Peace starts in our hearts, Pope Leo tells Mediterranean Youth Council

Pope Leo XIV meets young adults from the Mediterranean Youth Council in the Hall of the Consistory in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Sept. 5, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.Vatican City, Sep 5, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).Real peace, often used as a slogan, begins in our own hearts and communities, Pope Leo XIV told a group of young adults from the Mediterranean region at the Vatican on Friday.In a speech in both Italian and English Sept. 5, the pope called young people the "generation that envisions a better future and chooses to build it. You are the sign of a world that does not give in to indifference and complacency," he added, "but rolls up its sleeves and works to transform evil into good."Leo met with around 50 members of the Mediterranean Youth Council, which was founded in 2022 and includes young adults from European and Middle Eastern countries bordered by the Mediterranean Sea."Peace is on the agenda of international leaders, it is the subject of global discussions...

UPDATE: Pope Leo, patriarch in Lisbon pray for those killed, injured in cable car accident

The Ascensor da Glória funicular in Lisbon, Portugal, crashed on Sept. 3, 2025, killing 17 people and injuring at least 23. / Credit: Maragato1976 (CC BY-SA 3.0)ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 15:03 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Thursday offered his "heartfelt condolences" to the families of those who were killed and injured in an accident involving the Elevador da Glória, an iconic funicular train that crashed at high speed into a building on Sept. 3.In a Sept. 4 message signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the pope, Leo offered prayers "for the complete recovery of the injured" and invoked "the strength of Christian hope for all those affected by this disaster," Vatican News reported.Pope Leo also expressed "special gratitude to those who took part in the rescue operations" and gave an apostolic blessing to all, especially to the families of the deceased.The patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Valério, also offered his prayers following the accident. A st...

Bishop at funeral Mass for priest who died by suicide: 'Jesus is here and comforts us'

Father Rafael Ángel Ciro. / Credit: Diocese of Paterson, New JerseyACI Prensa Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 15:54 pm (CNA).The bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, Kevin J. Sweeney, offered the funeral Mass for Father Rafael Ángel Ciro, a 45-year-old Colombian priest who died by suicide on Aug. 27. In a heartfelt homily on Sept. 3, Sweeney recalled that Jesus, who understands our pain and suffering, "is here and comforts us."In his opening remarks in both English and Spanish, the bishop addressed the priest's mother, Elena Guarín, and his brother Jairo, saying: "We are with you, with you and the entire family there in Colombia. We are all one family, with our Bishop Emeritus [Arthur] Serratelli, with all the priests. We are also your children, Doña Elena: The mother of one priest is the mother of all priests. You are also our mom.""We share the pain, but we also share the faith, especially with the community of St. Stephen and all the parishes where Father Rafael served as a priest," the pre...

Review of abortion pill safety is ongoing, Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy says

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Senate hearing on Sept. 4, 2025, that the FDA review of abortion pill safety concerns is ongoing. / Credit: Carl DMaster/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 4, 2025 / 17:02 pm (CNA).Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) testified during a Senate hearing on Sept. 4 that a federal review of the safety concerns related to the abortion pill is still ongoing.Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee that former President Joe Biden's administration "twisted the data" to downplay health concerns about the abortion pill mifepristone."We're going to make sure that doesn't happen anymore," Kennedy said. "We're producing honest science and gold-standard science on that."Republican Sens. James Lankford and Steve Daines both pressed Kennedy on their concerns about the drug during the Thursday hearing.Kennedy was unable to say when the review would be completed or wh...

Opponents urge Supreme Court to hear case as transgender plaintiff backs out

null / Credit: NMKStudio/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 11:32 am (CNA).A transgender-identifying plaintiff in a major lawsuit being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court has requested that the court drop the case and reverse lower court rulings favorable to him, with opponents meanwhile urging the Supreme Court to hear the case as scheduled. Lindsay Hecox originally sued Idaho over its Fairness in Women's Sports Act, which was passed to block males from gaining access to women's sporting leagues. A district court and an appeals court both blocked the law. The high court in July had agreed to consider Hecox's challenge to Idaho's ban on men in women's sports. Two lower courts had ruled in the male athlete's favor, with Idaho ultimately appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the dispute. The Supreme Court at the time said it would also consider a similar case out of West Virginia. Both lawsuits have the potential to significantly affect U.S. case law re...

