A roadside wooden crucifix in Bavaria. / Credit: AC Wimmer/EWTN News

EWTN News, Nov 17, 2025 / 09:06 am (CNA).

Church arson attacks across Europe nearly doubled in 2024, part of a broader surge in anti-Christian hate crimes that included 274 personal assaults against Christians and the killing of a 76-year-old Spanish monk, according to a new report released Monday by the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe).

The report documented 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2024, with 94 arson attacks on churches — nearly double the number recorded in 2023.

An official launch of the report will take place Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Conscience. OIDAC Europe compiled the report using official police figures, OSCE/ODIHR statistics, and its own case documentation.

Official numbers do not show the full scale

The spike in arson attacks is particularly prominent: A total of 94 arson incidents targeted churches and other Christian sites — one-third of which occurred in Germany.

France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Austria recorded the highest number of anti-Christian incidents overall. While most attacks were directed at places of worship, OIDAC Europe recorded 274 personal attacks against Christians in 2024, including assaults and threats.

Among the report’s findings are several severe cases, including the killing of a 76-year-old monk in Spain in November 2024 and the near-destruction of a historic church in Saint-Omer, France, by fire in September 2024.

Executive Director Anja Tang emphasized that the figures represent “very concrete acts of church vandalism, arson, and physical assaults that deeply affect local communities,” warning that official statistics still underestimate the scale of the problem.

New surveys from Poland and Spain reveal that nearly half of priests have encountered aggression. However, the vast majority never report these incidents to the police.

“If half of Catholic clergy experience aggression in a Catholic-majority country, hostility towards Christians can no longer be treated as a marginal issue,” Tang said.

Christians under social pressure across Europe

Beyond physical attacks, the report documents the growing legal and social pressure on Christians across Europe between 2024 and 2025.

Examples include the prosecution of individuals for silently praying in so-called “buffer zones” near abortion facilities in the United Kingdom; the ongoing “hate speech” proceedings against Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen for quoting the Bible; and the high-profile employment case of United Kingdom teacher Kristie Higgs. The Court of Appeal in February 2025 ultimately recognized Higgs’ Christian views as legally protected beliefs.

“These patterns highlight the urgent need to strengthen the protection of freedom of religion or belief in Europe — including the right to express and discuss faith-based convictions in the public sphere without fear of reprisal or censorship,” Tang said.

In its recommendations, OIDAC Europe calls for stronger, more coordinated European Union action. This includes appointing a European Union coordinator to combat anti-Christian hatred, similar to existing mandates on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

The organization also urges governments to implement the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) new guide, Understanding Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Christian Communities, and to make systematic and comparable data collection on hate crimes against Christians a key priority.

Organizers of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming digital dialogue with young people Nov. 21 at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis speak to the media at the site of the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 12, 2025. Left to right: Cardinal Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States; Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News; Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Christina Lamas, executive director of National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry; and Archbishop Charles Thompson, Archdiocese of Indianapolis. / Credit: Shannon Mullen/National Catholic Register

Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 17, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Bishops discussed young Catholics’ place in the Church ahead of the National Catholic Youth Conference.

At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, bishops spoke about the young generation as many prepare to attend NCYC. The conference will take place Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis for prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers.

During NCYC, Pope Leo XIV will hold a digital dialogue with teens from across the nation. “When the pope speaks, he speaks to the world, and this will be a wonderful, wonderful moment. This encounter will engage young people in real time,” said Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia. 

At a Nov. 12 press conference at the USCCB fall plenary, Pérez said “there is a deep significance to this encounter.” He added: “It reflects the Holy Father’s desire to connect with young people, with our youth, whom his predecessor … Pope Francis, called ‘the now of God.’”

Pérez said during his time as a priest and bishop, he has noticed teenagers “want a place in the Church.” He said: “They want to be seen, heard, and valued, which is so beautiful ... They want to be loved by the Church.”

“Even in today’s interconnected world, the Church can seem far away from young people. The Holy Father’s choice to encounter the American youth ... is an expression of his closeness to the youth of the world.”

“This moment will mark a powerful opportunity for young people to witness the beauty of the universal Church with our Holy Father and to express their concerns, voices, experience, [and] what’s in their hearts,” Pérez said.

Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York, has attended NCYC more than a dozen times. He told CNA “the energy and the vibrancy of the young people” is why he returns each year.

“It’s not just the local parish or the local diocese, but it’s the national Church and there’s something powerful when we come together,” Espaillat said.

​This year’s event is “the first time ever the Holy Father has a live online interview like this,” at NCYC, Espaillat said. “What I love about it is that the Church in the United States is leading right now. The young people being the focus with our Holy Father is going to be great, and it’s going to produce a lot of positive energy in our Church.”

