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Vatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 11:24 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV at his general audience on Wednesday said sadness and disappointments can give rise to unexpected joys and hope when one discovers that Christ “walks with us and for us” in life.   

Continuing his jubilee catechesis on “Jesus Christ Our Hope” in a rain-soaked St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father said the mystery of Christ’s resurrection can “change one’s outlook on the world,” especially in times when one experiences a “paralysis of the soul.”

“It is the Risen One who radically changes our perspective, instilling the hope that fills the void of sadness,” he said in his Oct. 22 catechesis.

“On the paths of the heart, the Risen One walks with us and for us. He bears witness to the defeat of death and affirms the victory of life, despite the darkness of Calvary,” he continued.

In his reflection on the two disciples of Emmaus who had left “behind the hopes they held in Jesus” after his crucifixion and death, the Holy Father said the Gospel passage recorded by St. Luke can “be a gentle reminder to us when the going gets tough.”

“History still has much goodness to hope for,” he said.

Addressing thousands of pilgrims donning raincoats and holding umbrellas in St. Peter’s Square and the Via della Conciliazione, the pope said sadness, which he described as one of the “malaises of our time,” can be healed when one is able to recognize the presence of the risen Christ in our lives.

“Intrusive and widespread, sadness accompanies the days of many people,” he said. “It is a feeling of precariousness, at times profound desperation, which invades one’s inner space and seems to prevail over any impetus to joy.”

“Sadness robs life of meaning and vigor, turning it into a directionless and meaningless journey,” he added.

Noting that Christians can at times have “sadness clouds their gaze,” Leo said Jesus can rekindle their hearts with the “warmth of hope,” like what he had done through a gentle, humble, and hidden way for his two followers from Emmaus.

Toward the end of his Wednesday audience, the Holy Father urged Christians, particularly families, to be “missionaries of the Gospel” and to offer their support to those who dedicate their lives to the service of evangelization.

“Dear friends, the month of October invites us to renew our active cooperation in the Church’s mission with the strength of prayer, with the potential of married life, and with the youthful energy that is yours,” he said.

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 10:54 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and an organization of Vatican-accredited journalists have spoken out in support of a free press after the recent attacks on two journalists in Italy.

In a statement released Tuesday, the International Association of Journalists Accredited to the Vatican (AIGAV) condemned last week’s assault on Venezuelan Vatican journalist Edgar Beltrán by businessman Ricardo Cisneros, a member of the Venezuelan government delegation present in Rome for the Oct. 19 canonization of two Venezuelan saints.

During an Oct. 17 event at the Vatican-connected Lateran University in Rome, Beltrán’s interview with the Vatican’s substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Robinson Peña Parra, was forcibly interrupted by Cisneros after the prelate was asked about the Maduro government’s “apparent politicization” of the canonizations, according to Catholic news outlet The Pillar.

In its statement, AIGAV condemned “this act of violence against a fellow journalist who was simply doing his job.” 

“The recent incident, which occurred during an official reception attended by various civil and ecclesiastical representatives, confirms the need to continue supporting the free gathering of news. We therefore call upon all individuals and competent authorities to defend and promote this freedom,” it continued.

The statement was sent to event organizers — the Pontifical Lateran University and the Archdiocese of Caracas — and to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.

The Holy See has not yet issued an official comment on the incident. However, several Vatican-accredited correspondents expressed their concern over what they consider a serious and unprecedented event in an environment generally characterized by respect and open reporting.

Parolin also weighed in on the issue on the sidelines of a Rome event promoting religious freedom Oct. 21.

Asked about the recent violent intimidation on Italian journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, host of the investigative TV program “Report,” he said: “We are increasingly at risk of living in a climate of intolerance where free expression is no longer accepted.”

“It is a source of great concern that acts of intimidation against the press may occur,” Parolin added, expressing his solidarity with the journalist, who was threatened when bombs exploded on his car outside his home on the evening of Oct. 16.

“I’m truly concerned; I express my sympathy to anyone who has been the target of this intimidation. We want everyone to be able to express their point of view without falling victim to this type of threat,” the cardinal added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:

Catholic college graduates leading in purpose, belonging, financial stability, report says

Graduates of Catholic colleges and universities are outperforming other students in purpose and belonging and are reporting higher levels of mental health and financial stability, a report has found. 

