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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 18, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Several hymns were temporarily banned last year in the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri after being found "to be insufficient in sound doctrine," with the action raising questions about what music is allowed at the Holy Mass.

In a special report for the Oct. 17, 2025 edition of "EWTN News In Depth," correspondent Mark Irons explored the subject. Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who implemented the brief ban, told Irons: "I would hope everybody else learns from my mistake."

McKnight, who was the bishop of Jefferson City at the time, now serves as the archbishop of Kansas City. The controversial ban in question encompassed 12 songs in total, including the popular hymns "I am the Bread of Life" and "All Are Welcome."

McKnight said the decree was implemented too quickly and without enough discussion among Catholics in the diocese. 

Currently, no particular hymns are excluded in the Diocese of Jefferson City, but parishes are required to evaluate Mass music using guidelines that were provided for archdioceses and dioceses across the nation by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The USCCB's 2020 "Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church: An Aid for Evaluating Hymn Lyrics" was created to make sure Mass hymns are in conformity with Catholic doctrine. The bishops list a number of specific concerns regarding hymns, including ones with "deficiencies in the presentation of Eucharistic doctrine," those "with a view of the Church that sees Her as essentially a human construction," or songs with "an inadequate sense of a distinctively Christian anthropology."

Kevin Callahan, who serves as the music director at Sacred Heart Parish in Glyndon, Maryland, told Irons: "We believe…the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ is here at the Mass, in the Eucharist. The songs, of course, should reflect that." 

Callhan explained that he understands why the bishops would create the aid. The bishops "want the right thing to be said in Church, they don't want the wrong idea to get tossed around." Callahan said he does believe there are certain hymns that could be misleading. 

The 'pride of place" of Gregorian chant

Over time, Callahan said, Gregorian chant has earned pride of place within the liturgy of the Mass.

This was reflected in the Second Vatican Council document Sacrosanctum Concilium, which explains: "The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy." 

Sara Pecknold, a professor of liturgical music at Christendom College, noted that "Gregorian chant, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was developed with and for the liturgy."

"The Second Vatican council teaches us that the more closely tied the music is to the liturgical action…the more sacred it is," she pointed out.

Recommendations

If Gregorian chant is unfamiliar to a parish, Pecknold recommends small steps that could be taken. She said: "I would first start with the very simplest chant melodies, for the ordinaries of the Mass."

Beyond Gregorian chant, the Second Vatican Council decided that the Church approves "of all forms of true art having the needed qualities, and admits them into divine worship."

Pecknold explained: "Liturgical music should glorify God and it should sanctify and edify all of us who are present at this great sacrifice."

Welcoming a diversity of styles

Dave Moore, the music director at the 2024 U.S. National Eucharistic Congress, was in charge of bringing together a wide variety of Catholic musicians from across the country for the event.

Moore said the musical goal of the Congress was to create a unity rooted in Christ, through different styles of music.

"I don't know how you find unity without diversity," Moore said. "There's a lot of people who do things differently than we're used to, but what we're looking for is the heart, like are you pursuing the heart of God?"

Archbishop McKnight also noted the need for variety.

"Catholicity means there's a universality to who we are, that we're not of just one kind or one culture, but there's a diversity of charisms and a diversity of styles," he said. "The fact that there are different ways of entering into the mystery of Christ, actually increases the unity we have, otherwise we're just a church of some, and not the Church of all."

Music is "often associated with memories and emotions, too," he said. "That's a part of our celebration of the Eucharist. It's not just a thing of the mind. It's not just a doctrinal assent. It's also a movement of the heart and ultimately it's active prayer."

"Hymns that are liked by the people are a good choice, but it's also important that they convey the Catholic faith," McKnight said. "It's about discernment of the will of God and what the Holy Spirit wants."

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Vatican City, Oct 18, 2025 / 13:10 pm (CNA).

At the Vatican's Jubilee of Roma, Sinti, and Travelers, Pope Leo XIV praised pilgrims for their deep trust in God despite centuries of exclusion, telling thousands of participants that their witness renews the Church's own faith.

"Today we all feel renewed by the gift you bring to the pope: your strong faith, your unshakeable hope in God alone, your solid trust that does not yield to the hardships of a life often lived on the margins of society," Pope Leo said during the jubilee audience in the Paul VI Hall on Saturday.

