Pope Leo XIV praises the 'silent and hidden love' of cloistered nuns

Pope Leo XIV receives cloistered Augustinian nuns at the Vatican on Nov. 13, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 15:43 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV praised the "silent and hidden love" of cloistered nuns who, he said, are free from the slavery of society's focus on outward appearances.Focusing on the contemplative dimension of the Augustinian nuns, Pope Leo recalled that their founder, St. Augustine, reflected in his book "Confessions" on the joy granted "to those who serve the Lord out of pure love."In his address, delivered from the Paul VI Audience Hall on Nov. 13, the pope offered his reflection during an audience at the Vatican with participants in the Ordinary Federal Assembly of the Federation of Augustinian Monasteries of Italy.The pope highlighted the joy of those who serve the Lord "out of pure love" in a meeting with Augustinian nuns on Nov. 13, 2025, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaHe invited the nuns to embrace "the cloistered life with...

Philippines aid worker details proactive emergency response to Typhoon Kalmaegi

Residents carrying their belongings, wade through a flooded street in Mandaue City, Cebu province on Nov. 4, 2025, after Typhoon Kalmaegi hit overnight. / Credit: Alan Tangcawan/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 16:13 pm (CNA).Catholic Relief Services (CRS) revealed emergency relief efforts in the Philippines began before Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall, thanks to a new law the humanitarian workers championed. "Together with the Tagbilaran City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and other local leaders, we worked on getting families evacuated and helped organize some community briefings," said Jonas Tetangco, CRS Philippines country representative. "All of the work we were able to do before Typhoon Kalmaegi hit is in part due to recently-passed legislation," he said. "RA 12287 is the world's first national legislation that enables work to be done prior to a dangerous natural disaster. We are proud to have contributed to the legisl...

Pope Leo XIV visits new health clinic for the poor under St. Peter's colonnade

New outpatient clinic for people in need in St. Peter's Square. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 14 visited a new outpatient clinic in the Vatican, built beneath the colonnade of St. Peter's Square, in the lead-up to the ninth World Day of the Poor, which will be celebrated on Sunday, Nov. 16.The new health center aims to strengthen assistance and increase health care services for those in need, according to a statement from the Office of the Papal Almoner, also known as the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. The center was made possible through the collaboration of the Health and Hygiene Directorate of the Governorate of Vatican City State and features two new medical consultation rooms equipped with state-of-the-art instruments and a new radiology service.This equipment, including a cutting-edge X-ray machine, will allow for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of pneumonia, bone fractures, tumors, degenerative di...

Pope Leo XIV urges 'thinking the faith' amid risk of cultural emptiness

Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome on Nov. 14, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 10:04 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Friday urged academics to "think the faith" in order to confront what he called an increasingly pervasive "cultural emptiness."The pope spoke at a ceremony inaugurating the academic year at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University, the ecclesiastical university under the direct control of the Holy See, an event that brought together more than a thousand students and professors. In his address, Pope Leo XIV highlighted what he called the Lateran University's unique and "altogether special" bond with the successor of Peter, a characteristic that he said has shaped its identity and mission from the beginning. He recalled the contributions of various pontiffs since its founding in 1773 and described the Lateran as "a privileged center where the teaching of the universal Church is elaborated, received, ...

Bishops approve 2029 Eucharistic Congress in bid to revive 'long-lost tradition'

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presides over the closing Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress in Lucas Oil Stadium on July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. / Credit: Jeffrey BrunoCNA Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 10:34 am (CNA).In a move to renew a "long-lost tradition," the U.S. bishops confirmed the next National Eucharistic Congress will take place in the summer of 2029. At the plenary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore on Nov. 12, the bishops voted to confirm the date for the country's second National Eucharistic Congress of the 21st century. Last year's National Eucharistic Congress, the first to take place on American soil since World War II, attracted tens of thousands of people for several massive sessions of Eucharistic adoration in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium.The event also featured numerous talks and workshops related to the Catholic faith and a 60,000-participant Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis.Bishop Andrew Cozzen...