Students from Catholic institutions of higher education are 7% more likely to view their careers as meaningful, 14% more likely to report a strong sense of belonging, and 17% more likely to say they are satisfied with their mental health, according to this year’s Holistic Impact Report.

The annual report is published by the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University (San Antonio) in partnership with YouGov. 

The report also found that Catholic university graduates are more than 50% more likely to say their education encouraged them to engage in faith-based conversations and 12% more likely to say their courses promoted dialogue across differing perspectives. 

“Higher education has been disrupted by political battles and financial pressures,” stated Jason King, the Beirne director and chair of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University. 

But “Catholic higher education does not appear to be caught in those tides,” he said.

“With two years of data, we can see that it continues to form graduates for meaningful lives, community engagement, and ethical decision-making. And, because of this focus, it also supports graduates’ mental, financial, and social well-being.”

Los Angeles-area school aims to ‘raise’ 1 million prayers by All Saints’ Day 

A Catholic school in California is leading an initiative to “raise” 1 million prayers by All Saints’ Day. 

“This special initiative began on the eve of the canonizations of St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, two modern witnesses who remind us that holiness is possible for everyone, especially the young,” St. Joseph School explained in a Facebook post on Oct. 3.

“Inspired by their example, our students, families, and faculty have already prayed more than 150,000 prayers… and we’re just getting started!” the school said.

“During this month of the holy rosary,” the school continued, “we are dedicating ourselves to praying the rosary together each day as a school community. Families are also recording their prayers at home; rosaries, Masses, traditional devotions, and personal prayers spoken from the heart.” 

Three schools — Epiphany Catholic School in South El Monte, St. Anthony School in San Gabriel, and Santa Clara Elementary School in Oxnard — have also joined the initiative, according to the school.

San Antonio Catholic schools to start accepting education saving accounts 

The Archdiocese of San Antonio says its Catholic schools will now officially accept tuition from the Texas education savings account (ESA) program. 

“Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio are strongly promoting and participating in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which provides funds for tuition at Catholic schools,” the archdiocese said in a statement to local media.

Under the program, students at Catholic schools will be able to receive $10,000 to cover tuition costs that will be placed in a savings account, providing increased flexibility to parents. 

Inga Cotton, the founder and executive director of the San Antonio-based School Discovery Network, told media: “Catholic schools are some of the most affordable private schools in our region.” 

She added that for “so many of them, the annual tuition is already below what the ESA will cover. It makes it more affordable for families.”

“Across the archdiocese, schools are preparing to welcome many new families through the launch of this effort,” the archdiocese said.

The legislation “was the result of hard work from many people through the years, who have been consistently advocating to give parents a true choice in education for their children.”

Pennsylvania diocese: State tax policy allows major break for donating to Catholic schools

The Diocese of Pittsburgh is encouraging residents to take advantage of the state’s tax policy, which grants major tax breaks to those who donate to Catholic schools. 

“The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is making it easier than ever for individuals and businesses to transform their Pennsylvania state tax dollars into tuition assistance for Catholic school students, at no additional cost to them,” the diocese said in a statement this month. 

“When you participate, you’re transforming lives,” Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman said. “Every dollar given through this program helps open doors to a Catholic education that forms hearts, minds, and futures. It’s one of the simplest and most powerful ways to make a lasting difference for our children and our Church.”

According to the diocese, the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit programs enable participants to receive a 90% state tax credit when they contribute to the diocese’s approved scholarship fund. 

The diocese has launched an online resource that offers step-by-step instructions on how to participate.

Vatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 09:07 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will name St. John Henry Newman a patron saint of Catholic education in a document to be published on Oct. 28 for the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on Christian education.

The Holy Father will designate Newman as an official co-patron saint of education, together with St. Thomas Aquinas, during the Vatican’s Jubilee of the World of Education from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, which is expected to draw 20,000 pilgrims.

The saint will also be declared the 38th doctor of the Church by Leo at the jubilee’s closing Mass on Nov. 1, the solemnity of All Saints. 

Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, announced the upcoming designation during an Oct. 22 press conference.

Newman, de Mendonça said, is an “extraordinary educator and great inspiration for the philosophy of education.”

The pope will also publish a document on Oct. 28 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis.

