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...

1 million children to pray the rosary for world peace on Oct. 7

The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently announced the 20th edition of its One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, set to take place Oct. 7, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Aid to the Church in NeedACI Prensa Staff, Sep 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) announced the 20th edition of its One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, whose purpose this year is to pray "for peace and unity in a world wounded by division, conflict, and suffering."On Oct. 18, 2005, a group of laypeople organized children and young people to pray the rosary in the city squares of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. At one point, it seemed like glitter appeared on the children's hands while they were praying, which the laypeople said was a sign from heaven asking them to spread their apostolate.Following the event, they presented their idea to Venezuela's National Conference of Laity, where "the campaign was given a f...

Justice Alito speaks at the Vatican about justice and mercy

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., shares his perspective on how a legal system can provide for mercy during a conversation with Msgr. Laurence Spiteri (left) at the Vatican's judicial headquarters on Sept. 20, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA.Vatican City, Sep 21, 2025 / 14:24 pm (CNA).United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., spoke about the role that mercy can play in the legal system during an event at the Vatican on Saturday.The Sept. 20 discussion at the Vatican's judicial headquarters was organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, the U.S. bishops' conference, and the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization. The event was part of the Jubilee of Justice, part of the Church's yearlong Jubilee of Hope.Earlier in the day, Alito, a Catholic, greeted Pope Leo XIV following an audience for the Jubilee of Workers of Justice in St. Peter's Square.During a one-hour afternoon conversation with Msgr. Laurence Spiteri, an American priest and retired judge on the Va...

Pope Leo XIV on Palestinians: 'Those who truly love them work for peace'

Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus and listen to his Sunday message on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.Vatican City, Sep 21, 2025 / 10:34 am (CNA).Those who really love the people living on the Gaza Strip will work to achieve peace in the Holy Land, Pope Leo XIV said on Sunday in his Angelus message.The pontiff expressed his closeness to all those "suffering in that tormented land," after leading the Marian prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square Sept. 21.Leo also thanked the Catholic associations who are helping the people of the Gaza Strip: "Together with you and with the pastors of the Churches in the Holy Land, I repeat: there is no future based on violence, forced exile, or revenge. The people need peace; those who truly love them work for peace," he said.Pilgrims hold a sign reading, "Peace for Gaza," during the Angelus of Sept. 21, 2025, in St. Peter's Square. Credit: Vatican Med...

Forgiveness is fundamental to justice, Pope Leo XIV tells legal professionals at Jubilee

Pope Leo XIV addresses thousands of Church and civil lawyers, judges, and others who work in the legal environment during the Jubilee of Workers of Justice, part of the yearlong Jubilee of Hope, in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 20, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.Vatican City, Sep 20, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).Forgiveness is fundamental to the virtue of justice, Pope Leo XIV said to thousands of legal professionals gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Workers of Justice on Saturday."It is the power of forgiveness, which is proper to the commandment of love, that emerges as a constitutive element of a justice capable of combining the supernatural with the human," the pope said in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 20.Leo, who has a doctorate in Church law, explained that the evangelical virtue of justice is not a distraction from human justice, but "questions and redesigns it: It provokes it to go even further, because it pushes it towards the search for reconciliation.""Evil, in fact, mus...

Clinician says Minnesota law harms kids struggling with sexual orientation, gender identity

null / Credit: Pormezz/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Sep 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).In 2023, Minnesota passed a law, signed by Gov. Tim Walz, that prohibits clinical mental health counselors from practicing "conversion therapy" with minors, effectively barring them from offering any guidance that does not affirm a child's struggles with sexual orientation or gender identity. This ban, enacted under House File 16 and effective Aug. 1, 2023, complicates access to tailored mental health resources for minors struggling with these issues, especially when a minor seeks to change his or her identity. David Kirby, a clinical mental health counselor in Minnesota, told CNA that the law created a new minority: young people with same-sex attraction (SSA) who do not want it."There are people who find their gay attraction ego dystonic," Kirby said. "They don't want it. Maybe some were born with a propensity to SSA, but they know it's not how they were created to be."The American Psychologi...

Documentary brings Father Marko Rupnik abuse allegations to big screen

"Nuns vs. The Vatican" includes the detailed stories of Gloria Branciani (left) and Mirjam Kovac, two of three former members of the Loyola Community in Slovenia in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Father Marko Rupnik, a co-founder of the community, is accused of having committed sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse against dozens of women religious. / Credit: Filippo Piscopo/Film2 ProductionsCNA Staff, Sep 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).A documentary on Father Marko Rupnik's alleged abuse of consecrated women, the personal fallout for two of his alleged victims, and what happened when the claims became public decades later premiered at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month."Nuns vs. The Vatican" includes the detailed stories of Gloria Branciani, Mirjam Kovac, and Klara (identified only by her first name), three former members of the Loyola Community in Slovenia in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Rupnik, a co-founder of the community, is accused of having committed ...