The World

Armed group kills 22 people at christening in Niger

Gunmen linked to jihadist groups massacred dozens of villagers gathered for a baptism in Niger.

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 19, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes
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At least 22 people were killed on Monday, September 15, in an attack by gunmen on motorcycles on a christening ceremony in western Niger, residents and international media reported. The assault took place in the village of Takoubat in the Tillabéri region, an area bordering Burkina Faso and Mali where jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State operate.

According to witnesses quoted by AFP and EFE, the attackers opened fire on the baptism attendees, killing 15 people, and then killed seven others in the vicinity of the village. "While people were celebrating a baptism ceremony, armed men opened fire, sowing death and terror," Maikoul Zodi, a local civil rights activist, denounced on social networks.

The Nigerian Defense and Security Forces (FDS) deployed in the area launched a manhunt operation to try to capture those responsible. The authorities have confirmed the attack, but have not yet published an official death toll.

The assault comes just six days after an ambush in which fourteen Nigerian soldiers were killed in the same region while pursuing a group of armed men stealing cattle. Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch have denounced that since March armed groups have intensified their attacks, killing at least 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers; in addition, homes have been looted and burned.

Niger, ruled since July 2023 by a military junta following the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, is experiencing spiraling violence in the Sahel. Despite the junta's promise to restore security, attacks against civilians and security forces continue to increase.

A pro-democracy coalition launched this month in Niamey criticized the "failure" of the military authorities to curb insecurity and demanded free elections and an end to restrictions on political parties and trade unions.

The Tillabéri region has become one of the epicenters of this violence, with indiscriminate attacks that have left rural communities in fear, displacement and loss of livelihoods.

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  • Focus
  • Evangelization
  • St. Gennaro, venerated in Naples for his blood, and protector before Vesuvius
Evangelization

St. Gennaro, venerated in Naples for his blood, and protector before Vesuvius

Bishop and martyr of the third century, the blood of St. Gennaro is liquefied three times a year in Naples. On the first Saturday of May; on September 19 (liturgical memory of the saint and date of his martyrdom) and on December 16, when the eruption of Vesuvius is commemorated, blocked after the invocation to St. Gennaro.

Francisco Otamendi-September 19, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Born in Naples, or perhaps in Benevento, in the second half of the third century, Gennaro was bishop of the city at the age of thirty. There he was loved and respected by all, including the pagans, for his charitable works. But in 303 the Christians became the enemy, and his martyrdom took place, along with six other Christians, in Pozzuoli. It was the time of Emperor Diocletian.

At the death of Gennaro (with G or with J), as was the custom during the execution of the martyrs, a woman, Eusebia, collected in two ampoules the blood shed by the bishop, already in the odor of sanctity. She gave them to the bishop of Naples, who had two chapels built in honor of the relics, according to the Vatican agency. The veneration of the saint spread and he was canonized by Sixtus V in 1586. In the newsits feast day is celebrated in Naples, in New York (Little Italy)and many other places.

Blood liquefies three times a year

As for the blood relic, it was first exposed in 1305. But the miracle of it acquiring the liquid state and appearing to be boiling, occurred for the first time on August 17, 1389, after a severe famine. 

Today the miracle is repeated three times a year. On the first Saturday of May, in memory of the first transfer. On September 19, in liturgical memory of the saint and the date of his martyrdom. And on December 16, in commemoration of the terrible eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, blocked after the invocation of the saint.

The two vials are kept in a case in the Chapel of St. Gennaro in the Cathedral of Naples. The Neapolitan archbishop said that "every drop of this blood speaks to us of God's love".

The liturgy today also celebrates Saints Francisco María de Camporosso, Alonso de Orozco, Carlos Hyon Song-mun, María de Cervelló and Teodoro de Canterbury, among others.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Education

5 tips to survive the beginning of the school year

At the beginning of the school year it is often difficult to get into the routine, but it is the ideal time to get organized and strengthen family life. Javier Segura gives 5 tips for this purpose.

Javier Segura-September 19, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated News"We have to be creative in reaching out to those outside the Church."Related News"Work is essential in human life and is the path to sanctification."Related NewsPablo López: "Anyone who evangelizes in networks sees the disproportion between their work and the fruits that are produced".

Now that we have landed in the new school year and we start again with the routine, it may be a good time to consider some educational lines that we can address this year. They go along the lines of good planning and not letting events decide for us.

1. It helps to plan well your children's activities and study. A good schedule helps to organize life. Check with them that it is a balanced schedule, in which are also included their times for sports, expansion, cultivation of skills, spiritual life, initiatives of dedication to others...  

2. Don't fill everything with extracurricular activities. Leave space for your children to play freely. This is also educational. It generates bonds with other peers, facilitates new experiences, develops their creativity. Children need free spaces to grow and mature.

3. Make a resolution as a family on how you are going to use your cell phone less. We need to reclaim our space! And this, as you know, is not just a matter for teenagers. We adults are also hooked and need some offline time. Plan it and don't leave it alone in the drawer of good intentions.

4. Propose to go on excursions as a family to interesting places, mainly in nature. I assure you that it is better than spending a weekend afternoon in a big shopping mall, there are so many beautiful places to discover! It is a bath of culture, nature, knowledge of our land... as well as a time of great quality family togetherness.

5. Dine whenever you can with your children as a family to be able to tell you (and listen) what happened to them during the day. I'm sure you learn a lot of things and it facilitates communication for the future. It should be a sacred time for everyone in the family.

As you can see, these are simple tips, but I assure you that if you put them into practice and plan them now that the school year is starting, wonderful things will happen in your family.

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RelatedRelated News"We have to be creative in reaching out to those outside the Church."Related News"Work is essential in human life and is the path to sanctification."Related NewsPablo López: "Anyone who evangelizes in networks sees the disproportion between their work and the fruits that are produced".
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Cinema

The fictional work "The Cardinal" and parallels with Pope Leo XIV

The novel and film 'The Cardinal' depicts the life of an American priest whose story resonates with that of the current Pope Leo XIV.

Onésimo Díaz-September 19, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes
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In the last few months we have all heard about Cardinal Robert Prevost, a high church hierarchy of American origin, recently elected pontiff who chose the name Leo XIV. What many people do not know is that before Cardinal Prevost there was a movie, based on a novel, which had as its protagonist a cardinal who was also American. 

In my book History, Culture and Christianity (1870-2020). An account through ten novels and their film adaptations.I dedicate a space to reflect on the relationship between religion, literature and cinema, highlighting some examples where Christianity becomes the narrative axis of modern works. Within this analysis, the novel The Cardinal (1950) by the American Henry Morton Robinson and the subsequent film adaptation directed by the Jewish Otto Preminger in 1963 occupy an important place.

The novel

The novel The Cardinalpublished in 1950, focuses on the life and spiritual trajectory of Stephen Fermoyle, a Catholic priest who progressively rises through the ecclesiastical career to the cardinalate. Robinson, who extensively documented the lives of ecclesiastical figures of his time (according to some authors it seems that he was partially inspired by the life of the Archbishop of New York, Francis Joseph Spellman), presents a story that intertwines personal dilemmas, political tensions and the pastoral mission of the Church in a context marked by wars, totalitarianism and social crises. The work had a great editorial impact because it brought the reading public closer to the interior and exterior life of a priest in dialogue with the problems of the 20th century.

This novel, which the magazine Time chosen as "the most popular book of the year", must be understood within the literary tradition of Catholicism in the Anglo-Saxon sphere, where authors such as Graham Greene or Evelyn Waugh also explored the tension between faith and the modern world. In this case, Robinson opts for a more institutional approach, showing the priest as a public figure facing decisions of enormous historical repercussion. In doing so, the work becomes a testimony of how the Catholic Church sought to maintain its relevance in a convulsive era.

The movie

The film directed by Otto Preminger in 1963, inspired by the novel, takes up much of this content, but presents it in Hollywood's own cinematic language. The film, starring Tom Tryon (Stephen Fermoyle), narrates his priestly training, his personal conflicts and his responsibilities in a world shaken by Nazism, racism and social transformations. Preminger, known for tackling controversial issues, uses the story to raise questions of justice, moral conscience and religious commitment.

The film has a double cultural value. On the one hand, it reflects how the American film industry of the mid-twentieth century could approach Catholic themes with seriousness, showing the priest as a complex protagonist, far from stereotypes. On the other hand, it functions as a window to understand how the Church was perceived in a context marked by the Cold War and the Second Vatican Council, which began precisely at the time of the film's release, with Pope John XXIII and later with Paul VI. 

Parallelisms

The pedagogical dimension of these works is noteworthy. Both the novel and the film give the general public a glimpse of the challenges a priest faces in trying to live his vocation coherently amid external pressures. The protagonist must constantly discern between ecclesial obedience, fidelity to his conscience and social commitment, a theme that connects directly to the reflection on the role of cardinals in the history of the Church. There is a hard moment in the story when the protagonist meets a young, intelligent and beautiful woman (played by Romy Schneider), and considers leaving the priesthood, giving himself a few months of trial in which he teaches English in a Viennese educational institution, when the Nazis were about to control Austria. But he reacts and decides to go ahead with his priestly vocation. Preminger portrays these vicissitudes, in which the clergyman came out of it well.

In conclusion, The Cardinal -both in its literary version and in its film adaptation- is a clear example of how modern culture has represented the ecclesiastical figure as a mediator between faith and the world. By addressing issues of power, morality and spirituality, these works show the relevance of Christianity as a cultural and narrative theme in the twentieth century. In addition, The Cardinal presents some parallels with the life of the current pope: coming from a deeply Catholic American family, of modest social origin, and with European roots; ecclesiastical career started in the United States and culminated in Rome... I do not want to make "spoilers", but it is worth watching Preminger's outstanding film; and for those who like voluminous and remarkable books, you can read Robinson's novel. In this case the film is better than the novel: Preminger's work surpasses it in beauty and pace. And, last but not least, for those interested in understanding these works in their historical context can see my book, in which I discuss nine other great works of film and literature to understand the last 150 years of world history. Almost nothing.

The authorOnésimo Díaz

Researcher at the University of Navarra and author of the book History of the Popes in the 20th century

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  • Columnists
  • Saving young people from screens: the mission of people who read
ColumnistsJuan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner

Saving young people from screens: the mission of people who read

The inescapable mission of true readers: to awaken in young people a passion for books and rescue them from the absorbing dominance of screens.

September 19, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes
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In the schools where I work I have seen teenagers who read. They exist. They pull out the novel during reading time, they move on when they are injured and can't do physical education. In the best of cases, they finish it off in the afternoon, while they wait to be picked up. In the tutorials I have with students, I usually break the ice with this topic (Literature is my weakness). In this way I have gotten to know their reading habits and with more than one of them we have become friends.

Faced with the question: "Do you like reading?", some say yes, very much, and even mention outstanding titles. But they are few. Most answer something like: "I can't stand the mandatory books in the reading plan, so I look for summaries on the Internet... but sometimes I read other things on my own". There we connect, and as soon as they mention titles or literary characters they smile, breathe and a good conversation begins.

Well, following the teenagers' lead, I have been reading some of the novels they choose as a hobby (perhaps as part of those 5.5 books that a Chilean reads per year, according to the recent report of the Ministry of Cultures and INE). My intention was to get an idea of their world and I ended up enjoying more than them: Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson. They are entertaining novels, full of magic, fantasy or science fiction that, indeed, accelerate the heart and have enough strength to initiate someone in the reading habit. However, they leave with a taste of little and sometimes tend to an unedifying brutality.

"Would you like to read more?", I ask them later. "Yes, but social media takes up too much of my time." We always end up there. It's inescapable. Whatever I do, tutoring flows towards complaining against screens, the difficulties to free oneself from their tentacles, the desire to walk nimbly, without the weight of that pocket anchor. The cell phone is the elephant in the glassware of education. Because of it, children's minds are losing the ability to digest longer or less adrenalin-pumping stories that illustrate essential areas of life. As Gabriela Mistral complained in 1925, Chile is a "people that seeks the violent chronicle of crime, to receive the electric sensation, because it ignores the delicate thrill of other emotions". Indeed, today young people drink plenty of violence in best sellers: characters who offer themselves to compete in macabre life and death competitions, others who fight for their skin while trying to escape from an absurd labyrinth. That may qualify as a start, I do not deny it, but I am afraid to warn of the possibility that it may also constitute a ceiling.

What would our poet say if she were among us? She would probably outline a discreet question to adults: On what scale of priorities do you place the education of children? How do you help them rise from the rawness of The Hunger Games to the elegance of a Verne, a Stevenson, a Tolstoy? Next, perhaps he would give us this advice that he wielded in 1935: "The task in favor of the book that corresponds to teachers and parents is to awaken the appetite for the book, to pass from there to the pleasure of it and to finish off the enterprise by leaving a simple pleasure promoted to passion". In fact, in the same writing he added that the educator's challenge consists in: "To make one read, as one eats, every day, until reading becomes, like looking, a natural exercise, but always a joyful one. The habit cannot be acquired if it does not promise and fulfill pleasure". Here is the key for our Nobel Prize winner: reading is learned through enjoyment, and the child needs the adult to guide him.

The task of educators, therefore, is not to demand a certain number of books read from their students, or to aspire to surpass the average of 5.5 books per year with any title, but to invoke their own experience as readers, to radiate desire, to share the enormous happiness we receive from literary creation. However, motivating is an arduous challenge, due to the number of brambles that cover the earth. The main enemy, we were saying, is the telephone: children have a device that decimates their attention, during the day and at night, without giving them respite, without letting them delve into anything, keeping them away from the classics of Literature.

In this sense, the work of parents and teachers is more meritorious than before: it is up to them to convince by attraction, magnetism, irresistible enthusiasm. The normal teacher is no longer enough; now we need the hero. We urgently need men and women with the vocation to encourage children to savor the riches of folklore, stories, novels and good essays. Doing this, without a doubt, is much more difficult than meeting a goal of a certain number of books read per year. For only those who, one, love good books and, two, accompany young people in their struggle against distractions, can instill affection for books. Ultimately, they want to read more, but they need our help to do so.

The authorJuan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner

Lawyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Licentiate in Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome) and Doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarra (Spain).

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Father S.O.S

European DNS: shielding against digital threats

The theft of computer data or fraud is a reality that parishes and priests also live with every day. To avoid them, it is very useful to know how DNS works and avoid problems when surfing the Internet.

José Luis Pascual-September 19, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

On the Internet, almost everything starts with a query to the Domain Name System (DNS). This system translates names such as www.vatican.va into numeric IP addresses that computers need to communicate. 

The risk of a vulnerable entry point

The malware (malicious software) and the spam (spam) are not mere nuisances: they can steal data, hijack files or compromise the privacy of religious communities. As all network traffic starts with a DNS query, if an attacker controls this point, he can redirect the user to fake pages, install viruses or facilitate the sending of fraudulent mass mailings.

What is the European Union doing? DNS4EU"

The European Commission and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) have launched DNS4EUa solver that:

-Increases security: blocks domains with malware, phishing o spam.

-Protects privacy: does not market or store queries unnecessarily.

-Ensures resilience: keeps the service active even in the face of massive attacks.

The blacklists of DNS4EU are updated in seconds. If a domain starts distributing malwarecan be blocked in the entire network DNS4EU in a matter of seconds.

How filtering works

When a device in a parish queries an address, the DNS resolver:

-Receive the request (What is the IP of mail.parish.net?).

-Check if the domain is listed in threat databases.

-Responds with the legitimate IP if it is safe, or blocks/redirects if it is dangerous.

This filtering occurs in microseconds and does not slow down navigation.

Benefits for the Church

Parishes, dioceses and religious communities are also targeted by cybercriminals. Some actual attacks include:

-Phishing to priests to steal passwords.

-Ransomware who encrypts diocesan documents and demands a ransom.

–Spam sent from legitimate addresses to deceive the faithful.

Using secure DNS resolvers can prevent the parish secretariat's computer or a priest's personal laptop from even connecting to the servers hosting the malware. It is a proactive defense: the attack is cut off before it reaches the device.

Privacy and sensitive data

The free DNS of large corporations can record browsing habits. Although they do not collect content, they do show patterns of activity.

European resolvers such as DNS4EU are governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring that queries are not used for commercial purposes or stored unnecessarily. This provides a particularly valuable layer of privacy protection for religious entities that handle sensitive data on worshippers and pastoral activities.

How to implement it in a parish or community

Device: the IP addresses of the resolver can be entered in the network settings of a computer or telephone. DNS4EU (published on its official website).

Router: simply change the configuration so that the entire parish network uses the secure DNS. This automatically protects all connected devices.

In addition, the use of encrypted protocols such as DNS over HTTPS (DoH) o DNS over TLS (DoT) prevents DNS queries from traveling "in the clear" over the network, making it difficult for an attacker to eavesdrop or manipulate them.

A pastoral defense also

In the 21st century, caring for the flock also includes protecting its data and communications. Just as church doors are locked at night or locks are installed in the sacristy, today it is prudent to erect "digital locks". Having a system that detects and blocks threats before they come into contact with our devices is a work of prudence... and of pastoral charity.

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The Vatican

A glimpse of Pope Leo XIV's first interview: clues to his pontificate 

Elise Ann Allen, a Crux journalist, publishes today, September 18, a book containing the first interview with Leo XIV. In it, the Pope shares his views on the challenges of the papacy and numerous current issues facing the Church.

Paola Arriaza-Flynn-September 18, 2025-Reading time: 9 minutes
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In his first interview as Pontiff contained in the book "Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century," the Pope laid out a possible map for navigating his pontificate. Just four months after his election, the Pope decided to sit down with journalist Elise Ann Allen, a Crux correspondent, and offer his perspective on the most pressing issues of the current work of the successor of St. Peter: on the role of Supreme Pontiff, his task as mediator or moral voice in a world crowded with armed conflicts, his relationship with the leadership of the Church in his country of origin, his position on controversial issues of the Synod of Synodality such as "the demand for the recognition of same-sex marriage" - the question of the celebration of the Tridentine mass and the financial position of the Holy See. Among other topics, the Pontiff confirmed with his words that his ecumenical zeal will lead him to Nicea at the end of November.  

From the beginning of his pontificate, Leo XIV has warned of the great tool and the great challenge that is the Artificial Intelligence In our times, one of the motivations for choosing the name Leo XIV, alluding to Leo XIII's response to the industrial revolution.

In the interview, the Pope expressed his opinion on the danger of artificial intelligence replacing truth and commented on an anecdote in which he himself was a victim of an artificial intelligence. deepfake. After answering the journalist's questions without much hesitation, the Pontiff himself added a unique touch by concluding: "I sleep well, I feel the presence of the Lord very much, the Holy Spirit is with me".  

The Role of the Supreme Pontiff, Bilateral and Multilateral Relations of the Holy See

"How was I chosen for this office, for this ministry? Because of my faith, because of what I have lived, because of my understanding of Jesus Christ and of the Gospel", with these words the Holy Father explained what more than 250,000 people witnessed in St. Peter's Square, where, from via della Conciliazione, I was reporting live for EWTN during the habemus papam that made our skin crawl. Among reporters from major networks such as Fox News, CNN and ABC News, Catholic media correspondents shared the weight of those words: the weight that the Fisherman's ring would have on the former Cardinal Prevost.

"I said yes, I am here. I hope to be able to confirm others in their faith, because that is the fundamental role of the successor of Peter," the Pontiff explained in his first interview. In doing so, he established the priorities of his pontificate: to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

When asked if the Vatican would be a mediator in the conflict in Ukraine he explained that the Vatican had already offered on several occasions to host negotiations, however - and very importantly - he added: "I would make a distinction between the voice of the Holy See advocating peace and a role as a mediator, which I think is very different and not as realistic as the former."

He clarified that, according to his understanding of the pontificate, the role of the Pope today, in this time, is mainly that of "announcing the Good News, preaching the Gospel". From this it is understood that the Pope raises his voice for peace, since the values that the Church promotes when it comes to world crises "do not come out of nowhere, they come from the Gospel. They come from a place that makes it very clear how we understand the relationships between God and us, and among ourselves." The Pontiff stated decisively, "I do not see my primary role as trying to be the solver of the world's problems."

Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, when asked about what space there is for dialogue at the moment between Gaza and Israel, the Holy Father admitted the difficulty of this question and stressed the role that the United States is very big when it comes to "putting pressure on Israel". Although he admitted not knowing the answer, he assured that one thing is certain: in addition to solving the urgent problem of famine, there is the challenge of bringing medical assistance to a situation that has been described by various international organizations as "genocide." However, he confirmed that the Holy See does not believe they can make an official statement on the matter at this time.

The Pope stressed that President Donald Trump has already made an approach to possible solutions, however, he expressed concern at the lack of "a clear response in terms of finding effective ways to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza." The journalist asked the Pope if he has a meeting planned with the U.S. president, to which he replied, "I think it would be much more appropriate for the leadership of the Church in the United States to engage with him, very seriously."

With these words he underlined an essential aspect about the way in which he will possibly manage some of the conversations with the heads of state, detailing that the work of the Apostolic Nuncio and the Episcopal Conference will be very strong in each country when it comes to these issues. Local agents with local knowledge, this seems to be his approach to the debates that are held within the country, as is the case of immigration, to which he made reference when quoting the letter that Pope Francis sent to the U.S. Bishops' Conference at the end of his pontificate.  

It is impossible to ignore the power of the fact that Pope Leo XIV is the first American Pope, so during the interview he was asked if this might make a difference or amplify his voice when he addresses the country. The Pontiff immediately made reference to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops when he said, "I hope in the long run it will make a difference to the bishops of the United States...The fact that I am an American means, among other things, that people can't say, as they did with Francis, 'he doesn't understand America, he just doesn't see what's going on.'"

Declaring himself to be a full North American, a White Sox fan, he said that he felt "fully American" but that he loved the people of Peru very much and that this love is a very big part of his identity. In doing so, he admitted an understanding of the life of the Church in Latin America, which I interpret as an aspect that will have great weight in the way he addresses international audiences.

A definition of synodality, the question of women's ordination, LGBTIQ+ pastoral care, etc. 

During the interview the Pontiff offered a definition of synodality. He explained that it is an "attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand" through dialogue, which constitutes an important method of how to live the mission of the Church.

The Pope admitted that some bishops or priests had felt threatened by the development of this listening: "Synodality is going to take away my authority," he quoted. A stinging response: "That's not what synodality is about, and maybe their idea of what their authority is is a little bit unfocused, wrong. I think synodality is a way of describing how we can come together and be a community and seek communion as a Church."

However, the most important clarification about synodality, in my opinion, that he made during this interview, is the following: "It is not about trying to transform the Church into a kind of democratic government". A statement that, undoubtedly, recalls his respect for the hierarchy of the Church, tradition and doctrine, which is the basis and sustenance of the Church. In other words, it seems that the Pontiff was trying to say that the synodal methodology is nothing more than a process of listening to the needs of the Church in different parts of the world and that there is still much to be done in this regard.

Some of the issues that were brought up during the Synod of Synodality were the management of LGBTIQ+ pastoral care. When asked how he would address the issue he said, "I don't have a plan at this time" and stressed that it is a highly polarizing issue within the Church, to which he added "at this moment in history, I am trying not to further promote polarization in the Church."

However, he was very clear when he said, "It seems to me very unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the Church's doctrine will change in terms of what it teaches about sexuality and marriage."

It was here that the Pontiff made an apology for marriage: "the family is a man and a woman in a solemn commitment, blessed in the sacrament of marriage". The Pontiff expressed his concern for the support of the "traditional family". Father, mother and children, he detailed. He explained that this is the basic building block that has been under attack in recent decades.

He confessed that in his own life the influence of his family has been key in molding the person he is: "I am who I am because I had a wonderful relationship with my father and mother. They had a very happy married life for over forty years."

He also added that he is aware of the panorama in which there is pressure for the approval of homosexual marriage or the "recognition of trans people", to which he responded that people will be "accepted and received" in the Church, that priests will hear confessions "from all kinds of people", but that "the teaching of the Church will continue as it is". 

On the ordination of women deaconesses, he explained that he has no intention of changing the Church's doctrine on this issue, but that he is willing to continue to listen to the conclusions of study groups, such as the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

A few words about the Tridentine Mass  

In response to the question of the "many letters" that have reached the Vatican regarding the "Latin Mass," the Pontiff replied matter-of-factly: "Well, you can say Mass in Latin right now. If it is the rite of Vatican II, there is no problem. Obviously, between the Tridentine Mass and the Vatican II Mass, the Mass of Paul VI, I'm not sure where that's going to go. It's obviously very complicated."  