Espaillat encouraged attendees “to be open and allow yourself to be surprised by the Holy Spirit.” He added: “Don’t go in with a preconceived notion. It is a great event in which there are many, many fruits. I’ve seen young people just come to life at the event.”

Youth draw closer to the Church

As thousands of teenagers plan to gather at the national conference, U.S. bishops further explained why so many young Catholics are looking to the Church. A number of bishops highlighted the Catholic presence on social media is helping to draw them in.

Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts, told CNA the exponential growth of young Catholics coming to the Church is “amazing and exciting.” Byrne, who served as chair for the USCCB’s committee on communications, detailed how much its online presence has grown its outreach to the young generation and wider population. 

“Beginning with the illness of our beloved Pope Francis, through the funeral, and then the transition to Pope Leo, we’ve actually had a 226% growth in our social media on the four platforms we use — TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube,” he said.

“The amazing thing is, it’s still growing. It means that people are seeing it, sharing it,” Byrne said. He specifically noted it’s the “young people” spreading the message online. 

“So we see that we are reaching people,” Byrne said. “But our goal is not to get people locked on their phones. Our goal is to get people locked on Jesus Christ and have the impression be Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church.”

“This is an exciting time. It’s not without its challenges, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity,” Byrne said. “We’re reaching young people who are curious and hungry. It’s so exciting to see the Church continue to speak to the world, because the Church has never lost her relevance.”

The start of the Catholic online presence followed the movement of the new atheists, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said. He told CNA the movement was made up of “people who were really shaping the culture, saying: ‘There’s no purpose of life. We come from nowhere. We go nowhere. There’s no objective moral value.’”

“A lot of people, myself included, began to get on social media with a religious voice,” Barron said. “People who had not heard a religious voice or who were disaffiliated … could find people like me and many others who were actually talking about God and about religion.”

“But I think as a whole generation came of age, they realized what a desperately sad and empty message that is,” Barron said. “There’s this hunger in the heart for God, and so that just reasserts itself. I think a lot of younger people who were raised on this very vapid philosophy began to look to religion.”

As more young Catholics get involved in youth formation whether in their parishes or at larger gatherings like NCYC, Barron said he encourages them to use the opportunities to “build community and build a sense of family with other believers.”

Barron, who is the founder of the Catholic media organization Word on Fire, has gained nearly 3 million YouTube subscribers and millions of other followers across social media platforms. But, he said, “one drawback of social media is that it’s a little private world. It can be a lot of people accessing it, but privately.”

“Maybe through social media an individual finds a path to religion, but then to look around a room and see thousands of other people that are on a similar path — that’s a great thing,” Barron said.

null / Credit: Daniel Jedzura/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Slightly over 10 years after it redefined marriage to include same-sex couples, the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 declined to revisit that controversial decision, upholding at least for now its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that made “gay marriage” the law of the land.

A decade after that ruling, nearly a million same-sex couples in the U.S. are participating in what the law now defines as marriage. Yet the Catholic Church has continued to affirm the definition of marriage as being exclusively a union between a man and a woman. 

That has been the prevailing definition of marriage around the world for at least about 5,000 years of human history, though many societies have allowed polygamy, or multiple spouses, in various forms. The same-sex variant of marriage, meanwhile, only became accepted in recent decades. 

The Church has held since its beginning that marriage is strictly between one man and one woman. The Catechism of the Catholic Church directs that marriage occurs when “a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life.” It is “by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring.”

Church Fathers and theologians from the earliest days of Catholicism have consistently upheld that marriage is meant to be a lifelong, permanent union between one man and one woman, with St. Augustine explicitly naming “offspring” as one of the blessings of marriage, along with “fidelity” and “the sacramental bond.”

Gay marriage a ‘misnomer’ by Church teaching

John Grabowski, a professor of moral theology at The Catholic University of America, told CNA that marriage in the Catholic Church’s teaching is based on “unity, indissolubility, and [is ordered] toward life,” or the begetting of children.

“Those criteria can only be met in a union between a man and a woman,” he said. “They cannot be met in a union between two men and two women. ‘Gay marriage’ is thus a misnomer in the Church’s understanding.”

The Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage, Grabowski argued, was an act of “judicial fiat” rather than a recognition of what marriage actually is. He said the high court was functioning more as a “cultural barometer” reflecting an erroneous shift in perception on what marriage is.

“It would be similar to if the court passed a rule saying we could call a square a circle,” he said. “It’s just not based on the reality of the natural world.”

The Obergefell ruling came after years of LGBT activist efforts to redefine marriage both within individual states and at the federal level. Advocates had argued that there was no meaningful reason to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples and that to do so constituted discrimination. 

Many critics have claimed that the Church’s broader teaching on marriage actually left the door open for same-sex couples to marry — for instance, they argued, by allowing opposite-sex couples to marry even if one or both of the spouses are infertile, the Church implicitly divorces biological childbearing from marriage itself. 

