briefly traced the history of Catholic education from the "desert fathers" teaching with parables, to the monastic study and preservation of classic texts and scholasticism's highly structured and interdisciplinary curriculum.

But he also noted the huge array of Catholic saints throughout the ages who insisted that learning to read and write and add and subtract were matters of human dignity and so dedicated their lives and their religious orders to educating women and girls, the poor, migrants and refugees and others on the margins of society.

"Wherever access to education remains a privilege," Pope Leo wrote, "the church must push open doors and invent new pathways because to 'lose the poor' is to lose the very meaning of the school."

"To educate is an act of hope," he said.

Catholic schools and universities, the pope wrote, must be "places where questions are not silenced and doubt is not banned but accompanied. The 'heart speaks to heart,'" he said, quoting St. Newman's motto as a cardinal.

Parents, as the Second Vatican Council affirmed, are the first and primary educators of their children, the pope said, but "Christian education is a choral work: no one educates alone."

Those who teach in a Catholic institution, he said, "are called to a responsibility that goes beyond the employment contract: their witness is worth as much as their lesson."

And while the human person is at the center of all educational initiatives, the goal is to help that person learn to see beyond him- or herself and "discover the meaning of life, inalienable dignity and responsibility toward others," he wrote.

"Education is not merely the transmission of content but an apprenticeship in virtue," Pope Leo said. "It forms citizens capable of serving and believers capable of bearing witness -- men and women who are freer, not more isolated."

The pope also called on Catholic schools and universities to be models of social and "environmental justice," promoting simplicity and sustainable lifestyles and helping students recognize their responsibility for caring for the earth.

"Every small gesture -- avoiding waste, making responsible choices, defending the common good -- is an act of cultural and moral literacy," he wrote.
 

A candle of St. Jude. / Credit: Francesca Pollio/CNA

CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Jude, also known as Thaddeus, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles.

He is believed to have written the Letter of Jude, one of the shortest books of the Bible, and is thought to have been martyred in Beirut around 65 A.D. He is typically depicted with a club or axe, symbolizing the way he died, as well as with a flame above his head, which refers to Pentecost.

Although Jude is not mentioned much in the Bible and only had one quote attributed to him in the Gospel of John (14:22), this quiet apostle is extremely popular among Catholics today. His popularity probably stems from his patronage of lost causes. An experience Jude had while in the city of Edessa is said to be the reason why he is associated with “impossible” situations.

According to the ancient Church historian Eusebius, while Jesus was still alive, the ruler Abgar V of Edessa was afflicted with an incurable and painful disease. He had heard of the miracles of Jesus and wrote him a letter requesting a visit. Jesus responded that he would send one of his disciples.

After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Jude went to evangelize near the city of Edessa and went to visit Abgar. Jude laid his hands on the sick ruler, and he was reportedly instantly healed.

Many people choose to carry the image of St. Jude on a medal or as a pendant on a necklace for comfort and call on him in their time of need and healing.

His feast is shared with St. Simon, who was also said to be a cousin of Jesus and is believed to have traveled to Persia with Jude, where they were both martyred.

Prayer to St. Jude

The following prayer can be prayed on the feast of St. Jude or at any time when his intercession is needed:

Most holy Apostle St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me; I am so helpless and alone.

Intercede to God for me that he brings visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly [make your request here], and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.

I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.

This story was first published on Oct. 27, 2021, and has been updated.

Pope Leo XIV meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Oct. 27, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 27, 2025 / 17:49 pm (CNA).

In separate audiences on Monday, Pope Leo XIV received two political leaders with very different views on the migration issue. In the morning, he met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and in the afternoon he met with Magnus Brunner, European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration.

Orbán maintains a restrictionist stance on migration and has repeatedly criticized the migrant redistribution policies promoted by the European Union. For his part, Brunner defends a common migration policy and supports the implementation of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, an agreement the Hungarian leader firmly rejects.

Orbán arrived promptly at 9 a.m. at the Courtyard of San Damaso in the Apostolic Palace for his first official meeting with the Holy Father. He later met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations.

The Vatican did not provide details on the content of the private audience with the pope nor did it specify whether the migration issue was among the topics discussed. For his part, the Hungarian prime minister stated on his X account that he requested the pope’s support in his country’s efforts for peace.