He added that the complication arises from the fact that, in his opinion, the issue has become a political tool. He admitted that he hopes to be able to converse with a group of people who advocate the Tridentine rite in order to sit down and talk without the conversation becoming one about ideologies. Because, as he has expressed since the beginning of his pontificate, unity and communion in the Church is for him a priority.  

The reforms following Praedicate Evangelium and the financial situation of the Holy See 

The Pontiff explained that the purpose of Praedicate Evangelium was to place the Holy See at the service of the ministry of the Pope and the local bishops and to find a way to organize the Holy See so that it is at the service of the people of God. However, he admitted that the Holy See is a human organization and therefore has "aspects to improve". Aspects that we have seen accentuated in financial scandals, such as that of the purchase and sale of a property on Sloane Avenue, which resulted in a loss of more than 100 million euros for the Holy See.

The Pontiff himself made reference to this case: "We have to avoid the bad decisions that were made in recent years. Great publicity was given to the purchase of this building in London, in Sloane Avenue, and how many millions were lost because of that".

On the financial situation of the Holy See, the Pope explained that "various financial units of the Holy See are functioning well" and cited the 2024 report of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. He optimistically admitted that he does not believe that the financial crisis is over, but that it is an issue that does not "keep him awake at night," and invited the Vatican itself to change the narrative so that the Holy See is once again attractive to those who want to make donations. That is, to offer them the assurance that the money granted will be well managed.

He explained that by saying that "the Vatican has often given the wrong message" he is not inviting to change the message just for the sake of changing it, but to show more strongly that there is a certain stability.

For the time being, he concluded that his reform, now, will focus on another issue: it will consist of improving communication between dicasteries, so that they do not work in isolation but in cooperation, something he already considered important from his time as head of the dicastery for bishops.  

Ecumenism: a trip to Nicaea, Turkey 

"One of the deepest wounds in the life of the Church today is the fact that as Christians we are divided", with these words, the Pope repeated that one of the objectives of the Church today must be unity. To materialize this proposal, he assured that one of his projects is the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea: "I am very interested in this and, hopefully, I will go to Nicaea at the end of November". What, according to Francis' proposal, would be a meeting with the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew, has become a request by Leo XIV to extend the invitation to "leaders of many different religions or Christian communities".

Next on his agenda: "finding a common date for Easter." The Pontiff admitted that some steps have been taken towards this, without saying whether progress has been made or not. It will definitely be a topic under study at the Vatican.  

Artificial intelligence: deepfakes  

"It's going to be very difficult to discover the presence of God in AI," Pope Leo admitted in his interview. Without presenting a pessimistic tone, he celebrated the great advances of this technology and the impact it could have on the field of medicine. However, he admitted that he is concerned about the issue of truth and the impact that the creation of a "false world" would have on the world's population.

Finding God in Artificial Intelligence? The Pope explained that "in human relationships, we can find at least signs of God's presence", in mutual respect, in working for peace, which, according to the Pope, are values that arise "from a real understanding of the wonderful gift that God gave us as human beings". Leon added that, in this case, it is the task of the Church to raise her voice, because if she does not do so, she herself will become "just another pawn".

The Pope related an anecdote about what he calls that false world and the danger of the deepfakesOne day, talking to someone, they asked me: "Are you all right? And I said, "Yes, I'm fine, why?". "Well, you fell down a flight of stairs." I said, "No, I didn't fall," but there was a video somewhere where they had created an artificial Pope, me, falling down a flight of stairs while walking, and apparently it was so good that they thought it was me."  

About your identity 

The interview revealed fascinating features about his identity. Pope Leo XIV presented himself as a man who values privacy and admitted that this was one of the aspects that caused him the most suffering at the time of his election: "Frankly, it's not at all easy to give up everything you were and had in the past and take on a role that is twenty-four hours a day, basically, and so public. Everything is known about me, past, present, et cetera, and the responsibilities and the mission itself," he said. He admitted that assuming the papacy has been for him a pilgrimage between "death and life", a typical image of this Jubilee year.

After citing his predecessor, Pope Francis, on many occasions, Pope Leo XIV recalled a moment that was lived very intensely here in Rome: the last appearance of Francis in the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica on the day of Easter. His difficulty in speaking, which is why he did not read his own speech, in which he decisively expressed that we are not made for death but for eternal life and that the Resurrection of Christ is proof of this. Words that many of us journalists heard on that occasion and that I keep in my mind with great affection....

In short, his message has had a great impact on the current Pontiff, but the reforms and initiatives that Leo XIV will carry out as the new successor of St. Peter will be very much his own. He will decide them, with the freedom and responsibility that such an office gives him. We will see the imprint of his faith, of what he has lived, his understanding of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

The authorPaola Arriaza-Flynn

Vatican correspondent for EWTN Spanish "Noticias" program. He recently anchored live coverage of the conclave and election of Pope Leo XIV. Prior to joining EWTN, he was Vatican correspondent for NBC Telemundo News. He holds degrees in journalism and philosophy from the University of Navarra, Spain.

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The Vatican

Pope rejects idea of a "virtual pope" and explains his vision of AI

Pope Leo XIV has declared that a proposal to create an artificial intelligence-based version of him, so that people could have a virtual audience with the Pope, practically horrified him. He said so in an interview with Elise Ann Allen, a journalist and writer, for Crux.

CNS / Omnes-September 18, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

- Cindy Wooden, CNS

Leo XIV has indicated that he is appalled by a proposal to create an artificial intelligence-based version of him, a "virtual pope." "If there is anyone who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the Pope is at the top of the list." So he has expressed himself in an interview with Elise Allen, talking about AI (Artificial Intelligence), among other things.

– Supernatural interview Allen's July 30 interview with Pope Leo is the last chapter of his biography, "Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century". It has been published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on September 18. The text, in English and Spanish, was given to journalists.

Pope Leo made clear his concern about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) after his election in early May. And he has given some concrete examples of why.

An artificial self: "I am not going to authorize it".

"Recently, someone asked for authorization to create an artificial self so that anyone could access this website and have a personal audience with 'the Pope,'" he told Allen. "This artificially intelligent pope would give them answers to their questions, and I said, 'I'm not going to authorize it.'"

It is true that human creativity can be amazing and artificial intelligence has already proven its usefulness in some fields. But "there is a danger in this, because you end up creating a fake world and then you ask yourself, what is the truth?".

Impact on human dignity and employment.

At the heart of his concern, the Pope said, is the impact of AI on human dignity and employment.

"Our human life has meaning not thanks to artificial intelligence," he said. "But thanks to human beings and to encounter, to be with one another, to create relationships and to discover in those human relationships also the presence of God."

"The danger is that the digital world will go its own way and we will either become pawns or be left by the wayside," especially when it comes to employment, he said.

Human dignity has a very important relationship with the work we do," the Pope said. "The fact that we can, thanks to the gifts we have received, produce, offer something to the world and earn a living" is a sign of human dignity.

Pope Leo said he believes there is a looming crisis because of the lack of enough decent jobs for people due to technology and artificial intelligence.

There may be a huge problem in the future

"If we automate the whole world and only a few people have the means to not just survive, but to live well, to have meaningful lives, there will be a big problem. A huge problem in the future," he said.

"That was one of the questions on my mind when I chose the name Leo," the Pope said. His choice paid homage to Pope Leo XIII, author of the encyclical 'Rerum Novarum'. In it he addressed labor issues and workers' rights during the Industrial Revolution.

Relationship between science and faith

"The Church is not against advances in technology, not at all," he said, but also insists on maintaining a relationship between faith and reason, and science and faith.

"I believe that losing that relationship will leave science as an empty, cold shell that will seriously damage the essence of humanity," Pope Leo said. "And the human heart will be lost in the midst of technological development, as it is today."

The authorCNS / Omnes

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Spain

Pope receives pontifical commissioner for Torreciudad

A few days after the bishop of Barbastro Monzón once again brought the situation of the church and its surroundings into the media spotlight, Leo XIV received in audience Msgr. Alejandro Arellano Cedillo in audience.

Maria José Atienza-September 18, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

This morning Leo XIV received in audience Bishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, who, as of October 2024, will serve as pontifical commissary plenipotentiary to settle the open question between the Prelature of Opus Dei and the Bishop of Barbastro Monzón on the issue of Torreciudad.

This is the second audience in little more than three months, since on June 3, Bishop Alejandro Arellano was also received by the Pontiff in audience. Alejandro Arellano was also received by the pontiff in audience.

In addition, at the end of August 2025, this Spaniard was appointed by Pope Leo XIV as a member of the Dicastery for the ClergyOpus Dei, the organization in charge of accompanying, forming and supervising priests and deacons worldwide and an organism of the Holy See under which the Prelature of Opus Dei is placed following the change made by Pope Francis with the Motu Proprio Ad charisma tuendum.

Torreciudad, last days in the media spotlight

The scope of this meeting has not been made public, although a few days ago, on September 8, Bishop Ángel Pérez Pueyo, diocesan bishop of Barbastro Monzón, led a meeting with the bishop of Barbastro Monzón. Ángel Pérez Pueyo, diocesan bishop of Barbastro Monzón, led a new chapter in the development of the process, initiated in July 2023, when, in the homily of the patron saint festivities of Barbastro, he focused his words on the state of Torreciudad, implying his refusal to a possible decision of the Holy See that did not contemplate the main demands of the bishop.

Five days later, the esplanade of Torreciudad hosted the 33rd Marian Family Conference The central Mass was presided over by Ignacio Barrera, Regional Vicar of Opus Dei.

Decision in the hands of the Holy See

Since the appointment of the rector of Torreciudad in July 2023, unilaterally by the bishop of the diocese of Barbastro Monzón, the situation of Torreciudad and the whole complex has been immersed in a complicated process.

In October 2024, Pope Francis appointed Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, as plenipotentiary commissary with the objective that this jurist would be in charge of resolving a solution to an issue, which has been joined by different requests from the bishop of Barbastro as well as differences of criteria with respect to the agreement between the Opus Dei prelature and the Aragonese diocese.

The last press release of Opus Dei dates back to June 2025 when he denied rumors of an alleged agreement between the Prelature of Opus Dei and the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón in relation to Torreciudad and said he was awaiting the Vatican's decision.

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Evangelization

Saints Stanislaus Kostka, Joseph of Cupertino, and martyrs of Uganda

Pope Leo XIV yesterday entrusted "Poland and world peace" to St. Stanislaus Kostka. He also asked in the Audience that this young man of 18 years be "an example and inspiration in the search for God's will and in the courageous fulfillment of his vocation". On September 18, St. Joseph of Cupertino and two Ugandan martyrs are also celebrated.

Francisco Otamendi-September 18, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

The Pope addressed in particular the Polish-speaking faithful, and "the new generations of believers," but the message was for everyone yesterday at St. Peter's. May St. Stanislaus Kostka be "example and inspiration" in seeking God's will. 

The liturgy today celebrates this young novice, "patron of his homeland and of young people," who had not even been a Jesuit for a year when he died. Although his universal feast day is August 15, it is also celebrated on September 18 in some places, especially in Poland, where he is patron. 

Premonition that I would die on August 15

Stanislaus of Kostka (Stanislaw Kostka, 1550-1568) "is known for his youthful holiness and his steadfast decision to follow God's call despite the obstacles placed by his family", according to the Jesuit websitewhere you can read about his life. 

At the beginning of August 1568, he had a premonition that he would die soon. On August 14, he told the nurse that he would die the next day. No one believed him, but at three o'clock in the morning on the feast of the Assumption, August 15, he announced that Mary was coming to him surrounded by angels to take him to heaven and he died immediately.

Neapolitan friar 

St. Joseph of Cupertino, or Copertino, (1603-1663), born Joseph Marie Desa, was Neapolitan friar. From a young age he showed little intellectual talent. Overcoming many difficulties entered in the Order of the Conventual Franciscans and was able to reach the priesthood. It is said of him that mystical phenomena of corporal order reached a notorious character, in particular levitation. 

The Martyrology Romano highlights his humility and charity. "In Osimo, in the Picena region of Italy, St. Joseph of Cupertino, a priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, famous, in difficult circumstances, for his poverty, humility and charity for those in need of God (1663)". He manifested great devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and to the Mother of God.

Young Christians in Uganda

The young Ugandans David Okelo and Gildo Irwa were sons of pagan parents, but were converted and baptized in the same year, 1916. Both of them were catechists and were very active in their evangelizing work. In 1918 they were killed with spears in the village of Paimol, near the mission of Kalongi (Uganda). They were beatified in 2002.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

Tunisia and Algeria: the land of St. Augustine

The historian Gerardo Ferrara introduces us to the history of Carthage which, being the cradle of St. Augustine, reveals from Tunisia and Algeria the historical, cultural and spiritual richness of North Africa.

Gerardo Ferrara-September 18, 2025-Reading time: 5 minutes
RelatedRelated News10 times Pope Leo has quoted St. Augustine in his speechesRelated NewsWhy read St. AugustineRelated NewsAnalysis: after 100 days of papacy, Leo XIV is rooted in St. Augustine, reflection and unity

Carthage from above

I am writing this article on August 28, the liturgical memorial of St. Augustine (and the day of the saint's death) in a Jubilee year in which a pope belonging to the Augustinian Order has been elected.

I could not help remembering 25 years ago, when, during another Jubilee, I was in Tunisia to study Arabic for a month at a local university. Tunis: next to ancient Carthage, where Augustine was trained as a student and orator.

I still remember the thrill of crossing the Mediterranean for the first time by plane and flying over the coast of Africa right over the ruins of the ancient city of Dido (Tunis airport is precisely in Carthage).

It was an intense period, very hot, in class from 7:30 in the morning and then on the beach of Sidi Bou Said, visiting the medina of Tunis, the ruins of Carthage, walking along the wide avenues of the new city built by the French and Italians. And on weekends, excursions to wonderful places like Sousse, Kairouan, Hammamet or the island of Djerba.

Where Africa is born

Precisely this area of the Maghrebaround ancient Carthage, was first called Africa. The name, in fact, was coined by the Romans (like that of Palestine for another province, after another war) after the final defeat of Carthage (146 B.C.), by the Afri, a Berber tribe established there. Originally, Africa only designated the Roman province corresponding to present-day Tunisia and part of Algeria and Libya (Africa Proconsularis). The etymology is uncertain: from the Berber ifri ("cave"), from the Phoenician ʿafar ("dust") or from the Latin aprica ("sunny"). It was not until the Middle Ages that the term came to designate the entire continent.

Some data

Algeria and Tunisia are today two states of Mediterranean Africa (also called Maghreb), close not only geographically but also culturally. However, while Algeria, with more than 2.38 million km², is the largest country in Africa and has about 45 million inhabitants, Tunisia is one of the smallest (163,000 km² with a population of 12 million inhabitants). Algeria has a less diversified and less developed economy, although it is very rich in gas and oil, making it one of the world's leading exporters. Tunisia, on the other hand, has made agriculture, tourism and services its main economic sources and also has one of the highest literacy rates in the region.

Much of the territory of both countries is occupied by the Sahara, but the northern coastal areas are home to fertile plains (in Algeria also mountain ranges).

From Numidia to Carthage: the "new city".

Even before Carthage, and before being called Africa, the coast of Algeria and Tunisia, like the rest of the Maghreb, was (and is) inhabited by indigenous populations: the Berbers, or Amazigh (in Berber: "free men"), settled for millennia in the mountains, plains and deserts of the region. Their tribal organization and languages gave rise to a culture that resisted the waves of peoples and empires that invaded and dominated the territory (including the Arabs). In Algeria, Numidia represented the strongest political expression of this world: a Berber kingdom that became a protagonist in the wars between Carthage and Rome, allying itself either with one or the other. Figures such as Masinissa, Numidian king, marked the history of the Mediterranean, demonstrating that the local peoples were actors and not just spectators.

However, Carthage was the true protagonist of the cultural flowering of North Africa. The city was founded in the 9th century B.C. by the Phoenicians of Tyre, on the coast of what is now modern-day Carthage. B.C. by the Phoenicians from Tyre, on the coast of the present-day Lebanon (the same name Qart Hadash, in Phoenician, means "new city" or New Tyre).

From the beginning, Carthage maintained strong ties with the Phoenician motherland, inheriting the cult of the deities Baal Hammon and Tanit, nautical techniques and, above all, the Punic language, a western variant of Phoenician (a Semitic language very close to Hebrew) that continued to be spoken for centuries throughout North Africa, even after the fall of Carthage (proof of this is the Poenulus, "The Little Carthaginian", a comedy by Plautus from the 3rd-2nd century BC, in which a passage appears in Punic. St. Augustine himself, bishop of Hippo, later recalled that Punic was still spoken in North Africa).

Carthage must be destroyed

Carthage became the most powerful Phoenician colony (founding in turn other colonies, among them Cartagena, in Spain), but soon had to face a Rome also in full expansion. The three Punic Wars (3rd-2nd centuries BC) were fought precisely between the two dominant powers of the Mediterranean (and the Second War was fought by Hannibal Barca, with his famous crossing of the Alps with elephants) and led to the definitive defeat of Carthage and its end in 146 BC, at the hands of Scipio Africanus. However, on the ruins of the ancient city, Julius Caesar and then Augustus re-founded Colonia Iulia Carthago, which became one of the most splendid cities of the Empire, to which we owe rhetoricians, Fathers of the Church (not only Augustine, but also Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage), saints and martyrs such as Perpetua and Felicitas.

Rome's victory transformed Tunisia and Algeria into flourishing African provinces (the first, later divided, was Africa Proconsularis), with the construction of famous cities and monuments (such as the amphitheater of El Jem, in Tunis, and the mosaics preserved in the Bardo museum, in Tunis: the largest collection in the world).

Homeland of St. Augustine

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was born in this province, in Tagaste (today Souk Ahras, in Algeria, not far from the border with Tunisia), to a pagan father and a Christian mother. At a very young age, Augustine moved to Carthage, a vibrant and cosmopolitan Mediterranean metropolis full of leisures, vices, virtues, cultures and religions, to study rhetoric and spend the turbulent years of his youth there, between the theater, various passions and adherence to Manichaeism, which he himself mentions in the Confessions:

"Late I loved you, beauty so old and so new, late I loved you. Yes, because you were inside me and I was outside. There I was looking for you. Deformed, I threw myself upon the beautiful forms of your creatures."

Augustine then left for Rome and Milan, from where, after his conversion to Christianity, he returned to his homeland, this time to Hippo Regius (Hippo Regius, today Annaba, on the Algerian coast near the Tunisian border), where he was ordained priest in 391 and then bishop in 395. Hippo was the scene of his 30 years of tireless pastoral and intellectual activity, until his death in 430, during the siege of the Vandals of Genseric, of Arian faith, in a fatal moment for Roman Africa. In Annaba today stands the basilica-sanctuary of St. Augustine, built in 1900 on the hill overlooking the city.

Berbers, Arabs, Ottomans, pirates, etc.

The Vandals conquered Carthage in 439 and reigned there for a century, but in 534 the Byzantines reconquered it with the exarchate, losing it a few years later. In fact, the 7th century saw the arrival of Islam, with the foundation of Kairouan (670), the first Islamic city of the Maghreb and still today a religious center of primary importance (Tunis, instead, was born as a Punic-Roman settlement and became an Arab capital in the 9th century, while Algiers, already a Roman city, was renamed with this name in the 10th century, for the islets off its coast, in Arabic al-Jazāʾir, "the islands").

Here too, as in Libya, an interesting combination of Arab-Berber culture and Islamic mysticism (Sufism) was created, which has left important traces in local traditions. Tunisia and Algeria were also gateways for Andalusian influences: after the Reconquest in Spain, many Muslims and Jews found refuge in Tunis, Algiers and other coastal cities, bringing with them knowledge, music, culinary and architectural traditions.

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  • What does it mean today to be a missionary church in a secularized world?
ColumnistsDiego Blázquez Bernaldo de Quirós

What does it mean today to be a missionary church in a secularized world?

The mission of the Church in times of secularization is not strategy or marketing, but closeness, compassion and the certainty that Christ is at work in every heart.

September 18, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes
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We live in a time of paradoxes. The faith that transformed continents and gave identity to entire peoples now seems to be relegated to the margins of public life. Europe, and also a good part of America, shows clear signs of secularization: empty churches, young people who no longer identify with any religion, and a growing distrust of institutions.

Faced with this panorama, many ask themselves: what is the point of talking about mission?

The temptation is to respond with nostalgia or lamentation. To recall past times when the Church marked social life, or to complain that the world no longer listens to us. But mission is not born of nostalgia, but of certainty: Christ is still alive and active. The missionary Church is not a memory, it is the very identity of the people of God. There is no other possible Church.

Today the mission is played out on a different terrain: not in the conquest of spaces, but in personal and community witness. The secularized world does not need long speeches, it needs men and women who live the faith they profess in a coherent way. To be a missionary today means to have the courage to be different without falling into arrogance, to live the joy of the Gospel in the midst of indifference.

The mission is not religious marketing either. It is not about designing expansion strategies like someone launching a new product. The mission is to go out to the encounter, like Jesus on the roads of Galilee: with compassion, closeness and truth. It is about opening spaces for listening, building bridges, showing that faith illuminates the deepest questions of the human heart.

In schools, parishes and religious communities, the mission is concretized in simple gestures: an education that forms people who are free and in solidarity; a pastoral ministry that is not limited to rites, but accompanies processes; a community that welcomes, forgives and walks with the most fragile. Mission is not measured by numbers, but by the capacity to sow hope.

The missionary Church in a secularized world is not the one that shouts the loudest, but the one that loves the most. It is the one that is not ashamed of being a minority, because it knows that the small yeast leavens the whole dough. It is not about conquering, but about serving. Not to impose, but to propose.

In short, being a missionary Church today means returning to what is essential: to proclaim with one's life that Christ is risen. And if the secularized world seems closed, all the more reason to show that the Gospel continues to be the good news capable of transforming every human heart.

The authorDiego Blázquez Bernaldo de Quirós

Lawyer. Consultant to religious congregations in wealth management, fundraising and abuse prevention protocols. Director of Custodec.

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Gospel

True wealth. 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Joseph Evans comments on the readings for Sunday 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) corresponding to September 21, 2025.

Joseph Evans-September 18, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Today's readings show us how much corruption destroys people and society. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us a curious parable about a man who cheats. Accused of "squandering" his master's goods and facing dismissal, he thinks of a trick so that, in his own words, "when I get kicked out of the administration, find someone to take me in".. He calls his master's debtors and, using the authority he has as administrator - he has not yet been dismissed - he halves or considerably reduces what the debtors owe his master.

The attitude of the debtors shows that they are complicit in the corruption of the servant. Corruption is based on corruptors and those willing to benefit from their malpractices. But those debtors would have been really stupid to hire this man after he was dismissed, because they should have realized that he would practice with them the same dishonesty that he practices with his present master. This shows us the foolishness of the "economy" that creates corruption, generating a system in which people waste time and talent. Corruption and deceit are a great waste of both.

Another form of corruption appears in the first reading: those wicked men, impatient for the religious feasts to end so they can go back to cheating the poor, who are always victims of corruption. But God knows everything. We may get away with corruption on earth (though often we don't), but we will never get away with it before God. The Gospel shows us clearly that the Master (i.e. God) is aware of his servant's swindles, and even recognizes a small part of goodness in them (his cunning).

Our Lord's words are then mysterious. He could be speaking ironically, as if to say: "You think that friends who are made with money will get you to Heaven. But they can't and won't.". But they could also have the sense that money well spent, for the sake of others, will make us friends who, if they die before us, will welcome us to Heaven.

"If you were not faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true wealth?". Whatever wealth we receive comes from God. It is a tainted thing, but it can be put to good use if we use it for the good of others. True riches are eternal life. God will not give us the treasures of Heaven if we do not use well - for the good of others and honestly - the tainted treasures of earth.

Jesus concludes that we cannot "serve two masters... You cannot serve God and money."Who are we going to serve: God or money? That is the fundamental question.

