Pope Leo XIV: Hope does not mean having all the answers but trusting in God

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims from Latvia on Nov. 24, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 24, 2025 / 15:38 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV stated that hope "does not mean having all the answers, but rather it calls us to put our trust in God."The pontiff made his remarks during an audience granted Nov. 24 at the Vatican to faithful from Latvia, who traveled to the Eternal City to commemorate the centenary of the first official Latvian pilgrimage to Rome.After greeting Prime Minister Evika Silina, with whom he had met privately earlier, the Holy Father thanked the pilgrims for keeping the tradition alive and following in the footsteps "of your forebears in the faith."He then recalled that Rome "has always been a home for all Christians, since it is here that the great apostles Peter and Paul gave the supreme witness to the Gospel by becoming martyrs for the faith."The Holy Father also recalled Pope Francis' visit to the country in 2018, on the occasion of the...

3 German bishops oppose school guide on 'diversity of sexual identities'

null / Credit: itakdalee/ShutterstockEWTN News, Nov 24, 2025 / 16:08 pm (CNA).Three German bishops have publicly distanced themselves from the German Bishops' Conference's new document on "diversity of sexual identities" for schools, further escalating the dispute over how Catholic education should address gender identity.At the center of the controversy is the 48-page text "Geschaffen, erlöst und geliebt: Sichtbarkeit und Anerkennung der Vielfalt sexueller Identitäten in der Schule" ("Created, Redeemed, and Loved: Visibility and Recognition of the Diversity of Sexual Identities in the School").Published on Oct. 30 by the bishops' conference's Commission for Education and Schools, the document is intended to serve as an orientation aid for Catholic and other schools in Germany. Due to internal discussions last summer, the orientation text was initially withheld and revised.Based on the premise that "the diversity of sexual identities is a fact," the text urges schools to foster...

Hundreds of Nigerian students remain captive; Cameroon archbishop warns of church closures

Parishioners at a church in Akute Ogun State, Nigeria, in June 11, 2023. / Credit: Ariyo Olasunkanmi/ ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Nov 24, 2025 / 17:41 pm (CNA).The Catholic Church is facing a new wave of violence in Africa: In Nigeria, 265 students from a Catholic school remain captive after being kidnapped last week while an archbishop in Cameroon is threatening to close parishes if a kidnapped priest is not released.In Nigeria, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora told Fides: "The kidnappers are almost certainly criminals seeking illicit gain by demanding a ransom."An official statement from the diocese, published on Nov. 23, reported that 50 minors managed to escape and reunite with their families after fleeing between Friday and Saturday following the attack. These developments were confirmed through visits and phone calls with their relatives, the statement said.However, of the 315 people initially captured, "265 remain in the hands of the kidnappers, of whom 239 are ...

Newman Guide adds Catholic elementary, secondary, graduate school sections

Franciscan University of Steubenville. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Franciscan University of SteubenvilleWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 24, 2025 / 15:08 pm (CNA).The 2025-2026 Newman Guide will be available in December to help parents and students find reliable Catholic elementary, secondary, college, international, and graduate education programs.The Cardinal Newman Society, which publishes a yearly guide on the most faithfully Catholic schools in the U.S., will release its new edition as both an e-book and a digest-sized print book. The Newman Guide has recommended colleges for Catholic families for 20 years, but the 2025-2026 edition is the first that will recommend elementary schools, secondary schools, colleges, and graduate programs. The new guide follows the recent announcements of St. John Henry Newman becoming a doctor of the Church and a patron saint of Catholic education. The Newman Guide has recommended colleges for Catholic families for 20 years, but the 2...

Liturgical singing requires 'a deep spiritual life,' Pope Leo XIV says

A celebration of liturgical music is the focus of the Mass for the Jubilee of Choirs on Nov. 23, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 23, 2025 / 13:10 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday praised the "precious" ministry of liturgical music and told choir members from around the world that their service at the altar must be sustained above all by a deep life of prayer. He later used his pre-Angelus remarks to appeal for the release of hostages kidnapped in Nigeria and Cameroon and to encourage young people on World Youth Day. The pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Square for the Jubilee of Choirs on the solemnity of Christ the King, telling choristers and musicians that their vocation is to lead God's people into the mystery of worship. "Dear choristers and musicians, today you celebrate your jubilee and you show thanks to the Lord for granting you the gift and grace to serve him by offering your voices and talents for his glory and for the spirit...