About 4,000 pilgrims from more than 70 countries in Europe and beyond took part in the event, according to the Vatican. Musicians and dancers from Italy, Romania, France, Spain, and Slovenia filled the Vatican hall with lively music during the vibrant Jubilee celebration.

Pope Leo urged participants to continue placing their faith and hope entirely in God, saying they "can be living witnesses to the centrality of these three things: trusting only in God, not attaching yourself to any worldly possessions, and demonstrating exemplary faith in words and deeds."

He added that the "heart of the Church, by its very nature, is in solidarity with the poor, the excluded, and the marginalized, with those considered society's 'discard.'"

"For nearly a thousand years, you have been pilgrims and nomads in a context that has progressively constructed development models that have proven to be unjust and unsustainable in many respects," Leo said.

He added that so-called "progressive" societies have often relegated them "to the margins of cities, the margins of rights, the margins of education and culture," even while those same societies have created "enormous economic inequalities… financial crises, environmental disasters, and wars."

During the audience, the pope also spoke to pastoral workers who serve Roma, Sinti, and Caminanti communities, urging them "to carry forward with renewed energy the objectives formulated by the Fifth World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Gypsies," particularly in education, family ministry, and intercultural dialogue.

He said he hopes "every diocese will develop adequate pastoral attention dedicated to the Roma, Sinti and Caminanti communities, for true integral human growth."

At the end of his speech, Pope Leo took the time to answer a few questions from children taking part in the Jubilee. When asked how young people can be better friends with Jesus, he said that "seeking the help of the Church is a very important path to always being a friend of Jesus."

"Jesus, through the Church, presents himself to us, and therefore loving Jesus, being a friend of Jesus, means being a friend in the Church: and so life in the Church, the Sacraments, the Holy Mass," he said.

To another child who asked how it could be possible for children to grow up in a world without war, Pope Leo said peace begins with us.

"If we want to change the world, we must start with ourselves, with our friends, our classmates, in our families," he said. "It's very important that we always seek this capacity for dialogue, for mutual respect, and to promote the values that help us build a world of peace."

The Jubilee of Roma, Sinti, and Traveling Peoples was organized in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Migrantes Foundation, the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Vicariate of Rome, and representatives of the Pastoral Care of Roma and Sinti.

Celebrations will continue Sunday with a Mass at Rome's Sanctuary of Divine Love, presided over by Cardinal Fabio Baggio and accompanied by Roma and Sinti musicians. A prayer service will follow in honor of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla, the first Roma martyr of the faith.

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CNA Staff, Oct 18, 2025 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

Officials in New Jersey have charged a former parish financial director with the theft of more than half a million dollars in church funds.

Joseph Manzi has been charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking after he allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from St. Leo the Great Parish in Lincroft.

Manzi was the subject of an August lawsuit by the parish in which he was alleged to have "systematically, secretly, and dishonestly utilized parish funds for his own personal benefit." The civil suit claimed he had stolen upwards of $1.5 million.

In an Oct. 17 press release, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin's office said Manzi had been officially criminally charged with the theft. Platkin in the release said Manzi used the funds "not to feed his family or for some kind of emergency, but to live a more lavish lifestyle."

Manzi stopped working at the Lincroft parish in June of this year, the office said. Afterwards, church staff reviewed credit card statements and found "numerous unauthorized charges that were determined to allegedly be for Manzi's personal benefit."

The state alleged that Manzi used stolen funds for "event vendors, vehicle repairs, financing, and purchases, including a Cadillac SUV," as well as purchases such as luxury clothing, sports event tickets and "chartered fishing trips."

Manzi is facing up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $150,000.

It was not immediately clear why the prosecutor's office charged Manzi with about $1 million less in theft than the August civil suit alleged. The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Oct. 18 seeking clarification on the figures.

On its website, the St. Leo parish said the controversy "will not prevent Saint Leo the Great Parish from working every day to live our mission – to serve Parishioners and the community in God's name with the greatest of love and compassion."

"We ask you all to stand together in our shared faith and to pray for a swift and just conclusion to this troubling chapter," the parish said.