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Pope shows closeness to Palestinian people, invokes human dignity

Leo XIV today expressed his "profound closeness to the Palestinian people in Gaza, who continue to live in fear and in unacceptable conditions, forcibly displaced in their own land". In a solemn tone, "before the Almighty Lord, who has commanded not to kill," he recalled the "inviolable dignity" of every person.

Francisco Otamendi-September 17, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

Pope Leo made this morning in St. Peter's Square, before tens of thousands of faithful, a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of the hostages. At the end of the Audiencein Italian language, on the day of his onomastics, the Pontiff showed his "profound closeness to the Palestinian people, who continue to live in fear and in unacceptable conditions, forcibly displaced in their own land". 

In a solemn tone, "before the Almighty Lord, who commanded not to kill", the Holy Father recalled, along with the whole of human history, that "every person has an inviolable dignity that must be respected and cared for".

In addition, Pope Leo renewed his "appeal for a cease-fire and the release of the hostages. To a negotiated diplomatic solution, to the full respect of the humanitarian law international. I invite everyone to join me in my prayer, so that a dawn of peace and justice may emerge as soon as possible".

"Look for another solution."

Yesterday, at the end of his stay of a few hours in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope attended to some journalists. When asked about the Gaza exodus, he confirmed that he had listened on the phone to the Gaza community and the parish priest, and explained his concern.

"Many - he said - have nowhere to go and that is why it is a concern, I also spoke with our people there, with the parish priest, for now they want to stay, they are still resisting but we really have to look for another solution."

Silence, protagonist of the catechesis

In his catechesis, Leo XIV said that "Christian hope is born of the silence of loving expectation and trusting abandonment to the will of God". In this sense, he encouraged us to discover the meaning of silence and contemplation. The word "silence" was the backbone of the catechesis.

The Pope began his meditation on the mystery of Holy Saturday and the "absence" of Christ in the tomb. It is a "waiting, it is a silence charged with meaning, like that of a mother who guards her unborn but already living child in her womb". In the Jubilee year, the series of catecheses is on 'Jesus Christ, our hope'. Today's theme was "A new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid" (John 19:40-41). 

The sense of silence and contemplation

In his words to the faithful and pilgrims of different languages, the Pontiff encouraged that "in the midst of the noise and haste in which we sometimes find ourselves, we ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary. May she teach us, as she did, to live Holy Saturday discovering the meaning of silence and contemplation".

He invited the Arabic-speaking faithful to "remember that Christian hope is born of the silence of loving expectation and trusting abandonment to the will of God. May the Lord bless you all and always protect you from all evil!"

In the same vein, he encouraged the German-speaking pilgrims to "dedicate some time each day to silence and prayer. To meet Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, and to remain always united to him".

A break full

Holy Saturday is also a day of rest, the Pope said at another time. "According to Jewish law, on the seventh day one should not work: in fact, after six days of creation, God rested (cf. Gen 2:2)." 

Now the Son, having completed his work of salvation, also rests, he has continued. "Not because he is weary, but because he has finished his work. Not because he has given up, but because he has loved to the end. There is nothing more to add. This rest is the seal of the work accomplished, it is the confirmation that what was to be done has really been accomplished. It is a rest filled with the hidden presence of the Lord".

The teaching of the Gospel: "to know how to stop".

"We find it hard to stop and rest. We live as if life is never enough. We run to produce, to demonstrate, not to lose ground. But the Gospel teaches us that knowing how to stop is a gesture of trust that we must learn to have." 

"Holy Saturday invites us to discover that life does not always depend on what we do, but also on how we say goodbye to what we have been able to do."

Christian hope "is not the fruit of euphoria, but of trusting abandonment," the Holy Father concluded. "The Virgin Mary teaches us this: she embodies this waiting, this trust, this hope. When it seems that everything stops, that life is an interrupted journey, let us remember Holy Saturday."

Intercession of St. Stanislaus of Kostka

He mentioned to the Polish language their patron saint, St. Stanislaus Kostka. "Tomorrow you will remember St. Stanislaus Kostka. May this young man of eighteen, patron of his homeland and of young people, be an example and inspiration for the new generations of believers in the search for God's will and in the courageous fulfillment of their vocation. To his intercession I entrust Poland and world peace. I bless you with all my heart".

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

Saints Robert Bellarmine and Hildegard of Bingen, and stigmata of St. Francis

The Jesuit Cardinal St. Robert Bellarmine and the German Benedictine mystic St. Hildegard of Bingen, doctors of the Church, are among the saints of September 17. Today the Franciscan family celebrates the imprinting of the stigmata, signs of the Passion, of St. Francis of Assisi.

Francisco Otamendi-September 17, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Four hundred years after his death in 1621, the saintliness of St. Robert Bellarmine "continues to illuminate history by speaking of Christ and his love for the Church." Canonized in 1930, he became a Doctor of the Church the following year, the Vatican agency writes. The Church also celebrates the saint and Doctor of the Church on September 17. Hildegard of BingenBenedictine abbess and mystic, advisor to princes, popes and emperors.

St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), with two "l "s according to the Jesuit website (Bellarmine) was an intellectual, theologian and fearless defender of the faith during the controversies of the Reformation. As a cardinal he served three popes, who appreciated his wisdom and sage advice. 

Cardinal Bellarmine took advantage of the annual exercises, which he extended for up to 30 days each year, to write books on spirituality. When the new Pope Paul V was elected on May 16, 1605, he asked the cardinal to reside in Rome, where he worked for various Vatican dicasteries. After his death and funeral, his body was transferred in 1823 to the Church of St. Ignatius.

Hildegard of Bingen, mystic and all-rounder 

The Benedictine Abbess Hildegard of Bingen was born in Bermesheim, Germany, in 1098. She was the last of ten children, and a woman of great intelligence. In spite of her delicate health, she reached the age of 81 with a life full of work. She had excellent biblical and liturgical training, in philosophy, natural sciences and music.

Her visions, transcribed in notes and later in books, made her famous. On the mountain of St. Rupert, near Bingen, on the banks of the Rhine, Hildegard founded the first monastery. And in 1165, the second, on the opposite bank of the river. In 2012 she was declared Doctor of the Universal Church by Benedict XVI, who dedicated to her a Apostolic letter.

Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi

"From the month of September 1224 to the present day, eight centuries have passed, as the celebration of this centennial memorial reminds us." noted the Franciscans. In fact, the Franciscan family, and the whole Church, then celebrated the eight centuries of the reception of the Franciscans by St. Francis of Assisi of the "signs of the Passion" of the crucified Christ. 

With them he was marked on the holy mountain of La Verna (Province of Arezzo in Italy). When St. Francis came down from the mountain, he carried on his body the effigy of the Crucified One engraved in his flesh. Not by an artist, but by the hand of the living God (St. Bonaventure).

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

10 ideas for praying in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

From Mantita y Fe Podcast, a project of the Gospa Arts Foundation, they share the release of the first episode of the fourth season. Here are 10 ideas for praying before the Blessed Sacrament.

Francisco Otamendi-September 17, 2025-Reading time: 6 minutes

The transforming power of a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. This is the theme of the new episode of the Mantita y Fe Podcast, conceived as a practical and spiritual guide to Eucharistic Adoration. On this occasion, Barbara Bustamante talks about the subject with Father Pablo Fernandez-Martos, from the Diocese of Getafe (Spain). For our part, we have selected 10 ideas for praying in Adoration.

The full episode is now available on YouTube and major audio platforms. It is 54' long, and only a few ideas are summarized here.

The authors of this episode of Mantita y Fe Podcast highlight in the presentation of the video, entitled 'How to make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament', a phrase of the priest Pablo Fernández-Martos. For example, "we do not go to the Blessed Sacrament to show that we are very good, but to recognize that God is very good". 

Bustamante, a mother, stresses that the message is "hopeful". "Jesus is always waiting for us, even in the midst of our falls".

The podcast questions are asked by Bárbara Bustamante and the answers are by Pablo Fernández-Martos. The selection of the 10 ideas for prayer, reduced to short pills or non-textual phrases, is personal.

1) "I don't have time."

- We must understand that the devil is not interested in us paying visits to Jesus. A Sometimes we think that this is going to take a long time. But making a visit can last 15 seconds or so, you don't need more, I hope it lasts 15 minutes. If you are in a hurry and you don't have time to stop, when you pass in front of a church where you know that the Blessed Sacrament is, you can make a gesture of adoration....

St. Francis, when he was walking along the roads and saw a church tower, would prostrate himself on the ground and say a prayer that is still said today. Even if you are in a bit of a hurry on the road, if you see a church on the horizon, you can always make a gesture of adoration, a greeting to Jesus who is there.

Then, obviously, you can enter the church when it is open, approach the Tabernacle, prostrate yourself humbly, usually on your knees if your physique allows it, and say a little prayer as one who is going to try to be friends with the one we know loves us (St. Teresa), knowing that he is really present in the tabernacle, with his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

2) What is the prayer of supplication to God?

- The prayer of supplication is not to inform God, but in the end it is like when you open a bag to get something inside, a child who opens the bag to get the candy inside. 

It is to dispose the heart to welcome the graces that God wants to give me in my need. It will be the one that is adequate to my need, not the one I ask for. God always answers our prayers, what happens is that he does not always answer what we want.

3) What is the difference between going to Mass and adoring the Blessed Sacrament?

- Let us see. The Eucharist celebrated and communicated is the maximum intimacy that we can have with Christ and with his Church. Because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and therefore when we live intimacy in the Eucharist we do so not only by ourselves. We are not snipers of the faith.

The Church is a community, it is a family, and therefore the Eucharist gathers us as a family, it gathers us as a community. Adoration prepares our heart to be able to live the Eucharist better. It would make no sense for you to go to Eucharistic adoration and not go to Mass.

Pope Leo XVI during the blessing after the Corpus Christi procession on June 22, 2025 through the streets of Rome (Photo CNS/Lola Gomez).

4) Adoration, enlivening love

- The first thing is to go to Mass on Sundays and holy days. Adoration enlivens our love for the Eucharist and prepares our hearts, allowing us to enter more deeply into intimacy with the Lord by being in his presence, and by contemplating with surprise and admiration the presence of the God who wanted to remain close to us, imprisoned in the tabernacle, so that we too can prostrate ourselves, and in this way gain intimacy with the Lord.

This is like when your husband met you and fell in love with you, it was all about preparing you to live your encounter in marriage and live that intimacy. But once you are married, you take care of your relationship, so you don't get married and neglect it. You have to continue to live that preparation that allows for that intimacy, and that is done in Eucharistic visitation and adoration.

5)  Can you sing and read?  

- You can sing, of course. You can read the Scripture, some passage to meditate on it, try to see what God is saying to you there, in that Word, either because it is the Gospel that is playing that day, or because you open the Scripture at random, or because you are reading a passage of a chapter .

Spiritual reading is very good, it is something virtuous, it is very advisable and it is great to read something pious, something written by a saint, a biography?

Then there is trying to listen interiorly, with that silence that we try to do, what the Lord is saying to me and how he is moving my heart.

6) Eucharistic life

- It usually ends with the Lord's Prayer or Spiritual Communion. Through this spiritual union the Lord pours spiritual graces on our heart preparing our heart to be able to receive communion, because we are already gaining in that intimacy with the Lord in that desire to be with him, in that desire to share with him, that he may be my life, our life.

What a Christian does when he adores the Eucharist or receives communion is that his life becomes Eucharistic. I go to meet Him, but also to approach others, and with a similar attitude, I go to meet my brother, an acquaintance, a relative, a friend. Or in my job, I go to meet Christ in my work, that work well lived, offered to Christ, also prepares my way to be with the Lord.

7) Obstacles. I don't feel anything, I get very distracted.

- Sometimes we get very complicated inside. God is glad that you go and give Him that little while, when you could be doing something else. And even if you are distracted, you are with Him, just like any of us. How many times we like to have our children and family come home, even if they are not doing anything special. Or at home, you sit in that armchair and your husband sits in that other armchair, and you are both there without doing anything special.

It is very important to be in the presence of God, to be aware of where I am, it helps to focus our attention because we are a little scattered. But we have to accept the way we are, the one who has a problem of attention deficit will have it in the chapel or at home, anywhere. 

The problem we have with prayer, in my opinion, is that we are very egocentric and selfish. That is to say, we go to adoration to see what I feel. It is as if we say: I am not going to go to the hospital to visit a sick person who is in coma, because he doesn't tell me anything and I get bored.

A lot of the problems we have in prayer come from the fact that I'm going to pray to see what I get, but I'm not at all concerned about how Jesus is doing. And Jesus is glad that I'm there with Him.

8) An example: where has your husband loved you the most?

- I always give this example. Imagine you have a wedding on Saturday. And on Friday you realize that you are missing some shoes for the dress you have for the wedding. You ask your husband if he can take you to the mall at 6:00. He tells you: the Champions League final between Madrid and Barcelona is on, I can't miss the game. I can't go, put on other shoes.

In the end, he goes with you to the mall, and waits patiently for an hour, he's grumpy, but he goes, and you try on and buy the shoes for the wedding and the dance.

The question is where has he loved you more, at the mall angry, or at the wedding dancing (Bárbara Bustamante tells him: at the mall, and Pablo Fernández Martos continues). Clearly. We have to vindicate the "boredom' of knowing how to be with Him. 

9) Draw near to the Lord, especially when you are a sinner.

- Especially when you are a sinner. A little one runs into your arms because he was more frightened when he broke something. On the other hand, when we grow up, we hide. With God it is just the opposite. When I have fallen, what I have to do is to take out a Christ, kiss Him, look at Him and tell Him: Lord, from the mud of my sin, I only know that You love me, and that is where the change begins. With the certainty that the love of God is much more important, I approach Eucharistic Adoration to be close to God, who is mercy.

10) The habit of silence

- Silence is opening a space for God to speak. Because we come in from the street with so much noise, with shopping, work, children, family... We don't give him a chance to give us an answer, but sometimes we only go to inform him of what he has to do. 

They tell of the priest of Ars who was in the parish, and a peasant who was going to pray in the church came in. The priest asked him what prayer he was praying. The peasant answered: "Look, many times I don't know how to pray. Then I look at him, he looks at me, and we understand each other. We have to ask the Lord for his light to be able to live this, for the strength of the Holy Spirit to be able to be attentive to what the Lord wants to tell me.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Pier Giorgio Frassati's love for the mountains

Excerpt from "Fascinated by the summits", by Pedro Estaún: the passion of Pier Giorgio Frassati for the mountains, lived as a school of virtues and a way of encountering God.

Pedro Estaún-September 17, 2025-Reading time: 9 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsBlessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: how to "be a saint in the normality of life".Related NewsPope invites not to waste life and "be saints" like Frassati and AcutisRelated News17 holy children and adolescents for today's Church

Last September 7, Pope Leo canonized two young men in Rome: Carlo Acutis, 15, and Pier Giorgio Frassati, 24. In a square filled to overflowing, Leo XIV recalled the virtues of these two young men who can be an example for so many others. I will focus on recalling just one of the aspects of one of them: the love of the mountains in Fassati. 

 Pier Giorgio was born in 1901 into a wealthy family in Turin. He attended primary school at a Jesuit school and then engineering school. He loved sports. He often cycled the 87 kilometers that separated Turin from Pollone. He was also attracted to the sea. He savored the joy of fighting the water by swimming, rowing or sailing. He practiced horseback riding on Parsifal, a rather difficult horse. But his great passion was the mountains. It was a hobby that - like any good mountaineer - grew on him as time went by.

From a very young age he began to have a passion for the mountains. This passion grew out of his summer stays in Pollone, near Biella, in the province of Vercelli, in the Alps, where he used to hike with his family and friends. In some notes that his mother took in 1909, on returning from the Col du Teodulo, 3,317 meters above Zermatt, which in the guidebooks is listed as a ten-hour hike, we find: "We were climbing towards the White Peaks. The whole landscape was, as almost always at that hour, without shadows, without relief (...). Crossing the Teodulo with Pier Giorgio tied to me by the rope went very smoothly - the boy was often hungry - and also in this I agreed with his mother. We would stop, eat and continue. We stopped for two days at the Schwarzsee. Everyone was interested in the handsome little mountaineer." That fondness for the mountains, which was then dawning on him, he would maintain throughout his life. It was a passion that he would later justify for two reasons. Firstly, because mountaineering offered him a magnificent opportunity to exercise human virtues such as fortitude, companionship,...; and secondly, because the summits revealed to him the magnificence of the Creator.

Pier Giorgio loved sports. Even at a very young age he used to go on bicycle excursions. He often cycled the 87 kilometers from Turin to Pollone. He was also attracted to the sea, especially in his early youth. He savored the joy of fighting the water by swimming, rowing or sailing. He practiced horseback riding on Parsifal, a rather difficult horse with which he often rode to and from Turin to Pollone. But his great passion was the mountains. It was a hobby that - like any good mountaineer - grew on him as time went by.

"Every day I get more excited about the mountain," he wrote to a friend. "It is something that fascinates me. I like more and more to climb the summits, to reach the most daring peaks, to experience that pure joy that only the mountain can give. I would like to give up mountaineering, but how can I give up the fascinating appeal of the snow?". 

Shortly afterwards he wrote to another: "I have left my heart on the summits and I hope to find it when I climb Mont Blanc". And even more: "If my studies would allow me, I would like to spend whole days on the mountain and admire, in such a pure atmosphere, the magnificence of the Creator".  

It is understandable that he would take every opportunity to climb the Alps that were so close to him. During her university years it was customary for her to use the Christmas vacations to spend a few days in the Little St. Bernard. She would go skiing with a group of friends. They stayed in the guesthouse, using rooms where it was so cold at night that the water in the basins froze; it was one of those places where it is necessary to wrap up extra warm at bedtime.

One morning a friend and I started downhill on skis in the direction of Switzerland. The descent was beautiful, the weather unbeatable: snow in good conditions, favorable wind, signposts... And down they went, down they went. How far? They can't say for sure, but the descent was very long. When they resumed the ascent, the wind that had favored them on the way down was now a serious obstacle: gusts of sleet and whirlwinds whipped in their faces; the track had been erased, the signposts had become invisible. The friend began to pant and begged Pier Giorgio to slow down. After a long time and with considerable effort, they reached the refuge. Pier Giorgio had hardly tired; his companion, however, took a long time to recover. 

After supper they had a very pleasant time together: they would sing, recall the day's events or play a game. Late at night they would retire to their rooms, which were large and could accommodate several people. Pier Giorgio would invite his companions to pray the rosary, which, in general, they all accepted, although many followed him from bed. He would pray it on his knees on the hard floor. In the morning he was the first to get up. He would call the others and remind them that the night before they had pledged to accompany him to mass. He usually helped the priest and always received communion.  

Another time he went with a friend to the Adolfo Kind refuge and they stopped longer than necessary without realizing that the weather was changing. The place they had to return to was far away. They had to climb a mountain and then descend it on skis. The journey was becoming more and more difficult, especially as they were pressed for time. Suddenly Pier Giorgio realized that he had lost his watch. His companion wanted to stop to look for it, which Pier Giorgio had to oppose energetically, realizing that a delay in these circumstances could be dangerous. Around seven o'clock they reached the summit of Fraiteve. It was dark and the storm was raging. They began the descent together and carefully. At one point Pier Giorgio made a turn to stop and a ski came loose and flew off through the icy snow. Let's take a look at his partner's account: 

 "Frassati, at that time, was a mountaineer and a man. In my long wanderings in the Alps, I have learned to know the psychology of man at altitude, to judge him and to understand him. I am familiar with the moments of confusion that suddenly affect even the most courageous climbers at altitude, when they are overcome by an incident that can have consequences. Pier Giorgio was aware of the mishap, although I, more practical, would have tried to lessen its seriousness, in order to avoid the dejection that could have had bad consequences for his spirits. He understood this and remained serene at the time; I was perfectly convinced that I was in the presence of a type of mountain race: brave and cool in the face of danger". They descended as best they could through a heavy snowfall with the hostility of the mountain when it becomes an enemy. At last they discovered a light that was their destiny. When days later he told his mother about it, trying to play it down, he told her:

"Look, I've lost a ski. But when the snow melts we'll go look for it and we're sure to find it. I've lost my watch, too. Nothing else?" his mother asked with a wry smile. Immediately Pier Giorgio answered: "But when the snow melts... A plant will be born", his mother replied, increasing her smile. The ski appeared and today it is preserved as a memory of the man who had enjoyed so much on the snow.

But Pier Giorgio's mountaineering activity was above all climbing. He climbed at all times of the year. In the ve-ranos he had climbed many times the Col Mucrone on which there was a large cross. Winds, rain and snow had caused it to fall in the winter of 1920. When the good weather arrived, the parish priest of Pollone, at the suggestion of others in the village, decided to put up a new one, install it properly and rebuild it. Frassati joined the initiative.

During the climb, which took place at night, the priest had a serious fall which, although it did not have serious consequences, meant that he had to continue with the help of others. Pier Giorgio lent himself to help him and also helped to carry up part of what was needed to celebrate mass on the summit.

In November 1924, two companions proposed an excursion to the Bessanesse, 3,622 meters high. On their way from Bal-me to the refuge, they were surprised by the night and were unable to make their way up again. They were forced to stop in a small space, with the prospect of spending the night there. Pier Giorgio himself tells us about it: 

"Our intention on leaving was to climb the summit of Bessanesse via the Zsigsmondi route. When we saw the state of the snow, it seemed imprudent and we decided to change our plans and headed for the Albarón de Saboya (3,392 meters). On the way back, the non-night was upon us and we had no choice but to improvise a bivouac at an altitude of 2,500 meters. We were lucky and found a rock, on which hung a very thick layer of snow on a slope, as a roof; we dug under it a shelter of 2.50 meters long, by 0.50 wide and no more than 0.40 high, which was very well ventilated. Once the space was prepared, we had something to eat and we had to spend the whole night devising entertainments because sleeping in those circumstances would have been dangerous". 

One of the companions recalls that they prayed the rosary and, as soon as dawn broke, they prayed the Angelus to the Virgin.

His last mountain ascent was on June 7, 1925. He made it to the Lunelle peaks. He arrived at the station at the last moment, which earned him a protest from his companions. He answered them:

"What did you want, that I should miss Mass? I woke up late and could not attend with you the one we had arranged." 

 One of them remembers that climb, which was on the most difficult face, the Santi Plate, where a climber had fallen. "Pier Giorgio was the second in our team and he would belay me on the most difficult points. Climbing gave him real joy and he especially enjoyed some of the descents using the double rope (...) As soon as we reached the top he asked us to say a prayer for Cesarino Rovere, who had killed himself on that wall only a year before". On his return, Pier Giorgio wrote to his sister telling her about a climb and saying that he hoped to return with more material to open a new route. That one was no longer possible. Within a month, on July 4, Pier Giorgio gave his soul to God after a rapid illness that no one had been able to foresee.  

For John Paul II, Frassati was a model. As Cardinal of Krakow, he recalled the figure of this young man who for a few days was unable to finish his engineering studies. "He was a model for those who climbed mountains to go climbing or skiing: he thought that he too did the same, that this was for him the path of sanctification, because in everything he discovered God. He was also aware of his responsibility in society. Responsibility for the life of the nation to which he belonged; responsibility for its authentic spiritual and Christian tradition. He faced this responsibility without sparing any effort. At the same time, his sensitivity towards the poor, the needy and the sick was striking. Undoubtedly, this is a call of particular significance and a challenge to our generation and to our time, which runs the risk of falling into insensitivity. All of us must break a lance - all of us, including myself - to discover the face of man and become aware of his situation, his sufferings and his difficulties. All this we find in Pier Giorgio.