Leo’s document will “reflect on the topicality of the declaration and on the challenges that education must confront today, in particular the Catholic schools and universities,” de Mendonça said.

Gravissiumum Educationis, the cardinal said, is a “fundamental document with a strong impact on the contemporary vision of education. The document had a fundamental role in and outside of the Church, and it should be recognized.”

In addition to reaffirming the universal right to education, the Vatican II declaration marked “an important change in the language, that is, the mentality, for speaking about school, not in terms of institutions but rather in terms of educational communities,” he added.

The cardinal quoted at length from the pope’s document to be published Oct. 28, which says that Gravissimum Educationis “has lost none of its bite” since its publication. 

“Since its reception, a constellation of works and charisms has been born ... a spiritual and pedagogical heritage capable of crossing the 21st century and responding to the most pressing challenges,” the pope says in the document.

“This heritage is not set in stone: It is a compass that continues to point the way,” Leo says. “Today’s expectations are no less than those the Church faced 60 years ago. Indeed, they have expanded and become more complex. ... History challenges us with new urgency. Rapid and profound changes expose children, adolescents, and young people to unprecedented fragility. It is not enough to preserve: We must relaunch.” 

“I ask all educational institutions to inaugurate a season that speaks to the hearts of the new generations, recomposing knowledge and meaning, competence and responsibility, faith and life.”

According to the latest Vatican statistics shared at the Oct. 22 press conference, there are 230,000 Catholic universities and schools present across 171 countries, serving almost 72 million students.

Vancouver, Canada, Oct 22, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A new report from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy warns that removing the “advancement of religion” from Canada’s list of recognized charitable purposes could have far-reaching social and financial consequences for churches and other faith-based organizations.

The 38-page report, “Revoking the Charitable Status for the Advancement of Religion: A Critical Assessment,” by senior fellow Pierre Gilbert, responds to a December 2024 recommendation from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to amend the Income Tax Act and eliminate the long-standing charitable category.

If adopted, the recommendation in the committee’s pre-budget report could strip churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues of charitable status — ending their ability to issue tax-deductible receipts and, in many cases, their income-tax exemptions. Gilbert warns that the change could also trigger a one-time revocation tax equal to most of their assets, effectively “wiping out what they own.”

“The committee’s recommendation, driven by lobbying from the BC Humanist Association, represents a direct threat to religious freedom and the vital role faith communities play in Canadian society,” Gilbert said.

He cites research estimating that religious organizations contribute about $16.5 billion annually to Canada through education, social services, community programs, and cultural activities. The report argues that revoking charitable status would be “fiscally shortsighted and socially destructive.”

Gilbert traces charitable status for religion to English common law and the 1601 Statute of Charitable Uses, noting that Canada inherited this framework. He outlines how churches historically provided education, health care, and welfare long before the modern state assumed those roles, and says the decline of church influence has paralleled the rise of secularism in public life.

The report describes the finance committee’s proposal as part of a broader movement among secular and humanist groups seeking to eliminate tax benefits for religious institutions. It notes that the BC Humanist Association, which supports ending property tax exemptions for places of worship, is itself a registered charity.

Gilbert estimates that eliminating charitable status for religion would yield between $1.7 billion and $3.2 billion annually in federal revenue but warns this “low-hanging fruit” would come at the cost of social cohesion and community support networks.

He argues that congregations’ economic “halo effect” — the measurable community benefit of their programs and facilities — outweighs foregone tax revenue roughly tenfold. Faith groups also risk a 100% revocation tax under existing Income Tax Act provisions unless their assets are transferred to another registered charity within a year.

Father Deacon Andrew Bennett, an ordained deacon in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada and director of faith community engagement at Cardus, echoed those warnings in a Sept. 11 Financial Post commentary that begins: “When Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne introduces his federal budget this fall, there’s at least one item he should leave out: eliminating the ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose.”

Bennett noted that about 38% of Canadian charities are registered under the advancement-of-religion category and that removing it would have “significant sector-wide implications.”

“Atheist activists have long sought to eliminate charities’ ability to issue tax receipts to donors if their primary purpose is the advancement of religion,” Bennett wrote. “Minister Champagne should reject the idea explicitly.”

Faith communities, he said, clearly serve the common good — providing both spiritual and material support “from birth to death.” 

Research cited by Cardus links participation in religious communities with lower social isolation, reduced mortality, and improved quality of life.