Grabowski acknowledged that the Church does allow infertile couples to get married (and to stay married if infertility occurs at a later date). But he pointed out that the Church does in fact prohibit marriage for those who are impotent, or constitutionally incapable of intercourse. 

The key point for the Church, he said, is what St. John Paul II called the “spousal meaning of the body.” The late pope argued that men and women “exist in the relationship of the reciprocal gift of self,” ordered to the communion of “one flesh” of which the Bible speaks in Genesis. 

The Church’s teaching, Grabowski said, “is based on the natural law. It tells us that the way God designed us is for the good of our flourishing, both as individuals and as the good of society.”

Though marriage advocates have continued to criticize the Supreme Court’s decision over the past decade, others have at times suggested a pivot away from directly challenging it at the legal level. 

In 2017, for instance, Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron affirmed his opposition to gay marriage but questioned “the prudence and wisdom” of attempting to legislatively outlaw it at that time. The bishop suggested instead that “personal witness and education” were better tools for the current political climate.

Grabowski acknowledged that one “could say, realistically, the ship has sailed and the political question is dead.”

“But that’s a political judgment,” he said. Catholics should not lose sight of the goal to reestablish correct laws on marriage, he argued.

“In terms of something to hope for, pray for, and to the degree that we’re able to, work for it — that’s something Catholics should aspire to.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At a time when young people spend so much time in "digital environments," members of the Catholic Biblical Federation need to ask how they are fulfilling the Second Vatican Council's mandate to give everyone access to the Bible, Pope Leo XIV said.

"What does 'easy access to Sacred Scripture' mean in our time? How can we facilitate this encounter for those who have never heard the Word of God or whose cultures remain untouched by the Gospel?" the pope asked members of the federation's steering committee and its regional representatives.

Pope Leo welcomed the group to the Apostolic Palace Nov. 17, expressing particular concern for people who "find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests."

At the end of the audience, Mary Sperry, associate director of the U.S. bishops' Office for the Biblical Apostolate, presented Pope Leo with two large white binders. They contained a preview copy of The Catholic American Bible, slated for publication in 2027. 

Meeting on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, "Dei Verbum," Pope Leo asked members of the group to reflect on how they individually and as a federation respond to the call "to hear the Word of God with reverence and to proclaim it with faith."

"The church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel," he said. "From the Gospel she continually rediscovers the direction for her journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who teaches all things and reminds us of everything the Son has said."

A key part of that, he said, is helping everyone have access to a Bible so they can "encounter the God who speaks, shares his love and draws us into the fullness of life."

Translations of the Bible, which the federation promotes, are essential for that, he said, but so are initiatives like encouraging "lectio divina," a prayerful reading of Scripture.

"Ultimately," Pope Leo told federation members, "your mission is to become 'living letters … written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,' bearing witness to the primacy of God's Word over the many voices that fill our world."
 

“The Charity of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary,” painted by Edmund Leighton, circa 1895. / Credit: Edmund Leighton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 17, the Catholic Church celebrates the life and example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a medieval noblewoman who responded to personal tragedy by embracing St. Francis’ ideals of poverty and service. A patron of secular Franciscans, she is especially beloved to Germans as well as the faithful of her native Hungary.

As the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II, Elizabeth had the responsibilities of royalty thrust upon her almost as soon as her short life began in 1207. While she was still very young, her father arranged for her to be married to a German nobleman, Ludwig of Thuringia.

The plan forced Elizabeth to separate from her parents while still a child. Adding to this sorrow was the murder of Elizabeth’s mother, Gertrude, in 1213, which history ascribes to a conflict between her own German people and the Hungarian nobles. Elizabeth took a solemn view of life and death from that point on and found consolation in prayer. Both tendencies drew some ire from her royal peers.

For a time, beginning in 1221, she was happily married. Ludwig, who had advanced to become one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported Elizabeth’s efforts to live out the principles of the Gospel even within the royal court. She met with friars of the nascent Franciscan order during its founder’s own lifetime, resolving to use her position as queen to advance their mission of charity.

Remarkably, Ludwig agreed with his wife’s resolution, and the politically powerful couple embraced a life of remarkable generosity toward the poor. They had three children, two of whom went on to live as members of the nobility, although one of them — her only son — died relatively young. The third eventually entered religious life and became abbess of a German convent.

In 1226, while Ludwig was attending to political affairs in Italy, Elizabeth took charge of distributing aid to victims of disease and flooding that struck Thuringia. She took charge of caring for the afflicted, even when this required giving up the royal family’s own clothes and goods. Elizabeth arranged for a hospital to be built and is said to have provided for the needs of nearly a thousand desperately poor people on a daily basis.