When he was already Roman Pontiff, in one of the summers that the Pope spent a few days in the Alps, he celebrated a Mass in Cogne, in an immense green meadow called San Urso or valley of the Gran d'Eyvia (Great Water), located 30 kilometers from Aosta. He arrived by helicopter and after being welcomed by the local bishop, he moved to the altar built in wood by artisans of the region, and celebrated the Eucharist before more than 20,000 local faithful. In his homily he referred to the majesty of those mountains and said: "This enchanting place also preserves the memory of a young believer of our century, Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom I had the joy of proclaiming blessed on May 20, 1990. He used to frequent the town of Cogne. He explored with ardor the peaks that crown it; he had made of every climb to the mountains an itinerary that accompanied the ascetic and spiritual one, a school of prayer and adoration, an effort of discipline and elevation. He said to his friends: 'Every day that passes I fall more madly in love with the mountain'. And he continued: 'I desire more and more to climb mountains, to conquer the steepest peaks, to feel the pure joy that can only be experienced in the mountains'". (...) "Beloved brothers," the Pope concluded, "like St. Besso and St. Urso, Blessed Pier Giorgio knew how to combine admiration for the harmony of creation with generous service to the Lord and to his brothers. This admiration of creation, admiration of God's work, is extremely necessary. Through this admiration of creation, we admire God himself; through admiration of the visible, we admire the invisible. May Pier Giorgio, almost a contemporary of ours, be an example especially for young people, for those who come here and for those who go to the mountains to spend a period of well-deserved rest. Before such an extraordinary spectacle of nature, we spontaneously raise our hearts to heaven, as the young Frassati often used to do".

The young Frassati is not forgotten over the years. Since 1996, the Italian Alpine Club has been putting his name on a network of mountain trails throughout the country. In 2001, the year of the centenary of his birth, those of Le Marche, Veneto and Lazio were inaugurated. An association, "L'Assotiazione Internazionale Sentieri Pier Giorgio Frassati", was also created for the occasion. In this way, the figure of this young Italian is kept alive among the mountaineers of this century in which there are so many people who live their mountain experiences through hiking both on old rehabilitated paths and on others of recent creation. And now, as a saint, he will be a model for the many of us who love the mountains and go to its slopes whenever possible. 

Chapter from the book "Fascinated by the summits" published with the author's permission.

The authorPedro Estaún

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RelatedRelated NewsBlessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: how to "be a saint in the normality of life".Related NewsPope invites not to waste life and "be saints" like Frassati and AcutisRelated News17 holy children and adolescents for today's Church
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Jesuit app uses AI to care for your spiritual life

Created by the Loyola Communication Group (Society of Jesus), AMDG is a free app that suggests personalized prayers, readings and music every day thanks to AI.

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 16, 2025-Reading time: < 1 minute
RelatedRelated NewsArtificial Intelligence, Leo XIV and the Church's Social DoctrineRelated NewsStill not receiving the news of the day via Whatsapp?Related NewsContemplation in times of WhatsApp

The Loyola Communication Group has presented AMDGa free application that combines cutting-edge technology and interiority. It is the first mobile platform that, with the help of artificial intelligence, accompanies the spiritual life of each user in a personalized way.

With the slogan "For God to be noticed," the new tool offers daily prayers, readings and music selected according to the person's interests and searches. "We wanted to put
the enormous amount of spiritual and reflective resources available to the people of the world.
Society of Jesus. It can also be offered in depth through cell phones," explains Jesuit Carlos Maza, content director of AMDG.

The application, developed by SJDigital, brings together and organizes thousands of pastoral and spiritual resources developed by Jesuit projects such as Rezandovoy, PastoralSJ, SerJesuita, IGNIS, VocesSJ, Evangelio Diario, Sal Terrae, Mensajero, TSNC, La Biblia de Nuestro Pueblo, Jesuitas Acústico, Manresa or MAG+S. One of the most outstanding elements of AMDG.app is its integration of the daily review, a
classical spiritual practice that, thanks to this application, offers a new perspective.

AMDG can be downloaded free of charge. Those looking for more extensive support can opt for the AMDG PLUS version, which for €6.90 per month or €69 per year offers full access to an extensive catalog of reference books and magazines - with authors such as José María Rodríguez Olaizola or José Carlos Bermejo - as well as exclusive content without advertising.

With this initiative, the Jesuits aim to demonstrate that spiritual depth and technology are not only not incompatible, but can complement each other to bring prayer and reflection closer to everyday life.

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Evangelization

Saints Cornelius, pope, Cyprian, bishop, and Ludmila, mother of noble family

Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, pope and bishop respectively, whom the liturgy celebrates on September 16, are mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass. They were martyrs and important figures in the Church in the 3rd century. St. Ludmila was a mother of a noble family in the 9th century, and grandmother of St. Wenceslaus.

Francisco Otamendi-September 16, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

The commemoration of these two events on the same day martyr saints of the third century, Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, whom the Jeronimian Martyrology recalls together, is very old. A few centuries later lived St. Ludmila, who married the Duke of Bohemia, had six children, and educated her grandchild St. Wesceslao in the 9th century.

Saints Cornelius and Cyprian were victims of Valerian's persecution in June 253 and September 14, 258. Their memoirs appear together in the ancient liturgical books of Rome from the middle of the fourth century. Their history is intertwined, although the African bishop stands out more with his writings.

The Roman Martyrology He quotes them as follows. "Memory of Saints Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop, martyrs, about whom on the fourteenth of September the burial of the first and the passion of the second are recounted. Together they are celebrated in this memory by the Christian world. For both bore witness, in days of persecution, to their love for the unfailing truth before God and the world (252, 258)".

Pope Cornelius, a Roman, had to see how his election was not accepted by the heretic Novatian, who consecrated himself antipope and promoted a schism in Rome. He died in exile, but was buried in Rome in the catacombs of St. Callixtus.

Saint Ludmila, Christian mother and grandmother

Saint Ludmila (Mielnik, present-day Poland, around 860), was the daughter of the Duke of Milsko and married the Duke of Bohemia, with whom she had six children. In 874, her husband converted to Christianity, and was baptized by St. Methodius. 

Ludmila also embraced the Christian faith, and spread it among her people, who were not yet Christian. When her husband and son died, the nobles of Bohemia entrusted her to educate their grandson, St. Wenceslaus, to whom she taught the Christian faith. She died in Prague, strangled in a conspiracy.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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  • Reducing the Abortion Debate to Religion Misses the Point
ColumnistsBryan Lawrence Gonsalves

Reducing the Abortion Debate to Religion Misses the Point

Labeling the pro-life cause as "religious" is a way of evading the real ethical debate: the defense of life is based on reason, ethics and justice, not only on religion.

September 16, 2025-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsCan we overcome social polarization on the issue of abortion?Related NewsIsabel Vaughan-Spruce: "The damage abortion inflicts on women alone should be enough to make us pro-life".Related NewsA. Alderliesten: "We want to avoid the marginalization of man in the decision on life and abortion".

Considering the recent debates within the Lithuanian Parliament over abortion legislation, I’ve observed a recurring assertion that strikes me as both intellectually lazy and morally evasive: that abortion should be banned because it conflicts with religious beliefs.

This framing is not only reductive but also dishonest. It implies that the pro-life position is inherently religious, a relic of dogma rather than a conclusion drawn from reason, ethics, or a consistent philosophy of human value. What is worse, this assumption is often weaponized by those on the opposing side, who paint anyone with pro-life convictions as a religious fanatic or a zealot waging war on women.

Religious beliefs are not the foundation

To argue that a belief must be dismissed because it is shared by a religion is a fallacy of the highest order. Atheists exist who reject abortion not because of divine command, but because they hold, through reason, that life has intrinsic value. Are they to be accused of secret piety? Are we to discard their arguments because they do not fit neatly into a religious narrative?

Reducing the pro-life argument to a matter of faith alone is not only a disservice to the debate, but also an abdication of moral responsibility. It is easier to dismiss a conviction as “religious dogma” than to confront the logic, the ethics, and the uncomfortable questions it may raise.

To call the defence of life a “religious issue” is to attempt to discredit a moral stance without engaging its substance. It is not only weak labelling; in my view it is intellectual cowardice.

Are the Foundations of being Pro Life Religious?

The foundational pro-life argument is grounded in biology (when human life begins), ethics (the value of human life) and the virtue of justice (the moral and innate obligation to protect the innocent and powerless). None of these aspects require a belief in God to be accepted.

Yes, it is true that many in the pro-life movement are religious. So what? That’s not the point. When did a movement’s demographics start determining the truth or legitimacy of its principles? We don’t dismiss the civil rights movement as a religious crusade, even though many of its leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King foremost among them, were pastors. We don’t write off environmentalism because many its adherents speak of nature in emotional and personal terms. Why then is the pro-life cause uniquely singled out by having its moral seriousness reduced to mere religious sentiment?

Did the Pro-Life movement start for religious reasons?

Even if the early pro-life movement had strong roots in religious communities (which is a complex and contested historical point), that still tells us nothing about the merit of its arguments. The truth of an idea does not depend on who said it first, or why.

If Einstein had been a priest, would the theory of relativity be theological? If a religious person says stealing is wrong, is the moral weight of that position nullified by their faith?

This line of reasoning, tracing the origin of an argument to discredit it, is known as the “genetic fallacy”. It’s the same type of reasoning used by those who say “democracy is a Western idea” to reject it in non-Western societies. It’s lazy, shallow, and irrelevant to the content of the argument itself.

Why This Mislabelling Matters

Words shape perception, and perception shapes discourse. Classifying the pro-life position as a 'religious issue' is not just a matter of classification; it is a way of distorting the nature of the discussion before it begins. Labeling pro-life convictions as 'religious' marginalizes the argument from the outset. It removes it from the realm of public ethics and places it in the private realm of faith, as if it has no more relevance to policy than a personal dietary preference. It teaches people to see a very moral social issue as the personal opinion of "a pious few" and thus suggests that this conversation only makes sense in churches, not in courts or parliaments.

My concern is that this mischaracterization teaches people, especially the young and those outside religious circles, that unless you belong to a specific faith, you have no reason or right to hold a pro-life view. It suggests that caring about the unborn life is only for the religious, shutting out thoughtful individuals who might reach the same conclusion through reason, ethics, or personal conviction. It turns a universal moral issue into a tribal badge. And in doing so, it shuts the door on thousands of thoughtful individuals who might otherwise engage the issue seriously.

Worse still, it leads to a kind of argumental apartheid, where certain perspectives are excluded from legitimate public debate not because they are false or harmful, but because they are perceived to belong to “the wrong kind of people”. In a certain sense it can also lead to intellectual segregation since it may promote the moral view that certain beliefs are less worthy of engagement simply because of who holds them.

This mislabelling also impoverishes the pro-choice side of the debate. Since by refusing to engage seriously with the strongest pro-life arguments, which is rooted in biology, ethics, and justice, many who call themselves pro-choice end up arguing against a strawman. They debate an imagined theocracy instead of a real philosophy. They ridicule their idea of cartoonish villains instead of grappling with rigorous reasoning. And as a result, the entire conversation stagnates.

A functioning society cannot afford to treat fundamental moral questions as niche theological squabbles. We do not relegate questions of war, racism, or poverty to the religious domain simply because many religious people have strong views about them. We don’t say opposition to racism is a "religious issue" just because churches supported the 1965 Selma marches to secure voting rights for African Americans. We don’t claim that caring for the poor is invalid because it echoes Biblical principles. We understand, rightly, that these are not sectarian concerns, they are public, civic, and deeply human issues.

So why not life?

 Why is the question of abortion, arguably one of the most profound moral issues of our time, singled out and cordoned off by being dismissed as the territory of “the religious”? If human dignity matters, if justice for the vulnerable matters, if ethics and compassion and reason are values, we hold dear, then we owe it to ourselves, and to one another, to engage this question with honesty, not with labels.

The value of human life is not a denominational concern. It is not Catholic or Protestant, Muslim or Jewish, spiritual or secular. It is universal. And any society that hopes to be just must treat it that way. This is not a “religious issue”. This is a human one. And it deserves to be treated with the seriousness and moral clarity that all human issues do.

The authorBryan Lawrence Gonsalves

Founder of "Catholicism Coffee".

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RelatedRelated NewsCan we overcome social polarization on the issue of abortion?Related NewsIsabel Vaughan-Spruce: "The damage abortion inflicts on women alone should be enough to make us pro-life".Related NewsA. Alderliesten: "We want to avoid the marginalization of man in the decision on life and abortion".
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Integral ecology

Why does the Pope criticize the "high salaries" of some managers?

The statements have been published in Crux, the newspaper where Elise Allen works, which has conducted the first major interview granted by Leo XIV.

Javier García Herrería-September 16, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

The exorbitant salaries of managers and elite athletes have been a recurring theme in public debate. The recent declarations of Pope Leo XIV, in his first official interview, reactivate interest in this issue.

Asked about the polarization in our societies, Leo XIV stated: "I consider the growing gap between the income levels of the working class and the money received by the richest to be very significant. For example, CEOs who 60 years ago might have earned four to six times more than what workers receive, the latest figure I saw is 600 times more than what the average worker receives. Yesterday it came out that Elon Musk will be the world's first billionaire - what does that mean and what's it all about? If that's the only thing that still has value, then we're in serious trouble....".  

Leo XIV does not make an explicit condemnation of capitalism or liberalism, but he does underline how gigantic inequalities are problematic. It does not seem that the Pope intends to criticize personal success, but he does question the values that society prioritizes.

Why is the Church meddling in the salary debate?

The Catholic Church has a say on disproportionate wages not because of an intrusion into purely economic matters, but as a matter of moral principle. The Social Doctrine of the Church holds that capitalism and liberalism cannot be systems without limits. One of the fundamental principles of this doctrine is the universal destination of human goods.

This principle, which goes back to the Fathers of the Church, states that the earth and its resources are meant to be used by all humanity. Therefore, as long as a large number of human beings are in serious material need, the excessive accumulation of wealth by others is problematic.

Although the Church recognizes and defends the right to private property as a means of guaranteeing autonomy and personal development, this right is not absolute. In a world where inequality has skyrocketed, the Church considers the excessive accumulation of wealth by a minority to be contrary to the universal destination of goods.

Global inequality: data that validate the criticism

The Church's criticism is supported by data showing growing economic inequality. As the reports of numerous organizations unanimously point out (UNESCO, OSXFAM, Credit Suisse), the world's richest 1% possess an amount of wealth that exceeds that of the majority of the world's population. For example, the richest 10% of the world's population hold 76% of the total wealth, while the poorest 50% hold only 2% of the global wealth.

This disparity is not just a statistical problem, but a moral injustice that has serious social and civic consequences. The problem with our economic system is not that it allows people to be very rich, but that this happens while millions of people struggle to access the basics of a dignified life. The Church does not seek the abolition of private property or economic equality among all human beings, but an economy that provides a minimum of material dignity for all people.

The echo of Michael Sandel's critique

The Pope's words resonate with the ideas of the American philosopher Michael Sandel, Princess of Asturias Award winner and famous former Harvard professor, who has been one of the most famous critics of wage inequality. If the only indicator of value is the accumulation of wealth, the importance of solidarity and the common good is dismissed. By decoupling the value of work from its real contribution to society, it erodes the dignity of those jobs that, although essential, are poorly paid.

Sandel argues that the idea that success is based solely on individual effort is a fallacy. Luck, social environment and circumstances of birth play a crucial role, yet meritocratic society tends to ignore these factors. The data show that the social elevator does not work and, therefore, one is not as responsible for one's success (or failure) as the American dream would have us believe. 

For Sandel, the astronomical salaries of managers and athletes are the product of a society that confuses market value with moral value. This distinction is crucial: an investment fund manager may generate a fortune, but is his or her contribution really more valuable to society than that of a teacher or a nurse? Sandel's critique, like that which the Pope seems to make in his statements, does not seek to nullify success, but to redefine what should be valued by society.

In a world where inequality is growing and social polarization is increasing, Leo XIV's words invite a review of our values. By questioning wage disproportionality, Leo XIV raises the debate about what society we are building and who is really being rewarded.

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Spain

Pope appoints Msgr. Piero Pioppo as Nuncio to Spain

The Italian archbishop, with a long career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, now assumes the representation in Spain.

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 15, 2025-Reading time: < 1 minute

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Piero Pioppo, titular archbishop of Torcello, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Spain. The appointment, made public today at 12:00 noon, was communicated to the Spanish Episcopal Conference by the Apostolic Nunciature.

Born in Savona (Italy) on September 29, 1960, Pioppo was ordained a priest in 1985 in the Diocese of Acqui Terme and incardinated there. He holds a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology and, since 1993, has been a member of the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See, where he has worked in the nunciatures of Korea and Chile, as well as in the Secretariat of State. He is fluent in Italian, French, English and Spanish.

In 2006 he was appointed Prelate of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) and, four years later, Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, a post to which he was ordained bishop on March 18, 2010. Since 2017 he served as Nuncio to Indonesia and, since 2018, to ASEAN.

Delay in appointment

The appointment of Bishop Piero Pioppo as apostolic nuncio to Spain was accompanied by a striking diplomatic detail: the granting of the Spanish government's approval was delayed for several months.

In diplomatic circles, this type of delay is usually interpreted as a sign of disagreement or protest towards the party presenting the candidate. Although no official explanation has been offered from Moncloa, many analysts have interpreted it as a sign of protest.

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The World

60 adults baptized in Shanghai on the feast of the Holy Cross

Sixty adults were baptized in a celebration presided over by the Bishop of Shanghai, Msgr. Joseph Shen, in the Cathedral of St. Ignatius (Xujiahui).

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 15, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsCardinal Tagle: "Chinese Catholics know how to value the Pope's teachings".Related NewsChinese Catholics, "show God's mercy and love to all the people".Related NewsBlessed Trojanowski (Auschwitz), and martyrs in Japan, China and Alexandria

In an atmosphere of deep faith and joy, the Cathedral of St. Ignatius in the historic Xujiahui neighborhood of Shanghai was the scene of an extraordinary event: sixty adults received the sacrament of Baptism during the celebration of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The solemn Eucharist was presided over by Monsignor Joseph Shen, Bishop of Shanghai, and was attended by hundreds of faithful who wanted to accompany the new members of the Church.

The testimonies of those present testify to the emotion of the moment, one of the witnesses said: "It was impressive to see that large group of catechumens approaching the fountain of grace to be baptized".

In the midst of the rite, the words of the Apocalypse came spontaneously to mind: "Then one of the elders spoke, saying to me, 'Who are these who are clothed in white robes, and where have they come from? And I said unto him, Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb'" (Rev 7:13-14).

A sign of hope

The white vestments of the neophytes evoked this passage, reminding everyone that Baptism is new birth in Christ and participation in his victory over sin and death. In a context where faith is often lived in silence and discretion, this event is perceived as a true sign of hope and a reason to thank God for the vitality of his Church.

The sacrament of Baptism is the gateway to Christian life and, for these sixty adults, it signifies the beginning of a journey of faith that, supported by the community. The Catholic community in Shanghai, with the support of their pastors and catechists, patiently accompanied their preparation in a catechumenal journey that now flourishes in this celebration, in which they also received Confirmation and Eucharist.

On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, where it is remembered that the salvation of the world was given in the Cross of Christ, the Church in Shanghai renews its commitment to be a witness to the faith in the midst of contemporary society.

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Evangelization

Our Lady of Sorrows

In the month of September, which contains so many advocations of the Virgin Mary, the Church celebrates Our Lady of Sorrows on the 15th, a memorial linked to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Sunday the 14th.

Francisco Otamendi-September 15, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Devotion to the Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Sorrows, particularly widespread in Mediterranean countries, developed from the end of the 11th century. Pope Pius VII introduced the celebration into the Roman liturgical calendar in 1814. And St. Pius X fixed the date definitively on September 15, passing from the 'Seven Sorrows' to 'Our Lady of Sorrows', he points out. Vatican News.

Testimony to the antiquity of this devotion is the Stabat Mater, attributed to Blessed Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306). The first liturgical celebrations of Mary Sorrowful at the foot of the Cross date back to the 15th century, the Vatican agency explains. It should not be forgotten that in 1233 the Order of the friars 'Servants of Mary' was founded. The Serbites contributed to the spread of devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows.

The feast commemorates the suffering and fortitude of Mary during the Passion and Death of Jesus. The invocation is also known by other names such as La Dolorosa, Virgen de la Amargura and Virgen de la Piedad. In union with the redemptive work of the Son, Mary becomes the Mother who gives birth to every Christian, every disciple of Jesus.

Mary, at the foot of the cross

Referring to this celebration, wrote St. Paul VI: it is "a propitious occasion to relive a decisive moment in the history of salvation. And to venerate, together with the Son exalted on the Cross, the Mother who shares his sorrow. In union with the redemptive work of the Son, Mary becomes the Mother who gives birth to every Christian, to every disciple of Jesus.

Benedict XIV noted in his encyclical 'Deus caritas est' that our Mother "is humble," and a woman of faith, of hope. "A woman who loves," as the book 'Maria'. "The hour of the Mother will come only at the moment of the cross, which will be the true hour of Jesus. Then, when the disciples have fled, she will remain at the foot of the cross".

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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ColumnistsAntonio Moreno

The spotless lamb

On September 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, this story was born: the story of a mother torn and redeemed, who in her own pain found the echo of Mary's at the foot of the cross.

September 15, 2025-Reading time: 5 minutes

The child that had just emerged from her womb was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Although she had been taught not to get attached to him, Alina's heart broke when he was quickly carried out of the delivery room wrapped in a towel.

The medical team was also trained to avoid as much as possible the contact of the laboring woman with the baby, so they had placed a sheet in front of them as a screen. But providence arranged that, in the movement of the baby's extraction, the midwife also unintentionally pulled the sheet allowing that fleeting glance thanks to which, still exhausted, the mother was able to admire the beauty of that little brown miracle. 

Her other two daughters, who were waiting for her at home, were as blonde as the sun. They were born bald, although they soon grew long manes that Alina took great pains to brush every morning before going to school. How she loved to caress those silky golden strands while she listened to them tell those things that only a mother tells a mother in a family hairdressing session! By the way, how would they be? After two weeks in the clinic for risk of pre-eclampsia, she had forgotten their voices and their smell. 

The agency managing the surrogacy was very concerned about the health of its "associates" and had forced her to go into hospital, so the girls had to stay with their paternal grandmother, the only family they had left in Kiev. The mother-in-law had happily overcome the depression caused by the loss of her only son, Dmytro, on the Donbas front. Her granddaughters and daughter-in-law had been her ladder out of the pit of mental illness. Her meager pension barely gets her to the 7th of every month and now, after the news that Russia recently bombed a queue of pensioners waiting to collect it, she doesn't even dare to go.   

As she was being prepared for the episiotomy, Alina began to have horrible thoughts about the child's future. She knew that the parents who had commissioned him were well off. The 14,000 euros she would receive, equivalent to three times the average annual salary, was only a portion of the total amount of expenses involved in renting their services. With so much money, she was sure that the child would lack nothing materially, but she could not help imagining him being mistreated, abused or unwanted. 

The sharp pain of the first stitch of the suture (anesthesia is rationed in hospitals in times of war) forced her to throw her head back in a reflex action that caused her gaze to cross with that of a Madonna at the head of the bed. It was an icon of Perpetual Help, that image in which the child Jesus, frightened at the sight of the nails and other instruments of the passion carried by angels, runs to seek the protection of his mother. 

-Oh, another stitch, another nail. Help, mother! -Alina cried inside, gritting her teeth and wishing she could hide, like the child, under Mary's mantle. What kind of mother gives birth to a child to give it to others? -she blamed herself. That fat, beautiful child, who only knows me, how can you give him to someone you don't know how he will be cared for? 

But he justified himself by thinking of his two blondes who would not be without a glass of milk for breakfast for years to come.

-Besides, the brown one is not mine," he continued, excusing himself, "it doesn't carry my genes. 

But he was so beautiful! She was so proud to have brought him into the world, and the pain of the separation, which had only lasted a few minutes, kept growing. 

-And how many more times will he be looking for me and I won't be there to help him! Oh, my baby! Oh, my brown one! she cried aloud.

-Calm down, Alina, he is fine," an assistant calmed her down. He is with his parents who are going to love him very much and you are going to see your daughters again tomorrow and take them out for ice cream as you told me yesterday.

Words of consolation were useless, he no longer wanted that ice cream with his blondes. He no longer wanted the "compensation for the inconvenience" as they euphemistically called in the agency the humiliating exploitation of poor women, which is what they really do. His daughters and his mother-in-law? they would get ahead, he thought. 

Looking again at the Byzantine icon, he prayed wholeheartedly: "Mary, you know the pain of losing a son. You too had to give up your son for others. You who saw your spotless lamb led to the slaughter, do not let anything bad happen to mine, give him a mother, the best mother, be his mother. Take care of him wherever he goes and tell your son to forgive my bad head. I am sorry, very sorry". 

She had not finished saying the sentence when the door of the delivery room opened again and the head of the agency appeared, looking as if something was wrong. 

