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National Catholic Register, Sep 10, 2025 / 11:25 am (CNA).

This year’s March for Life UK saw its largest-ever number of participants on Sept. 6, drawing together families and individuals from a diverse mix of backgrounds and nationalities as well as Catholic priests, religious, seven Catholic bishops and, for the first time, a message from the Holy Father.

Held in a festive atmosphere and under warm, sunny September skies, organizers estimated 10,000 participants took part in the 10th annual multidenominational Christian march, which began near Westminster Cathedral and ended close to the Houses of Parliament. 

A bagpipe player led the marchers through the meandering streets as placards and banners were held aloft that included messages such as “Human Rights Begin at Conception,” “Life From Conception No Exception,” and “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart.” 

Despite several unforeseen obstacles, including the suspension of the March for Life UK X account two days before the march, the event was widely viewed as a great success. 

“It’s been absolutely fantastic, by far the biggest march yet with amazing support in so many ways,” Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of March for Life UK, told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner. 

“We’ve seen not just a rise in numbers but more younger people, more religious leaders, more people from all spectrums, and people who have no religious beliefs. We’ve just seen it growing in every corner — it’s fantastic, really.” 

But Vaughan-Spruce was keen to stress that while the numbers are important, the march has become “much more” than that, and it involves the “beautiful, individual, and personal stories” that people bring to the event. 

“It’s so wonderful because ultimately those that come on this march are actually already living in this profound truth that human life is sacred,” said Bishop David Waller, ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. “And it’s not just about the unborn child; there are all sorts of issues in our society here, but if the unborn child isn’t sacred, then really everything falls from then on.”

Waller told the Register that many people at the march will have had abortions (according to statistics, 1 in 3 women in England will have had an abortion by the age of 45), but he stressed “it’s not about hating people who have turned to abortion, because their lives, too, are holy and sacred. It’s about the fundamental dignity of human life.”

Anti-life Parliament

This year’s march took place in the context of Britain facing one of its most anti-life Parliaments in history. In June, legislators in the House of Commons passed an assisted suicide bill and an amendment to a bill that removes criminal liability for women who end their own pregnancies at any gestational age, including up to birth. Both pieces of legislation must still pass other legislative stages before becoming law, but they both garner considerable support among political leaders and much of the British public. 

Asked about the legislation, Paul Malloy, a Catholic layman taking part in his fifth U.K. March for Life, said such legislation “surely is a horror” and that by basically making “doctors into killers, the future of our society is under threat.” 

Yet despite these threats and the increased participation in the March for Life, he said the march is “never referenced by the BBC” or other mainstream media outlets. 

“It’s all part of this silence that is drawn over this issue, and so the pretense continues that they’re not real lives, they’re not human lives, which the culture keeps saying louder and louder,” Malloy said. “But the reality, which we all know, is that human life from conception is a human life. 

“We’re here, as you can see, people of all ages, to actually show the reality,” he said.  

Father Martin Boland, a priest from the Diocese of Brentwood, northeast of London, was “very heartened” by the presence of so many young people at the march, which showed they are “reflecting more deeply on these life issues.” He expressed hope that in future years “more and more priests will feel confident inviting their parishioners” to join the march, as he had done. 

“If everybody, if every parish, was represented in the land, the numbers would really swell,” he told the Register. 

The march passed a small but vocal group of pro-abortion protesters, most wearing surgical masks. One of the masked protesters explained they were wearing them because they were “afraid of surveillance” and possibly also for “health reasons.”

The march concluded with various keynote speeches, including one from Oklahoma’s Josiah Presley, who shared a stirring testimony of how he had survived an attempted surgical abortion that left him with a deformed arm. 

Raised by loving adoptive parents, Presley was once filled with bitterness toward his biological parents who tried to have him aborted, but he shared how an encounter with Jesus Christ at 16 changed his life, reminding him of his “value and worth.” He urged the crowd not to stop speaking the truth but to act upon it.

Vaughan-Spruce urged those present to take a side on the issue of the unborn. “Priceless human beings or worthless bits of tissue — what do you believe and, more importantly, how will you respond?” she asked. “Parents, politicians, pastors, police, medics, lawyers, journalists, and every single person here must make that choice. These two worldviews cannot coexist. They can’t both be right. Pick your side, but remember what they say: The fence belongs to Satan.”

