Angola's Catholic men urged to 'strengthen families, be examples of integrity'

Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins of Angola's Archdiocese of Huambo has urged members of the Catholic Men Organization to be involved in the fight against societal voices, strengthen faith practice in their respective families, and exemplify integrity. / Credit: Huambo ArchdioceseACI Africa, Sep 23, 2025 / 11:35 am (CNA).Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins of Angola's Archdiocese of Huambo has urged members of the Catholic Men Organization (CMO) in the southern African nation to be involved in the fight against societal voices, strengthen faith practice in their families, and exemplify integrity.In his homily during a Mass of thanksgiving marking the 11th anniversary of the Movimento dos Esposos da Promaica (MEP) (Movement of Promaica Husbands), Zeca said: "The battle against corruption must be seen as a moral and spiritual imperative, which begins within each family and extends to society at large.""The Church and apostolic movements have a decisive role in transforming Angolan so...

Padre Pio: 13 facts about St. Pio of Pietrelcina to know and share

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome, Italy on Feb. 3, 2016. / Credit: Alexey Gotovskiy/CNANational Catholic Register, Sep 23, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).One of the most popular Catholic saints of the 20th century, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar, priest, and mystic. His tomb can be found in the Sanctuary of St. Mary Our Lady of Grace in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Padre Pio is known for his deep wisdom about prayer and peace, his stigmata, miraculous reports of his bilocation, being physically attacked by the devil, and mastering the spiritual life.As the Church celebrates his feast day on Sept. 23, here's a look at 13 facts about St. Pio's life and faith.1. Padre Pio was only 5 years old when he expressed a strong desire to serve God.Born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy, he served as an altar boy at his local parish. At the early age of 5, he co...

Priest builds church with his own hands in Chiclayo, Peru, Pope Leo XIV's former diocese 

Father Javier Cajusol Villegas is building a church with his own hands in Chiclayo, the northern Peruvian diocese where Pope Leo XIV was bishop. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Javier CajusolLima Newsroom, Sep 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).When a priest says he's building a church, a school, or some other project, he usually means he's ultimately responsible for the construction, not that he's the one who is actually building it. But that isn't the case for Father Javier Cajusol Villegas, who is building a church with his own hands in a poor area of ??the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where Pope Leo XIV was bishop."In the seminary, there's a program in which we study Church history. I was taught by an American priest who explained things very well, Father Ricardo Mullen. He said that when the Spanish came to the Americas, they brought with them priests who were also architects and engineers and that they themselves were the ones who built the churches," Cajusol related in an interv...

Nicaraguan bishop denounces 'real problem' of region's dictatorships and cartels

Bishop Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, Nicaragua. / Credit: Courtesy of Archdiocese of ManaguaACI Prensa Staff, Sep 22, 2025 / 16:02 pm (CNA).From his exile in the United States, Nicaraguan Bishop Silvio Báez denounced what he considered the "real problem" of Latin American dictatorships and cartels: the idolatry of money. Although he did not mention specific countries in his homily at the Mass he celebrated Sunday, Sept. 21, at St. Agatha Church in Miami, the prelate was apparently referring to the dictatorships of presidents Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba, and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the latter accused by the U.S. government of leading the drug-trafficking Cartel de los Soles.Báez noted that one day, "all of us, without exception, will leave this world, and God will ask us to account for how we have used the wealth" and gifts he has given us. As an example of how these gifts are misused, the prelate pointed to "the dictatorships in s...

Mothers urge lawmakers to ban assault weapons after Minneapolis Catholic school shooting

Police gather at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, following a mass shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others, 14 of them children. / Credit: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Sep 22, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).At a town hall meeting in Plymouth, Minnesota, over the weekend, three mothers whose children survived the school shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in August advocated for stricter gun laws. Two children were killed and 21 people were injured after Robin Westman, 23, a man who identified as a woman, shot through the stained-glass windows of the church during a school Mass on Aug. 27. Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the attack. Carla Maldonado, who has two children at Annunciation Catholic School, said "taking action" by tightening gun laws would honor the deaths of the two children and "all lives taken by gun violence.""We cannot accept a world where civilians have a...