-Hello Alina," the businesswoman approached sweetly, "How are you? They told me it was a very good delivery in the end, despite the high blood pressure and the stitches.... 

-Yes, thank you, this one was quicker than the previous ones," he replied. How is the child, have his parents seen him yet?

-You see, Alina, there's a problem....

-Problem, what problem? Tell me he's okay, please tell me nothing has happened to him.

-It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. She just... She has a small defect, something that could not be detected in the ultrasound, a hemangioma on her arm. It's no health problem just a spot on the skin that... Well, it's not perfect and the parents have rejected him because they're embarrassed that the kids are going to mess with him when he goes to school. Besides, they are instagramers and wanted to take a lot of pictures of him and that was not going to be possible. Since they don't have a money problem, they will try again. 

-It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

-Yes, it is, Alina, I think like you," he dramatized. The child is a cutie. You see... It is foreseen in these cases that, when the child has to be offered in a new adoption, the surrogate mother will be asked first. You will receive, of course, the compensation we had agreed upon, with a small bonus that will be charged separately to the parents for the return. Do you agree?

-Do I agree? -she answered with a smile from ear to ear and sitting up as if she hadn't just given birth. Bring me the child right now, he is mine and mine alone and no one has ever wanted him and no one will ever want him more than me. 

With a gesture of relief, the businesswoman quickly left the room, returning immediately with the child in her arms.

As the mother held him to her breast, the baby seemed to recognize her at once and began to shake his head, trying to squeeze out the first colostrum. Alina couldn't stop looking at every crease of his skin and stroking that clump of black hair on his head. And the spot on his arm? On closer inspection, it is in the shape of a star, like the one Our Lady is wearing on her head in the icon up there. 

-This will be your sign, Dmytro," she whispered to her newborn, stroking his spot as she nursed him, "the sign of the mother of another brown child; a little lamb without a spot, whom she had to give up with much pain to save many, but who was then returned to her to live with her forever.

The authorAntonio Moreno

Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.

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  • José María La Porte: "Openness of thought is an attraction of Catholic universities".
Education

José María La Porte: "Openness of thought is an attraction of Catholic universities".

Prof. José María La Porte is one of the driving forces behind the International Congress Purpose of the UniversityThe purpose of the meeting was to reflect on the identity and mission of Catholic universities.

Alina Maria Balaj-September 15, 2025-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated News"Form together to evangelize. Report of Roman Pontifical Universities and InstitutionsRelated NewsThe future of Catholic universities

On the occasion of the International Congress Purpose of the University on the purpose of the university in the Catholic sphere, to be held October 29-31, 2025, Omnes has interviewed one of the promoters of the event, Professor José María La Porte (professor at the Faculty of Communication of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross), who is part of the international group of researchers University and Catholic Identity. 

This team is part of the Research Laboratory of the University of the Holy Cross and aims to create an international forum of experts and an interdisciplinary platform that delves into key issues related to the culture and mission of Catholic universities.

The interview is also published on the occasion of the launching of the book Universities, Purpose and Catholic Identity. Examining Governance, Communication, and Core Curriculumpublished by Routledge. This work addresses the contemporary challenges and aspirations of Catholic universities through a historical, philosophical and practical lens.

This conversation addresses the reasons that inspired the organization of this first congress, the role of Catholic universities in a polarized world, their model of governance, and the challenges they face in terms of teaching, research and social outreach. An in-depth look that explores how these institutions can offer a truly meaningful educational proposal, open to diversity, committed to the person in all its dimensions and attentive to the needs of today's society.

Why have you organized a conference on the purpose of the university in the Catholic sphere?

-This congress is part of a broader project. It is promoted by a research group on the Christian identity of the university: what it consists of, how it is manifested, how it is cultivated or diffused. 

The group is made up of professors from nine universities in different countries, who intend to conduct research on these topics over the next few years. This congress is the first one promoted by the group. The purpose of the university seemed to us to be a good theme to start with, as it is something essential, since it inspires all activities and motivates people.

How is the "governance" of a Catholic university defined, and how does it differ from that of a secular university?

-Governance is a fundamental element in a university: it determines the direction, establishes the strategy, distributes resources. In that sense, all universities are similar: they must have clear objectives, they must aspire to quality, they need to be well managed. 

Perhaps the governance of a Catholic university could be characterized by a special attention to people. I say "special" because I understand that it is something that interests everyone. And also an awareness of one's own evangelizing mission. 

What would be the purpose of a Catholic university in today's polarized context?

-I think that, at this time, Catholic universities can make a great contribution by promoting certain Christian values: respect for the person, love of freedom, the culture of dialogue and encounter, the desire to serve one's own community.

The universal Catholic mentality is accustomed to the coexistence of people from different countries and cultures. This can be seen very well in the pontifical universities, which are a real mosaic. All this, in my opinion, is an antidote that avoids single thinking and polarization.

Teaching, research and social engagement are the pillars on which any university is based. How are they deployed in a Catholic context?

–It is a very broad question, and it would take more than one congress to answer it. To say something common to the three missions, I think that a Catholic university has to offer the possibility of studying the great themes of anthropology, the great questions that every human being asks: life, death, the meaning of existence, the vocation to service. Faith sheds much light on these questions, which are present in research, teaching and outreach.

What business management models can be applied in Catholic universities, maintaining a vision of service and care for the person?

-I'm not sure there is one best business management model for Catholic universities. Models depend on the culture of the country in which the university is located. But if there is one thing common to all, in my opinion, it is that they have to be excellent at managing scarce resources. This implies a lot of professionalism and a lot of ingenuity.  

What impact can the culture of a Catholic university have on today's society? Can it induce changes in the collective mentality?

-The influence of a Catholic university on society is similar to the influence of any other university. Above all, it is noticeable in the formation that its students have received. They are the ones who, when they finish their studies and enter the workplace and social life, bring with them behaviors, values, ideas and projects that have an incalculable impact. 

I think that keeping that personal, concrete perspective helps a lot to work with serenity.

What challenges must Catholic universities face to remain relevant through research?

-The best universities transmit knowledge and also generate it. I think that research in Catholic universities can be very relevant because of the topics it deals with and the approaches it adopts. 

For example, I know of a research project being carried out by several universities that is focused on the study of the values that inspire young people, what attracts and moves them. The possibilities for developing impactful research are endless.

Why do young people continue to choose a Catholic university and how can new students be attracted in a secularized society?

-Catholic universities encounter the same difficulties as all the others: demographic and economic problems, etc. I think students are very attracted to two things about our universities: the close-knit atmosphere and the openness of thought.

A few months ago, an atheist student who came from a theoretically neutral but ideologically very biased university was telling the professor at a Catholic university: "In your course I felt much freer than in the courses I attended at my previous university. Here I was able to talk about everything, to discuss ideas without fear. There were some topics that could not be touched upon or could only be approached in a certain way.".

The authorAlina Maria Balaj

D. student in Communication at the PUSC.

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RelatedRelated News"Form together to evangelize. Report of Roman Pontifical Universities and InstitutionsRelated NewsThe future of Catholic universities
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Cinema

Big theft, small thief

The Sticky Mixing humor, drama and crime: Three misfits, a million-dollar heist and a lot of syrup: the sweetest comedy of crime.

Pablo Úrbez-September 15, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Series

AddressBrian Donovan and Ed Herro
DistributionMargo Martindale, Guillaume Cyr
Platform: Prime Video
Country: Canada, 2024

The Sticky - Prime VideoIn a small town in French-speaking Canada, almost all of the world's maple syrup production is concentrated. Ruth Clarke, who lives by selling syrup and whose husband is in a coma, suffers from the corrupt and despotic management of the Federation of Syrup Producers. Remy Bouchard, on the other hand, is a forty-something who still lives in his father's house and works as a security guard at the Federation's warehouse. Finally, Mike Byrne belongs to a family of gangsters, but no one gives him serious jobs because of his ineptitude, so he acts as an errand boy. These three characters decide to undertake together the theft of hundreds of barrels of syrup, worth millions of dollars.

The term sticky which gives the title to this series would come to mean stickyin reference to maple syrup. This is a series of local character, of Canadian production and geographical and cultural references fully ascribable to the French-speaking region of Canada, but which is universal in its development of the story, in the characterization of its characters and in its way of narrating. The Sticky is a tragicomedy, which alternates comedy due to the tragic situations suffered by its characters, with suspense and drama in the background. One of its greatest virtues is its restraint in knowing how to ridicule at every moment, expose the absurdity of the situations and use wit, as well as giving credibility to the drama of the protagonists and encouraging the viewer to empathize with them.

The series, consisting of six episodes (and awaiting a second season), is inspired by a real event: between 2011 and 2012, thieves stole almost 10,000 barrels of syrup over several months. A label informs at the beginning of each chapter of this circumstance, but to indicate, precisely, that it is not intended to reconstruct that episode. It is not, therefore, a historical series, but is based on a juicy anecdote to design three endearing characters and mold this work to the patterns of grand theft stories: designing the plan, arming the material and executing it, with the corresponding subplots. It is a story starring society's outcasts, whose worth runs parallel to the achievement or failure of their ambitious plan.

The authorPablo Úrbez

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Culture

Catholic Scientists: Amalia Heredia, Researcher and Philanthropist

On October 16, 1902, Amalia Heredia, researcher, philanthropist, collector and patron of the arts, died; she was also the Marquise of Casa Loring. This series of short biographies of Catholic scientists is published thanks to the collaboration of the Society of Catholic Scientists of Spain.

Society of Catholic Scientists-September 15, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Amalia Heredia Livermore (March 3, 1830 - October 16, 1902) was the youngest of ten siblings in a family in which, in addition to a Catholic education, they were taught a love for the fine arts.

At the age of twenty she married Jorge Loring Oyarzábal, an influential engineer, businessman and politician, who would later become a marquis, with whom she had nine children. After her marriage, she transformed her residence in Malaga into a botanical garden, like the ones she had known in her travels through Europe. This is the La Concepción Botanical Garden, which can still be visited today in Malaga. Also interested in collecting, she acquired with her husband the tables of the Lex Flavia Malacitana, a piece composed of two copper plates of the first century AD, which contains part of the legislative articles of the Roman Malaga. That acquisition was the germ of what is known as the Loringiano Museum, which Amalia and Jorge built in their residence by collecting archaeological pieces from many different places.

She also financed the Hospital de San Julián, the Civil Hospital of Málaga, and the Colegio de La Asunción, with which she brought to Málaga the nuns of the French congregation that had founded Santa María Eugenia de Jesús. The first students of the school were Amalia's own daughters, although the school also welcomed girls who otherwise would not have had access to education.

Being a woman who had received in her house illustrious personalities such as King Alfonso XII or the Empress Sissi, it is said that when she was visiting with her husband in the Alhambra in Granada, a fire broke out. She, without hesitation, began to carry buckets of water to put it out, working as a laborer without any fear that her dress would be ruined.

In addition, when the couple moved to Madrid, Amalia Heredia was a founding member of the Royal Spanish Society of Natural History and a member of the Order of Noble Ladies of Maria Luisa, an order created by Charles IV in 1792 to distinguish noblewomen who stood out for their services or qualities.

The authorSociety of Catholic Scientists

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The Vatican

Today's martyrs show power of love over hate, says Pope

Pope Leo XIV said in an ecumenical prayer on Sunday, September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, that today's martyrs and witnesses to the faith show the power of love in the face of hatred. In the morning, more than 30,000 faithful in St. Peter's Square warmly congratulated Leo XIV on his 70th birthday.

CNS / Omnes-September 14, 2025-Reading time: 7 minutes

- Cindy Wooden / Carol Glatz (CNS).

In situations where "hatred seemed to have permeated every aspect of life," modern Christian martyrs demonstrated that love is stronger than death. This is how has stated Pope Leo XIV at an ecumenical prayer service, held on the evening of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Sunday on which he celebrated his 70th birthday.

The Sept. 14 prayer service commemorated 1,624 Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants who died for their faith between 2000 and 2025. During the Holy Year 2000, St. John Paul II led a similar commemoration of Christians killed in the 20th century, mainly by communist and fascist regimes.

Pope Leo met with 28 representatives of other churches and Christian communities for the prayer service in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

With Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants 

Anglican Bishop Anthony Ball, representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See, and Orthodox Archbishop Elia of Helsinki and All Finland, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, were on either side of the Pope. Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Antony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's department for external relations, also attended.

The Vatican did not publish the names of the 1,624 new members martyrswhose stories were submitted over the past two years by Catholic bishops' conferences, religious orders and nunciatures around the world.

Dorothy Stang, Father Ragheed Ganni, Brother Francis Tofi...

But Pope Leo mentioned some of them in his homily, including Sister Dorothy Stang, a U.S. member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She was shot and killed in the Brazilian Amazon in 2005 for defending the land rights of indigenous and poor farmers.

"When those who were about to kill her asked her for a weapon, she showed them her Bible and replied: 'This is my only weapon,'" Pope Leo said.

He also spoke of Chaldean Father Ragheed Ganni of Mosul, Iraq, "who refused to fight to witness to true Christian behavior." He and three subdeacons were shot dead in front of their church in 2007.

The Pope also mentioned Brother Francis Tofi, an Anglican and member of the Melanesian Brotherhood, who gave his life for peace in the Solomon Islands. Tofi and six other members of the religious order were killed by militiamen on Guadalcanal in 2003.

Persecution increases and "we do not want to forget".

"Unfortunately, despite the end of the great dictatorships of the 20th century, the persecution of Christians has not ceased to this day," the pope said. "On the contrary, in some parts of the world it has increased."

"We cannot and do not want to forget," the Pope said. And "we want to keep this memory alive together with our brothers and sisters of other churches and Christian communities. For this reason, I wish to reaffirm the Catholic Church's commitment to safeguard the memory of witnesses to the faith of all Christian traditions."

The new martyrs and witnesses to the faith were not killed because of the denomination to which they belonged, but because they were Christians, he said, and lived the Gospel of loving service to their brothers and sisters.

Ecumenism of the blood

"As we recognized during the recent synod, the ecumenism of blood unites Christians from different backgrounds who together give their lives for the faith in Jesus Christ," he continued. "The witness of their martyrdom is more eloquent than any words: unity comes from the Cross of the Lord," he said, citing the final document of the synod.

"Their martyrdom continues to spread the Gospel in a world marked by hatred, violence and war," Pope Leo said. "It is a hope full of immortality because, although they have been physically killed, no one can silence their voice or erase the love they have shown."

A group of people from the Peruvian city of Monsefu (Chiclayo), holds a 70th birthday greeting card addressed to Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square (Photo CNS/Vatican Media).

In the morning in San Pedro, congratulations 

'Auguri Papa Leone', said a large pilgrims' banner in St. Peter's Square this morning during the prayer of the AngelusAnd another, Happy Birthday, Pope Leo! The faithful congratulated the Pope on his 70th birthday, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 

The largest banner, red and white, was held by a group from the Peruvian town of Monsefu, in the province of Chiclayo, where the Pope had served as bishop for eight years.

"Dear friends, it seems you already know that today I am 70 years old," the Pope said amid loud cheers and shouts of "auguri"" which in Italian means "congratulations" and "happy birthday."

Acknowledgments

"I thank the Lord and my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers" he said after praying the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square.

The musicians and bands in the plaza played the melody of "Happy Birthday" and the people sang and applauded.

Thank you all very much," he said, and someone shouted: "Long live the Pope!

"Thank you, have a good Sunday!" he said.

The Vatican also released the trailer for a new documentary celebrating the American roots of Pope Leo XIII. The first American-born pope, Robert F. Prevost was born on September 14, 1955 in Chicago and grew up in Dolton, a nearby suburb.

 "Leo from Chicago"

Titled Leo from ChicagoThe documentary "will be released soon on Vatican Media channels" and "will offer viewers an intimate portrait of Pope Leo XIV's early life in the United States. It begins with the testimonies of his brothers Louis and John, along with numerous voices, images and stories" told by those close to him, according to the Sept. 13 press release.

Leo from Chicago' follows Lion of Perua documentary about the Pope's years of mission in Peru.

Meanwhile, children at the Vatican-owned pediatric hospital sent the Pope hand-drawn cards and letters. And church leaders from around the world also wished the pope a happy birthday, according to Vatican News.

Prayers

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, issued a message on behalf of the Roman Curia. He expressed "deep gratitude for your tireless witness to the Gospel and your constant encouragement to the faithful."

"We assure you of our prayers for your health and strength, so that you may continue to lead God's people in unity and peace," the message said.

Greetings from celebrities 

Italian President Sergio Mattarella praised the Pope and wrote: "His words have always reminded the international community of the dignity of every human person and the need for peace. On behalf of the Italian people, I wish him the best of health and serenity."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote to thank the Pope for his "steadfast advocacy for dialogue and care for our common home. His moral leadership continues to inspire the global community."

Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople wrote: "We rejoice with our Catholic brothers and sisters on this day, giving thanks for their fraternal spirit and dedication to Christian unity. May the Lord grant them many more years of health and peace."

Italian Bishops

The Italian Episcopal Conference wrote: "We thank the Lord for the gift of Pope Leo XIV, who reminds us daily that hope and fraternity are at the heart of Christian life. We join the whole Church in wishing him serenity and the joy of the Spirit."

Writing on behalf of the Pope's Diocese of Rome , Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar for Rome, noted. "Please accept our prayers and affection for all that you do every day, with tireless dedication, in the service of the universal Church, beginning with the Church of Rome."

"In sharing your concerns, especially about the many scenes of war that blood the world, we hope that you can achieve what your heart desires and continue to sow hope for the men and women of today," the cardinal said.

More congratulations

Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, sent greetings on behalf of all Jesuits worldwide, writing, "Your encouragement to 'go to the peripheries' continues to inspire our mission and our apostolic work."

Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organization for national Catholic charities, wrote: "Your voice on behalf of the poor and displaced strengthens our charitable mission. We celebrate your birthday by renewing our service to those most in need."

60th Anniversary of the Synod of Bishops

At the end of the Angelus, the Holy Father recalled that "tomorrow (Monday), we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, a prophetic institution of St. Paul VI, so that the bishops could exercise more and better communion with the Successor of Peter". "I hope that this celebration," he added, "will renew the commitment to unity, to synodality and to the mission of the Church."

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Pope began his address by referring to the feast of the day. "Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which commemorates the finding of the wood of the Cross by St. Helena in Jerusalem in the fourth century and the restitution of the precious relic to the Holy City by Emperor Heraclius.

Then, after commenting on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, which is recorded in the Gospel of the day, the Pope underlined the depth of Jesus' self-giving.

"God saved us by showing himself to us, offering himself as our companion, teacher, doctor, friend, to the point of becoming for us Bread broken in the Eucharist. And to accomplish this work he made use of one of the cruelest instruments of death that man has ever invented: the cross," he said.

The immense love of Jesus

For this reason, "today we celebrate her "exaltation". We do so because of the immense love with which God, embracing her for our salvation, transformed her from a means of death into an instrument of life. In this way she teaches us that "nothing can separate us from him (cf. Rm 8:35-39) and that his charity is greater than our sin itself (cf. Francis, Catechesis, 30 March 2016)."

In conclusion, Pope Leo invited us to ask, "through the intercession of Mary, the Mother present on Calvary with her Son, that her saving love may also take root and grow in us". "And may we too know how to give ourselves to one another, just as he gave himself entirely to all.

The authorCNS / Omnes

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The Vatican

Historic concert in San Pedro: music for universal fraternity

Last night, St. Peter's Square hosted the macro-concert Grace for the Worldwhich brought together international artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Karol G and Pharrell Williams.

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 14, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Yesterday evening, St. Peter's Square was transformed into a festive and symbolic stage for the macro-concert "Grace for the World".The third edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity culminated.

What was the point of the concert?

The event, promoted by the Vatican and the Foundation Fratelli TuttiThe objective of the event was to spread a global message of peace, unity, fraternity and reconciliation, in the face of the conflicts and divisions that affect the world today. It was conceived as a festive closing of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, which gathered experts and leaders from various fields.

Who acted?

The line-up included internationally renowned artists of diverse styles:

  • Karol G, the Colombian artist, who performed While my heart heals at the beginning, and later he joined the tenor to sing I live for her.
  • Andrea Bocelli, central figure of the event, inaugurated the event with a Ave Maria and participated in several duets.
  • Pharrell Williams, who energized the audience with Happy and asked that cell phones be turned on to illuminate the square as a symbolic gesture of unity.
  • John Legend, who contributed songs such as Glory o Bridge Over Troubled Water.
  • Also participating were Angélique Kidjo, Jennifer Hudson, rapper Jelly Roll, K-pop artists such as BamBam, and other guests who brought their musical diversity to the repertoire.

Visual and special elements

One of the most impressive moments was the spectacle of the droneswith more than 3,500 devices that drew emblematic images of Christianity in the sky, such as fragments of Adam's Creation from the Sistine Chapel and the smiling face of the late Pope Francis.

Institutional presence

Although Pope Leo XIV did not attend the concert, his role was present through the Vatican's institutional message. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, representing the Vatican, reiterated the condemnation of war and the call for universal brotherhood.

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  • Pep Borrell, Gregorio Luri or Sara Pérez Tomé among the speakers at the First Conference of the Family Forum
Spain

Pep Borrell, Gregorio Luri or Sara Pérez Tomé among the speakers at the First Conference of the Family Forum

The I Jornada Foro de la Familia will take place on October 18 from 10:00 to 14:00 at the Colegio Mayor Universitario de San Pablo in Madrid.

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 14, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

On October 18, the auditorium of the Colegio Mayor Universitario de San Pablo in Madrid will be the venue of the I Family Forum Conference, a meeting that seeks to reflect on the role of the family in today's society as a privileged space for human, emotional and educational growth.

The event will bring together renowned specialists in the fields of philosophy, education, psychology and family counseling.

Families and economy

Gregorio Lurione of the most influential Spanish thinkers in the field of contemporary education will be in charge of opening the conference with a paper entitled: In Praise of Sensibly Imperfect Families with which Luri will address the importance of the home as the original place where the truth about goodness, love and identity is learned.

One of the most original and attractive topics of the day focuses on financial education, a subject that will be addressed by Marta Cuevas, Training Director of the Institute of Family Financial Planning (IPFF). Cuevas will stress the importance of the family as the first school of financial habits to prevent crises, encourage responsibility and give children tools for serenity and freedom in the management of their resources.

Emotional education and family stability

The second part of the day will feature Pep Borrell, one of the authors in vogue for his interesting proposals in defense of the joy and beauty of marriage. Borrell will address how married love becomes a real emotional school for children.

Following this presentation, three experts: Fernando Muñoz, psychologist specialized in affectivity and sexuality; Sara Pérez-Tomé, family counselor and couples therapist; and Fernando Sánchez, psychologist expert in childhood disorders, will address the need for emotional stability and daily effort based on listening, example and the construction of healthy limits to allow children to develop with strength, balance and empathy.

The day will conclude with an institutional closing ceremony that will reaffirm the commitment of the Family Forum to place the family at the center of social life, highlighting its value as the nucleus of education, stability and cultural transmission.

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  • "How much beauty and joy can be transmitted by a family that prays," said Ignacio Barrera in Torreciudad.
Spain

"How much beauty and joy can be transmitted by a family that prays," said Ignacio Barrera in Torreciudad.

The 33rd Marian Family Day gathered more than six thousand pilgrims in an atmosphere of faith, joy and commitment to family values.

Editorial Staff Omnes-September 13, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

Torreciudad celebrated today the 33rd Marian Family Day, which brought together more than six thousand pilgrims from all over Spain. Ángel Lasheras welcomed the attendees, as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening for worship of the new temple dedicated to the Virgin of Torreciudad.

After the Angelus prayer, there was a varied presentation of offerings by the participating associations, parishes, schools and groups, such as flowers, local products, children's handicrafts, images of the Virgin and decorative objects.

Families as "bright and cheerful homes".

The Eucharist celebrated on the esplanade was the main act of the event, and was presided over by Ignacio Barrera, Vicar of Opus Dei in Spain. In his homily he encouraged people to collaborate so that "society will learn to love without calculation, to serve, to forgive, to give joy and peace. With words of St. Josemaría, he referred to families as "luminous and joyful homes," "sowers of peace and joy. And he asked: "Don't you think that there is a great need for this in our time, in social life, in political life, in the workplace?

