Catholic News

Bishop Iyad Twal, Latin patriarchal vicar for Jordan and a member of the board of trustees of the Baptism Site Commission, recently affirmed that Jordan is "part of the Holy Land" and described 2030 — marking 2,000 years since Jesus' baptism in the Jordan — as an opportunity to strengthen the country's place on the Christian pilgrimage map.

In an interview with ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Twal said the holy sites of Jordan and Palestine are connected through a single spiritual journey and stressed that the goal is not competition among countries to attract pilgrims but rather a shared experience of faith in the Holy Land.

Twal said the Church views the Holy Land as the "geography of salvation." Its sacred sites, he explained, are not merely places to visit but spaces where the faithful can live out a spiritual experience and encounter the local Church.

He emphasized that tourism preparations, investments, and infrastructure development must not overshadow the spiritual dimension of the occasion. Development, he said, should serve the pilgrim's experience and help pilgrims live it fully rather than turn a holy site into merely a tourist destination.

Twal praised the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's response to the initiative for 2030 and its establishment of a high-level national committee chaired by the prime minister. He said cooperation among the state, the Church, the private sector, and relevant institutions could create a partnership that brings together the occasion's religious, humanitarian, and cultural dimensions.

He also explained that his relationship with the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ has evolved from the personal and spiritual experience of his episcopal consecration there in 2025 into a direct ecclesial responsibility focused on preserving the site's sacred character and serving pilgrims and visitors.

Twal described the local Church as the "living stones" of the Holy Land. He emphasized the importance of introducing pilgrims to the lives of its Christians through their families, young people, schools, and social and ecclesial institutions, enabling visitors to discover their experience of faith and their presence in society.

He said the occasion could also create new opportunities for development, particularly for young people, by advancing the hospitality, services, and religious tourism sectors and making use of technology. Such efforts, he noted, could generate employment and support local communities.

Twal called for reconnecting the region's holy sites within a single pilgrimage route. When circumstances permit, he said, pilgrims could travel through Egypt, Jordan, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth, allowing them to experience the "full journey."

He stressed that the "success of 2030" should not be measured solely by its celebrations but by what remains afterward in the life of the Church, pilgrimage, and the local community. He added that the occasion could mark the beginning of a journey extending to 2033 and the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Twal summarized the message he hopes pilgrims will carry home with the words: "Renew your baptismal promises." He called for each visit to be accompanied by a renewal of faith, an encounter with the local Church, and a deeper understanding of the experience of Arab Christians in the Holy Land.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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About 500 people gathered to pray in Corsica, a Mediterranean French island, on Oct. 1 after a statue of the Virgin Mary was torn from its pedestal and damaged during an obscene incident allegedly filmed and shared on social media.

The statue was found on the ground beneath a stone arch at a traffic circle near the southern entrance to the town of Porto-Vecchio. The statue belonged to the local parish, which filed a complaint along with the city, ICI RCFM reported.

Two seasonal hospitality workers, ages 21 and 24, were detained later that morning. According to a statement from the Ajaccio prosecutor's office reported by Corsican radio station Alta Frequenza, video footage showed one man hanging from the statue, miming a sexual act, and making lewd remarks while the other filmed.

The men are being prosecuted for jointly committing aggravated damage to the statue, to the detriment of the parish and the municipality, and for indecent exposure, Le Figaro reported. They remain presumed innocent and are due to appear before the Ajaccio Criminal Court on Nov. 16.

A court placed them under judicial supervision, ordered them not to return to Corsica, and required them to report regularly to police in their home departments. After an initial attempt to leave was disrupted, both men departed the island by air on Oct. 4, France 3 reported.

Prayer follows anger

Earlier on Oct. 1, more than 100 people gathered outside the gendarmerie following an appeal on social media. At 5:30 p.m., the parish called the community to pray at the traffic circle, drawing elected officials, families, young people, and firefighters in uniform, according to ICI RCFM.

Father Thibault Lambert, pastor of the Porto-Vecchio parish, said his anger and sadness had given way to "joy mixed with pride" at seeing residents united in their attachment to the Virgin Mary, the Church, and their heritage.

The Catholic Church in Corsica expressed support for the parish and said: "We pray for the conversion of those who damaged the image of Mary." It urged the community to recover "a path of serenity and peace" through the rosary on the first day of the month traditionally dedicated to the devotion, according to a diocesan statement.