Human rights ‘in the dark’

The theme for the U.K.’s March for Life 2025 — “Human Rights for All Humans” — was the focus of impassioned talks and two panels of speakers that took place at an evangelical church hall just before the march got underway. 

Professor Philip Booth, who teaches at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham, London, reminded participants to pray for the unborn and for parents of unborn children in their parish, and for those mothers and fathers who have suffered from the miscarriage of their preborn child. He also invited the faithful to encourage women who have had miscarriages and perhaps ask them to give a talk in the parish. 

“If we are truly to change culture so that once again we think of an unborn baby as a human person, we must begin with our own practice, and we can do that in simple ways, and that can then really change the culture significantly,” he said. 

At a panel titled “Human Rights in the Dark: What Women Aren’t Told,” a woman named Natalia recounted how when pregnant in 2020 at age 19 she had visited an abortion center three times, each time too emotionally distraught to have an abortion, but on the third visit she was offered and accepted abortion pills (made legal in the U.K. in 2018) after it was suggested it might be easier. She later found support following the trauma of her abortion through the group Rachel’s Vineyard and is now the mother to a young child, whom she brought to the march.  

Suzanne, an American mother on the panel, was told by doctors when 22 weeks pregnant that her unborn baby had something chromosomally wrong with her, that the child would certainly not live, and that Suzanne’s life was threatened too. So doctors pressed her to have an abortion. Suzanne and her husband were opposed and, after her own mother told her daughter, “If there’s still a heartbeat, there’s hope,” Suzanne went against the doctors’ advice and kept her child. Rachel Mary was born at 26 weeks and is now a healthy young woman who was present in the audience. 

“Abortion is not health care, and doctors should never, ever utter the word abortion,” Suzanne fervently stressed to resounding applause. 

A second panel discussed the state of freedom of speech and association in the United Kingdom, the potential risk of persecution for pro-life advocacy online and in the workplace, and what Britain might look like should the Abortion Act of 1967 be overturned.

Pope Leo greets participants

In his message to the participants delivered through the apostolic nuncio, Pope Leo XIV sent his “greetings of good wishes” to the participants at “this significant event” and reiterated what he had told members of the diplomatic corps in May — that it is government leaders’ “responsibility to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies.” 

Above all, he said, this can be achieved “by investing in the family [and] respecting the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly.”

He closed by imparting his apostolic blessing “to all participating in the March for Life UK” and, through the intercession of the Mother of God, invoked “an abundance of divine graces.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

CNA Deutsch, Sep 10, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, stated in a recent interview that he “would not define morality — especially sexual morality — as narrowly as the Church does today.”

At the same time, the archbishop of Luxembourg and general relator of the multiyear Synod on Synodality under Pope Francis affirmed that “morality is essential. We cannot do without it.”

In conversation with the Austrian weekly Die Furche, he reflected on his role in the synod, shared insights on the recent conclave, and discussed the prospects for the Church in Europe.

Hollerich urged the Church to move beyond what he described as a backward-looking perspective: “Some look to the past with nostalgia, others with fear. Both are wrong. We are part of a history — this we must accept and learn from. But we must also move forward.”

Synod imagery: Tent vs. family

The Jesuit cardinal spoke in detail about his work on the Synod on Synodality. One concept that emerged during the process was “the image of a tent that needs to be expanded so that everyone can find space within it.” He said this image was “very well received by many” but “not at all in Africa.” There, people said, “a tent reminds us of refugee camps — we want to move beyond tents. In Africa, the preferred image was that of a family.”

Hollerich emphasized that Pope Francis had “insisted” on the participation of laypeople in what had originally been conceived by Pope Paul VI as a Synod of Bishops. “It was a controversial decision — some bishops didn’t like it. It was still a topic at the pre-conclave. But it did a lot of good for the overall atmosphere.”

Pope Leo XIV: ‘Continuity and discontinuity’

Regarding Pope Leo XIV, Hollerich sees “continuity in substance, discontinuity in form” when compared with Pope Francis, adding: “Every pope has his own personality.”

