Pope Leo XIV receives European Christian leaders after signing of new Ecumenical Charter

Archbishop Gintaras Grušas and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Nikitas Loulias present the signed updated Ecumenical Charter to Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 18:29 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV received in a Nov. 6 audience the members of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE, by its Spanish acronym), the Ecumenical Council of Churches (CEC), and the representatives of the Christian Churches of Europe, who met in Rome to sign the updated "Charta Œcumenica."Signed in 2001 by the presidents of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the CCEE, the Ecumenical Charter has been the cornerstone of European ecumenical cooperation for more than two decades. The revised version seeks to address contemporary challenges and reflect the changing realities of European society and Christianity.The revision process, initiated in 2022, was led by a joint working group of the CEC and the CCEE. To this end, input from churches and ecumen...

Texas bishops issue statement expressing solidarity with immigrants ahead of court order

A DACA protest sign is waved outside of the White House on Sept. 5, 2017. / Credit: Rena Schild/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 14:45 pm (CNA).The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops expressed its solidarity this week with immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in Texas ahead of the implementation of a federal court order that will impact the immigrants' legal status.In a statement released Nov. 4, the Texas bishops called the looming implementation of the court ruling in the case Texas v. United States "unprecedented and disruptive." The bishops said the ruling's implementation will target "law-abiding people," many of whom are "some of the most upstanding individuals" in "our communities."In the Texas v. United States case, Texas sued the federal government, claiming that DACA was illegally created without statutory authority, as it was created through executive action rather than legislation passed by Congress.In January, the 5th Circui...

Vatican confirms French bishop's resignation linked to inappropriate conduct toward women

Then-Bishop of Verdun Jean-Paul Gusching speaks on the phone before the closing speech on the last day of the Conference des Eveques de France (French Bishops' Conference), in Lourdes, southwestern France, on Nov. 8, 2022. / Credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty ImagesEWTN News, Nov 6, 2025 / 16:02 pm (CNA).The Vatican has clarified that the resignation of Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching, former head of the Diocese of Verdun in eastern France, was prompted by reports of inappropriate relationships with women rather than solely by health concerns as initially stated at the end of September.In a statement issued on Nov. 4, the apostolic nunciature in France?said it had received "information concerning relationships toward women by Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching, then bishop of Verdun," which was forwarded to the?Dicastery for Bishops?in Rome.According to the communiqué, despite the bishop's "persistent denials" and the "fragmentary and contradictory" nature of the reports, he had pledged ...

Catholics mobilize in Caribbean following Category 5 hurricane 

Residents help move food supplies at a community center before distribution to the Whitehouse community in Westmoreland, Jamaica, one of the areas most severely affected by the passage of Hurricane Melissa, on Nov. 2, 2025. / Credit: Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 6, 2025 / 14:15 pm (CNA).Catholic leaders and agencies have mobilized to help communities left devastated after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica.The Category 5 hurricane swept through the Caribbean with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour and claimed up to 50 lives after making landfall on Oct. 28. Jamaica suffered the largest impact, but neighboring nations also experienced immense effects including flash flooding and landslides.In Jamaica, practically no buildings along the country's southern coast remain intact. Areas have experienced structural failures, immense roof damage, floods, power outages, and communication disruptions. Families have a long road to recovery after many lost ...

Ethiopia's Catholic bishops condemn deadly attack on parish, call for government protection

Members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) strongly condemned attacks in the Oromia Region in late October 2025 that claimed lives and destroyed property belonging to members of the Catholic community. / Credit: World Council of ChurchesACI Africa, Nov 6, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) have strongly condemned attacks in the Oromia region that claimed lives and destroyed property belonging to members of the Catholic community.In a statement issued Nov. 4, CBCE members called on the government to take urgent measures to protect citizens from further violence."The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia expresses deep sorrow over the recent killings and destruction of property that occurred in October in the vicinity of St. Mary's Catholic Church in West Harerghe, Oromia region," the bishops said of the Oct. 25 and 27 attacks.They added: "The attacks have resulted in the loss of lives and the destruction of...