During the meeting at the Secretariat of State, the strong bilateral relations and appreciation for the Catholic Church’s commitment to promoting social development and the well-being of the Hungarian community were highlighted.

According to the Vatican, special attention was paid to the role of the family and the formation and future of young people as well as the importance of protecting the most vulnerable Christian communities.

The discussions also addressed European issues, especially the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.

Last Thursday, during his meeting with delegates from popular movements, Pope Leo XIV defended each state’s right and duty to protect its borders, which he said must be balanced with “the moral obligation to provide refuge” and warned against “inhumane” measures that treat migrants as if they were “garbage.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed authorship to another correspondent.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Vladimir Putin, president of Russia expressed concern about the ongoing internal problem of “falling birth rates” in October 2025. / Credit: FotoField/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 27, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).

Russian President Vladimir Putin is voicing concern about the ongoing internal problem of “falling birth rates” in his own country and suggesting state action to address the issue.

Putin said in an Oct. 23 meeting with the Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy that drops in birth rates have become “a global trend and a global challenge in the modern world” that is especially affecting economically developed countries, “and Russia is unfortunately no exception.”

Russia, he noted, has had “demographic pitfalls” from losses in World War II and problems that coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Though he did not mention the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russia has also lost between 137,000 and 228,000 soldiers in the war approaching its fourth year, according to an analysis by The Economist.

Putin said some countries respond to falling birth rates with “uncontrolled, and even chaotic migration to replace the native population” but that Russia’s approach would be different.

“Our choice is unequivocal,” the president said. “We support the family as the fundamental basis of Russian society and aim to protect and preserve genuine family values and traditions, which have united and strengthened our country for centuries.”

The country’s fertility rate is less than 1.5 children per woman — which is far less than the 2.1 births per woman that’s needed to simply maintain a nation’s population. It’s less than half of what Putin sees as his ideal, which is that “families with three or more children should be seen as a standard and natural way of life in our country.”

Russia is the ninth most populous country in the world, but it has dropped from 147.6 million people in 1990 to about 146.1 million today, according to The Independent. The latter number includes 2 million people gained from the annexation and occupation of Crimea.

Putin said “no pressure should be exerted” to force couples to have children, because it is “a private and personal matter.” Yet, he said Russia should ensure young people “would sincerely aspire to a happy motherhood, would aim to effectively raise their children, and that they would feel confident that the state will support them whenever necessary.”

“It is now very important … to promote and uphold the internal attitude that I have mentioned … so that the desire to create a family, to marry and to have many children becomes prevalent in the public mentality,” Putin said.

State solutions to incentivize families

Putin sees the government as an essential partner in addressing the falling birth rates. He noted Russia’s low-interest mortgages and flat-rate benefits for low-income families and an initiative scheduled for early next year to reduce income tax for low-income families raising at least two children.

Another concern Putin noted is that young people postpone starting families when they focus on studying or their early career. He said young people should “not have to choose one path over another” and highlighted the country’s increase in pregnancy and childbirth benefits for full-time students, along with some universities offering day care. 

“Fatherhood and motherhood are a source of joy, and there is no need to postpone happiness,” Putin said. “That is what truly matters.”

Putin noted that housing expansions and better infrastructure are also needed, along with the promotion of “fundamental value-based attitudes” and engagement with cultural figures and the mass media.

Concerns of Orthodox and Catholic leaders

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has similarly expressed concerns about the declining birth rates in the country. Last year, he highlighted the “tragedy” of abortion as a contributing factor.

Putin did not mention abortion at last week’s meeting. In Russia, elective abortion is legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy, but the government has banned promoting “child-free propaganda,” and many regions have banned people from pressuring women to have abortions.

Last year, Kirill sent letters to encourage women early in their pregnancies to carry their unborn children until birth. He wished them “good health, peace of mind, and many blessings from Christ, the giver of life” and discussed the blessing of children.

Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV expressed concern about declining birth rates in Italy when he met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella. He urged a “concerted effort” to promote family and protect life “in all its phases.”