Shortly before his death, Pope Francis approved — while still in the hospital — a document that effectively extended the world synod process by nearly three and a half years by announcing an ecclesial assembly for 2028. Although Pope Leo XIV has since confirmed the plan, it remains unclear what exactly such an ecclesial assembly will entail.

Hollerich explained that such an assembly is “somewhat more flexible than a synod. Canon law dictates who may participate in a synod.” He continued: “I attended an ecclesial assembly in Latin America where participation was split as follows: 20% bishops, 20% priests and deacons, 20% religious, and 40% laypeople. That’s a good mix.”

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Pontifical University of Mexico (UPM by its Spanish acronym) began a new era with the appointment of Father Pedro Antonio Benítez Mestre as interim rector, a position he will hold for two years.

The UPM, which currently has nearly 400 students, is the only Catholic institution of higher education in Mexico dedicated to priestly, religious, and lay formation in disciplines such as theology, philosophy, canon law, and the humanities. It was established in 1982 by decree of the Congregation for Catholic Education as the successor to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, founded in 1551.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Benítez stated that every Catholic university, and especially a pontifical one with the purpose of forming the clergy as well as serving the laity, must have “a Christian identity,” meaning that its “source of theological and philosophical knowledge is revelation, these truths about Christ, about the Church, about humanity.”

A Catholic university must have “a clear missionary dimension, finding ways to pass on what it considers its treasure: its doctrinal, human, and spiritual heritage.”

He said the institution must also “enter the machinery of political and social discourse,” because a university that “does not seek to influence society would be sort of encapsulating itself in a kind of monastery. You can cultivate theology, law, but you are not seeking to impact society.”

The rector emphasized that one of his goals as head of the UPM is to make the institution “a benchmark for the transmission, creation, and research of Christian culture and evangelical values,” not only in Mexico but also throughout Latin America. 

Benítez said he was invited to assume leadership of the UPM by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, archbishop primate of Mexico and grand chancellor of the university.

At the time, he was serving as adjunct professor in the department of systematic theology at the University of Navarra in Spain. While the invitation was a surprise, he accepted the assignment as “a wonderful challenge to help consolidate the university’s strengths, initiatives, and potential.”

The priest became rector on Aug. 26 with the appointment approved by the Holy See’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, following the departure of Father Alberto Anguiano García.

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

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

After days of vacation this summer, many people have returned to their usual routines, leaving behind long, peaceful days and that feeling of freedom from schedules or obligations.

The return to school, the early-morning rush, and the many responsibilities of work and family life can sometimes lead to fatigue and even a certain melancholy.

However, this time also offers the opportunity to begin anew and embrace Christian joy and hope with faith.

Father Juan José Pérez-Soba, a diocesan priest and professor of family ministry at the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome, offered some reflections on the end of summer and the beginning of fall.

He told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that “our actions arise from the presence of the people we love and therefore create obligations in which we feel that our hearts are filled up.” 

The obligations of the first days of September can be experienced as “a call from the Lord that contains a promise, … encouraging us to walk with the certainty of counting on the presence of God, who is a source of life,” he noted. 

He said that joy and happiness arise when “we discover the true meaning of what we do.” This will depend on whether our desires “are well-oriented toward building a beautiful life.”

“We must know how to recognize this daily: Even if we end up tired because of what we have done, we are joyful because it was beautiful,” he emphasized.

During vacation, we tend to have more free time to pray, read, and even meditate. Asked whether it is also necessary to begin a prayer routine upon returning from summer vacation, the priest said that “routine entails psychological rest from an action repeated many times, which requires less effort.”

“As with all love, habits are formed that we rely on to grow; this is also good for prayer,” he added.

Pérez also noted the communal dimension of prayer: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst” (Mt 18:20). Thus, he emphasized that “praying as a family is vital.”

Prayer should be included “in small communal acts: meals, getting up from and going to bed; also in parties and celebrations as a spontaneous act of thanksgiving. In this way, we discover that it is the love of God that unites everything,” he added.

Living the present and the everyday as a gift

Regarding the tendency in our society to “postpone happiness“ for some future time without fully experiencing the gift of the present, the priest said that “not focusing on what we are doing but on what we have to do next is very exhausting because it makes us twice as tense.”