Porto-Vecchio Mayor Jean-Christophe Angelini condemned what he called an "unspeakable act" and pledged to replace the statue as soon as possible, France 3 reported.

The Corsican Assembly unanimously adopted a motion condemning the "profanation and destruction" of the statue and expressing support for the parish, Porto-Vecchio residents, and the Catholic community.

Assembly President Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis said the attack had offended part of Corsica's common heritage and collective identity. In remarks to the Corsican Assembly, she also appealed for restraint, saying respect for what others hold sacred must be matched by responsibility and measure.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated, adapted, and updated by EWTN News English.

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Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to those affected in Gaza by the Israel-Palestine conflict amid new attacks.

The pontiff sent a message to Holy Family Church in Gaza, near the Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City, where Israeli airstrikes killed five civilians and wounded many others on Oct. 3. Among the victims, now buried, were two Orthodox women: Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud and her daughter, Mary Hafez Michel Najjar.

According to Vatican News, Leo addressed the message to Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Holy Family Church. Pope Francis also regularly wrote letters and made phone calls to Romanelli, expressing closeness to the parish and to Gaza victims until his death in 2025.

In his letter, Leo lamented the casualties among those affected by new airstrikes amid the continuation of the war.

"How long, O Lord?" Leo wrote in his letter.

"Since learning the painful news of the deaths of Maysa and Mary, I have been praying to God for them, for their families, and for the entire community of Gaza," he added. "Thank you for accompanying the parish and so many people who wish to live in peace."

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, also expressed his closeness to those affected by the recent attacks and his hope that hostilities will eventually end.

A profound relationship with Pope Francis

For approximately 19 months before his death, Francis maintained regular contact with Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip.

Romanelli recalled to EWTN News that on April 19, two days before dying on April 21, Francis made a phone call to Romanelli.

"He told us he was praying for us, blessed us, and thanked us for our prayers on his behalf," Romanelli said to EWTN News.

"We hope that his appeals won't be ignored: that the bombing will stop, that this war will end, that the hostages will be released, and that humanitarian aid will reach those who are suffering."

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A historic Catholic parish established in 1926 is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary on Oct. 18. Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Plateau, Alabama, has been serving the Catholic community in Africatown since its founding.

Africatown is a historic community located just north of Mobile, Alabama, founded by West African survivors of the Clotilda — the last known slave ship to illegally transport captive people to the United States. While Africatown is known for its major Baptist landmarks, the different denominations located in the area came together for an ecumenical event Sept. 22–24.

As part of the celebration leading up to the 100th anniversary — which will include a special Mass, music, food, and fellowship — the Archdiocese of Mobile hosted a tent revival in collaboration with all the churches of Africatown. The theme's revival was "Be Made Whole."

Father Victor Ingalls is the pastor of seven parishes in the Archdiocese of Mobile, a majority of which are historically Black Catholic churches, as well as one Hispanic church and another Native American church.

Ingalls explained in an interview with EWTN News that the Black Catholic community has a long tradition of holding revivals.

"It's really like having a Lenten mission or Advent mission, but kind of infused with Black culture … and it takes the best of Black culture and fuses it with the best of Catholicism," he said.

He pointed out that one of the staples of these revivals is that they have "always had an ecumenical flavor."

After hosting a successful revival earlier in the year, several non-Catholic ministers, who are friends of Ingalls', asked him when he was planning to host a revival in Mobile. He began to pray about it and met with those who suggested it to see what they could come up with. They suggested hosting it in Africatown seeing as Our Mother of Mercy Parish — located in Africatown — was coming up on its 100th anniversary.

Roughly 500 people of different denominations showed up for the tent revival in Africatown. In line with the theme, the first night's talks focused on being made whole as an individual, the second night covered being made whole as a community, and the last evening discussed being made whole as the body of Christ.

Ingalls said he believes ecumenical events like this are important for the Church today because they are a response to Jesus' prayer in John 17.

"I believe because of what Jesus Christ said, it is our disunity as Christians that keeps the world from believing," Ingalls said. "Our disunity is a condemnation against ourselves. We condemn ourselves and we undercut our efforts to try to spread the Gospel by being a dysfunctional family."