Iowa man receives life in prison for 2023 stabbing of Nebraska priest

Father Stephen Gutgsell. / Credit: Archdiocese of OmahaCNA Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:04 am (CNA).An Iowa man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he pleaded guilty in October to stabbing a Nebraska priest to death in 2023. Kierre Williams last month pleaded guilty to the assault that claimed the life of Father Stephen Gutgsell. Williams broke into the rectory of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Calhoun on Dec. 10, 2023, and stabbed Gutgsell, who later died of his injuries at a hospital. Williams himself was arrested shortly thereafter. He originally argued that he was not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity before changing his plea to guilty last month. Washington County Chief Deputy Attorney Erik Petersen said in court this week that the murder "shattered the innocence" of the small town of Fort Calhoun."I'm hoping this court's sentence will bring some peace to the citizens" of the town, he said, according to local media reports.Gutgsell's ...

Paris archbishop recalls jihadist massacre 10 years ago, offers hope

French press reports on the jihadist terror attacks the night of Nov. 13, 2015. / Credit: BalkansCat/ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA).Ten years ago on Nov. 13, armed jihadists stormed the Bataclan concert hall in Paris and elsewhere in the city, murdering over a hundred innocent people.Suicide bombers also attacked people near France's national stadium while other jihadists opened fire on restaurants and cafe terraces packed with people, leaving 130 dead and nearly 400 wounded.On the 10th anniversary of the attack, the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, recalled the shock people experienced on Nov. 13, 2015, "in the face of the most gratuitous, the most blind violence," and especially "in the face of the intensity of the evil."The French prelate delivered a message filled with hope to the Parisians who witnessed that "long night of anguish.""Our faith also leads us not to forget how, in the midst of this darkness, brightly shone that night, glimmers...

Vatican guidance discouraging Marian title 'Co-Redemptrix' sparks Catholic debate

null / Credit: Srppateros via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 12:04 pm (CNA).While the Vatican issued new guidance that encourages limits on the use of certain Marian titles out of a concern that they may overstate the Blessed Mother's role in redemption and mediation, the intra-Catholic debate on the subject has continued.Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), issued a doctrinal note with the formal approval of Pope Leo XIV that reaffirms Mary's "unique cooperation" in God's plan for salvation but expresses worry about two titles sometimes employed to communicate her role: Mary as Co-Redemptrix/Co-Redeemer and Mary as Mediatrix/Mediator.According to the doctrinal note, using the title "Co-Redemptrix" to explain Mary's role "would not be appropriate." The document's language for the title "Mediatrix" was less harsh but says "if misunderstood, it could easily obscure or even contradict" M...

Tanzania bishop urges respect for life amid reports of thousands killed post-election

Bishop Stephano Lameck Musomba of the Diocese of Bagamoyo in Tanzania has denounced the killings connected to the country's disputed Oct. 29, 2025, general elections. / Credit: Radio Maria TanzaniaACI Africa, Nov 14, 2025 / 12:24 pm (CNA).The bishop of the Diocese of Bagamoyo in Tanzania has denounced the extrajudicial killings connected to the country's disputed Oct. 29 general elections, stressing that those suspected of breaking the law should be allowed to go through legal processes instead of being killed unlawfully.In his homily during a Eucharistic celebration on Tuesday that was held in honor of the victims of the election-related violence, Bishop Stephano Lameck Musomba underscored the need to uphold justice and due process when handling individuals suspected of any criminal wrongdoing."Some of those who were shot were participating in demonstrations, others were at home, on their way to work, or in their shops. They were struck by bullets and lost their lives," said t...

Priest found dead in Mexico; 2 suspects arrested

Father Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis. / Credit: Courtesy of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish/ScreenshotPuebla, Mexico, Nov 14, 2025 / 13:04 pm (CNA).The Catholic Church has confirmed the discovery of the body of Father Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis, a priest of the Diocese of Cuautitlán in Mexico who had been missing for more than two weeks.In a message, Bishop Efraín Mendoza Cruz of the Diocese of Cuautitlán expressed his gratitude "for the life and ministry of Father Ernesto, for his generous dedication to the Gospel, and for his pastoral service, which is a fruitful seed that will continue to bear fruit in the Church."He also urged the authorities to conduct investigations "that lead to the clarification of the facts of the case and to the justice that every human life deserves."The diocese also joined "the outcry of so many families suffering from violence and disappearances in our country, and we ask that this painful reality, which afflicts the lives of our communit...