Barrera also said that, starting from the personal light, "the Lord will take care of the rest and will kindle many other lights. Give light in your homes, in your schools, in elevators, when you play sports, in the workplace, in parks, in bars, in transportation, at parties, in stadiums and concerts... How much beauty and joy can be transmitted by a family that prays, loves one another, serves one another, forgives one another and is united.

"Laugh with others, don't laugh at others."

At the end of the ceremony, the parents made the traditional offering of their children to the Virgin of Torreciudad inside the church. At 15:00 h. the Alborada School Choirfrom Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), offered a recital on the esplanade, followed by a colloquium with the well-known couple Nachter and Roseanne (he has 27 million followers on social networks) on "How to improve our family relationships with a lot of humor".

Roseanne pointed out that, in order not to hurt anyone, it is very important "to laugh with others, not to laugh at others. Nachter recalled that, "just as mothers can do everything and do everything at the same time, so can the Virgin Mary, and for this reason we can ask her for a lot of help". Both agreed in their experience that "in the face of pain, it is essential that our life is not defined by suffering, but by the help we give each other. And above all God, who is our father and we can fully trust in Him even if sometimes we do not understand Him".

Volunteers and collaborators

The events concluded with the prayer of the rosary through the arcades of the esplanade and the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament from the outdoor altar. During the day, basic hygiene products were collected for needy families in the area, which will be distributed in collaboration with Caritas Diocesana de Barbastro-Monzón.

More than 200 volunteers have helped the participants in the services of parking, information, placement of chairs and signs, childcare, playground and cleaning. The Civil Guard, Aragon Tourism, the Huesca regions of Somontano de Barbastro, Ribagorza and Cinca Medio, the town councils of Secastilla and El Grado, the CARF Foundation and the Mahou San Miguel Group collaborated in the event.

Valuation of authorities

Javier Betorz, delegate of the Government of Aragon in Huesca, stressed that "Torreciudad is an undoubted focus of attraction, therefore has our full support in promoting religious and cultural tourism".

Mari Carmen Obis, mayor of El Grado, has pointed out the importance of the festival "in these calls to share our heritage and our joy, so that they reach new visitors".

José Luis Arasanz, deputy mayor of Secastilla, and Ana María Rabal, councilor, trust in the road axis project with El Grado and Graus through the municipality. Antonio Comps, mayor of Castejón del Puente, thinks that "the day is a very important event for Alto Aragón, with a deep positive meaning for the family and as an element of promotion".

Fernando Torres, mayor of Barbastro, said he was "very happy to repeat another edition, and to have shared the concern of the sanctuary for the damage caused by last night's storm", while for José Pedro Sierra, mayor of Peraltilla, "the best thing is that I have seen many people, with families that we hope will repeat and make our environment known".

José María Civiac, president of the Cinca Medio region and mayor of Alfántega, commented that "I have seen many people, willing to travel a long way sometimes, and of course, we must all work together to increase the number of visitors".

Lola Ibort, councilor in Almudévar and provincial deputy, said in her second attendance to this day, that "I am very happy to return because I share so many values that promote the family, which is so important. And these young families are, at the same time, the best ambassadors of our territory".

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Evangelization

St. John Chrysostom and St. Marcellin of Carthage

St. John Chrysostom, bishop, Father and doctor of the Church, is known by the nickname of "golden mouth", for his eloquent ability to speak about the faith. Born in the 4th century, he was Patriarch of Constantinople, and died in exile. St. Marcellin of Carthage was a lay martyr, friend of St. Augustine and St. Jerome.

Francisco Otamendi-September 13, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

The liturgy celebrates St. John Chrysostom and St. Marcellin of Carthage, among other saints, on September 13. The former was a native of Antioch, present-day Turkey (year 349), where the followers of Jesus began to call themselves Christians. He was the son of an imperial official, received an excellent education and was ordained a priest. 

As bishop of Constantinople, he undertook a profound reform of the customs of the clergy and the faithful. Opposition from the imperial court, whose excesses he denounced, and from envious people, led him to exile on several occasions.

St. John Chrysostom, a pillar of faith

He is considered one of the great Parents He was a pillar of the faith, and remembered for his defense of truth and justice. And also for the writings that enriched the Catholic doctrine, to the point of deserving the nickname of Chrysostom, that is to say, 'golden mouth' (in Greek).

Bishop John "golden mouth" died in 407, in Comana Pontica, during one of the many transfers he had to make. His wisdom has remained intact throughout the centuries, notes the saint's day Vatican. Hundreds of writings by a man and a priest convinced that "in all things" "glory must be given to God" corroborate this.

Saint Marcellin, lay martyr

Saint Marcellinus of Carthage (there are other Marcellins in the saints' calendar), born in Toledo in the 4th century, became a tribune and notary of the emperor Honorius, a Spanish-Roman diplomat. Friend of St. Augustinewho dedicated some of his works to him, and St. Jerome. From the year 411 he was involved in controversies of the Donatists, who denied forgiveness Christians who apostatized during the persecutions.

Marcellinus was sent to Carthage (Tunis) to mediate in the dialogue between the Catholic bishops and the Donatists, and he was assassinated in 413. Emperor Honorius recognized the arbitrariness of the execution by a general and annulled it, but he was too late. You can see the story here. The Catholic Church proclaimed him a martyr. St. Augustine and St. Jerome wrote his funeral eulogy. 

The Roman Martyrology says: Lay martyr. "In Carthage, in Africa, St. Marcellinus, martyr, who being a high imperial official closely related to Saints Augustine and Jerome. He was accused of being a supporter of the usurper Heraclión and, although innocent, for defending the Catholic faith was killed by heretics Donatists (413)".

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Education

Braval: from dialogue to real integration

Josep Masabeu, president of Braval, explains how the 'Conversations' - monthly meetings with diverse profiles - have become a key tool for the integration of young immigrants in the Raval.

Teresa Aguado Peña-September 13, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsBraval, 25 years sowing social cohesion in El Raval of BarcelonaRelated NewsJosep Masabeu: a life dedicated to social and labor inclusionRelated NewsImmigrants turned into political weapons

In 2005, Braval had already been working for seven years to improve the integration of young immigrants through sports, educational support and intercultural coexistence. Josep Masabeu, its president, wanted to go further: "We asked ourselves: 'What's happening in other entities? What's happening with the administration? What are the trends?" 

Thus, in search of a deep and practical understanding of the reality, 'Conversations on Immigration' were born, in the form of monthly lunches with people from different fields: journalists, businessmen, educators, civil servants... always with varied profiles to avoid unilateral visions: "The contrast of opinions and experiences is very enriching", emphasizes Josep.

20 years and 142 conversations later, Braval has created a network of connections that allows them to have direct and effective contact with entities that help solve concrete problems of young people. In addition, many people share experiences that work elsewhere. "Sometimes they even invite their leaders to the next meal, and in this way a network of mutual learning is generated," says Josep.

The impact has also been on the labor market. Through the conversations, opportunities have arisen to place young people in sectors in urgent need of personnel. And thanks to the trust generated, it is often the guests themselves who open doors to new collaborations.

The key: mix to integrate

Masabeu stresses cultural mixing as the key to integration: "If you don't mix, you are basically maintaining the ghetto".

At Braval, mixing is achieved especially through sports: "Our soccer and basketball teams are mixed. Because if you make a team of Filipinos against a team of Moroccans, or Ecuadorians against Spaniards, you haven't broken anything."

Through shared play, the children break down prejudices. Soccer and basketball are just the starting point. From there, Braval structures a series of supports: school reinforcement, weekly team meetings, personalized accompaniment... and training in values.

But the focus is clear: no "immigrant" activities. "We are not in a league for immigrants. We are in the normal Barcelona league, with 120 teams from all neighborhoods. That allows our kids to get out of the neighborhood and for others to come and learn about our reality."

In contrast to the stereotypical image of the passive or dependent immigrant, Masabeu stresses a very different reality: "They have a brutal fighting capacity, which the kids here don't have.

Interreligious dialogue based on Christian identity

One of the most striking dimensions of Braval is the natural coexistence between religions. The center has a Christian identity - it is an initiative of Opus Dei - and does not hide it.

"We have an oratory with the Blessed Sacrament, a priest comes once a week, and we offer catechesis to whoever wants it. But we have never had a problem with anyone," says Masabeu.

Living together is part of the daily experience. There are volunteers and participants from nine religions: Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews and atheists. The result is a rich coexistence, where religion, far from dividing, unites through mutual respect.

"The kids ask a lot of questions. What party are you having today? Why are you eating this? Why aren't you eating that? If you invite me to your party, I come. And when it's mine, you come". At confirmations, for example, the kids invite their friends from the team - of any religion - and everyone participates with joy.

Love and transcendence

At bottom, Braval's success is not explained only by a good organization or an educational model. What makes the difference is something deeper: "What you are transmitting is love. And they notice that. Sometimes you have to tell them off, of course, but they feel welcome.

Because in the end, more than a strategy, Braval is a community of people who care about each other. From prayer, from dedication, from faith. And so, integration is not a program, but a concrete experience of friendship, service and shared hope.

The authorTeresa Aguado Peña

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RelatedRelated NewsBraval, 25 years sowing social cohesion in El Raval of BarcelonaRelated NewsJosep Masabeu: a life dedicated to social and labor inclusionRelated NewsImmigrants turned into political weapons
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The World

Pope's calls to Gaza bring "great joy," says parish priest

Receiving phone calls from the Pope continues to provide "great joy" to the hundreds of people who receive shelter and support from the only Latin Rite Catholic Church in Gaza, said the pastor.  

CNS / Omnes-September 12, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

- Carol Glatz, Vatican City (CNS)

Some 450 people forced to flee their homes, mostly elderly, sick and children, are housed in the compound of the Holy Family Church in Gaza. Argentine parish priest Gabriel Romanelli has reported what is happening to Vatican Media. And he has said that the Pope's phone calls give "great joy." "He follows the situation very closely."

Pope Francis, an Argentine compatriot, called the parish priest almost every day for more than a year and a half since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. He also called just two days before his death in April.

Father Romanelli told Vatican Media that Pope Leo XIV has also called them, but did not specify how often.

The situation remains very difficult

After Israel launched an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar on September 9, Pope Leo XIV told reporters that he had just tried to call the parish in Gaza City.

"I just tried to call the pastor, but I have no news," the Pope commented, expressing concern about a new evacuation order from Israel. Israeli planes had dropped leaflets over Gaza City in the morning. They warned of a new attack on the city and encouraged civilians to evacuate.

Father Romanelli shared a video with Vatican media on Sept. 10, in which he claimed that he and other residents had been able to speak with the pope after his attempt to call. "We told him that we are fine, that the situation is still difficult."

"The majority of the population does not want to leave," he said, stressing that "we are still close to them." "We are fine, despite the terrible situation in the entire Gaza Strip," he told Vatican Media in his video.

"He follows the situation closely and is very committed."

In a video shared on his Instagram feed on Sept. 10, Father Romanelli said it was not the first time Pope Leo had called.

"He always follows the situation closely and is very committed to the end of this war, working and praying for peace," the priest said in Spanish. The Pope "sends his blessings to everyone, to the entire Gaza Strip, to the entire parish community."

"It is a great joy to be in communication with the Holy Father, with Pope Leo," he said.

The priest explained that he could not answer the phone when the Pope called because they were in the middle of a long and beautiful liturgical celebration.

Father Romanelli told Vatican Media that they were celebrating Mass and the sacrament of marriage for a Catholic couple, "a great joy." Other joyful news, "in the midst of so much pain," he said, was the birth of a baby boy named Mark. The mother is one of the many internally displaced people they house.

Priests have refused to leave

Priests from the compounds of Holy Family Church and St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church have refused to evacuate as they were providing shelter to hundreds of civilians who have nowhere else to go.

Israeli forces damaged both church compounds: St. Porphyry in October 2023 and the Holy Family in December 2023 and in July of this year. The Israeli military claimed that the attacks were unintentional.

"We are still in the parish."

Father Romanelli addressed the aftermath of those attacks in his video to Vatican Media. "We are still here in the parish with the people we care for." This includes families and "a considerable number" of elderly, sick and children.

"In other parts of Gaza City, there are people moving south," he said, emphasizing that "most of the population does not want to leave."

"Many say the same thing we have heard since the beginning of the war: everywhere there is danger, there is bombing, real danger, there is death, wounded, destruction," he said.

However, since many want to continue living in the city, he said, "we continue with our daily activities, which is what we can do. We have been able to help many families.

The authorCNS / Omnes

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Evangelization

The Most Holy Name of Mary

On an apostolic journey to Munich, Alttöting and Regensburg (2006), Benedict XVI celebrated Holy Mass on September 12. He said: "Today we celebrate the feast of the 'Name of Mary. To those who bear this name - my mother and my sister did - I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations on their feast day".

Francisco Otamendi-September 12, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

On the feast of the Sweet Name of Mary, which originated in Cuenca (Spain), and which Pope Innocent XI extended to the Church in the West, Benedict XVI referred to the Word of God. "Today we have heard in the Gospel how the Lord gives her as Mother to the beloved disciple and, in him, to all of us." 

"In every age Christians have gratefully welcomed this testament of Jesus," he added. "And together with the Mother they have always found the security and confident hope that fill us with joy in God and in our faith in him."

Benedict XVI: "Mary, Mother of the Lord and mirror of all holiness".

On December 25, 2005, a few months after he was elected Pope, Benedict XVI signed his encyclical 'Deus caritas est'. For the feast that concerns us, see nn. 40 to 42. 

Pope Benedict wrote: "The saints are the true bearers of light in history, because they are men and women of faith, hope and love. Among the saints, Mary, Mother of the Lord and mirror of all holiness, stands out".

"Luke's Gospel shows her engaged in a charitable service to her cousin Elizabeth, with whom she stayed "about three months" (1:56) to care for her during her pregnancy," he continues.

The figure of Mary

This fragment of the encyclical, towards the end, and others, are collected in the last chapter of the book 'Mary', a selection of homilies and speeches of Benedict XVI, edited by Cristiandad. The introduction is by Pablo Blanco SartoThe brief preface is by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Vicar General Emeritus of His Holiness for Vatican City.

"'Mariais a careful anthology of Benedict XVI's texts on the Virgin Mary, selected for their depth, beauty and doctrinal coherence. Far from being a secondary devotion, the figure of Mary appears here as the living nucleus of the Christian faith: where Mary is, there is the Church; where Mary is, the human face of God shines forth," describes Christianity editions. On Monday the 15th, Our Lady of Sorrows, we will return to it.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

Duchess of Kent, royalty who chose the Catholic faith

Remembered for her passion for charity, teaching music and unwavering humility, the Duchess of Kent, a high-ranking Catholic member of the British royal family, died Sept. 4 at age 92. The funeral will take place on September 16 at Westminster Cathedral.

OSV / Omnes-September 12, 2025-Reading time: 5 minutes

- Simon Caldwell (OSV News).

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, in a Sept. 5 statement, said he remembered "fondly" the memory of the Duchess of Kent, born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, who converted to Catholicism in 1994.

"I received with sadness the news today of the death of Her Royal Highness, Catherine, Duchess of Kent," said Cardinal Nichols, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

"I fondly remember his presence in our community, especially his participation in the pilgrimage to Lourdes, as well as his life of public service," Cardinal Nichols said.

'Prayers of the Catholic Community'.

"I have written to His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent and assured him of the prayers of the Catholic community in England and Wales," the cardinal continued. "We pray that God will receive her soul into heaven, as promised to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. May Catherine rest in peace and rise in glory."

The Duchess was received into the faith by Cardinal Basil Hume in 1994 in a private ceremony at Westminster Cathedral. And as early as the 1980s she discussed the possibility of converting to Catholicism. She was the first British royal to join the Catholic faith since 1685.

The Duchess of Kent attends the 1995 Childline Awards (Photo by OSV News/Reuters).

An active and committed Catholic

From then on, the Duchess of Kent became an active and committed Catholic, often helping the sick and elderly on pilgrimages to the Marian shrine of Lourdes in France, for example.

She became a patron of the Samaritans, a charity whose aim is to provide emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. And struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the UK and Ireland. 

He also completed a 10-week training course to enable him to work four-hour shifts counseling people on the verge of suicide. He also supported 'The Passage', a charity run by the Catholic Church for homeless people.

The Duchess rarely used her title of Royal Highness and increasingly preferred anonymity to royal duties. Eventually, she disappeared from public life and opted to teach at an elementary school in Hull, northern England, from 1996 to 2004.

'Driven by the love of music and children'.

"She made weekly 400-mile round-trips to teach, driven by a love of music and children," her own charity, Future Talent, said in her obituary.

"Deliberately inconspicuous, she was known simply as 'Mrs. Kent,' and her students and their parents were unaware of who she really was," the charity stated.

The death of the duchess was announced "with deep regret" by Buckingham Palace in a statement to the media on September 5.

The statement said the duchess "passed away peacefully" at Kensington Palace, her London residence, "surrounded by her family."

The note added that King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and "all members of the Royal Family, join the Duke of Kent, his children and grandchildren in mourning her loss. And to remember with affection the Duchess's lifelong devotion to all the organizations with which she was associated, her passion for music and her empathy for young people."

President Nelson Mandela walks hand in hand with Britain's Duchess of Kent during a press conference at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, in this file photo (OSV News/Reuters photo).

Burial on September 16 in Windsor

On Sept. 6, Buckingham Palace said the duchess will be buried at Windsor after a requiem mass on Sept. 16 at Westminster Cathedral in London.

The statement said that initially the Duchess's coffin "will rest in the private chapel at Kensington Palace," before being moved by hearse to the cathedral on Sept. 15, where "the Rite of Reception and Vespers will take place."

The coffin will rest overnight in the Chapel of the Virgin and the King, Queen and other members of the Royal Family will join mourners for the funeral the following day.

Cardinal Nichols to preside at the funeral

According to British media reports, Cardinal Nichols will preside at the funeral, which will also be attended by the Anglican Dean of Windsor.

The duchess came from a wealthy, but not aristocratic, family and became the first untitled person to marry a member of the British royal family since the Tudor period. She married Edward, Duke of Kent and cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1961.

Her first child, George, was born in 1962, followed by Helen in 1964 and Nicholas in 1970. In 1975, she contracted measles during pregnancy and aborted her fourth child on medical advice and after consultation with Anglican religious authorities.

Human life, a gift from God

The experience had a profound impact on her life, and in 1977 she was unable to deliver a speech to the British Congress of Obstetricians. Instead, it (the text) was read on her behalf, the Telegraph said in its massive obituary of the duchess.

In his speech, he expressed the view that human life was a gift from God and praised the pro-life movement.

Two years later, she lost her fifth child, baby Patrick, when he was stillborn. "It had a most devastating effect on me," she later said, the BBC reported. 

 "I suffered from acute depression for a while. I think I'd be a pretty rare person if I didn't succumb under those circumstances," he said.

For decades it was considered a beacon of empathy.

However, for decades, the Duchess was considered a true beacon of empathy and associated with the annual international tennis tournament at Wimbledon, London. She presented the Women's Singles Trophy from 1976 to 2001 on all but three occasions.

One example became iconic when in 1993, the Duchess of Kent comforted a devastated Jana Novotna, a Czech tennis player who lost the final, by simply hugging her. 

She is survived by her husband and three sons, the youngest of whom, Nicholas, followed her to the Catholic faith in 2001.

———————

Simon Caldwell writes for OSV News from Liverpool, England. 

This information was originally published in OSV News. You can consult it here.

-------

The authorOSV / Omnes

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  • Columnists
  • The more planes filled, the more cradles emptied
ColumnistsJoseph Gefaell

The more planes filled, the more cradles emptied

Since 1964, international tourism has continued to grow while the world's birth rate has halved.

September 12, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPope's forceful speech in favor of life and childbirthRelated NewsGianluigi De Palo: "A global birth pact is a proposal that could be discussed at the international level".Related NewsNo birth rate, no future

International tourism has a high inverse correlation with birth rates. Correlation does not imply causation, but a plausible hypothesis is that the massification of tourism is largely due to the fact that people have stopped having children and have fewer fixed expenses.

According to the World Tourism Organization, in 2024 international tourist arrivals reached 1.465 billion, the same level as in 2019 in absolute numbers, with a compound annual growth of 4.5% between 1964 and 2024, much higher than what the world GDP has grown in constant dollars and per capita, which since 1964 has grown at a compound annual rate of about 2.0%.

As a percentage of the population, tourists traveling internationally represented 3.20 % of the global population in 1964, while in 2024 they represent 17.95 % (still slightly below 2019).

Therefore, neither per capita wealth growth nor population growth can explain the enormous growth of tourism in the last 60 years. There must be other factors. My hypothesis is that one of the most important, if not the most important, is the falling birth rate.

According to the World Bank, the world fertility rate in 1964 was 5.13 children per woman. Since then it has plummeted to 2.2 children per woman in 2023, and is less than 2 children per woman if we exclude sub-Saharan Africa, where women still have, thank God, 4.4 children on average. In Spain, the rate is 1.12 children per woman, in Italy 1.18, in the USA 1.62, in Japan 1.20 and in South Korea 0.72.

We have to do something to reverse the downward trend in the birth rate, especially in the developed world. Otherwise, sectors such as tourism will continue to grow, but increasingly in "Imserso mode", and then decline and disappear rapidly.

Prepared by José Gefaell
The authorJoseph Gefaell

Analyst. Science, economics and religion. Five children. Investment banker. Profile on X: @ChGefaell.

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Cinema

"Light of the World": a Gospel film to watch with your children.

"Light of the World" is an animated Gospel film that combines catechetical storytelling and evangelical overtones and is intended for pre-teens and their families.

OSV / Omnes-September 12, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated News'Barefoot', Hakuna's film about the life force of musicRelated News"The Primate of Poland," a film about the cardinal who paved the way for St. John Paul II.Related News"Free". The film that uncovers the treasure of the contemplative life.

By John Mulderig, OSV News

"Light of the World" (Salvation Poem Project), an animated Gospel story, provides an excellent vehicle for conveying its fundamental message in an easily assimilated form. Although the film includes material that would be too frightening for younger children, its ideal target audience is older children.

Narrated from the perspective of a young John the Evangelist (voice of Benjamin Jacobson), this generally light-hearted journey through salvation history necessarily has its serious moments. Among them are a brief flashback to the fall of Adam and Eve, as well as scenes establishing the oppressive nature of Roman rule in the Holy Land in the first century.

In this historical context, John - a well-meaning but impulsive and irascible boy - undergoes a conversion when he comes under the influence of Jesus (voice of Ian Hanlin). Becoming one of the Twelve, he witnesses the miracles of the promised Messiah and takes seriously his teachings, some of which are conveyed through parables.

From the beginning, John's parents and brother James (voice of Dylan Leonard), Salome (voice of Erin Mathews) and Zebedee (voice of Dave Pettitt), represent the polar opposites of steadfast faith and skepticism, respectively, with John unsure, at times, which of their examples to follow. (Spoiler alert: Mom wins).

The theology behind directors John J. Schafer and Tom Bancroft's endearing, humor-tinged drama is fragmentary from a Catholic perspective. Peter (voice of Sam Darkoh) is presented, albeit in passing, as the rock on which Jesus will lean. And his reconciliation with the Savior after the Resurrection, healing the wound of his denial of Jesus, is portrayed quietly but effectively.

The Virgin Mary (voiced by Rebekah Schafer) also takes center stage, endowed with greater insight than those around her and braver than others in the face of Jesus' condemnation to the cross. A poignant painting reminiscent of Michelangelo's Pieta follows his death.

However, according to David and Drew Armstrong's script, the film shows a strong evangelical character. As a result, the sacraments receive little attention. The institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, for example, is almost informal, as the Apostles do not share the bread and chalice given to them by Jesus, but consume portions of bread and wine already in their places.

As for baptism, the situation is more complex. John the Baptist (voice of Jesse Inocalla) is an important character in the narrative (in a recurring joke, his eccentric fondness for eating insects disgusts both young John and Jesus). And the purification ritual he practices is accurately described as symbolic, not sacramental.

But the fact that Jesus ultimately elevated baptism to the status of a sacrament and established it as the gateway to the new covenant in his blood is ignored. Instead, the recitation of the poetic prayer from which the film's production company takes its name is shown, in a climactic scene, as the closing of a character's desire to convert to Christianity.