“In particular, I wish to emphasize the importance of guaranteeing all families the indispensable support of dignified work, in fair conditions and with due attention to the needs related to motherhood and fatherhood,” Leo said. “Let us do everything possible to give confidence to families — especially young families — so that they may look to the future with serenity and grow in harmony.”

The St. Paul Center in Steubenville, Ohio, is a nonprofit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study from the heart of the Church. The center serves clergy and laity, students, and scholars with research and study tools. / Credit: St. Paul Center

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 27, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology is launching a new Bible study program to help Catholics prepare for the Advent and Christmas seasons. 

The Bible study, titled “Bible Across America,” is set to begin Nov. 5 and aims to gather Catholics “around God’s Word to prayerfully study Scripture, grow in discipleship, and build one another up in the Lord,” the organization announced. The course represents the latest addition to the St. Paul Center, whose offerings include online courses, academic books on Scripture and theology, and in-person events for clergy and laity across the country.

Based in Steubenville, Ohio, the St. Paul Center is an independent, nonprofit research and educational institution dedicated, according to its website, to promoting “life-transforming Scripture study from the heart of the Church” and through its programming seeks “to raise up a new generation of priests who are fluent in the Bible and laypeople who are biblically literate.”

The initiative builds on the center’s previous “Journey Through Scripture” video Bible studies, which have as their goal empowering “Catholics and Christians across North America to experience an ‘Emmaus moment,’ encountering Christ in the pages of sacred Scripture and through the doctrine of the Catholic Church.”

In preparation for Advent and Christmas, the new course will help Catholics understand “who Christ is as ‘Teacher and Lord’ (Jn 13:13).” The Bible study will include seven weekly sessions starting Nov. 5 that will each focus on a different theme including the Infancy Narratives, exorcisms, the Sermon on the Mount, the healing of the synagogue ruler’s daughter, Martha and Mary, the Lost Sheep and Luke 15, and the Transfiguration of Jesus. 

The center’s “Bible Across America” initiative is billing itself as “a nationwide Catholic Bible movement,” encouraging Catholics to create and organize Bible study groups with their families, friends, or fellow parishioners. Leaders can register with St. Paul Center to receive a guide to help conduct discussions with their groups. Use of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, which was released last year and whose general editor is St. Paul Center founder Scott Hahn, is also being promoted as part of the initiative.

As “Bible Across America” is expected to simultaneously welcome thousands of participants, St. Paul Center anticipated it will be the “largest Bible study” in the United States. The organization is working in partnership with other Catholic organizations on the project, including Hallow, FOCUS, and Mount St. Mary’s University. The sessions are slated to include insights from Benedictine Father Boniface Hicks, Heather Khym, Shane Owens, Katie McGrady, and Alex Jones, the CEO of Hallow.

“We want to inspire Catholics around the country and throughout the world to bring the power of Scripture to their homes, neighborhoods and parishes," said St. Paul Center President Scott Hahn.

Gertrude Detzel (1903–1971), born in the Caucasus region of the Russian Empire, was later deported to Kazakhstan and became a key figure in the underground Catholic community. / Credit: Diocese of Karaganda

Vatican City, Oct 27, 2025 / 15:23 pm (CNA).

A small delegation from Kazakhstan has brought to the Vatican two sealed boxes containing more than 30 pounds of documents, testimonies, and accounts of miracles for the cause of Servant of God Gertrude Detzel — a laywoman who kept the Catholic faith alive through decades of Soviet persecution. The materials, delivered to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on Oct. 21, mark the start of the Roman phase of the cause of the first laywoman from Central Asia to reach Rome.

“It was a very warm welcome,” said Auxiliary Bishop Yevgeny Zinkovskiy of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, who accompanied the dossier to Rome as notary of the diocesan process. “Amid so many causes, it was moving to see how our distant story from Kazakhstan was received with open arms. The universal Church has now welcomed Gertrude — we have placed her in its hands.”

Detzel, born in 1903 into a family of ethnic Germans in the Caucasus region of Russia, was deported to Kazakhstan during Stalin’s regime. She endured forced-labor camps — sent there because of her ethnicity — but would be imprisoned again later for another reason: her missionary zeal in spreading the faith.