This, for Pérez, “comes from a results-oriented mentality of wanting to respond to demands and not knowing how to enjoy what we are experiencing, because it isn’t considered a gift.”

He said we should know “how to recognize that God gives great unity to our lives through the blessings we receive from him, which allow us to read our history through God’s eyes.” 

"Thus, the year, as in the liturgy, is not about 'repeating' what is necessary, but rather about celebrating God coming into our lives, a memorial that reveals the newness of love, which in every moment asks us for something original," he said.

The priest emphasized that "happiness does not consist in feeling good about doing something, but in understanding that we remain faithful on God's path, in which, as with the disciples at Emmaus, he sets our hearts on fire by explaining the Scriptures and breaking bread."

"This is the time of grace, which is not an empty time, but rather filled with a presence of love that reminds us of the past, that lives on promises, and that knows how to be grateful for present blessings," he explained.

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

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV explained that cries of pain, like those of Jesus in his final moments on the cross, instead of a sign of weakness, can express desire, surrender, and prayer.

A rainy morning in Rome prevented the Holy Father from spending much time greeting the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Aboard the popemobile, he toured the square amid applause and cheers, stopping to give his blessing, especially to children.

The pope dedicated his catechesis at the weekly audience, which began just over five minutes late, to reflecting on the value of crying.

“At times, what we are unable to say in words, we express with the voice,” Leo said. “When the heart is full, it cries. And this is not always a sign of weakness; it can be a profound act of humanity.”

Although we are accustomed to thinking of crying as something disorderly to be repressed, the Gospel gives our cry a value, reminding us it can be “an invocation, a protest, a desire, a surrender,” the pope said.

“It can even be the extreme form of prayer, when there are no words left,” he continued.

“One cries not out of desperation, but out of desire. Jesus did not cry out against the Father, but to him. Even in silence, he was convinced that the Father was there,” the pontiff said. “And, in this way, he showed us that our hope can cry out, even when all seems lost.”

A cry that manifests the greatest love

Addressing pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in protection against sporadic rain showers, Pope Leo meditated on the “culmination of Jesus’ life in this world: his death on the cross.”

Specifically, he highlighted an important detail worthy of faithful contemplation: That “on the cross, Jesus does not die in silence.”

The pontiff explained that after fulfilling his mission on earth, from the cross, “Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” For the Holy Father, “that cry contains everything: pain, abandonment, faith, offering. It is not only the voice of a body giving way, but the final sign of a life being surrendered.” 

He also recalled that the cry was preceded by a question, “one of the most heartrending that could be uttered: ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’”

Pope Leo XIV emphasized that, in that final moment, Jesus experiences silence, absence, and the abyss. However, according to the pontiff, “it is not a crisis of faith but the final stage of a love that is given up to the very end.”

“Jesus’ cry is not desperation, but sincerity, truth taken to the limit, trust that endures even when all is silent,” he emphasized.

He added that “it is there, in that broken man, that the greatest love manifests itself. It is there that we can recognize a God who does not remain distant but who traverses our pain to the very end.”

Jesus teaches us not to fear crying

The pope also explained that to cry can be a “spiritual gesture,” since it is often one’s first act after birth and a way to stay alive.

“One cries when one suffers, but also when one loves, one calls, one invokes. To cry out is saying who we are, that we do not want to fade away in silence, that we still have something to offer,” he added.

Leo invited those listening not to hold back their tears, because keeping everything inside “can slowly consume us.”

The pontiff insisted that “Jesus teaches us not to be afraid to cry out, as long as it is sincere, humble, addressed to the Father. A cry is never pointless if it is born of love.”

At the end of his message, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the faithful to learn from the Lord to give a “cry of hope when the hour of extreme trial comes.”

“Not to hurt, but to entrust ourselves. Not to shout at someone, but to open our hearts. If our cry is genuine, it can be the threshold of a new light, of a new birth,” he said.

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

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In conformity with the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese government, Joseph Wang Zhengui receives episcopal consecration, becoming the first bishop of the new diocese of Zhangjiakou, created two months ago by Pope Leo XIV.

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