He added: "There's a reason why people don't take Christians seriously and it's because there's 40,000 different flavors of us. It's hard to take that seriously. It's like, 'Hey, come be a part of this.' They're like, 'Well, I've already got enough drama and dysfunction and division in my life, why would I want to be part of that?'"

Ingalls said he hopes those who attended the tent revival took with them that "it does not matter your circumstance as an individual or as part of any organization or even the Church, you can be made whole by Jesus Christ."

"Everyone loves to talk about how divided we are these days and how things are getting worse and people are so isolated and divided and depressed and anxious and we just addressed it and said, 'Well, we're trying to look at all these problems, but there's only one real solution and his name is Jesus Christ.'"

"It does not matter how messy your personal life is, it does not matter how messy your relationship with your family, your friends and your neighbors is … it is not beyond the reach of Jesus Christ," Ingalls emphasized. "He can make you whole. He can make us whole. And just the fact that nearly 500 people came and sat together under a tent in Africatown itself was a testimony to what God can do."

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The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE, by its Latin acronym) has reiterated its concerns over the possible deletion of baptismal records within the European Union. Their reaction follows the nonbinding opinion issued on Oct. 1 by Laila Medina, advocate general at the Court of Justice of the EU.

In her opinion regarding case C-12/25, "Bisdom Gent," (Diocese of Ghent) brought by a Belgian citizen who demanded that the Diocese of Ghent delete his baptismal data, Medina opened the door to the possibility that ecclesiastical archives could be required to erase the name of a baptized person who requests such removal after leaving the Church.

To date, the standard practice has been to make a marginal note recording the interested party's wish, without erasing the person's data.

In an Oct. 5 statement, COMECE noted that the ruling acknowledges that "the assessments required by the case are 'complex'" and, in several respects, "leaves room for the role of national courts" and also impinge upon "the relevance of Church autonomy and of its freedom of religion," as well as the importance to the Catholic Church of the "correct administration of the sacraments."

Concerns and questions

The representatives of the episcopal conferences to the EU emphasized that "several elements expressed in the opinion raise concerns and questions." In particular, the fact that it "rejects the solution of adding to the baptismal record a marginal annotation of the wishes of the relevant data subject."

For the Catholic Church, this stance represents a departure from the fact that "across diverse legal systems and state-church relations models — consistent national jurisprudence in the EU Member States has accepted this practice as an entirely adequate legal solution in case of erasure requests concerning baptismal registers."

"Erasing the name and surname of the baptized person from the record of a baptism entirely deprives the registration of the baptism, as such, of its meaning, value and purpose," COMECE added, noting: "This crucial aspect seems to have been neglected."

At the same time, COMECE criticized the ruling for also lacking an analysis of the impact of erasure "on the interests and rights of third parties" — referring to parents, godparents, or the priest administering the sacrament.

Furthermore, COMECE pointed out that the "considerations regarding the possible emotional distress that could result from retaining a person's data in a baptismal register are also unconvincing."

'Significant legal uncertainty'

In addition COMECE expressed concern that, "if confirmed, the orientation provided by the opinion may create significant legal uncertainty for ecclesiastical data controllers" in EU member states, a situation it described as "particularly serious" because such uncertainty "would strike at baptismal registers, which are a central pillar of the Church's internal functioning and organization, and are vital to enabling it to carry out its mission."

Furthermore, representatives of the European Union prelates point out that "to avoid misconstructions, it is important to highlight that no general or automatic right to erase data from baptismal records is recognized in the opinion."

Finally, COMECE recalled that Pope Leo XIV, in a recent speech delivered in Metz, France, cited Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), noting "that the principle of secularism governing the life of states also presupposes respect by national and European authorities for the autonomy of the Churches and the promotion of their freedom of organization, expression, and worship." 

In its statement, COMECE went on to look forward to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU on the case, trusting "that it will establish a more favorable line with regard to the protection of baptismal registers from erasure." The COMECE Legal Affairs Commission is also working to prepare a more in-depth position paper on the ruling.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Ricardo Seirutti has been removed from the office of auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Córdoba, Argentina, following a canonical process initiated due to "allegations made by two adults regarding conduct unbecoming of his episcopal ministry."

The archdiocese, headed by Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, made the announcement in an Oct. 2 statement. The judicial process was "ordered by the Holy See's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and conducted by the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Buenos Aires," the statement indicated.

