Cleveland Diocese extends Latin Mass

Bishop Edward Malesic addresses the First Friday Club of Cleveland on Feb. 10, 2022. / Credit: Diocese of ClevelandCNA Staff, Oct 22, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Cleveland has confirmed that the Vatican granted permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at two diocesan churches for an additional two years. The extension applies to St. Mary's Church in Akron and St. Stephen's in Cleveland, both of which, according to the Catholic Herald, had previously been granted limited approval to continue celebrating the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. At both parishes, diocesan priests say the Masses, rather than priests from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter or the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, as sometimes occurs in other dioceses.In an email to CNA, Nancy Fishburn, executive director of communications for the Diocese of Cleveland, said: "The Holy See granted a two-year extension of permission for the two remaining dioc...

Venezuelan president accuses cardinal of plotting against saint's canonization

Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela. / Credit: Venezuelan Presidential PressCaracas, Venezuela, Oct 22, 2025 / 17:34 pm (CNA).Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, accused Cardinal Baltazar Porras of conspiring to prevent the canonization of Venezuela's first male saint, José Gregorio Hernández."There were many people who conspired from the highest [levels of the] Curia against José Gregorio," Maduro said on an Oct. 20 television program."Some priests, like Baltazar Porras, dedicated their lives to conspiring against José Gregorio Hernández. I say this by name: Baltazar Porras dedicated his entire life to ensuring that José Gregorio would not [be declared a saint], but Baltazar Porras has been defeated by God, by the people, and today José Gregorio is a saint despite you [Porras] and your people," said the president, who did not attend the canonization ceremony at the Vatican.On Oct. 19, along with Venezuelan nun Carmen Rendiles and five others, Hernández, known as the "do...

Military archdiocese: Army's response to canceled religious contracts 'inadequate'

Archbishop Timothy Broglio speaks at Mass on Dec. 3, 2023. / Credit: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate ConceptionWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, expressed concern that the U.S. Army is not adequately addressing its discontent with canceled religious contracts, which the archdiocese said is straining its ability to minister to Catholics in the armed forces.This month, the Army canceled all contracts for three roles: coordinators of religious education (CRE), Catholic pastoral life coordinators (CPLC), and musicians. The contract terminations affected Catholics and those of other faiths.CREs served as catechists trained by the archdiocese to assist the priests in religious education in the military chapels. The archdiocese also trained CPLCs who offered administrative support such as liturgy coordination, assistance with sacramental record documentation, and weekly bulletin preparation. C...

Bishop Bullock, local Jesuits criticize Hegseth's honor of Wounded Knee soldiers

Crosses stand in a row at the Wounded Knee Memorial in South Dakota. / Credit: Von Roenn/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 15:24 pm (CNA).Rapid City, South Dakota, Bishop Scott E. Bullock and South Dakota Jesuit leaders criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for honoring U.S. soldiers who carried out an 1890 assault on a Lakota reservation near the Wounded Knee Creek."Those who died at Wounded Knee are sacred," the joint statement read."Jesus stands with all who suffer and die at the hands of others," the statement added. "Those who committed the violence are also sacred; for this reason, Jesus offers them mercy and healing. Yet the acts themselves were grave evils and cannot be honored."On Dec. 29, 1890, U.S. soldiers killed nearly 300 Lakota people in an assault now known as the "Wounded Knee Massacre" or the "Battle of Wounded Knee" in South Dakota. Most of the Lakota killed were civilians, including unarmed women and children, and 31 American sol...

CNA explains: How should we approach AI companionship?

null / Credit: Shutterstock AI/ShutterstockRome, Italy, Oct 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).As world leaders raise concerns about widespread loneliness and declining social skills, tech companies are offering increasingly realistic and immersive forms of AI-based life coaching, friendship, and romance through AI companions.  Meta's Mark Zuckerberg suggests that AI companions could supplement the lack of human friends; X's Elon Musk thinks romantic and sexually-charged AI companions could mitigate demographic decline; and OpenAI's Sam Altman promises that ChatGPT will provide erotica by the end of 2025. AI-simulated emotional connections are already embedded into children's toys, wearable pendants, and elderly care bots. Further advances in humanoid robots are on the horizon. Simulating emotional intimacyCurrently, most forms of AI companionship come through chatbots that simulate intimacy with users through text, voice, and video conversations for hundreds of millions ...