Pope Leo XIV discusses 2-state solution with Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas

Pope Leo XIV speaks with President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine during a private audience in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.Vatican City, Nov 6, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV received President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine for an audience in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Thursday, almost a month after the truce agreement in the Gaza Strip came into effect.According to the Holy See Press Office, during the meeting "it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution."This is the first in-person meeting between Leo XIV and the 90-year-old Palestinian leader, who was also received at the Vatican by Pope Francis on Dec. 12, 2024, and on prior occasions.Abbas spoke with Leo by phone on July 21. The conversation focused on the evolution of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the violence in the West Bank.Thursday's meeting coincides...

Church tribunal acquits priest of charge of 'inciting hatred' against the Holy See

Father Francisco José Delgado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain. / Credit: Photo courtesy of "La Sacristía de la Vendée"Madrid, Spain, Nov 6, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).Father Francisco José Delgado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, and a member of the YouTube priests' discussion group "The Sacristy of the Vendée," has been declared innocent of the charge of "inciting hatred" against the Holy See, interfering in the investigation into the Sodality of Christian Life (SCV by its Latin acronym), and damaging the "good reputation" of layman José Enrique Escardó, one of the main promoters of proceedings against the SCV.The Vendée is a region in France where priests refused to take the oath of loyalty to the revolutionary government hostile to the Catholic Church that had seized power in 1789. "The Sacristy of the Vendée" describes itself as "counterrevolutionary." The verdict, announced on X Nov. 5 by the Spanish priest, closes the canonical penal investigat...

Diocese of Peoria breaks ground on center honoring Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The Spalding Institute in the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, is being transformed into "The Fulton J. Sheen Experience," an expansion of the Sheen museum, which has been open since 2008.  / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/ScreenshotCNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Diocese of Peoria in Illinois on Oct. 19 broke ground for a cultural center honoring Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The Spalding Institute is being transformed into "The Fulton J. Sheen Experience," an expansion of the Sheen museum, which has been open since 2008. The new center has an estimated construction cost of $9 million to $11 million, all of which is being raised from private donations. Visitors will be able to see interactive exhibits, artifacts, and large archives of television and radio work from the archbishop's life. "We are thrilled to transform the historic diocesan high school building into this new facility," Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria said in a press release. "We believe this project wi...

Fact check: Do parental notification laws for abortion harm minors?

null / Credit: Photographee.eu/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Claim: Laws requiring minors to notify their parents if they are getting an abortion "threaten young people's health and safety and undermine their human rights," claims a report by the Human Rights Watch.CNA finds: CNA finds a strong pro-abortion bias in the report. Experts say parental notification laws help protect girls from predators and put girls in a better situation by ensuring family support. Breakdown: Parental notification laws vary across states, but most require the abortion provider to notify a parent before the abortion takes place, unless it's a medical emergency or the minor obtains a court order.For instance, in Colorado, a written notice must be delivered to the parent's home by someone from the abortion clinic, a sheriff, a clergy member, or other person. The law contains a built-in exemption if the minor is in an abusive home.Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Montana, a...

Pope Leo XIV to seminarians: 'Piety without doctrine becomes fragile sentimentality'

Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 5, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday addressed a letter to seminarians of the Archdiocese of Trujillo, Peru, reminding them of the need to be close to Christ while discerning a vocation to the priesthood.In a long letter to men studying at the "San Carlos y San Marcelo" major seminary, who celebrated the institution's 400th anniversary on Nov. 4, the Holy Father emphasized that prayer and the search for truth are not "parallel journeys" but a single path that leads to God.'Nurture both'"A piety without doctrine becomes fragile sentimentality; doctrine without prayer becomes sterile and cold," he wrote. "Nurture both with balance and passion, knowing that only in this way can you authentically proclaim what you live and live coherently what you proclaim."As an Augustinian missionary, Leo XIV once served as the semina...