According to the biography published by the Vatican Press Office, Seirutti, 70, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Córdoba in 1988 and was appointed auxiliary bishop of Córdoba by Pope Francis in 2015.

According to the Argentine archdiocese, the accusation filed by the two adults "led the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to order the process that concluded in recent weeks." The nature of the complaint was not disclosed.

The ruling that concluded the process prohibits Seirutti "from receiving formal appointments or new offices and from administering the sacrament of penance or reconciliation for a period of five years."

The prelate "retains the faculty to celebrate Mass and administer other sacraments, except for the one stipulated," the statement adds.

The Archdiocese of Córdoba concluded by offering its support to the affected persons" and renewed its commitment "to continue working so that all the actions of our particular Church are in accord with the Gospel."

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Bishop Matthieu Rougé of the Diocese of Nanterre, France, has condemned the "destructive" violence at student-led protests throughout the country and encouraged peaceful dialogue to address students' struggles and concerns.

Students began holding protests in late September, citing frustrations with education quality and a lack of funding and resources at schools. By early October, numerous protests became violent with arsons, lootings, and confrontations with police, leading to millions of dollars in damage and hundreds of injuries. More than 5,000 people have been arrested.

Rougé, who leads the French bishops' conference's Council for Catholic Education, told Vatican News that the violence reflects "the distress experienced by this generation of young people" in an Oct. 3 interview published by the Vatican-run news outlet.

"Violence expresses this distress: setting fire to some high schools, even newly built ones, manifests a destructive form of violence that cannot be condoned," Rougé said, adding that it expresses "an inner violence among some young people who have not found meaning in their lives."

The bishop said suffering is linked to the crisis of families, the climate crisis, the economic crisis, the social crisis, and the geopolitical crisis, "and so, consciously or unconsciously, these young people are afraid of the future; they do not see how it can also hold opportunities for them."

Rougé said young people sometimes do not express this distress, which then "manifests itself through violence." He said young people may not have "acquired sufficient maturity in language and self-expression to be able to express themselves in another way."

The demonstrations, he said, are still "a call to be even more attentive to our young people, including in Catholic schools," in which responsible adults can "help restore a sense of calm, creating spaces for listening and discussion, to accompany these young people."

Rougé said the Church calls for "peace," for "a different way for young people to express themselves," and for "listening to these young people." He said the public education system should prioritize "enabling young people to build a future for themselves and to receive a rich education that will allow them to move forward in life."

In the interview, the bishop also noted that Pope Leo XIV addressed young people in France, encouraging them to have "the courage to live out responsibly the mission of building peace."

"The Holy Father called young people to true freedom, the freedom that Christ gives," Rougé said. "And to these young people, some of whom also come from social environments that have not been given sufficient recognition, he opened up a sense of purpose for their lives — the path of true freedom."

Father Christophe Danset, the bishops' conference's national delegate for youth ministry, told the Italian Catholic news outlet AgenSIR the violence expressed through these protests paints a very different image than the celebratory gatherings that marked the pope's visit to the country late last month.

"The beauty of that gathering and the violence of this week are two sides of the same reality of French youth: on the one hand, a genuine thirst, and on the other, a human and spiritual crisis," he said in an Oct. 2 article.

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The Archdiocese of St. Louis is challenging an immigration detention center's visitation policies it says prevent Catholic detainees from receiving the sacraments, after a jail official suggested "clergy pass communion in a plastic bag to a prison guard who could then deliver it to the detainee."

The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 5 by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and Father Christopher Schroeder of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, claims that Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center's no-contact policy bars clergy from ministering to detainees while making exceptions to the rule for nonreligious visitors.

The archdiocese said in an Oct. 5 press release and in the filing that it had asked the facility to accommodate clergy seeking to provide sacraments to detainees but that facility officials refused to do so. "That refusal is troubling, given that other individuals—including lawyers and consular officials—are permitted to visit detained individuals under much more permissive circumstances," the archdiocese said in the release.

Ste. Genevieve Detention Center houses about 150 immigration detainees and has held about 3,000 detainees, including one who died in the facility, since it began contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in mid-2025, according to the filing. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the federal Cabinet department that oversees ICE, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

"The first and only time any jail official has proposed any accommodation for religious exercise was in response to a reporter," the archdiocese said, which culminated in a suggestion from Maj. Jason Schott, who oversees the day-to-day operation of the jail, that clergy deliver Communion to detainees in a plastic bag by prison guards.