The next year, however, would put Elizabeth’s faith to the test. Her husband had promised to assist the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sixth Crusade, but he died of illness en route to Jerusalem. Devastated by Ludwig’s death, Elizabeth vowed never to remarry. Her children were sent away, and relatives heavily pressured her to break the vow.

Undeterred, Elizabeth used her remaining money to build another hospital, where she personally attended to the sick almost constantly. Sending away her servants, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis, seeking to emulate the example of its founder as closely as her responsibilities would allow. Near the end of her life, she lived in a small hut and spun her own clothes.

Working continually with the severely ill, Elizabeth became sick herself, dying of illness in November 1231. After she died, miraculous healings soon began to occur at her grave near the hospital, and she was declared a saint just four years later.

Pope Benedict XVI praised her as a “model for those in authority,” noting the continuity between her personal love for God and her public work on behalf of the poor and sick. He also wrote in 2007, in honor of the 800th anniversary of her birth, that “[Elizabeth] also serves as an example of virtue radically applied in marriage, the family, and even in widowhood. She has also inspired political figures, who have drawn from her the motivation to work towards reconciliation between peoples.”

This story was first published on Nov. 14, 2010, and has been updated.

Pope Leo XIV shares lunch with people in need at the Vatican on Nov. 16, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Nov 16, 2025 / 11:15 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV had lunch on Sunday with more than 1,300 people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, gathering with them in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for a festive meal marking the World Day of the Poor.

The hall was transformed into a vast dining room for the occasion. The event was organized by the Congregation of the Mission on behalf of Vincentian missionaries worldwide, who this year celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of their congregation and of the Daughters of Charity. Volunteers served lasagna, breaded chicken with potatoes, and the traditional Italian dessert babà.

As on similar occasions in past years, the Vatican, through the papal almoner Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, invited a group of transgender people from the Roman seaside town of Torvaianica. Father Andrea Conocchia, a parish priest in Torvaianica, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that he had accompanied about 50 transgender people from his community to the event.

In a special effort to highlight dignity and respect, the Vatican provided full table service with proper dishes, flatware, and table linens — avoiding plastic or disposable materials. Organizers said the aim was not only to offer a meal but also to create an experience of welcome and care for each guest.

After the meal, the pope thanked the Vincentian family for its service to the most vulnerable. “This lunch that we now receive is offered by Providence and by the great generosity of the Vincentian community, to whom we wish to express our gratitude,” he said.

The pope also shared his joy at spending time with the poor on a day instituted by his predecessor. “With great joy we gather this afternoon for this lunch on the World Day of the Poor, which was so desired by my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis,” he said.

He expressed gratitude for all who dedicate themselves to those in need: “So many priests, religious sisters, and lay volunteers devote their lives to helping people who experience various needs. We are filled with gratitude for them.”

Before the meal, he prayed: “May the Lord bless the gifts we are about to receive, bless the life of each one of us, our loved ones, and all those who have accompanied us on our journey.” He also remembered those suffering around the world: “Let us invoke the Lord’s blessing upon those who suffer from violence, war, and hunger, and may we celebrate this feast today in a spirit of fraternity.”

He concluded with a final blessing: “Bless our life, our fraternity. Help us always to walk united in your love. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. Warm greetings and enjoy your meal!”

Music added to the joyful atmosphere, with performances of classical and traditional Neapolitan pieces by 100 young people from Naples’ Rione Sanità neighborhood involved in the Sanitansamble and Tornà a Cantà educational programs of the Nova Opera ETS Foundation.

At the end of the lunch, the Vincentian Family of Italy gave each participant a “St. Vincent’s Backpack” containing food and hygiene products as a sign of continued accompaniment.

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

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Nov. 16, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Nov 16, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Celebrating Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor on the ninth World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians not to retreat into a closed or “religious” world of their own but to help make human society “a space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.”

Presiding in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, the pope reflected on the “day of the Lord” and the upheavals of history, saying that Christ’s promise remains secure even amid war, violence, and deep social wounds.

Quoting the prophet Malachi, he described the “day of the Lord” as the dawn of a new era in which “the hopes of the poor and the humble will receive a final and definitive answer from the Lord” and recalled that Jesus himself is the “sun of righteousness” who comes close to every person. In the Gospel, he said, Christ assures his disciples that “not a hair of your head will perish” (Lk 21:18), anchoring Christian hope even “when all human hope seems to be extinguished.”

“In the midst of persecution, suffering, struggles, and oppression in our personal lives and in society, God does not abandon us,” the pope said, pointing to the “golden thread” of Scripture in which God always takes the side of “the little ones, orphans, strangers, and widows.”

World Day of the Poor: ‘Dilexi te — I have loved you’

Marking his first World Day of the Poor as pope, Leo XIV addressed his homily in a special way to those experiencing poverty and exclusion.