Cardinal Becciu's Vatican appeal hearing begins

Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu in 2019. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTNNational Catholic Register, Sep 22, 2025 / 17:51 pm (CNA).The appeal hearing for Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the former deputy Vatican secretary of state who was convicted in December 2023 of embezzlement, aggravated fraud, and abuse of office, began on Monday.Heard by a six-judge Vatican Court of Appeal, the appeal is expected to revisit both factual and procedural objections from the first trial, including evidence, court transcripts, and all submissions from both Becciu's defense and the Vatican prosecution.After the so-called "Trial of the Century" lasting two and a half years, Becciu, 77, was convicted of financial malfeasance and sentenced to five years and six months in prison. He was also handed a fine of 8,000 euros (about $9,400) and permanently disqualified from holding public office.The cardinal's appeal will be heard alongside those of eight other defendants who were also tried, found guilty, and give...

Pope Leo XIV: 'It's going to be very difficult to discover the presence of God in AI'

In Pope Leo XIV's first sit-down interview, published in Spanish on Sept. 18, 2025, the pope warned of the loss of humanity in the digital world of artificial intelligence (AI). / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN NewsVatican City, Sep 22, 2025 / 14:09 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV revealed in his first interview since being elected pontiff that it's going to be "very difficult to discover the presence of God" in artificial intelligence (AI), noting that he recently refused a proposal to create an avatar of himself.He pointed to the loss of humanity in the digital realm and warned that "extremely wealthy" people are investing in AI and "totally ignoring the value of human beings and humanity.""The danger is that the digital world will follow its own path and we will become pawns, or be brushed aside," he warned."I think the Church needs to speak out in this regard," he stated.During the interview, held on July 10 at Villa Barberini, the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, and published on Sep...

Archbishop Coakley urges prayers after Oklahoma priest dies from fall through ceiling

Father Linh Bui celebrating Mass. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 14:59 pm (CNA).Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley is requesting prayers from the faithful after an archdiocesan priest died after falling through the sacristy ceiling of his parish late last week.Father Linh Bui, the pastor at St. Ann Catholic Church in Elgin, Oklahoma, died after suffering a severe brain injury caused by the fall, according to a Sept. 19 announcement by the archbishop posted to Facebook. Bui was 56 years old."It is with great sadness that I announce that Father Linh Bui passed away this morning from his injuries," Coakley wrote.Before his death, Bui received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick and the apostolic pardon, which grants an indulgence for the remission of temporal punishment for a person who dies in the state of grace.According to the archbishop, Bui "was surrounded by the family who loved him dearly" when...

Trump, Vance among those honoring Charlie Kirk's Christian legacy 

Erika Kirk embraces U.S. President Donald Trump at the conclusion of the memorial service held for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Erika Kirk, and more than a dozen others gave speeches to honor the late Charlie Kirk at Sunday's memorial service, highlighting his efforts to promote conservative values to young people and promote the Gospel on campus.Some 90,000 people gathered for the memorial service at State Farm Stadium and an adjacent venue in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21. Bishop Robert Barron, who had scheduled Kirk to come on his show, was among those in attendance.Kirk, an evangelical Christian, was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University while debating students on campus. At the time, Kirk was conversing with a young ideological opponent about transgenderism and gun violence. Prior t...

Study: 'Traditional liturgical experiences predict stronger belief in the Real Presence'

The Eucharist is displayed in a monstrance in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City before a Eucharistic procession on Oct. 15, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey BrunoWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).A recent study found that traditional liturgical experiences, including receiving the Eucharist by tongue, indicate a stronger belief among Catholics in the Real Presence.Last year, Natalie A. Lindemann published a journal article on Catholics' belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ's body and blood in the Eucharist. Lindemann, a professor in the department of psychology at William Paterson University, recently published a follow-up peer-reviewed article that uses a larger sample size and examines additional information.Belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is central to the Catholic faith, but only about 57% of U.S. Catholics believe with certainty the Eucharist is Jesus' body, according to  Lindemann's report.The new study, publis...