"This is no accommodation at all," the filing states. "Because the celebration of communion is a central piece of the Catholic faith, and because the transubstantiation that occurs in this sacrament involves the real presence of Christ, the Catholic faith imposes strict rules on how communion may be administered. Communion may only be administered by a minister specifically appointed for the purpose."

A person must be authorized to distribute Communion according to the norms of the diocese and the parish, ordinarily after suitable formation and commissioning by the pastor or bishop. While the Eucharist belongs to the whole Church, its distribution is carried out according to the Church's sacramental and hierarchical order.

The archdiocese said the facility's "scant defense" for its policies cited concerns for "safety and security risks" and that "priests might smuggle 'contraband' to the detainee.'"

"Schott does not explain how the host, which as consecrated is the body of Christ—the very thing priests want to 'pass to detainees'—could be contraband," the filing states.

The archdiocese also claimed priests have been barred from accessing the facility during the traditional four-hour window for visitation on Sundays and that "the jail allows clergy to visit only for a 4-hour window on Mondays."

"The Catholic Church does not seek special treatment," the archdiocese said in the release. "But only requests the same access as these other groups which, if provided, would allow clergy to offer the Catholic sacraments detainees desperately want." 

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An upcoming publication titled "The Private Diary of Pope Francis" promises a rare look into the inner spiritual life of the late pontiff. Announced on Monday and scheduled for publication on Nov. 24, the volume compiles intimate reflections, prayers, and personal notes, offering a window into his quiet moments of discernment.

Edited with commentary by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the project gathers material meant to be shared posthumously.

This is not the late pope's first foray into personal literature; he previously released "Hope," becoming the first living pope to publish an autobiography.

Known for his accessibility to journalists, Francis gave more than 70 book-length interviews during his pontificate, making this new collection an intriguing counterpart to his public voice.

The publication follows in the footsteps of St. John XXIII, whose spiritual diary was famously published posthumously as "Journal of a Soul." Similarly to that classic work, Francis' diary captures his deeply human side — revealing how he navigated trials, carried the burdens of leadership, and sought God in daily silence.

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NAIROBI, Kenya — Fifteen pilgrims from Kenya's Archdiocese of Mombasa who were heading to Subukia National Marian Shrine in the Diocese of Nakuru died on Saturday in a road accident.

The Mombasa Archdiocese announced the news on Saturday, Oct. 3, that pilgrims from St. Mathias Mulumba Mikindani Parish had died in a car crash in the small town of Salama, about a six-hour drive from the shrine.

The message from the office of the archbishop read: "We are saddened with lots of grief to announce the untimely passing on of [15] pilgrims from St. Mathias Mulumba, Mikindani, in an accident that occurred at Salama. The pilgrims were on their way to the National Shrine, Subukia, for the National Prayer Day."

The statement from the office of Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde continued: "Let us pray for the repose of their souls as we pray for their families, St. Mathias Mulumba Parish and the Archdiocese as a whole, so that we may find solace and consolation in the Lord."

In his opening address at the prayer event, the chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, expressed the closeness of KCCB members with the Mombasa Archdiocese following the tragedy.

Muhatia also clarified that 15 people died, and not 17 as had earlier been reported by the archdiocese.

Welcoming participants to the event, the KCCB chairman said: "We remember in a special way other pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Mombasa who were headed here, but could not arrive due to a road accident. I express personal condolences and the solidarity of the Bishops' Conference to Archbishop Martin Kivuva and Archbishop Dominic Kimengich for the loss of 15 pilgrims who were headed here."

Muhatia added: "All of them were from one parish and all of them perished in the accident."

The bishop of the Kisumu Archdiocese read out the names of the pilgrims who died and prayed for the repose of their souls.

The tragedy has been described as a major blow to the Kenyan archdiocese, which also lost a pilgrim during the 2025 National Prayer Day at the shrine. Marcella Mueni collapsed and died while she was getting ready for Mass. She was among more than 9,000 pilgrims who traveled from Mombasa for the annual spiritual gathering.

The 2026 National Prayer Day is being celebrated under the theme "Blessed Are the Peacemakers." According to the KCCB, the theme is an invitation to the faithful to embrace their responsibility as agents of peace in their families, communities, and the country.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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