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CNA Staff, Oct 18, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 18, Catholics and other Christians around the world celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the physician and companion of St. Paul whose Gospel preserved the most extensive biography of Jesus Christ.

St. Luke, who is also the author of the Acts of the Apostles, wrote a greater volume of the New Testament than any other single author in the earliest history of the Church. Ancient traditions also acknowledge Luke as the founder of Christian iconography, making him a patron of artists as well as doctors and other medical caregivers.

Luke came from the large metropolitan city of Antioch, a part of modern-day Turkey. In his lifetime, the city emerged as an important center of early Christianity. During the future saint's early years, Antioch's port had already become a cultural center, renowned for arts and sciences. Historians do not know whether Luke came to Christianity from Judaism or paganism, although there are strong suggestions that Luke was a Gentile convert.

Educated as a physician in the Greek-speaking city, Luke was among the most cultured and cosmopolitan members of the early Church. Scholars of archeology and ancient literature have ranked him among the top historians of his time period, besides noting the outstanding Greek prose style and technical accuracy of his accounts of Christ's life and the apostles' missionary journeys.

Other students of biblical history deduce from Luke's writings that he was the only evangelist to incorporate the personal testimony of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose role in Christ's life emerges most clearly in his Gospel. Tradition credits him with painting several icons of Christ's mother, and one of the sacred portraits ascribed to him — known by the title "Salvation of the Roman People" — survives to this day in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Some traditions hold that Luke became a direct disciple of Jesus before the Ascension, while others hold that he became a believer only afterward. After St. Paul's conversion, Luke accompanied him as his personal physician — and, in effect, as a kind of biographer, since the journeys of Paul on which Luke accompanied him occupy a large portion of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke probably wrote this text, the final narrative portion of the New Testament, in the city of Rome, where the account ends.

Luke was also among the only companions of Paul who did not abandon him during his final imprisonment and death in Rome. After the martyrdom of St. Paul in the year 67, Luke is said to have preached elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean and possibly died as a martyr. However, tradition is unclear on this point.

Fittingly, the evangelist whose travels and erudition could have filled volumes, wrote just enough to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

This story was first published on Oct. 17, 2010, and has been updated.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 18:29 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., expressed concerns about increasing political polarization in the United States and urged Americans to remember "that which binds us together as a people."

McElroy made the comments at the University of Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 17. He spoke with University President Rev. Robert Dowd in a conversation titled "Healing Our National Dialogue and Political Life." The event was part of the university's 2025-26 Forum on the theme "Cultivating Hope." McElroy holds doctorates in sacred theology and political science.

"The conflict between the two parties has done, I think, terrible damage to us," McElroy said, and noted that a "notion of warfare, of tribalism has seeped into us" when discussing political disagreements.

A person's political beliefs, the cardinal explained, "has become shorthand now for worldview in the views of many, many people," which he warned "is a very damaging development in our society" because it moves Americans away from focusing on a "shared purpose and meaning" when crafting political solutions. 

The United States, McElroy said, is not bound by blood or ethnicity, but rather "bound together by the aspirations of our founders."

'What binds us'

"What binds us is the aspirations of freedom, human dignity, care for all, the rights of all, the empowerment of all, democratic rights," he said. "...We're proud to be Americans because of what our country aspires to be and to do."

McElroy said "much of this needs to take place at the parish level" to facilitate dialogue among those who disagree with each other, and argued that the founders "believed on a very deep level [that the country] could only succeed if religion flourished."

"They believed that only religion could genuinely bring from the human heart a sense of the willingness to look past self-interest or group interest to a wider sense of what the common good is," McElroy said.

"So for that reason, they thought religion was essential, not as a direct force in politics, certainly, or governance, but rather in contributing in the human heart and in the understanding of the issues that come forth," he added.

Although McElroy said the Church does not have a specific political role, he said it does have "a moral role within the political and public order," which "needs to be rooted in the moral understanding." If a political question has a moral component, the cardinal said "the Church contributes to the public debate."

"It speaks not in terms of the politics — or it should not speak in terms of the politics — but rather solely the moral questions involved," McElroy said.

McElroy was appointed in January of this year by Pope Francis to serve as the archbishop of the nation's capital and assumed the position on March 11. He succeeded Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who retired.