“While the entire Church rejoices and exults, it is especially to you, dear brothers and sisters, that I want to proclaim the irrevocable words of the Lord Jesus himself: ‘Dilexi te, I have loved you,’” he said, citing the title of his recent apostolic exhortation on love for the poor. “Yes, before our smallness and poverty, God looks at us like no one else and loves us with eternal love.”

In that spirit, he said, the Church today seeks to be “mother of the poor, a place of welcome and justice,” even as it continues to be “wounded by old and new forms of poverty.”

The pope warned against living as “distracted wanderers,” withdrawn into “a life closed in on ourselves, in a religious seclusion that isolates us from others and from history.” Seeking God’s kingdom, he insisted, “implies the desire to transform human coexistence into a space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.”

Many forms of poverty, one wound of loneliness

Leo XIV noted that “so many forms of poverty oppress our world,” from material deprivation to moral and spiritual poverty that “often affect young people in a particular way.”

“The tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness,” he said. This tragedy, he continued, “challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way,” not limiting ourselves to emergency aid but developing “a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness.”

“Let us, then, be attentive to others, to each person, wherever we are, wherever we live,” the pope said, inviting Christians to become “witnesses of God’s tenderness” in families, workplaces, schools, communities, and even the digital world.

‘There can be no peace without justice’

Looking to current conflicts, Leo XIV said the proliferation of war “seems especially to confirm that we are in a state of helplessness,” but he stressed that this resignation is rooted in a lie.

“The globalization of helplessness arises from a lie, from believing that history has always been this way and cannot change,” he said. “The Gospel, on the other hand, reminds us that it is precisely in the upheavals of history that the Lord comes to save us. And today, as a Christian community, together with the poor, we must become a living sign of this salvation.”

Poverty, he added, “challenges Christians, but it also challenges all those who have positions of responsibility in society.” Addressing world leaders, he said: “I urge heads of state and the leaders of nations to listen to the cry of the poorest. There can be no peace without justice, and the poor remind us of this in many ways, through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate.”

He thanked charity workers and volunteers who serve those in need and encouraged them “to continue to be the critical conscience of society.”

“You know well that the question of the poor leads back to the essence of our faith, for they are the very flesh of Christ and not just a sociological category,” he said, again citing Dilexi Te. “This is why ‘the Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges.’”

The pope also invited the faithful to take inspiration from the saints who served Christ in the poor, highlighting St. Benedict Joseph Labre, whose life as a “vagabond of God” makes him “the patron saint of the homeless.”

Poor at the center of the celebration

Several thousand people in situations of poverty or social exclusion, accompanied by Catholic organizations, were present for the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and in St. Peter’s Square, where others followed the liturgy on large screens.

Among them, according to organizers, were some 1,500 people from France who have experienced life on the streets, prostitution, prison, or other forms of marginalization and who traveled to Rome with volunteers and pastoral workers for the Jubilee of the Poor. Before Mass, the pope greeted those gathered in the square from the popemobile.

Angelus: Persecuted Christians as witnesses of truth, justice, and hope

Later, appearing at the window of the Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Leo XIV returned to the day’s Gospel from Luke 21, which speaks of wars, uprisings, and persecutions.

“As the liturgical year draws to a close, today’s Gospel (Lk 21:5-19) invites us to reflect on the travails of history and the end times,” he said. In the face of these upheavals, Jesus’ appeal “is very timely,” the pope said: “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified” (v. 9).

“Jesus’ words proclaim that the attack of evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him. The darker the hour, the more faith shines like the sun,” he said.

Twice in the Gospel, Christ says that “because of my name” many will suffer violence and betrayal, the pope continued, “but precisely then they will have the opportunity to bear witness.” That witness, he stressed, belongs not only to those who face physical violence.

“Indeed, the persecution of Christians does not only happen through mistreatment and weapons but also with words, that is, through lies and ideological manipulation,” he said. “Especially when we are oppressed by these evils, both physical and moral, we are called to bear witness to the truth that saves the world; to the justice that redeems peoples from oppression; to the hope that shows everyone the way to peace.”

Quoting Jesus’ promise “By your endurance you will gain your souls” (Lk 21:19), the pope said this assurance “gives us the strength to resist the threatening events of history and every offense,” because Christ himself gives believers “words and a wisdom” to persevere in doing good.

He pointed to the martyrs as a sign that “God’s grace is capable of transforming even violence into a sign of redemption” and entrusted persecuted Christians throughout the world to the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians.

Appeals for persecuted Christians, Ukraine, and Peru crash victims

After praying the Angelus, Leo XIV turned to current situations of suffering, beginning with Christians who face discrimination and persecution.

