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Pope Leo XIV meets the president of the Italian Anti-Usury Council, Luciano Gualzetti, on Oct. 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Oct 20, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Saturday condemned usury, a practice that is sometimes an extremely grave sin that speaks to the corruption of the heart of those who see others only as "objects of exploitation."Usury can be defined as charging too much interest on a loan, a practice that has existed since ancient times. Traditionally, the Catholic Church taught that the sin of usury was the act of demanding any benefit or profit for the sole purpose of lending. This understanding has evolved over time, and the Church no longer condemns the general practice of lending with interest, as long as it is moderate.On Oct. 18, the Holy Father received the National Anti-Usury Council of Italy in the Vatican Apostolic Palace. For 30 years, the council has been dedicated to "combating a problem that has a devastating impact on the ...
The Archdiocese of Chicago says it removed Father Xamie Reyes from Little Flower Parish in Waukegan, Illinois, Oct. 19, 2025, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving seminarians. / Credit: Tudoran Andrei/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed Father Xamie Reyes from Little Flower Parish in Waukegan, Illinois, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving seminarians. The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, shared "the difficult news" in an Oct. 18 letter to parishioners. Cupich wrote the archdiocese "has received allegations against Father Reyes of grooming and sexual misconduct." Cupich said the allegations against the pastor "do not involve children and youth, but they did involve seminarians.""This is a very serious matter," Cupich wrote. "Father Reyes will live away from the parish pending the outcome of an investigation into these charges."The archdiocese repo...
A pilgrim prays the rosary at a Marian vigil in St. Peter's Square, Rome, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).A poll released by the Pew Research Center found that most Catholics believe religion has a positive influence on life in the United States, and an increasing number of Catholics believe religious influence on everyday life is a growing force.The data, published on Oct. 20, found that 71% of Catholics believe religion has a net positive influence on society, while 10% say it has a net negative influence on society. The other 19% said religion has a net neutral or unclear impact on society.A minority of Catholics believe that religion's impact on society is growing, but that number is much higher than it was in previous polls. The poll compared responses in February 2024 to responses in February 2025.Pew found that in 2025, 27% of Catholics believe religion is gaining influence in American life comp...
Venezualans celebate their country's two new saints during the canonization ceremony on Oct. 19, 2025, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsVatican City, Oct 20, 2025 / 14:23 pm (CNA).Underlying political tensions have surfaced among Venezuelans in Rome celebrating the recent canonization of the country's first two saints, José Gregorio Hernández and Mother Carmen Rendiles Martínez.A Venezuelan government delegation led by Carmen Meléndez, mayor of Caracas, and hundreds of pilgrims from the Latin American nation were among the 70,000 people who attended the Oct. 19 canonization ceremony led by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square.However, in the days prior to Venezuelans converging at the Vatican to celebrate their country's newly-proclaimed saints, reports of evident discord between government officials and citizens regarding President Nicolás Maduro's authoritarian regime have also emerged.Over the weekend, activists connected to the opposition...
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hosts a USDA all-staff meeting on May 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Rollins announced the termination of household food insecurity reports in September 2025. / Credit: USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 05:20 am (CNA).The Trump administration's recent decision to cease publishing an annual U.S. Department of Agriculture report on household food insecurity is being met with strong criticism by the Catholic Health Association of the United States, anti-hunger activists, and academics.The last USDA food insecurity report, covering 2024 data, is set for release Oct. 22. On Sept. 20, the USDA, led by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, announced the termination of future "Household Food Security Reports," which were first published in 1995 during the administration of then-President Bill Clinton."These redundant, costly, politicized, and ext...
Rachael Isaac speaks to student athletes at Franciscan University of Steubenville, hosted by Franciscan University Athletic's Athlete Center for Excellence (ACE), in October 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic CounselorsCNA Staff, Oct 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).As a competitive figure skater growing up, Rachael Popcak Isaac experienced firsthand the pressure that comes with competitive sports. Now as a devout Catholic and a professional counselor she has launched a new program for athletes inspired by St. John Paul II's theology of the body.The Faith-Based Success and Performance Coaching Program is offered by CatholicCounselors.com, where Isaac is chief operating officer.In an interview with CNA, Isaac shared about her Catholic approach to the sports counseling program, which will offer resources such as tele-counseling, group workshops, and performance coaching.Rachael Popcak Isaac has launched a sports counseling program inspired by St. John Paul II's theology of the b...
Bishop Mark O'Connell. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of BostonVatican City, Oct 20, 2025 / 09:44 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Monday named Bishop Mark O'Connell, an auxiliary bishop of Boston, the next bishop of the Diocese of Albany, New York.O'Connell, a canon lawyer, succeeds the 77-year-old Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, who has been bishop of Albany since 2014 and whose resignation was accepted by Pope Leo on Oct. 20.The 61-year-old O'Connell has served the Archdiocese of Boston as an auxiliary bishop since 2016. He has also been vicar general and moderator of the curia since December 2022. The Diocese of Albany serves approximately 300,000 Catholics in the capital city of New York state and the surrounding area.Scharfenberger announced earlier this year that the diocese will undergo a planning initiative in response to a "financial and maintenance crisis" that could result in the closure of up to one-third of its 126 parishes.O'Connell was born in Toronto...
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hosts a USDA all-staff meeting on May 23, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Rollins announced the termination of household food insecurity reports in September 2025. / Credit: USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 05:20 am (CNA).The Trump administration's recent decision to cease publishing an annual U.S. Department of Agriculture report on household food insecurity is being met with strong criticism by the Catholic Health Association of the United States, anti-hunger activists, and academics.The last USDA food insecurity report, covering 2024 data, is set for release Oct. 22. On Sept. 20, the USDA, led by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, announced the termination of future "Household Food Security Reports," which were first published in 1995 during the administration of then-President Bill Clinton."These redundant, costly, politicized, and extr...
The All Ireland Rosary Rally has attracted increasingly larger crowds. This year's rally included a youth conference and a prayer vigil in the basilica to welcome the feast of Pentecost on June 8, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the All Ireland Rosary RallyDublin, Ireland, Oct 19, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).A new poll commissioned by the Iona Institute has found a marked revival of interest in religion among young people in Northern Ireland. The results are a clear reversal of the previous continuous decline by age. The youngest age group polled, 18- to 24-year-olds, now say they are more likely to have a "very positive" attitude of Christianity (30% vs. only 4% with a "very negative" view) than any other age group, even those over 65.David Quinn of the Iona Institute told CNA: "What we are seeing in both parts of the island is some kind of revival of interest in religion among a segment of the youngest adults, the 18- to 24-year-olds." He said a significant number of these y...
Children from the Diocese of Jalingo in Nigeria gathered on the feast of the Holy Rosary on Oct. 7, 2025, to join in the prayer campaign "One Million Children Praying the Rosary," which was celebrated in parishes, chaplaincies, and pastoral areas across the diocese. / Credit: Aid to the Church in NeedACI Africa, Oct 19, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Children from across Africa, including those in countries experiencing persecution and instability, joined their peers in the "One Million Children Praying the Rosary" campaign held on Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.The campaign by Catholic Pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International is a global prayer initiative inspired by St. Pio of Pietrelcina's vision of children changing the world through prayer.??In Mozambique, a southern African country weighed down by insurgency against Christians, some children prayed the rosary for the first time in their lives.One of the testimonies shared with AC...