In his installation Mass, McElroy emphasized the importance of respecting the human dignity of all people, particularly the unborn, migrants, and the poor.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 17, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday asked a group of Catholic pilgrims from Russia, in Rome on a Jubilee pilgrimage, to be an example of love and brotherhood upon their return home.

In his Oct. 17 address at the Vatican, the Holy Father emphasized that the presence of the Russian pilgrims "is part of the journey of so many generations" who have traveled to Rome. 

For the Holy Father, "this city can be a symbol of human existence, in which the 'ruins' of past experiences, anguish, uncertainty, and anxiety are intertwined with the faith that grows every day and becomes active in charity."

"And with the hope that does not disappoint and encourages us, because even on the ruins, despite sin and enmity, the Lord can build a new world and renewed life," he added.

Bishop Joseph Werth of the Diocese of the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk, Russia, told EWTN News after the meeting that Pope Leo took the time to greet the entire group of around 100 pilgrims, despite being scheduled to only greet the people in the front rows. 

"It's a sign that the pope wanted to dedicate time to us," Werth said.

Leo encouraged the Catholics from Russia to continue the path of Christian life upon returning home, appealing to their responsibility in their local Church.

"From your families, from your parish and diocesan communities, may an example of love, fraternity, solidarity, and mutual respect emerge for all the people among whom you live, work, and study," he urged them. 

In this way, he affirmed that "the fire of Christian love can be kindled, capable of warming the coldness of hearts, even the most hardened."

In Rome, the pontiff specified, "the heart of the Christian soul beats" and it is where "the events of the faith — received and transmitted since apostolic times, from which so many peoples and nations have drunk abundantly and from which they still live today — are intertwined with the concerns and commitments of daily life."

Leo XIV also pointed out the monuments scattered throughout the Eternal City, "tangible signs of living faith, rooted in the hearts of people, capable of transforming consciences and motivating them to do good." 

He emphasized that every Catholic "is a living stone in the building of the Church" who, even if small, placed by the Lord in the right place, "plays an important role in the stability of the entire structure."

Alexey Gotovskiy of EWTN News contributed to this report.

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CNA Staff, Oct 17, 2025 / 13:19 pm (CNA).

A federal judge in California will allow a class action lawsuit to proceed for potentially millions of parents and teachers regarding school district rules that hide child "gender transitions" from parents. 

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled Oct. 15 that the lawsuit Mirabelli v. Olson will proceed as a class action, becoming what the Thomas More Society said is potentially "one of the largest civil rights class actions" in California history. 

Peter Breen, the head of litigation at the Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm, said in the group's Oct. 16 press release that parents have a "fundamental right" to direct their children's education and moral upbringing, and that California school officials "cannot override that right by keeping parents in the dark about major issues and developments in their child's life." 

In his ruling, Benitez said the lawsuit satisfies the criteria for class action status. School districts in California, he said, "are ultimately state agents under state control," and thus the issue of settling "statewide policy" means the class action structure is "superior to numerous individual actions by individual parents and teachers."

The class action ruling comes ahead of a Nov. 17 hearing in the same court, one that the Thomas More Society says may "potentially deliver a final ruling" on the dispute, including whether secretive school transgender policies violate parents' constitutional rights. 

"Parents should never be treated as strangers in their own children's lives," Breen said. 

The legal group said the suit will now represent "all California parents and teachers affected by school district policies that conceal children's gender transitions from their families." 

Those policies have been at the center of ongoing debate over transgenderism and gender ideology in recent years. LGBT advocates and school leaders around the country have argued that teachers and school administrators should be permitted to exclude parents from knowing if their children begin "identifying" as the opposite sex. 

Activists have also argued that school officials should be allowed to facilitate child "gender transitions" without informing parents. 

Rules allowing teachers to hide such sensitive information from parents have come under fire from advocates in recent years, including the Trump administration. 

In February the White House launched an investigation into five school districts in northern Virginia to determine whether their transgender policies violated executive orders forbidding schools from facilitating "gender transitions."

In 2023, meanwhile, Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued directives affirming that parents in the state would enjoy broad oversight of their children while they are enrolled in public schools, reversing earlier rules that allowed teachers to keep children's transgender "identities" secret from parents.