Parents might consider these gaps as a basis for a family conversation. It is also worth keeping in mind, in advance, that the Passion is described too graphically for younger children. However, the bottom line is that, as a whole, "Light of the World" can serve as a valuable catechetical tool, as well as an enjoyable viewing experience, for tweens and their elders.

The film contains scenes of suffering and death, and characters in peril. OSV News rating is A-II (for adults and teenagers). The Motion Picture Association rating is PG (PG-II); parental supervision is recommended. Some material may be inappropriate for children.

The authorOSV / Omnes

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RelatedRelated News'Barefoot', Hakuna's film about the life force of musicRelated News"The Primate of Poland," a film about the cardinal who paved the way for St. John Paul II.Related News"Free". The film that uncovers the treasure of the contemplative life.
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Books

Israel and Palestine. The history of a never-ending conflict

Eduardo Baura's book on Israel and Palestine explains in a clear and non-partisan way the historical, religious and political roots of the confrontation, from the biblical origins to the present day.

Álvaro Gil Ruiz-September 12, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

Rare is the day that does not bring news of the endless conflict between Israel and Palestine. Reality entangled by the branches of this "dense forest" in the Middle East, which generates confusion, rejection and compassion. And that inevitably precipitates many to one side or another -few are those who are saved-, by the biased and unconnected knowledge that we have of this reality. Since the "chapters" of this "series" without a final season, do not follow the expected order to achieve peace, but the one dictated by hatred and revenge, and the desire to achieve their goals.

It is also rare, perhaps not as rare as the "endless history" of this armed struggle, to find a person who is knowledgeable about this complex reality, and who knows how to explain it in a synthetic and, to top it all, non-partisan way. That is why the book "Israel and Palestine. La historia de un conflicto interminable" by Eduardo Baura García in ediciones Ciudadela, is a wonderful novelty, very valuable. How to summarize in such a fortunate way such a complex reality? What is the key to clarify the most fundamental facts that have caused this "Semitic hornet's nest"? It lies in the author's knowledge and communicative skills.

Baura (Madrid, 1986) holds a degree in Humanities, a PhD in Medieval History from CEU San Pablo and is also an adjunct professor of contemporary history at the same university. He has three master's degrees in different subjects from various universities and is the author of multiple publications. In this book he shows his deep knowledge of this topical subject and his pedagogical skills to explain it in a clear and direct way. His pen is light, which makes the book an agile, pleasant and essential reading, ideal for any moment.

Structure of the work

It begins with the biblical accounts that allow us to understand the origin of the Semitic peoples, specifically the Jews and the Arabs. And the legitimacy argued by both to claim this territory as theirs since ancient times.

Later he explains how, curiously, the monotheistic religions are intimately linked to the legendary Holy City (Jerusalem), threefold. For Christians, it is the place where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was tortured and killed on the cross. It is also holy for the Jews, because it is the land promised by God to Abraham, and because it is where the rock is where he almost sacrificed his son Isaac, on Mount Moriah. And it is also for Muslims, because next to this rock, which is inside the Dome of the Rock (in the esplanade of the mosques, where the famous Al-Aqsa is also located), is the place where, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad ascended to Heaven on a winged horse, Buraq. 

But most of the book focuses on the beginning of the interminable conflict, when the Ottomans lost Palestine to the British, after the conflict of World War I. It also pays attention to the development, after many political, military and all kinds of actions, of the Zionist movement. And it also pays attention to the development, after many political, military and other actions, of the Zionist movement. This lobby demanded a nation for the Jews, after the anti-Jewish movements that had taken place mainly in Europe, during the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century.

Zionist movement

This political-cultural movement succeeded in getting Palestine to welcome this people, under the name of Israel. It was on May 15, 1948, under the impulse of its first president, David Ben-Gurion. With the passage of time, this Middle Eastern nation has managed to have access to the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, almost 10 million inhabitants, 22,000 square kilometers, where Muslim Arabs, Christians, Druze and Samaritans live. They consider Jerusalem to be their capital, although the financial center is in Tel Aviv-Yafo and the largest industrial center is in Haifa. The country's main sources of financing are the production of cut and polished diamonds, the manufacture of chips, as well as other products. It is also noted for its tourism. 

Israel's dispute for the same territory with Palestine (mostly Arab), whose dominion is reduced to the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip (it is not known for how long), makes this place a "hornet's nest", since the dispute has international dimensions, due to the support received from countries defending the interests of each side. 

The author's conclusion is clear, this conflict has a difficult or impossible solution in a fair way and therefore makes it endless. At the end of the book he provides a list of essays, novels, films, documentaries and series that facilitate a deeper understanding of this reality. 

Israel and Palestine. The history of a never-ending conflict

AuthorEduardo Baura García
Editorial: Citadel
Year: 2025
Number of pages: 208
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Spain

A Silent Faith: Chinese Catholics in Spain

Although invisible to many, Chinese Catholics in Spain live a vibrant faith, with young, active and committed communities. Their discreet witness, forged in persecution and now lived in freedom, is a seed of hope for the Church.

Javier García Herrería-September 12, 2025-Reading time: 5 minutes
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Although many hardly notice it, the Chinese Catholic community in Spain represents a surprisingly active and deeply committed to their faith. In the midst of a diaspora characterized by hard work and discretion, there are an estimated 2,000 Chinese Catholics in the country, of whom about 1,500 are regular practitioners, according to several of the priests who accompany these communities.

Far from the public eye, this Church flourishes from within: catechesis, retreats and Eucharistic celebrations weave a network of faith that unites different generations, many of them already born in Spain.

Jubilee Celebration at the Almudena

On Sunday, May 25, 2025, a multitudinous Eucharist was celebrated in Madrid's Almudena Cathedral on the occasion of the Jubilee of Hope of the Chinese Catholic communities in Spain. Presided over by Bishop Vicente Marin, Auxiliary Bishop of Madrid, and concelebrated by several Chinese priests, it was a moment of deep communion.

From 11:00 a.m., the faithful arrived from all parts of the country: Valencia, Barcelona, Bilbao, Mallorca, Zaragoza, as well as the communities of Madrid. The liturgy, lived with great recollection, was an expression of unity and diversity.

The Chinese choir dazzled those present. "I'm not a music specialist, but that choir was the Chinese translation of Gregorian."commented one of the attendees. The precision, harmony and spirituality created an unparalleled atmosphere. And the reverent silence of the faithful - especially the children - impressed everyone.

Stories of faith and courage

Among those present were Ana and Maria, accompanied by their mother, Teresa. Their family, marked by faith in times of persecution, lived a moving story. Their grandfather, a former communist official, converted after a spiritual experience linked to his illness. His sister, moved by an inner message attributed to the Virgin Mary, promised to convert her people if her brother was healed. And so it happened.

Teresa, the sick man's daughter, lived in hiding for months in order to have a second child in the midst of the one-child policy. Later, they emigrated to Spain, where the family has continued to live and transmit their faith freely.

Growing presence: nine communities 

There are currently nine active Chinese Catholic centers in Spain, in Valencia, Mallorca, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Tenerife and Barcelona. In Madrid there are three other communities: in Usera, Santa Rita and Parla, the latter in the diocese of Getafe.

The specific pastoral work in Madrid began in 2007, when the growing number of Chinese faithful led to the initiation of activities in Santa Rita, a parish run by the Augustinian Recollects. The first leaders were Father Jose Yan Tao and later Father Juan Maria Guo Kun Peng. Since then, Mass in Chinese is celebrated weekly and a constant schedule of activities is maintained.

In the diocese of Getafe, more than a hundred faithful are part of this reality. In the parish of Saints Justo and Pastor in Parla, between forty and fifty people attend the 8:00 p.m. Mass every Saturday. Catechesis in Chinese is also given there for children, young people and adults, supported by two Sisters of the Guardian Angels, a key part of the pastoral care. However, many will be surprised to know that in Mallorca and Valencia are present the two parishes with more faithful and activities. 

The parish of Usera

The Chinese pastoral work in the Usera neighborhood of Madrid was consolidated thanks to the vision of the then parish priest, Daniel Rodriguez. He first counted on the help of the religious Pablo Liu, who for a few years helped to set up the celebrations and activities.

As time went by, the need for a more stable dedication became evident, and so the priest Pedro Liu (no relation to Pablo), trained at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Madrid, arrived. He was parochial vicar for several years, and under his guidance the community grew remarkably. Although he is now in another parish, the work he left behind has borne lasting fruit in a community that is alive and continually developing.

From secrecy to religious freedom

Many of the Chinese Catholics in Spain come from the underground Church, not recognized by their country's regime. Two priests in Getafe, for example, were trained in hidden seminaries before being sent to Spain. One of them recalls how his family embraced the faith after the miraculous healing of his father. Baptized in 1987, he lived a vocation that led him from his diocese in China to serve compatriots on Spanish soil today. 

Most Chinese families in Spain are young. Many children were born here or arrived as children. While the young children are fluent in Spanish, their parents sometimes barely speak it, creating a linguistic and cultural challenge in daily life and in pastoral care.

In fact, it is not uncommon for priests to act as a bridge, accompanying parents to school meetings, translating, arranging aid and supporting health issues. They are pastors and cultural mediators at the same time.

Faith lived in community

In addition to Mass and catechesis, the communities organize activities that strengthen the bonds among their members: monthly excursions, youth meetings and spiritual retreats. In Parla, for example, there are 18 fully integrated teenagers. Many study in Catholic schools such as John Paul II or St. James the Apostle.

After the age of 16, many young people start working in the summer, which makes it difficult for them to participate. Even so, they remain connected to the community and attend catechesis when they can.

Last summer, more than 40 children from Madrid and Zaragoza participated in a week-long camp. For this year, one of the priests has planned an urban camp for the whole of July, from Monday to Friday, with extended hours until five in the afternoon. This is a valuable alternative for children whose parents cannot take vacations.

Evangelizing through friendship

Evangelizing among the Chinese, especially those from Fujian, is not easy. They are culturally reserved and not very open to religion. "First you have to make friends and have trust with them."explains a priest. However, despite the difficulties, every year there are conversions. In Valencia, for example, about twenty adults are baptized annually. In other communities, the numbers are more modest but constant.

Word-of-mouth is fundamental: newcomers arrive at the invitation of a friend, and many stay because of the warmth of the community.

Firm and close commitment

Unlike many Spanish parishes, where attendance decreases, in these communities up to 80 % of the faithful attend Mass regularly. Those who are absent are contacted and encouraged to return. This pastoral closeness strengthens commitment.

One of the big problems in attending Sunday Mass is work on weekends. In fact, in the large distribution complex of products coming from China in Madrid, the famous Cobo Calleja industrial park, every Sunday there is a Eucharist in a room of the warehouse. Some workers attend it during a break at work. 

A Church between cultures

Chinese Catholics in Spain live between two languages, two cultures and two worlds. But in the parish everything comes together: children who barely speak Chinese, parents who barely understand Spanish..., and the Gospel as a meeting place.

These communities are a silent witness of fidelity, sacrifice and hope. A Church that, although small, is great in faith. A Church that grows. Many have known the faith in contexts of persecution and their testimony is profound. Moreover, the absence of elders - who often stay in China - means that these communities are composed mainly of young families.

Ecclesial diversity at the service of mission

The Chinese communities count on the help of various charisms. In addition to Chinese priests, they are assisted by Dominican nuns, nuns of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and Augustinian Recollects, who contribute to catechesis, formation and liturgy.

The Jubilee Mass was not just a celebration, but a visible reminder of the catholicity of the Church. A living body, diverse and united in faith. A witness that challenges. And a call to look with hope to the future of the Church in Spain.

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Latin America

Church rejects euthanasia bill in Chile

Senate Health Committee approves euthanasia bill; Catholic Church reiterates its rejection and calls for protection of life

Pablo Aguilera-September 11, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes
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On September 9, in the Health Commission of the Chilean Senate, the Euthanasia bill sent by the Government was approved; 2 left-wing and 1 independent senators voted in favor and 2 right-wing senators voted against. It will now go to the floor to be voted by all the senators.

In the previous weeks, several experts spoke before the Commission. Cardinal Fernando Chomalí, Archbishop of Santiago, accompanied by Bishop Juan Ignacio González, Bishop of San Bernardo, presented the position of the Catholic Church.

The day after the vote, the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Conference of Chile issued a statement. They begin by recalling the words of St. John Paul II: "Euthanasia remains an inadmissible act, even in extreme cases, since it constitutes "a grave violation of the Law of God, insofar as it is a deliberate and morally unacceptable elimination of a human person. This doctrine is based on the natural law and on the written Word of God; it is handed down by the Tradition of the Church and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium" (Evangelium Vitae, n. 65).

They recall that "Medical science and the legislative experience of other nations have warned - based on the reality of what has happened - that the legal opening to euthanasia always walks towards a progressive expansion of the admitted causes, leading, eventually, to the so-called medicine of desire, where the value of life is measured by utility or a personal decision."

The bishops trust in the wisdom of the Senate and its responsibility to protect life, so they hope that legislation allowing euthanasia will not pass.

A vote on this bill is expected to take place on the Senate floor in the coming weeks, the outcome of which is uncertain.

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Evangelization

Our Lady of Coromoto, Patron Saint of Venezuela

September 11 is the day of the coronation of Our Lady of Coromoto, Queen and main Patroness of Venezuela, consecrated by Pius XII in 1952. This happened just 300 years after her appearance to the indigenous chief Coromoto and his wife. On February 10, 1996, St. John Paul II inaugurated the shrine in Venezuela at the site of the apparitions.

Francisco Otamendi-September 11, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Our Lady of Coromoto is the Patroness of Venezuela, venerated in the city of Guanare, where she appeared on September 8, 1652, as in the whole country. Venezuelans celebrate her several times a year. Every February 2 (feast of the Presentation of the Lord), September 8 (Nativity of the Virgin Mary) and September 11 (the central day).

When Guanare was founded in 1591, the indigenous inhabitants of the region, the Cospes, fled to the jungle north of the city. It is said that this made it difficult to evangelization that the Church had undertaken in the region. And one day in 1561, the indigenous chief Coromoto and his wife were crossing a stream of water. They saw a Lady of extraordinary beauty who told them in their language: "Go to the whites' house and ask them to pour water on your head so you can go to heaven".

Cospes Indian Community

According to the story, the Blessed Virgin appeared to several Indians on different days and to their children when they went to fetch water. After several vicissitudesCoromoto was baptized. And the Cospes Indians formed a community of faithful, accompanied for years by a Capuchin friar named José de Najera.

On October 7, 1944, Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Coromoto as "Patroness of the Republic of Venezuela". Her canonical coronation took place on September 11, 1952, on the occasion of the third centenary of the apparition. The National Sanctuary of the Virgin of Coromoto was declared a basilica by the same Pope on May 24, 1949.

St. John Paul II: "Our Lady of Coromoto, pray for Venezuela!" 

On February 10, 1996, St. John Paul II inaugurated the National Shrine of Our Lady of Coromoto, built on the site of the apparitions. The sanctuary is located in the parish "Virgen de Coromoto" (Guanare). On that day, the Polish Pope prayed to Our Lady in this way.

"You are the pride of our people! In the numerous Marian shrines that are erected in so many places on earth, we repeat these words from the book of Judith, to express our joy, because the Mother of God has established her dwelling among her people. Today these words are pronounced by the inhabitants of Venezuela, who precisely here in Coromoto, unite to venerate her as Patroness of Venezuela". Our Lady of Coromoto, pray for Venezuela and for Catholic America!

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

Philosopher Byung-Chul Han's surprising proposals on the difficulty of praying

The German philosopher of South Korean origin, Byung-Chul Han (1959), was awarded the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities in May. En October, "On God" is launched. See some of his proposals on today's society and prayer.

Francisco Otamendi-September 11, 2025-Reading time: 5 minutes

Considered one of the most outstanding contemporary philosophers, the award-winning Byung-Chul Han has dedicated some of his reflections, in particular, to what he calls the "society of weariness" or "society of transparency". The Jury The Princess of Asturias Awards has highlighted his "brilliance in interpreting the challenges of the technological society". 

In fact, one of the main points of interest for his followers is that in previous books he had referred to God, but not in a totally explicit way. However, the published Sprechen Über Gott'. (Talking about God), by Matthes & Seitz Berlin, answers to the title. Y About GodThe book, which is already on pre-sale from Paidós, in Spanish, as well.

The analysis of today's society and the proposals offered by the philosopher Han, based on the thought of Simone Weil, combining Eastern wisdom, are striking. Simone Weil is, in Byung-Chul Han's opinion, the most brilliant intellectual figure of the 20th century. And the South Korean thinker relies on the French philosopher as "an ethical and spiritual compass for our time, in the face of a world dominated by performance, consumption and hyperactivity". 

Rediscovering silence, transcendence...

Therefore, Han and Weil invite us to "rediscover emptiness, silence, attention and transcendence as possible and necessary forms of life", to a point that is probably analysts of its evolution, or other scholarsthey didn't suspect, or maybe they did...

One of the first authors to comment on Byung-Chul Han's reflections was the philosopher and professor at the Complutense University, José María Barrio. In his opinion, Han makes "one of the best portraits of our time, as well as medicine for its most vulnerable sides. He gathers the best of Eastern wisdom to purify our post-Christian wounds.

On the other hand, philosophy graduate and Nietzsche researcher Iván Campillo is commenting on the latest contributions of Han with some videoswhich "do not replace the original work, they are only a complement to the reading". 

Some reflections by Byung-Chul Han

The exposition of the philosopher Han is described in seven fundamental concepts, according to 'Sprechen Über Gott' (Speaking about God). These are, according to the table of contents, seven points, preceded by a prologue, which also appear in 'On God'. They are as follows: Attention, Uncreation, Emptiness, Silence, Beauty, Pain, Inactivity, and Notes.

In these lines we present brief quotations, not complete, from the German edition, with our own translation, and some commentary on the selected theme, which is the difficulty of praying. Consequently, we focus on the first point: Attention, and some additional ideas, always according to Byung-Chul Han (and Simone Weil).

30 ideas. Attention to 

1) Some time ago, "Simone Weil (SW) has settled in me. It has settled in my soul".

2) (Weil) never reads without shuddering "the story of the barren fig tree". 

3) "The current crisis of religion is not simply because certain contents of faith have lost their validity" (...), or because the Church has lost all confidence. Rather, there are structural reasons (...)". "Among them is the decline of attention".

4) "The crisis of religion is, therefore, also a crisis of attention, a crisis of sight and hearing."

5) "Perception has become extremely voracious. It lacks all contemplative breadth. It eats constantly.

6) "Consumption is their basic attitude. The 'binge watching' (binge watching) expresses their voracity very well".

7) "Only the soul that fasts can look (...) The eternal part of the soul feeds on hunger". 

8) "The hunger of the soul is hard to bear, but there is no other remedy for the disease".

9) "Contemplative attention is essential to look". To contemplate things without wanting to appropriate them. Whoever is able to look empties himself".

10) According to Simone Weil, it is the imagination that, in the service of the self, constantly dreams of food, subjecting things to the needs, desires and interests of the self. 

11) "Imagination, as 'gravity', blinds the soul to the true relationship between things (...) It prevents the soul from rising towards the transcendent"....

12) Religious attention is 'looking' and not 'seeking', not 'clinging'. Perhaps that is why we clasp our hands together when we pray.

Digitization

13) "Digitalization greatly accelerates the total availability of reality. It accustoms us to everything being immediately available, accessible, predictable and consumable."

14) Mental attitudes such as waiting or patience, which would offer access to the inaccessible, fall into disuse.  

15) Information as a stimulus fragments attention. Deep attention is resistant to stimuli and even rejects them. It resembles a prayer: 'With fullness of attention one can only think of God'. 

Distracted

16) "We are constantly distracted (...) Only by constant distraction has God abandoned us: 'God is attention without distraction'. If we were not distracted, we would be with God." 

17) Today's addicted society is "a society without attention. Perception is controlled by addiction and dopamine. Addiction and attention are opposing forces." 

18) "Social networks use addictive algorithms to make people dependent, to control and direct them. The smartphone is a digital addiction machine."

19) "Deep and contemplative attention is directed to what is lasting, to what remains and endures".

20) The true is the lasting. The dominance of information destroys it by plunging us into a permanent whirlwind of actuality. 

21) "An essential characteristic of good is that it does not interrupt attention as prayer. There is only one perfect criterion of good and evil: uninterrupted inner prayer."

Good, evil 

22) "Good is indirect, discreet, even timid, while evil is intrusive. Evil behaves the other way around. It seduces us, makes us addicted. Only attention can repel it".

23) "Good unites and reconciles, while evil separates and divides. Evil is multifaceted. Good, on the contrary, is based on the one truth".

24) Simone Weil assumes that evil or violence is due to inattention- There would be less violence in the world if we were better able to pay similar attention to prayer.

25) The whole world is transformed into a bustling marketplace where everyone is shouting for attention. Capitalism does not value silence because noise generates capital, silence does not produce profit.

26) Simone Weil: there is no happiness comparable to inner silence, the spirit needs this silence to be able to create or receive something totally different.

Bombarded by noise 

27) We cannot pray easily because we are constantly bombarded by information noise. Our senses are in constant voracity, always eating up stimuli. 

28) Art in its deepest essence is a religious experience. The highest beauty is actually a sacrament. 

The beauty

29) Beauty is a much stronger proof of God than the usual arguments based on the order of the world. 

30) Beauty as the incarnation of God also spiritualizes science by transforming study into a form of prayer. "The silence that emanates from a great work of art is an echo of the divine silence." 

Recall. The source is Byung-Chul Han, 'Sprechen über Gott,' Matthes & Seitz, 2025. The book 'On God', from Ediciones Paidós, which comes out in October, is already on pre-sale. You can ask at Casa del Libro, etc.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

St. John Paul II and the search for truth, goodness and beauty

Alejandro Pardo, doctor in Moral Theology, has recently published a volume entitled In the Footsteps of God in the World: St. John Paul II and the Search for Truth, Goodness and Beauty. Cn the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of his death, which will be celebrated in 2025, we will publish a series of articles on his teaching.

Alejandro Pardo-September 11, 2025-Reading time: 8 minutes
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Last April marked the twentieth anniversary of the death of St. John Paul II. His figure has left a deep mark on the recent historical panorama of the Church and the world. Poet and playwright, philosopher and theologian, he was a man of extraordinary culture, an acclaimed and respected moral leader, a pastor close to his people, a living witness of faith incarnate.

Martyr in life, his fame of sanctity exploded in an unusual popular acclaim after his death, calling for his immediate elevation to the altars. He was beatified six years after his death and canonized within a decade. His long pontificate has left a vast body of teachings, which have been expounded and treated in a prodigal manner in recent decades. However, there are still perspectives to be explored. This article proposes one of them, presenting this holy Pope as a promoter of the search for truth, goodness and beauty as a way to re-Christianize culture, inspiring it from a Christocentric humanism.

A polyphonic organ for an anthropological symphony

The intellectual and pastoral figure of Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II has not ceased to grow over the years, as evidenced by the numerous publications that continue to appear after his death. His main endeavor-as a priest and university professor first, and then as pastor of the universal Church-can be summed up in the mutually enriching dialogue between Christian Revelation and modernity (or rather, postmodernity), especially in the fields of anthropology, ethics and culture. This challenge will fully coincide with the concern manifested, in this same sense, by the Second Vatican Council, as can be seen in the first numbers of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et SpesThe then young Archbishop of Krakow was actively involved in the drafting of the book.

Moved by this challenge, Karol Wojtyła set out to elaborate a personalist and transcendent anthropology that, starting from a solid Aristotelian-Thomistic foundation and enriched with a phenomenological approach, would respond to the demands of modernity-subjectivity, freedom and autonomy, conscience-from a Christian perspective. On this basis, he developed an ethics of the person and of culture, in which his theory of human action (the person projects himself in his actions; human action has a transforming, that is, humanizing, effect) was also reflected.

Later, during his Petrine magisterium, he continued his commitment to clarify the Christocentric reality of man and the world, thus proposing a new and regenerating humanism, in line with the directives of the last ecumenical council.