“Faith-based charities have never been the initiative of the state but rather the initiative of religious people who sought to improve their and their neighbors’ lives,” Bennett wrote. “These Canadians do not undertake this work for the good of their own faith group but for the good of all.”

He added that Canada’s intricate network of faith-based charities could never be replaced by government. “The state could not fill that void, given the breadth and depth of these charities’ activities, nor could it do so as efficiently and effectively as these charities do,” he said.

“For the good of all Canadians,” he said, “the advancement of religion should remain a charitable purpose.”

The Frontier Centre report is urging churches to prepare for potential legislative changes by educating members, engaging in advocacy, and reaffirming their public mission. It recommends collaboration with organizations such as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities, and the Christian Legal Fellowship to defend the current legal framework.

Gilbert said churches must “reclaim their prophetic mission” and respond boldly to cultural and political challenges. “Only by embracing such audacious action,” he writes, “can the church restore its status as an important and relevant institution within Canadian society.”

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

Plymouth, England, Oct 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Nicholas Hudson, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, as the next bishop of Plymouth, England.

The news comes after the installation of a bishop in the Diocese of Plymouth was twice deferred last year. Canon Christopher Whitehead was due to be installed as the bishop of Plymouth on Feb. 22, 2024, but a diocesan statement suddenly announced on Feb. 1 that it was canceled, explaining that “a canonical process” had been started and that Whitehead had stepped back from active ministry. 

In September 2024, Pope Francis appointed Philip Moger as Plymouth’s new bishop, but a “delay” to his installation was suddenly announced just days before it was due to take place on Nov. 9.

Now Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday announced that Hudson, who was named by Pope Francis as a papal nominee to the Synod on Synodality, will take charge of the Diocese of Plymouth, which serves the Catholic community across Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset in the southwest of England.

Aware of the previous delays and the long wait endured by his new diocese, Hudson said: “I am aware how long the clergy, religious, and laity of Plymouth Diocese have waited for a bishop.” 

Referring to his links with the Synod on Synodality, Hudson added: “I come with a desire to listen and to learn. I hope we can apply all the strengths of synodality to discern together ways to deepen the diocese’s outreach, mission, and presence to the people of Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset.”

Hudson, 66, has served the Archdiocese of Westminster as an auxiliary bishop since 2014 while also serving as rector of the Venerable English College in Rome. In 2024, he was elected as episcopal secretary for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

The news has been welcomed by the Diocese of Plymouth. 

Speaking to CNA, Plymouth’s diocesan administrator, Canon Paul Cummins, said: “It’s fantastic news. It’s so good that we have a bishop. We needed that. We do need a pastor with vision, with energy, who can shepherd the flock in a way that only a bishop can.”

Cummins, who has served as administrator for three years, highlighted Hudson’s prayerfulness as a key element of his new ministry, saying: “He’s a really good man. He seems to me to be very much a man of prayer. The first thing he did was come to the cathedral [and kneel before] the Blessed Sacrament.”

Pinpointing Hudson’s links with synodality, Cummins added: “Synodality is about listening. It’s such a vital part now of Church teaching. My hope is that he can … deepen our synodality.”

One parishioner, who did not want to be identified by name, shared her joy at the news, telling CNA: “I was in a meeting when we heard the news and we all cheered. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new bishop.”

“We have been praying for such a long time, so this is a great answer to prayers,” she said.

Within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Hudson serves as chair of the Department for International Affairs and is also moderator of the Holy Land Coordination Group. The Bishops’ Conference paid tribute to Hudson’s skills for the new appointment.   

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said: “Bishop Hudson will serve the Diocese of Plymouth with great generosity and sensitivity, bringing to that leadership his wide experience of the Church both at home and abroad.”

Archbishop John Wilson, the metropolitan archbishop of Southwark, where Hudson was ordained in 1986, said: “Bishop Nicholas brings great experience as a former priest of the Archdiocese of Southwark, rector of the Venerable English College in Rome, and auxiliary bishop in Westminster. His personal gifts and passion for sharing the Gospel of Christ will bring encouragement to the clergy, consecrated religious, and lay faithful of the Church in Plymouth.”

Hudson will be installed on Nov. 29 at the Cathedral Church of St. Mary and St. Boniface in Plymouth.

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