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CNA Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 13:38 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has responded to a letter from a grieving father with the encouragement that "death never has the last word."

In the October issue of Piazza San Pietro magazine, the pontiff penned a letter to Francesco, a father of four, who wrote to the Holy Father about the death of his 12-year-old son, Domenico Maria, from a sudden illness 18 years ago.

Despite the time that has passed, the father said he still felt like his son's premature death happened only yesterday. 

"Holiness, this letter of mine is intended only as a thought, as well as a remembrance for our son, so that God, in his infinite goodness and mercy as a Father, may welcome him into the kingdom of heaven…" Francesco wrote.

In his response, Leo reminded the father that "the important thing is to always remain connected to the Lord, going through the greatest pain with the help of His Grace, which always comes — be sure of that — even in the darkest moments."

The pope also recalled the light of the love of God, who walks with us throughout our life, starting at our Baptism. 

"All this begins with our Baptism and will never end," he said. "Baptism introduces us into communion with Christ and gives us true life, committing us to renounce a culture of death that is very present in our society."

"But death never has the last word! The last word, which opens the doors to eternity and joy that lasts forever, is the resurrection, which knows no discouragement or pain that imprisons us in the extreme difficulty of not finding meaning in our existence," the pontiff added.

In his letter, Francesco described his son's love of soccer and the community of friends he found through playing the sport.

Pope Leo said "authentic prayer, like authentic sport, practiced together, creates bonds and unites forever, as it united Domenico Maria with all those on his 'team' of true friendship, with bonds that go far beyond death."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Jerusalem church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem has hailed the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange, describing it as a "first real step toward ending the war," CNA's Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported Oct. 16. 

The statement thanked the international community, particularly mediators at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, for helping secure the deal and called for rapid humanitarian access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine.

The church leaders also voiced alarm over growing violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, insisting that peace talks must lead to an independent Palestinian state living in safety beside Israel. They praised Christians in Gaza for their steadfast faith, calling the communities of St. Porphyrius Orthodox and Holy Family Catholic churches "a living witness of hope amid suffering."

Tokyo archbishop calls for end to death penalty

Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, is calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty and grant clemency to two men charged with murder, according to a report by Crux. 

"The Catholic Church in Japan opposes capital punishment, calling for the protection of all life as a gift from the Creator. The Church urges the government to abolish the death penalty and reform the Japanese criminal justice system," the cardinal said, adding: "I fundamentally believe that if we uphold the value of human life and dignity, we must not employ the same method as the criminals by taking a life away." 

Protests in Cameroon overshadow presidential election despite bishops' call for peace

Despite repeated appeals by Catholic bishops for peace and transparency ahead of Cameroon's presidential elections, protests reportedly erupted in some cities in the country, ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, reported Oct. 16.

In the country's capital of Douala, angry demonstrators accused authorities of electoral fraud in the Oct. 12 vote. This comes after members of the Cameroon bishops' conference called on authorities to address any electoral insecurities they said could possibly mar the country's presidential elections. 

"Every human life is sacred and must be protected. It is everyone's duty to ensure that the sanctity of human life is preserved before, during, and after the upcoming elections," they said, adding: "We call on the competent authorities of the Republic to use their powers to prevent electoral insecurity and ensure a favorable environment, free from fear and intimidation." 

Results for the election are expected by Oct. 26. 

Pope Leo XIV meets Jordan's King Abdullah II: a renewed friendship

Pope Leo XIV welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania to the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City this week, their first meeting since the pope's election earlier this year, ACI MENA reported Oct. 14. 

The encounter reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between the Holy See and the Hashemite Kingdom, centered on interfaith dialogue and shared concern for peace in the Middle East. The visit comes as King Abdullah tours Europe, including Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia, for talks on regional stability. 

Observers note that the strong personal rapport once shared between Pope Francis and the Jordanian monarch is likely to continue under Pope Leo, whose pontificate has already signaled continuity in humanitarian outreach and mutual respect.

Korean Catholics call on government to protect workers under new law

Catholic officials are welcoming a change to Korea's labor laws that will help protect workers by strengthening unions and adding protections for workers in Korea's segmented labor market, according to an Oct. 15 report from UCA News. 

