St. Leo the Great: The pope who clarified the humanity and divinity of Christ

The fresco of St. Leo the Great, doctor of the Church, in the cupola of the Church of St. Maximus of Turin, Italy. / Credit: Renata Sedmakova/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 10, 2025 / 13:25 pm (CNA).Throughout the last two millennia, the Catholic Church has only granted the title "doctor of the Church" to 38 saints, one of whom we celebrate today on Nov. 10: St. Leo the Great, the 45th bishop of Rome. Pope Leo I, who was the first pope to be remembered posthumously as "the great," began his papacy in 440 and served until his death in 461. During his pontificate, he worked to clarify doctrines related to Christ's human and divine natures.The pontiff was a "pope-theologian, but he's also known as a remarkable bishop," Thomas Clemmons, a professor of Church history at The Catholic University of America, told CNA, adding that "theologian popes are rare."St. Leo's papacy began nine years after the Council of Ephesus, which condemned Nestorius and the heresy of Nesto...

Pope Leo XIV warns AI could fuel 'antihuman ideologies' in medicine

Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday Angelus on Nov. 9, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 10, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV warned Monday that artificial intelligence could exacerbate "antihuman ideologies" in medicine as Catholic doctors and moral theologians raise alarms about the future of AI in health care.In a message on Nov. 10 to an international congress on "Artificial Intelligence and Medicine: The Challenge of Human Dignity," hosted by the Pontifical Academy for Life, the pope said that ensuring "true progress" in medicine depends on keeping the dignity of every human at the forefront."It is easy to recognize the destructive potential of technology and even medical research when they are placed at the service of antihuman ideologies," Leo XIV said.Leo added that those responsible for integrating AI into medicine must remember that "health care professionals have the vocation and respo...

Pope warns against stereotypes and prejudices that obscure the mystery of the Church

Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Nov. 9, 2025. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 9, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV invited the faithful to contemplate "the mystery of unity and communion with the Church of Rome" and to recognize that "the true sanctuary of God is Christ who died and rose again," during his Sunday Angelus on the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pope said in his catechesis that the Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the seat of Peter's successor, "is not only a work of extraordinary historical, artistic and religious value, but it also represents the driving force of the faith entrusted to and preserved by the Apostles, and its transmission throughout history."He noted that this mystery "shines forth in the artistic splendor of the building," which contains "the twelve large statues of the Apostles, the first followers ...

Pope Leo XIV meets with 15 abuse survivors at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on November 5, 2025. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 8, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV met on Saturday with 15 survivors of clergy sexual abuse in a meeting marked by dialogue, listening, and prayer, according to the Holy See Press Office.The encounter, described as one of "closeness with the victims, of deep and painful listening and dialogue," lasted nearly three hours. The meeting concluded with "an intense moment of prayer" shared between the pope and the survivors.This was the second time in less than three weeks that Leo has met at the Vatican with victims of clerical abuse. On Oct. 20, he received four survivors and two representatives of the international coalition Ending Clergy Abuse, which brings together victims and advocates from more than 30 countries. That earlier meeting lasted about an hour and was described by participants as a "deeply meaningful conversation."This story was first published by ACI Pren...

New Jersey diocese drops lawsuit in anticipation of fix to foreign-born priest visa issue

null / Credit: Taiga/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 18:10 pm (CNA).A Catholic diocese in New Jersey has dropped a lawsuit against the U.S. government over a rule change to the religious worker visa used by foreign-born priests. Attorneys for the Diocese of Paterson dropped a lawsuit they filed last year against the Biden administration's State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, along with their respective heads, after reportedly coming to an agreement regarding a solution with national implications, according to local reports. The lawsuit was filed Aug. 8, 2024, in the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey.Raymond Lahoud, the lawyer representing the diocese, said in an Oct. 31 email that the diocese and its five foreign-born priests listed as plaintiffs moved to dismiss the case "to allow for agency action and/or rulemaking that will render moot the relief plaintiffs sought from the cou...

DHS blasts order for improvements to migrant facility, says it houses 'worst of the worst'

Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado attempts to visit detainees at the Broadview, Illinois, immigration facility and was not admitted Nov. 1, 2025. / Credit: Bryan Sebastian, courtesy of Coalition for Spiritual and Public LeadershipWashington, D.C., Nov 7, 2025 / 18:40 pm (CNA).The Trump administration this week denounced a Chicago-based federal judge's ruling that mandated cleanliness and hygiene standards as well as adequate legal representation at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Illinois.Government lawyers said Nov. 7 they are in compliance or are in the midst of complying with the judge's conditions. The detainees' attorneys, however, say they "are doubtful" the government is "actually in compliance" with some of the conditions, "including as to facility cleaning, the provision of food and water, and the provision of prescription medication." The detainees' attorneys asked the court to conduct an inspection with an expert and ...

Pope Leo XIV: We should allow 'ourselves to be challenged' by those who suffer

Pope Leo XIV receives the nuns in the consistory hall at the Vatican on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 7, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV said we should "allow ourselves to be challenged" by the presence of those who suffer "without fear of abandoning our own security" during an audience this week with the general chapters of two women's religious congregations with strong missionary outreaches.The two orders present were the Religious of Jesus and Mary, founded by St. Claudine Thévenet, and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, known as the Scalabrinians, who are dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants and refugees.During his Nov. 6 address at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father noted that both congregations, though they originated in different circumstances, were founded "out of the same love for the poor."Specifically, he noted that St. Claudine Thévenet and the Religious of Jesus and Mary served "young women in difficult situations,...

Apostolic nuncio to Germany: Cardinal von Galen should be canonized

Blessed Clemens August von Galen. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Münster/Domkapitular Gustav Albers (CC BY 2.5)Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:Apostolic nuncio to Germany: 'Lion of Munster' Cardinal von Galen should be canonizedThe apostolic nuncio in Germany is calling for the swift canonization of Cardinal Clemens August Graf von Galen, widely known as the "Lion of Münster," renowned for his courageous opposition to Nazi persecution. Archbishop Nikola Eterovic made the appeal during a memorial Mass marking 20 years since the cardinal's beatification by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Around 400 faithful gathered for the commemoration, which celebrated the life and witness of one of Germany's most outspoken Catholic voices during the Third Reich. "May this grateful remembrance also become a prayer for a swift canonization of the revered cardinal," Ete...

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...