“Christians today are still suffering from discrimination and persecution in various parts of the world,” he said, mentioning in particular Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries “from which we often hear news of attacks on communities and places of worship.”

“God is a merciful Father, and he desires peace among all his children!” the pope added, praying especially for families in Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a recent terrorist attack killed at least 20 civilians.

He said he is following “with sorrow” the reports of continuing attacks on numerous Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, which have caused deaths and injuries — “children among them” — and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, leaving families homeless as winter approaches. “We must not become accustomed to war and destruction!” he said, urging prayer “for a just and lasting peace in war-torn Ukraine.”

The pope also prayed for the victims of a serious bus accident in southern Peru’s Arequipa region in which at least 37 people died and many others were injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in the rural district of Ocoña.

“I would also like to offer my prayers for the victims of the serious road accident that occurred last Wednesday in southern Peru,” he said. “May the Lord welcome the deceased, sustain the injured, and comfort the bereaved families."

Road safety, new blessed, the poor, and abuse survivors

In a wider appeal for road safety, Leo XIV noted that the Church was also remembering “all those who have died in road accidents, too often caused by irresponsible behavior. Let each of us examine our conscience on this matter,” he said.

The pope recalled the beatification on Saturday in Bari of Italian diocesan priest Carmelo De Palma, who died in 1961 after a life “generously spent in the ministry of confession and spiritual accompaniment,” and prayed that his example would inspire priests to give themselves “unreservedly” in service to God’s people.

Marking the World Day of the Poor once more, Leo XIV thanked dioceses and parishes that organized initiatives of solidarity with those most in need, and invited the faithful to rediscover his exhortation Dilexi Te on love for the poor, “a document that Pope Francis was preparing in the last months of his life and which I completed with great joy.”

Finally, he joined the Church in Italy in observing a day of prayer for victims and survivors of abuse, calling for “a culture of respect” that safeguards the dignity of every person, “especially minors and the most vulnerable.”

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

Neuroscientist Kathlyn Gan says research shows music can help counter the mental decline that accompanies aging. / Credit: Terry O’Neill

Toronto, Canada, Nov 16, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Sixteen hundred years ago, St. Augustine was credited with saying, “He who sings, prays twice.” Today, scientific research shows that he who sings, performs, or listens to music also enriches and strengthens his brain, according to Catholic neuroscientist Kathlyn Gan.

Not only that, but sacred music may produce even more beneficial effects.

Gan, who leads a research laboratory at the University of Toronto, delivered the uplifting news to about 50 people at an Oct. 30 talk at St. Francis de Sales in Burnaby, Ontario.

In her hourlong presentation “The Neuroscience of Sacred Music,” Gan, a former choir director and accompanist, described how research showing that music can be part of a healthy lifestyle that helps counter the mental decline that accompanies aging.

Music can also help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, which, in up to 95% of cases, can be driven by nongenetic factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, deafness, brain injury, and social isolation.

Not only does music stimulate the brain in special ways, but it also fosters healthy social connections when performed in a group setting, said Gan, currently a liturgical musician in the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Speaking with The B.C. Catholic, she said music is encoded and integrated by multiple brain regions, stimulating neural pathways that regulate memory, movement, reward, emotion, and empathy.

“Based on those effects, music can help us keep our minds active and foster social connections, which in turn can help us mitigate the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.

Gan, who earned her doctorate at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby and did postdoctoral studies at Stanford University in California, said music therapy is widely used as part of a holistic treatment approach to improve behavioral issues and encourage social connections during mid- to late-stage Alzheimer’s.

Gan noted that the CBC recently reported that doctors in Montreal have partnered with the city’s symphony orchestra to prescribe music as medicine.

“Physicians will get prescriptions that they will give to patients,” said Mélanie La Couture, CEO of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. “The patients will call us, and we will give each patient that calls us two tickets for free.”

Even more benefits could conceivably come from listening to or singing sacred music, which Gan defines as any music — from chant and classical to jazz and gospel — that contributes to the solemnity and beauty of the Mass, promotes deeper reflection on the scriptural readings and homily, and glorifies God.

That said, it will be challenging for scientists to prove sacred music’s special benefits because of listeners’ or musicians’ subjective perceptions of music and their varying depth of spiritual formation and understanding, Gan said.

At the very least, however, listening to or performing sacred music helps a person grow in faith and to love God, she said in her presentation.

Along with the three degrees she earned at SFU, Gan also holds an associate diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music and is an accomplished classical pianist who shares her talent and faith in churches and the wider community. These outings include performances with her piano students at retirement homes and long-term care facilities, as well as playing piano in music-therapy and spiritual-care programs.

She views her music ministry as a form of prayer that challenges her not only to recognize scriptural themes and imagery but also to communicate them “in a manner that honors the historical context of the hymns and shares my own spirituality and lived experience.”