"Nothing is more important than the happiness, well-being, and protection of the lives of workers and their families, so it is natural for the Church to stand on the side of workers," said Father Alexander Lee Young-hoon, the Bishops' Conference of Korea's secretary of labor.

"When the Church speaks out on labor and social issues, many believers perceive it as a political stance," said John Park Young-ki, attorney and member of the Seoul Archdiocese Labor Ministry Committee. "The path of a Church that stands with the poor and the vulnerable, as Pope Francis has said, is not to follow secular logic but to show concern for the vulnerable."

Germany names its head of foreign intelligence service as ambassador to Holy See

Pope Leo XIV received Bruno Kahl, Germany's new ambassador to the Holy See, on Oct. 11, according to a Vatican press bulletin. 

Kahl presented Leo with his credential letters during the meeting, marking the official start of his post. The new ambassador has been in Rome for several weeks, according to reports, and previously met with Leo during a private audience with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. During his stint as head of German intelligence, Kahl was in Ukraine when Russia invaded at the start of the war and had to be evacuated by special forces from the country via car, according to several reports.

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Rome Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 06:02 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday appointed Father Josef Grünwidl to succeed Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, as head of the Archdiocese of Vienna, Austria's most populous archdiocese.

Grünwidl has overseen the Vienna archdiocese on an interim basis since January, when the 80-year-old Schönborn concluded three decades at its helm following the acceptance of his resignation by Pope Francis.

The 62-year-old Grünwidl, born in lower Austria, was chairman of the Vienna Priests' Council and episcopal vicar of the Vienna archdiocese's southern vicariate before being named apostolic administrator.

A former concert organist, the archbishop-elect has served in numerous roles in the archdiocese since his ordination in 1988, including as a pastor and parish moderator. The priest was also secretary to Cardinal Schönborn from 1995 to 1998, at the beginning of Schönborn's term as archbishop of Vienna.

According to Austria's public broadcasting service, ORF, Grünwidl is a former member of the controversial "Pastor's Initiative," a dissident Catholic group founded in Austria in 2006 on a call to "disobedience" on certain Church issues. The group advocates for the ordination of women, optional priestly celibacy, and Communion for the divorced-and-remarried and members of other Christian faiths.

ORF reports that Grünwidl, who is not listed among current members of the "Pastor's Initiative," has "recently emphasized that celibacy is a consciously chosen way of life for him personally, but 'not a matter of faith' and should therefore not be a mandatory requirement for priests."

"On the subject of women in the Church, he identified an 'urgent need for clarification,'" ORF continued. "The diaconate for women should be discussed further, and Grünwidl also considers the admission of women to the College of Cardinals to be conceivable."

Speaking on the broadcaster's program "Orientation" early this year, Grünwidl said he left the "Pastor's Initiative" because he felt that Pope Francis' ideas had "overtaken" the group's proposals, and he could no longer support a motto of "disobedience." He emphasized "critical obedience," and said he "can't imagine an open opposition to the bishop in the Church."

The Catholic news agency Kathpress describes the archbishop-elect as a "pastorally grounded leader, valued preacher, and insightful conversationalist."

Archbishop emeritus Cardinal Schönborn

Schönborn, a theologian who led the Archdiocese of Vienna for 30 years, helped write the Catechism of the Catholic Church and chaired the Austrian bishops' conference for 22 years.

The Church leader was born to a titled family in 1945 in Bohemia in what was then Nazi Germany and is now part of the Czech Republic.

He grew up in western Austria, close to the border with Switzerland, and joined the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans, in 1963. 

He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Vienna in 1970. He went on to study sacred theology in Paris and in Regensburg, Germany, under the then-Father Joseph Ratzinger — the future Pope Benedict XVI.

Schönborn was awarded a doctorate in sacred theology in the 1970s and was later made a member of the prestigious International Theological Commission of the Vatican.

He was editorial secretary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in 1991, Pope John Paul II named the theologian an auxiliary bishop of Vienna.

After being appointed coadjutor archbishop of Vienna in April 1995, he succeeded Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër, OSB, as archbishop of Vienna on Sept. 14, 1995.

Schönborn was made a cardinal by St. Pope John Paul II in 1998.

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