“Even in prison, she couldn’t stop speaking about God,” said Bishop Joseph Werth, who was born in Karaganda and personally knew Detzel before serving as bishop in Novosibirsk, Russia. “When Stalin died and the time came to release prisoners, the guards reportedly said, ‘Let her go first — otherwise she will convert everyone here.’ That was the impression she left — she could not help but evangelize.”

After more than a decade of forced labor and imprisonment — including four years in Soviet prison for her faith — Detzel settled in Karaganda in 1956, drawn by its strong Catholic community. “She didn’t think about where she could live better,” said Bishop Adelio Dell’Oro, who oversaw the diocesan phase of her cause in Karaganda. “She thought about where she could serve — she wanted to be where there was a Catholic community.”

Even as a child, Detzel’s life revolved around faith. Werth recalled: “When she was little, Gertrude was sad that she’d been born a girl and couldn’t become a priest. The priest told her, ‘One day you will understand.’ And indeed — thanks to her, the flame of faith remained alive in the camps and later in Karaganda.”

As an adult, Detzel became a catechist and leader among the faithful — baptizing children, preparing them for the sacraments, and leading prayers when priests were absent. Each gathering carried risk; discovery could mean another arrest.

“She formed a whole generation of believers — not only laypeople but also priests and consecrated men and women,” Werth said. “I myself was taught the faith by her.”

For Dell’Oro, Detzel’s story carries a message beyond Kazakhstan.

“During the Soviet regime, people were forced to live as if God did not exist,” he said. “Today, no one forbids us to believe — yet we often live as if God does not matter. Gertrude reminds us that faith must again become the center of life — in persecution or in freedom alike.”

Interest in Detzel’s holiness first surfaced during the bishops of Central Asia’s “ad limina” visit to Rome in 2019, when Pope Francis urged them to preserve the memory of those who kept the faith alive “in silence and suffering.” Her cause was opened in Saratov, Russia, in January 2020 under Bishop Clemens Pickel and transferred to Karaganda in August 2021, 50 years after her death in 1971.

The diocesan inquiry concluded earlier this year after collecting testimonies from across Kazakhstan, Russia, and Germany. 

Many witnesses were already advanced in age, making the gathering of reliable evidence a race against time. Even so, about 25 depositions were recorded — including those of Werth and several religious and laypeople who had known Detzel personally. 

Dell’Oro said the research team even gained access to the presidential archive in Almaty, where they located and photographed Detzel’s personal case file, confirming the years of imprisonment she endured for her faith.

“Each document felt like a small resurrection of memory,” he said. “It was as if the truth about her life was finally allowed to speak.”

Though no religious communities existed in Kazakhstan at the time, Detzel lived her vocation as a consecrated laywoman. Before her deportation, she is believed to have made private vows, later joining the Franciscan Third Order under Servant of God Bishop Alexander Chira — the underground bishop who also suffered exile in Karaganda. When her remains were exhumed, a ring and wreath were found — signs of a hidden consecration and of a life offered entirely to God as a consecrated virgin.

According to Werth, Detzel led Sunday Liturgies of the Word when priests were absent — proclaiming Scripture, offering brief reflections, and preparing children and adults for the sacraments. When priests could pass through secretly, Dell’Oro noted, they entrusted her with the Eucharist to bring to the faithful who could not be reached openly.

Her home became a refuge for believers — a place of prayer and catechesis. Only as a laywoman could she have entered homes and sustained families in faith when priests could not.

“She didn’t try to replace priests,” Dell’Oro said. “But when they were absent, she did what was needed.”

“Gertrude formed consciences,” Werth added. “She taught us that holiness begins with fidelity in small things — and from that, everything else flows.”

The spiritual fruit of Detzel’s witness continues to grow in the Church — among priests, religious, and laypeople whose vocations were shaped by her example.

On Dec. 22, 1989, the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR officially rehabilitated her, acknowledging that she had committed no crime. Not long after, the Soviet system that had tried to silence the faith collapsed, and Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty on Oct. 25, 1990 — a moment now marked each year as Republic Day. This year marks 35 years since that declaration.

Her cause is now in Rome under the postulation of Father Zdzisław Kijas, OFM Conv, who has guided major causes, including those of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and the Ulma family.