Priest walks from Illinois to New York against 'inhumane' immigration enforcement

Father Gary Graf walks down a rural road during his trek across America in support of immigrants on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gary GrafCNA Staff, Nov 24, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).After a month and a half of walking an average of 17 miles a day, 67-year-old Father Gary Graf said he is starting to get "a little pain in one shin," but his broken ribs are "getting much better."On Oct. 6, Graf, a Catholic priest from Chicago, began a journey on foot from Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, to New York City to bring attention to the plight of immigrants amid the sometimes "inhumane" ways the Trump administration is treating them during its immigration enforcement actions.He hopes to arrive at the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, where his own great-grandparents entered the country as immigrants, by Dec. 2.Father Gary Graf speaks to a fellow American at Red Horse Tavern in Pleasant Gap, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Credit: Photo c...

16,000 teens attend Mass together to conclude NCYC

Priests process into Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 22, 2025, for the concluding Mass in Lucas Oil Stadium at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAIndianapolis, Indiana, Nov 24, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).The 2025 National Catholic Youth Conferences (NCYC) concluded with a nighttime Mass drawing around 16,000 teenagers.After three days of prayer, community, sacraments, and a conversation with Pope Leo XIV, young Catholics packed into Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to end the conference with Mass on Nov. 22. Archbishop Nelson Pérez told CNA it was "beautiful" to celebrate the Mass alongside 25 of his brother bishops and more than 240 priests. "It's the Church in its splendor," Pérez said. "Tonight, we experienced the Church in its splendor." The final Mass was celebrated on the Saturday before the solemnity of Christ the King. In his homily, Pérez said: "When I think about a king, I think about palaces and big thrones and power ...

As Pope Leo XIV's visit to Turkey nears, anticipation grows among local communities

The Church of the Holy Savior in Chora in Istanbul, Turkey. / Credit: G Da, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsACI MENA, Nov 24, 2025 / 11:05 am (CNA).With the countdown underway for Pope Leo XIV's first official journey outside Italy, excitement is building across Turkey's Christian and wider faith communities. Ahead of the historic visit, EWTN News spoke with several individuals who shared their hopes, expectations, and reflections on what the pope's presence could mean for the country.Linda Tito, a 67-year-old Levantine from Izmir, is eagerly awaiting the visit. "I am happy to go to Istanbul to see the pope, because his visit is a sign of unity and hope for us Christians in Turkey. It is wonderful that he can also see us, know that we exist and that we love him. Meeting him in person is for me a gesture of faith and an opportunity to feel fully part of the universal Church."Linda Tito, a 67-year-old Levantine from Izmir, is eagerly awaiting the visit of Pope Leo XIV. "I am h...

Liturgical singing requires 'a deep spiritual life,' Pope Leo XIV says

A celebration of liturgical music is the focus of the Jubilee Mass Nov. 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Nov 23, 2025 / 13:10 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sunday praised the "precious" ministry of liturgical music and told choir members from around the world that their service at the altar must be sustained above all by a deep life of prayer. He later used his pre-Angelus remarks to appeal for the release of hostages kidnapped in Nigeria and Cameroon and to encourage young people on World Youth Day. The pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Square for the Jubilee of Choirs on the Solemnity of Christ the King, telling choristers and musicians that their vocation is to lead God's people into the mystery of worship. "Dear choristers and musicians, today you celebrate your jubilee and you show thanks to the Lord for granting you the gift and grace to serve him by offering your voices and talents for his glory and for the spiritual edification of your brothers and...

Pope Leo XIV urges Christians to move beyond outdated theological disputes

Pope Leo XIV receives Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at the Vatican on May 30, 2025. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 23, 2025 / 12:29 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has called on Christians to move beyond "theological controversies" that no longer serve the cause of unity and to rediscover together the faith professed at the Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago.In a new apostolic letter, In unitate fidei ("In the Unity of Faith"), released Nov. 23, the solemnity of Christ the King, the pope links the anniversary of the first ecumenical council to the Holy Year of 2025 and to his upcoming apostolic journey to Türkiye, where he will commemorate Nicaea's 1700th anniversary and take part in an ecumenical event with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Nov. 30 before traveling on to Lebanon."I would like this Letter to encourage the whole Church to renew her enthusiasm for the profession of faith," the pope writes, stressing that the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed "for centuries… has ...