New bishop announced for Plymouth, England, after long vacancy

Bishop Nicholas Hudson was named the next bishop of Plymouth, England, by Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 21, 2025. / Credit: @mikedaviesPlymouth, England, Oct 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Nicholas Hudson, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, as the next bishop of Plymouth, England.The news comes after the installation of a bishop in the Diocese of Plymouth was twice deferred last year. Canon Christopher Whitehead was due to be installed as the bishop of Plymouth on Feb. 22, 2024, but a diocesan statement suddenly announced on Feb. 1 that it was canceled, explaining that "a canonical process" had been started and that Whitehead had stepped back from active ministry. In September 2024, Pope Francis appointed Philip Moger as Plymouth's new bishop, but a "delay" to his installation was suddenly announced just days before it was due to take place on Nov. 9.Now Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday announced that Hudson, who was named by Pope Francis as a papal nominee to...

Report warns revoking churches' charitable status in Canada could devastate faith sector

The "halo effect" of churches' programs and facilities outweighs tax revenue roughly tenfold, says a new report on the risk to Canadian society if faith groups lose their charitable status, as recommended in a finance committee report. / Credit: Photo courtesy of The B.C. CatholicVancouver, Canada, Oct 22, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).A new report from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy warns that removing the "advancement of religion" from Canada's list of recognized charitable purposes could have far-reaching social and financial consequences for churches and other faith-based organizations.The 38-page report, "Revoking the Charitable Status for the Advancement of Religion: A Critical Assessment," by senior fellow Pierre Gilbert, responds to a December 2024 recommendation from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to amend the Income Tax Act and eliminate the long-standing charitable category.If adopted, the recommendation in the committee's pre-budget report could s...

Pope Leo XIV to name St. John Henry Newman a patron saint of Catholic education

St. John Henry Newman near the end of his life, in 1887. / Credit: Babouba, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsVatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 09:07 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV will name St. John Henry Newman a patron saint of Catholic education in a document to be published on Oct. 28 for the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council's declaration on Christian education.The Holy Father will designate Newman as an official co-patron saint of education, together with St. Thomas Aquinas, during the Vatican's Jubilee of the World of Education from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, which is expected to draw 20,000 pilgrims.The saint will also be declared the 38th doctor of the Church by Leo at the jubilee's closing Mass on Nov. 1, the solemnity of All Saints. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, announced the upcoming designation during an Oct. 22 press conference.Newman, de Mendonça said, is an "extraordinary educ...

Catholic college graduates leading in purpose, belonging, financial stability, report says

null / Credit: RasyidArt/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).Here's a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:Catholic college graduates leading in purpose, belonging, financial stability, report saysGraduates of Catholic colleges and universities are outperforming other students in purpose and belonging and are reporting higher levels of mental health and financial stability, a report has found. Students from Catholic institutions of higher education are 7% more likely to view their careers as meaningful, 14% more likely to report a strong sense of belonging, and 17% more likely to say they are satisfied with their mental health, according to this year's Holistic Impact Report.The annual report is published by the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary's University (San Antonio) in partnership with YouGov. The report also found that Catholic university graduates are more than 50% more likely to say their ed...

Cardinal, Vatican journalists condemn threat to free press after assaults on journalists

Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrates a Mass for peace in Ukraine on Nov. 17, 2022, in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 10:54 am (CNA).Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and an organization of Vatican-accredited journalists have spoken out in support of a free press after the recent attacks on two journalists in Italy.In a statement released Tuesday, the International Association of Journalists Accredited to the Vatican (AIGAV) condemned last week's assault on Venezuelan Vatican journalist Edgar Beltrán by businessman Ricardo Cisneros, a member of the Venezuelan government delegation present in Rome for the Oct. 19 canonization of two Venezuelan saints.During an Oct. 17 event at the Vatican-connected Lateran University in Rome, Beltrán's interview with the Vatican's substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Robinson Peña Parra, was forcibly interrupted by Cisneros after the prelate was a...