Her studies and ministry have not only deepened her appreciation for the human mind’s complexity and capacity for mirroring Christ’s humility, compassion, forgiveness, and love, but they’ve also “encouraged my spiritual growth and enriched my faith,” she said.

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

The University of Notre Dame. / Credit: Matt B. via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:

Notre Dame drops ‘acceptance and support for Catholic mission’ from staff values 

The University of Notre Dame has dropped acceptance and support for its Catholic mission from the list of staff values it has held for the past 20 years. 

The university’s leadership announced new updates to its staff values at its Fall 2025 Staff Town Halls on Oct. 29 and 30, according to a press release. Human Resources President Heather Christophersen said the new values were “an expression of how we seek to advance Notre Dame’s mission as a global, Catholic research university.”

Prior to the change, Notre Dame’s staff values were as follows: 

— Accountability: Takes responsibility and ownership for decisions, actions, and results. Accountable for both how and what is accomplished

— Teamwork: Works cooperatively as a member of a team and is committed to the overall team objectives rather than own interests

— Integrity: Demonstrates honest and ethical behavior that displays a high moral standard. Widely trusted, respectful, and honorable

— Leadership in Excellence: Demonstrates energy and commitment to improving results, takes initiatives often involving calculated risks while considering the common good

— Leadership in Mission: Understands, accepts, and supports the Catholic mission of the university and fosters values consistent with that mission

The new and pared down values and their descriptions are: 

— Community: Treat every person with dignity and respect.

— Collaboration: Work together with honesty, kindness, and humility.

— Excellence: Pursue the highest standards with a commitment to truth and service.

— Innovation: Embrace opportunities with creativity and dedication.

According to the Notre Dame Observer, Christophersen said in an email to staff that the former Notre Dame values “had only one value that pointed into mission” and that the decision to remove the “Leadership in Mission” value was motivated by a desire to reframe the school’s Catholic mission as all-encompassing. She said the old values had caused confusion in staff evaluation processes during annual performance reviews and that the school does not monitor religious affiliation for staff in the same way as faculty and students. 

Notre Dame did not return multiple requests for comment.

University of St. Francis and Belleville Diocese announce student admission partnership

The University of St. Francis (USF) and the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, have announced a new partnership guaranteeing admission for diocesan high school graduates. 

Students from Althoff Catholic High School, Mater Dei Catholic High School, and Gibault Catholic High School will have guaranteed admission at the university as well as the opportunity to earn scholarships of up to $3,000. 

“We are so pleased with this partnership and look forward to welcoming students from the Catholic high schools within the Belleville Diocese,” University of St. Francis President Ryan C. Hendrickson said in a press release announcing the partnership. 

“In addition to the guaranteed admission, USF plans to host workshops and information sessions for diocese-based school counselors, teachers, parents, and prospective students. USF will also offer campus visitation days, facilitating exploration and engagement with the diocese schools,” the release stated.

Archdiocese of Hartford to open 2 new Catholic schools amid Mass attendance boom 

The Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, will open two new Catholic schools next year as Mass attendance and renewed interest in the faith continues to rise. 

“A lot of the decisions that are being made in the public-school systems are not decisions that a lot of people find easy to hold, and they’re looking for places where they could just find a little bit less politics,” Archbishop Christopher Coyne said, emphasizing the important role of Catholic schools in this environment, according to a local report. Coyne said elsewhere that the new school openings come amid “a great reversal of the downward trends we experienced before and during COVID.”

One of the schools, Chesterton Academy of St. Francis of Assisi, will accept ninth and 10th grade students in fall 2026. The other school, the Catholic Academy of Hartford, will accept pre-K through second graders starting in the fall, adding a grade each year until it reaches the eighth grade. The school will operate on an income-based tuition model. 

St. Anselm College announces reception of $40 million gift 

St. Anselm College, a Benedictine liberal arts school in New Hampshire, announced a $40 million gift, the largest donation in the school’s 136-year history. 

The gift was from Robert and Beverly Grappone, whose son, Greg, graduated from the college in 2004 and passed away from cancer at the age of 35. “While many colleges and universities are struggling in a challenging higher education environment, St. Anselm is fortunate to have a different story,” the college said in a press release announcing the historic gift. “The college has seen enrollment growth over the last four years, increasing each year since the post-COVID class. This year’s incoming freshmen class set a record with 647 students. The college has a retention rate of 90%.”

The gift includes $11 million designated for the school of business, which will be named the Robert J. Grappone School of Business and Innovation, a $5 million endowment to the Grappone Humanities Institute, and “multimillion dollar renovations” to the school’s residence halls, support for the athletic complex, an endowment for the school’s nursing program, scholarships, and further campus improvements.