Pope Leo XIV discusses Gaza, 2-state solution with Israeli president

Pope Leo XIV meets with Israel President Isaac Herzog in a private audience at the Vatican on Sept. 4, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Sep 4, 2025 / 12:14 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV discussed the conflict in Gaza, including a two-state solution, with Israel President Isaac Herzog in a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday morning. According to a Vatican statement after the meeting, the talks focused on the political and social situation in the Middle East and the need to guarantee "a future for the Palestinian people and peace and stability in the region, with the Holy See reiterating the two-state solution as the only way out of the ongoing war."The Israeli president also met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher.The Sept. 4 Vatican audience was the first closed-door meeting between Leo and Herzog, 64, who has been Israel's president since 2021.Pope Leo XIV meets with I...

Pro-life group says late-term abortion clinic halted procedures after campaign against it

A late-term abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., has stopped taking appointments after a pro-life group campaigned against it. / Credit: SibRapid/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 12:44 pm (CNA).Here's a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:Pro-life group says late-term abortion clinic halted procedures after campaign against itA pro-life group said a major Washington, D.C., late-term abortion clinic has ceased operations for the time being after a public campaign against it. The Washington Surgi-Clinic, which has been at the center of controversy for years due to allegations of illegal abortion services, has "halted appointments" after a "campaign to shut the facility down" was mounted by the group Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust. The pro-life group said in a press release on Sept. 2 that it filed a complaint with the city board of medicine presenting "numerous complaints and lawsuits" against clinic abortionist Cesare Santangelo.The clinic sub...

Carlo Acutis' teachers share their memories of him at school

Sister Miranda Moltedo was the principal of Carlo's elementary school when he was a student. / Credit: EWTN NewsRome Newsroom, Sep 4, 2025 / 13:57 pm (CNA).Before he was known as a soon-to-be-saint, Carlo Acutis was simply a boy in a school uniform, lugging his backpack through the hallways of the Tommaseo Institute in Milan. His teachers remember him as joyful, a bit of a prankster, and passionate about his Catholic faith."He was certainly not a perfect student," Sister Monica Ceroni, Acutis' middle school religion teacher, recalled. He sometimes forgot his homework or showed up late. But he had a "healthy curiosity" and "and wanted to get to the bottom of things.""When he became passionate about something, he didn't give up," she told EWTN News.Exterior shot of Carlo Acutis' elementary and middle school the Tommaseo Institute. Credit: Courtney Mares/EWTNAcutis spent nearly eight years at the Tommaseo Institute, a Catholic elementary and middle school run by the Marcelline Sis...

Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal, prays for those killed and injured in cable car accident

The Ascensor da Glória funicular in Lisbon, Portugal, crashed on Sept. 3, 2025, killing 17 people and injuring at least 23. / Credit: Maragato1976 (CC BY-SA 3.0)ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 15:03 pm (CNA).The patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Valério, offered his prayers for the dead and injured in an accident involving the Elevador da Glória, an iconic funicular train that crashed at high speed into a building on Sept. 3.A statement posted on the patriarchate's website said the patriarch received "with profound sorrow and sadness" the news of the accident, which left 17 dead and at least 23 injured in the Portuguese city. The crash of the funicular, a type of railway operated by cables and designed for steep slopes, occurred around 6:05 p.m. local time."At this difficult time Bishop Rui Valério lifts up his prayers to God for the victims and expresses his closeness to their families during this time of separation and profound grief," read the statement in which the patriarch also wi...

Man who brought weapons to California abbey described self as 'angel of death,' police say

Mass at St. Michael's Abbey in California. / Credit: "EWTN News In Depth"/ScreenshotCNA Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 10:19 am (CNA).A man arrested with a car full of weapons after threatening a California Catholic church told the parish he was an angel of death meant to "do the Lord's reaping," according to authorities. Police arrested Joshua Michael Richardson on Aug. 28 after he allegedly made criminal threats against St. Michael's Abbey, located in Silverado, about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles in the Santa Ana Mountains. Richardson, an Alabama resident, had a cache of weapons in his car, including knives, brass knuckles, and a sword, police said. He was also reportedly in possession of several gun magazines. On Sept. 3 the Orange County District Attorney's office said in a press release that prior to driving from Alabama to the California abbey, Richardson sent an email "threatening to 'do the Lord's reaping'" at the church. The suspect also reportedly claim...