Argentine priest Father Rico has liberated more than 100 Christians from bondage since 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Order of St. Elias

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Nov 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Three Christian families in Pakistan have been liberated from bondage thanks to the ongoing efforts of an Argentine priest and young layman who recently returned to Spain from the Muslim-majority country. 

Father Rico, a priest with the Order of St. Elias based in Argentina, told CNA that he paid Muslim Pakistani businessmen the equivalent of $1,700 to liberate three Christian families from debt bondage. 

Men, women, and children have been subjected to generational hard labor making bricks to pay off debts, enduring rape, forced marriage, and forced conversion in Pakistan, especially since the 1980s, when relations between Christians and Muslims deteriorated. Christians have been attacked and murdered there following accusations that they have violated Muslim religious laws.   

“I went to Pakistan with the sole purpose of freeing Christian slaves who are suffering in bondage. I brought about $3,000 to pay for their liberation,” Father Rico said.

As with previous trips, the missionary priest traveled with a young lay Spaniard named Diego who returned to the Catholic faith in 2024. The two flew to Pakistan together last year, at which time they were able to free 200 from bondage. In 2025, they liberated 110 Christian slaves.

Christians in slavery

According to the United Nations, between 3.5 million and 5 million people in Pakistan are engaged in bonded or forced labor in which whole families are compelled to work, for example, to cancel a debt or other obligations. Many are children. 

There may be as many as 1 million slaves in the Punjab province alone. The Pakistani government has outlawed the widespread practice and has taken steps to rehabilitate people released from bondage. 

The majority of the slaves are engaged in making bricks, of which approximately 45 billion are manufactured each year in brick kilns across the Asian nation. The U.N. has noted in the past that some 20 million people are enslaved in the world, but South Asia has the highest number.

According to MinorityRights.org, there are approximately 3 million to 5 million Christians in Pakistan — almost 2% of Pakistan’s total population of 242 million. 

The debt charged against Christian slaves is invented by the businessmen engaged in brickmaking, but they retain them in bondage through threats and violence, Father Rico explained.

“Thanks to our supporters and their prayers, we were able to rescue 11 people — three families — from servitude. These people were born into slavery. They had never known freedom. They were not allowed to attend Christian services nor receive sacraments. On the very day of being released from bondage, I was able to give them the sacraments, including baptism. It was a day of dual liberation!” he recalled.

After returning from the recent mission, Father Rico received a letter from a recent convert to the faith in Pakistan named Dominic, who described being attacked and beaten by his own family members. “They even broke the crucifix you had gifted me,” he wrote. He explained that he chose to pray for them instead of fighting back, to fulfill Jesus’ command to “love your enemies.”

“I now deeply understand what it means to carry the cross of Our Lord as a Christian, and I take pride in this cross. Their beatings, insults, and the breaking of wooden crucifixes cannot stop the Church from growing … because the true cross lives in our hearts,” Dominic wrote in his letter.

The PaX community: Helping Christians in need

According to OpenDoors.org, Christians are disproportionately affected by Pakistan’s regulations against blasphemy, as defined by Islamic sharia law. The charity declared that roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, which can carry a death sentence. Last year, an elderly man was killed by mob violence after being accused of desecrating the Quran, and a 2023 attack on Christians in Pakistan has caused a climate of fear, the charity reported. Churches are heavily monitored and outreach is forbidden.

To further assist Christians in need there, Father Rico has launched a project called PaX and Diego is the project manager. “PaX” means both “peace” and “Pakistan Christendom.” 

Father Rico’s order — the Order of St. Elias — is collaborating with the project.

Diego told CNA that he and another Catholic, Joseph Janssen, visited the country in June to search for an adequate parcel of land to begin building a PaX community. Janssen is an activist for minority rights in Pakistan and a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, a Catholic movement.

“The projects we started are still underway. They are diverse, always taking into account the abilities and the traumatic past of these poor people,” Diego said. The plan is to help the freed slaves earn a living in the PaX community through construction, agriculture, livestock farming, and the production of construction materials.

The first such community is planned for 300 to 400 persons, and another is in the works. Diego told CNA that multigenerational enslavement has exacted spiritual and psychological costs on the liberated Christians.

“After a life of eating garbage, being treated like garbage, and suffering constant violence, some of them don’t know what it’s like to be human. That’s why we have to get them to where they can live in peace, practice Christianity, and raise their children. There, they can teach them that there is a future and that the only thing that they must seek is God and his kingdom.” Out of concern for their safety, Diego would not reveal where the PaX communities will be located.

“Everybody has shown such impressive charity by praying, contributions, and offers to go to Pakistan,” he said. “It’s impressive to see the Catholic missionary zeal in the defense of one of the most persecuted communities in the world. The project is in phase one; we began construction of the wall this week, but we still have a long way to go with what will be the first step in the foundation of Pakistani Christianity.”