If anything has been brought out by some scholars of Wojtyła's life and work, it has been the profound unity and coherence of a thought, present in a personality as powerful as he was multifaceted: poet, playwright, philosopher, theologian and pastor. As Massimo Serreti wrote in the initial years of his pontificate, "this multiformity of thought - quite unusual now in our cultural panorama - allows Wojtyła to approach the truth about man and the truth about God from disparate visual planes and angles, but surprisingly confluent in the end."

This same opinion another expert on his figure, Lluís Clavell, for whom Wojtyła's works "proceed from the interior of the unique and unrepeatable subject, but according to various registers, such as the sound of an organ throughout a concert." This is a very apt metaphor. St. John Paul II himself used it in a letter to Professor Giovanni Reale, who was responsible for the critical edition of his philosophical works in Italian. In it he defended how the truth about the human being and about the world can be explored both through art (music, poetry, painting) and through philosophical or theological reflection, so that, among all these modes of expression, we can obtain "a sort of singular anthropological 'symphony' in which the inspiring vein that flows from the perennial Christian message (...) orients all cultures for the greater glory of God and of man, inseparably united to the mystery of Christ".

And he added: "I thank the Lord, who has granted me the honor and joy of participating in this cultural and spiritual enterprise: first, with my youthful passion, and then, as the years went by, with an approach progressively enriched by the contrast with other cultures and, above all, by the exploration of the immense doctrinal patrimony of the Church".

The way of the transcendentals

This anthropological and ethical proposal that Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II puts forward can be analyzed from various points of view. One of them consists in illuminating it from the prism of the transcendentals of being -in particular, of the verumthe bonum and the pulchrum-. Certainly, this holy Pope has not dealt with them in a monographic way; however, his constant reference to them is striking, particularly when he has referred to the anthropological and ethical foundation of the person, as well as to their projection in the cultural and social sphere.

To what extent are the search for goodness, truth and beauty essential in the teachings of this thinker and pope? We can bring up a couple of statements of his, as revealing as they are unknown. One of them took place during one of his pastoral visits to a Roman parish (Santa Maria in Traspontina), where, after being received by a children's choir, he took the opportunity to speak of the importance of education in beauty.

In the impromptu colloquium that followed, in response to a question, St. John Paul II revealed something that was deeply engraved in his heart: "One of you asked me what the Pope would have done if he had not been Pope (...) Even if I were not Pope, my main task would be to preserve, protect, defend, increase and deepen this aspiration to the good, the true, the beautiful".

A review of his interventions on the occasion of meetings with representatives of culture, artists and communicators shows that this was not a one-off comment. For example, barely a month and a half after being elected Successor of Peter, in an audience with representatives of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan on the occasion of the centenary of its founder, Father Agostino Gemelli, the newly elected Polish Pontiff clearly stated that "the human person finds full self-fulfillment only in reference to the One who constitutes the fundamental reason for all our judgments about being, good, truth and beauty". From then on, there will be numerous explicit references to these three transcendentals in speeches and addresses addressed to those who work in the field of culture, art or communication.

The "eternal stigma of God" in the world and in man's heart

In fact, starting from the mystery of man as a person, created in the image of God, Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II proposes an ascending itinerary towards God, because, as he affirms, "what is human carries in itself the eternal stigma of God, it is an image of God." Truth, Good and Beauty are but other names of that Supreme and Personal Being whom we call God, and to them we aspire; they are the object of our spiritual powers (intelligence, will, affections). From this conviction, Wojtyła would follow his particular intellectual and artistic path, based on phenomenology and illuminated by faith, which he had the opportunity to describe in those sermons addressed to the Curia in 1976 and collected in the book Sign of contradictionThe itinerarium mentis in Deum emerges from the depths of creatures and from man's innermost being.

In this journey, the modern mentality is based on the experience of man and on the affirmation of the transcendence of the human person (...). The transcendence of the person is closely linked to the reference to the One who constitutes the fundamental basis of all our judgments about being, about the good, about truth and beauty. It is linked to the reference to the One who is also totally Other, because He is infinite".

The way of the transcendentals thus responds to the anthropological need of human beings to be open to the infinite, to which they aspire by their own rational and spiritual nature. These categories or dimensions of being (truth, good, beauty) constitute the main threads of the web that unites man (creature, participated being) with God (creator, being by essence), thanks to his condition of imago Dei. Wojtyła himself has tried to traverse this threefold path through art, philosophy and theology, convinced that, indeed, everything that is truly human reflects the imprint of God. Thus, as Wojtyła himself notes, "the. itinerarium mentis in Deumas a "way of the thought of the whole man", ends up becoming a true "way of the thought of the whole man".itinerarium hominis".

This path of truth, goodness and beauty is uniquely suited to recovering the Christian foundation of a society and a culture that have drifted away from God and from man himself, and to a certain extent have fallen into self-destruction and despair. Faced with the crisis of metaphysics - and the consequent dispersion or disunity among the transcendentals - brought about by modern philosophy, St. John Paul II has once again recovered the metaphysical foundation of philosophy and proposed a personalist and transcendent perspective, from which in turn derives an ethical proposal equally anchored in the human person and in his transcendence. In this sense, Pope Wojtyła has wanted to take up this enormous cultural and anthropological challenge referred to by the Second Vatican Council and has constructed a solid anthropological and ethical response to the questions raised by modern thought.

A life and teaching project

Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II has dedicated his life to this path, with constancy, conviction and firmness. Initially pointed out in his stage as a philosopher and professor of Ethics from a more anthropological point of view, it acquires greater development and maturity throughout his pontificate, during which he also approaches them from a theological perspective (Christological and Trinitarian). More specifically, he insistently reiterates the need to base cultural, artistic and communicative expressions on the transcendentals of being. "Culture is the incarnation of the spiritual experiences of a people," he will say on one occasion, "and gives concrete expression to truth, goodness and beauty. Indeed, the search for the true and beautiful good leads man to an encounter with God and with the deepest reality of his own being.

To the extent that the person projects himself in his work, he can help to ensure that this itinerary is also followed by those who contemplate what has come from his hands or is the fruit of his intelligence or creative talent. Hence, cultural and artistic manifestations, and the contents disseminated through the means of communication and entertainment, are an ideal channel for "a more vigorous cultural irradiation of the Church in this world in search of beauty and truth, of unity and love". This anthropological search also becomes a Christological encounter, since Jesus Christ is the Model according to which man has been made, and as Way, Truth and Life he is also the full manifestation of Beauty, Truth and Goodness.

"I carry your name in me"

Throughout his life, this saintly Pope has personally walked these three paths of beauty (through the cultivation of poetry and theater), reason (in his philosophical facet) and faith (as a theologian), steadfast in his commitment to find the divine traces present in the human person and in creation (the pulchrumthe verum and the bonum) to elaborate, from there, that anthropological "symphony" that he interpreted with his life, as part of the evangelizing mission in which God invited him to participate. Here, too, he has honored his role of pontifex ("builder of bridges"), because he has brought together the two shores of faith and culture, which are sometimes opposed to each other, and has also embodied the ideal of the Christian humanist, encouraging him to place at the service of the Gospel each and every one of the means of communication, as well as the various cultural and artistic expressions.

A major part of this endeavor has been to rediscover the path of the transcendentals, those traces or stigmata of God present in the heart of man. He would refer to this again in the collection of poems he wrote in the twilight of his life (Roman Triptych), in which he writes: "I bear your name within me, / this name is a sign of the Covenant / that the eternal Word made with you before the creation of the world (...) / Who is He? The Undefinable, / Being by Himself, / Unique, Creator of all, / At the same time Creator of all, / At the same time Creator of all. Creator of all, / At the same time, the Communion of Persons, / In this Communion there is a mutual gift of the fullness of truth, goodness and beauty."

In the letter he wrote to Professor Giovanni Reale at the end of his life, St. John Paul II expressed his gratitude to Divine Providence for having made him capable of carrying out such a "cultural and spiritual enterprise" - an entire life project - at the center of which "man as a person (...), image of the Subsistent Being, (...) the object of an incessant philosophical and theological analysis" is always found. In our opinion, it can be affirmed that he has more than achieved this objective. Not in vain, as Rino Fisichella affirms, "each successor of Peter is called at the right time and with his personality corresponds to the needs that arise on the tapestry of history".

In the footsteps of God in the world

Author: Alejandro Pardo
Editorial: Eunsa
Number of pages: 536
Year: 2025
The authorAlejandro Pardo

Priest. Doctor in Audiovisual Communication and Moral Theology. Professor of the Core Curriculum Institute of the University of Navarra.

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Gospel

A merciful punishment. Exaltation of the Holy Cross (C)

Joseph Evans comments on the readings of the Exaltation of the Salta Cruz (C) for September 14, 2025.

Joseph Evans-September 11, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

So that we would not be condemned, Christ was condemned. God took upon himself the condemnation that we deserved. And so we read in today's Gospel: "For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved.". This year, the great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross falls on a Sunday and thus gives the whole Church another opportunity to meditate on the Cross and how it is the perfect combination of divine justice and mercy. Justice demands punishment for sin. This justice must be satisfied, it cannot be ignored. But, in his mercy, God took the punishment upon himself, leaving only a small part for us to share.

The first reading shows the Israelites literally receiving the bite of the serpents as punishment for their sin. Although this actually happened, it also symbolically expresses the "bite" of sin. Every time we sin, sin comes back to bite us. We wound others with sin, but we ourselves are wounded even more, although sometimes the wound may be - and this may be the worst of all - the insensitivity of conscience to appreciate the evil we have done.

However, to save the Israelites, God tells Moses to raise up a bronze serpent, a representation of the very creature that causes their death. The Israelites are forced to face their sin, to look at it and acknowledge it. It is not surprising, therefore, that when Jesus dies on the cross, St. John quotes the prophecy of Zechariah: "They shall look upon him whom they have pierced." (Jn 19:37; Zech 12:10). We must be willing to face and acknowledge our sins so that they may be forgiven. Hence the value of confession.

Sin is shown in this episode, as with Adam and Eve, as a lack of trust in God. God then punishes, but even His punishment, in itself, is merciful: it is less than we deserve and is only meant to bring us back to Him. As we read in Ps: "And when he caused them to die, they sought him, and rose up early to turn to God.". To compensate for the disobedience of Adam and Eve before a tree inspired by pride, which led to death (cf. Gen 3:1-7 and 17-19), Christ was humbly obedient to death on a tree. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading: "he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.". If we have the humility to admit our sins, the greater humility of God hastens to save us.

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Integral ecology

Artificial Intelligence, Leo XIV and the Church's Social Doctrine

The Church proposes to discern the digital revolution from the Social Doctrine, so that artificial intelligence may be an instrument at the service of the person and the common good.

Ignacio Amorós-September 10, 2025-Reading time: 10 minutes
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In a world marked by dizzying technological advances, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful tool that transforms society, the economy and human relationships. Is AI a gift of human creativity that can glorify God in the service of the common good, or a danger that threatens the dignity of the person?

The Social Doctrine of the Church (SDC), rooted in the Gospel and developed over the centuries, offers a prophetic light for discerning and guiding this "digital revolution". As Pope Leo XIV stated in his first address to the cardinals on May 10, 2025, "advances in artificial intelligence pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and work." Inspired by Leo XIII, who responded to the Industrial Revolution by Rerum Novarum (1891), Leo XIV has prioritized AI as the "new social question," calling for an ethical response that integrates Catholic faith with technological innovation.

This article aims to synthesize some of the Church's teachings on AI, following the principles of the SDC. Enriched with recent documents such as Antiqua et nova (2025), Pope Francis' 2024 World Day of Peace Message, and the reflections of Leo XIV, explores the definition of AI, its context, applicable moral principles and some practical recommendations. The DSI does not impose rigid rules, but offers universal principles-human dignity, common good, solidarity and subsidiarity-and values-truth, freedom, justice and love-to guide its responsible use. At a time when AI permeates everyday life, from personalized recommendations to medical diagnoses, the Church invites us to a profound reflection so that this technology may serve man and not enslave him.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

AI is a man-made technology that mimics functions of human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning and decision making. Based on mathematical algorithms and machine learning models, it processes large volumes of data to identify patterns, make predictions and execute autonomous tasks. As explained by Antiqua et novaAI does not possess intelligence in the human sense - which includes soul, emotions and moral capacity - but operates functionally, mimicking cognitive processes without genuine consciousness.

Everyday examples include assistants like ChatGPT or Grok, which synthesize information in seconds; personalized recommendations at Netflix or Amazon; chatbots at companies like BBVA; and social network analysis by brands like Coca-Cola. For example, an assistant like ChatGPT can summarize the Bible or write a poem in the style of Lope de Vega in seconds. 

AI use is growing exponentially. A study by GAD-3 (2025) indicates that 85% of teens use AI at least once a week. In addition, a Microsoft report (2024) notes that AI use has grown from 55% in 2023 to 75% in 2024, with organizations employing generative AI often to optimize processes, products, and sales. In medicine, AI accelerates diagnoses; in education, it generates multilingual content; in science, it analyzes data to combat hunger or climate change.

However, AI makes mistakes - such as confusions or generating false information - and does not replace human judgment. As it warns Antiqua et novaIts morality depends on human choices: "Like any product of human creativity, AI can be directed toward positive or negative ends. This distinction is crucial, since AI is not neutral: its design and application reflect human values, and the Church calls us to orient it toward the good.

Historical Context: From the Industrial to the Digital Revolution

The Industrial Revolution (18th-19th centuries) transformed production with innovations such as the steam engine, multiplying productivity, but generated inequalities and unemployment. Leo XIII responded with Rerum Novarumdefending the dignity of the worker and promoting social justice based on biblical principles and the teachings of Jesus.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is unleashing a revolution of global scope, comparable to, or even greater than, the Industrial Revolution, transforming both the world and the mission of the Church. For example, a 2023 World Economic Forum study predicts that AI will automate 25% of global jobs, reducing costs in some sectors by 30-40%, but may generate greater inequalities. Pope Leo XIV links it to digital "new things," comparing it to the Industrial Revolution.

This transformation raises a crucial question: is AI simply an incremental advance or a qualitative change? The current consensus points to the latter: AI introduces a fundamental difference by mimicking human reasoning, marking a new category in society. As Pope Francis described, we are facing an "epochal change," a true revolution, which calls for a profound ethical reflection to orient its immense potential towards the common good and the glory of God. In his Message for the 2024 World Day of Peace, Pope Francis emphasized that AI can promote peace if it is oriented toward the common good, but warns against its misuse in conflict or discrimination.

The Church values AI for its potential in science, medicine and equity, but insists that every advance must serve human dignity. Tools such as Magisterium AI synthesize ecclesial teachings, illustrating how AI can evangelize and spread the Gospel to new audiences.

Leo XIV to the AI Revolution

Pope Leo XIV, elected Roman Pontiff on May 8, 2025, has emphasized the role of AI in his magisterium from the outset. Choosing his name in reference to Leo XIII is no accident: he seeks to respond to the "new things" of our time, such as the digital revolution, with the same boldness and "prophetic spirit" that his predecessor faced the industrial one. In his first address to the cardinals, Leo XIV declared: "Advances in artificial intelligence pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and work," underscoring the need for moral guidance that puts the human being at the center.

In his message to participants at the Second Annual Conference on AI on June 17, 2025, the Pope expanded on this vision: "Your presence testifies to the urgent need for serious reflection and ongoing dialogue on the inherent ethical dimension of AI, as well as its implications for the future of humanity." Here, Leo XIV emphasized that AI must be governed ethically, promoting inclusive development that respects the dignity of every person. Furthermore, in a message to corporate leaders in AI on June 20, 2025, he stated, "Intelligence does not consist in accumulating data, but in seeking the true meaning of life, not in having heaps of information." This phrase highlights his concern about a technocratic approach that forgets the spiritual.

Leo XIV has repeatedly called for an international treaty to regulate AI, ensuring that its ends are oriented to the common good, justice and peace, with human supervision ever present. Rumors of an encyclical entitled Rerum Digitalium suggest that it will delve deeper into these issues, in the spirit of the Rerum Novarum. His early legacy positions the Church as a global moral voice in this revolution, insisting that "human dignity must never be violated in the name of efficiency." Thus, Leo XIV not only warns of risks, but proposes an ethic that integrates Christian values into the design of AI.

Principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church Applied to IA

The ISD offers four universal principles and four values to guide AI, ensuring that it is "authentic progress". For any technological development, advance or innovation to represent authentic progress it must cooperate with the dignity of the person and the common good. The principles of Catholic social thought, derived from the Gospel and the magisterium, are applied to AI to balance innovation with human ethics. A full presentation can be found in the 2004 Compendium of the DSI. These principles are detailed below, including specific examples and relevant quotations.

  1. Dignity of the Human PersonThis fundamental principle affirms that the human being, created in the image of God (Gen 1:27), is an end in itself, not a means to technological or economic ends. In the context of AI, it implies that machines should serve man, not degrade him. For example, in the workplace, AI can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for creative activities, but it should not reduce workers to disposable "cogs". Antiqua et nova emphasizes that human intelligence belongs to the whole person, differentiating it from functional AI, which lacks soul or empathy. In healthcare, AI can diagnose accurately, but it must be complemented by human compassion, respecting informed consent and the inviolability of the patient. AI should not "create a substitute for God," but respect inherent dignity.
  2. Common GoodIt refers to the set of social conditions that allow the integral development of all, including the universal destination of goods. AI should promote equitable access to resources, preventing it from benefiting only elites. For example, in education, it can generate personalized content for underdeveloped regions, but if it is concentrated in the hands of corporations, it will aggravate digital inequalities. Francis' Message for Peace in 2024 stresses that "technologies that do not improve the quality of life of all humanity, but aggravate inequalities, are not true progress". This aligns with the preferential option for the poor, where AI could innovate in agriculture to combat hunger, but only if it is oriented to the good of all and of the whole man.
  3. SolidarityRecognizing human interdependence as a family created by God, this principle urges us to care for the vulnerable. Applied to AI, it implies fostering inclusive tools that connect people, not isolate through fictitious relationships (chatbots as emotional "companions"). In an individualistic world, AI can simulate empathy, but it does not replace authentic connections. Jesus told us that we will be judged by love: "Whatever you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40). Pope Francis emphasized that how we use AI to include those most in need will be the true measure of our humanity. In global contexts, solidarity demands that AI helps poor nations, promoting fraternity and social justice.
  4. SubsidiarityThis principle advocates solving problems at the most local level possible, scaling up only when necessary, to respect the autonomy of individuals and communities. In AI, it implies balanced regulations: local for community innovations (educational apps in parishes), and global for transnational risks such as cybersecurity. Leo XIV has called for coordinated global governance for AI, but based on subsidiarity, ensuring that power is not centralized in states or corporations. For example, parents should freely choose AI educational tools, without state impositions.

The four values The fundamental principles of the DSI-truth, freedom, justice and love-reinforce the principles of human dignity, common good, solidarity and subsidiarity, offering moral guidance for the ethical use of AI. 

I. The truth is essential to counter disinformation, such as deepfakes, which generate false content capable of polarizing societies, damaging reputations or manipulating elections. The DSI requires AI to be programmed to verify data and promote truthfulness, avoiding lies that erode social trust, as the DSI Compendium underlines: "Truth is the basis of a coherent society. 

II. The freedomThe freedom of algorithms, a sign of human dignity, protects against algorithmic coercion that manipulates decisions, such as when AI predicts behaviors to direct consumption or limit personal choices. Defending freedom means ensuring that algorithms respect human autonomy, without falling into forms of technological control reminiscent of totalitarianism. 

III. The justice demands decent working conditions in the face of mass automation, which threatens to eliminate millions of jobs. AI must support fair wages and working environments that respect the dignity of the worker. Rerum Novarumwork must be remunerated in such a way as to enable man to live with dignity. 

IV. Finally, the lovewhich transcends technical efficiency, incorporating mercy and forgiveness, values that no machine can replicate. St. John Paul II taught that love is the supreme value of Catholic social morality, and AI must serve this charity, promoting mercy, fraternity and compassion, especially toward those most in need. These values ensure that AI not only optimizes processes, but builds a "civilization of love" aligned with the Gospel.

DSI PrincipleDetailed DescriptionApplication to AIRelevant Quote
Human DignityHuman being as an end, not a means; body-soul integrity.Supervision in vital decisions; no downgrading of work."AI must serve humanity while respecting the unique dignity of each individual."
Common GoodConditions for the development of all; universal destination of goods.Equitable access; inclusive innovations."Technological developments that aggravate inequalities can never be counted as true progress."
SolidarityInterdependence and care of the vulnerable.Global inclusion; avoiding digital isolation."We are called to act responsibly and respect fundamental human values."
SubsidiarityLocal solutions first; scale up if necessary.Balanced regulation; community autonomy."It is unfair (...) to transfer to a larger community what the smaller ones can accomplish."

Application of the Principles to Specific Issues

The DSI illuminates key issues, applying its principles to concrete AI challenges. The dignity of the human person is threatened when AI fosters unrealistic relationships, such as robots or chatbots that simulate empathy but do not replace authentic connections, leading to isolation in an individualistic digital culture. 

Work, an expression of dignity (Gen 2:15), could be dehumanized by massive automation, losing jobs and reducing man to a means of efficiency; the Church defends dignified employment that allows for personal development. 

The right to privacy is violated with predictive data analysis, where AI anticipates behaviors for commercial purposes, invading privacy and treating the human as an object. 

The common good is put at risk when AI aggravates social inequalities, concentrating in the hands of the powerful few and leaving the vulnerable behind, rather than promoting solidarity and justice. 

Finally, truth is eroded by lies and deepfakes, generating disinformation that polarizes societies and damages reputations, demanding ethical programming that prioritizes truthfulness. These issues underscore that AI must be ordered to man, not the other way around, guided by the ISD for authentic progress.

Ethical Risks and Challenges

AI offers great advances such as the liberation from repetitive tasks, innovations in agriculture and education, and the promotion of fraternity if used ethically. All of these can alleviate suffering, promote integral development and end wars. However, the risks of AI are multifaceted, affecting dignity, society and peace. 

Antiqua et nova and Leo XIV's interventions highlight some challenges in education, economics and health. The main dangers include algorithmic biases that perpetuate discrimination, disinformation via deepfakes that foster polarization, loss of privacy with mass surveillance, mass unemployment that destabilizes families, lethal autonomous weapons that allow machines to decide deaths in violation of dignity, and fictitious relationships that aggravate loneliness. The Church warns that AI can "aggravate conflicts" if not ethically designed and urges moral responsibility at all levels to mitigate these risks through human oversight.

Conclusion

In sum, AI represents an epochal change that the ISD illuminates with permanent and universal principles, reminding us that technology is a human gift subordinate to God, the source of all wisdom (cf. 1 Cor 1:24). Expanding on these principles, we see that human dignity demands that AI be an ally, not a substitute; the common good urges global equity; solidarity fosters inclusion; and subsidiarity balances regulations. Risks - disinformation, unemployment, autonomous weapons - demand ethical vigilance, while some benefits such as medical advances invite cautious hope.

As Catholics, we are called to action: forming our conscience with the DSI, using resources such as DoCat, advocating for international treaties, and using AI to evangelize and serve the poor. Intelligence is not about accumulating data, but about seeking the true meaning of life. 

Catholic parishes, schools and families can adopt tools like Magisterium AI to enrich catechesis, while participating in local forums to advocate for ethical AI. Forming our conscience in DSI empowers us to transform this digital revolution into an opportunity for evangelization and service to those most in need.

In a world tempted by the idolatry of thinking that AI can bring eternal salvation, let us remember that only in God do we find true salvation and only Christ quenches our infinite thirst for love and happiness (cf. Ps. 63:2). May AI impel us to build the "civilization of love," where technology and faith converge in fraternity. God, the eternal Logos, the eternal Intelligence, invites us to love through all creation. May this revolution of AI and digital culture help us to build a better world, more human and in solidarity, and lead us to love and give glory to God.

The authorIgnacio Amorós

Priest and editor of "Rebels Wanted".

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The Vatican

Pope invites Holy Land Arabs to turn trial into prayer

On a rainy day in Rome, during today's Audience, the Pope invited the Arabic-speaking faithful, especially those in the Holy Land, to convert the "moments of trial and tribulation in confident prayer, because God always listens to his children". Yesterday, Leo XIV described as "serious" the Israeli bombing in Doha (Qatar) against Hamas leaders.

Francisco Otamendi-September 10, 2025-Reading time: 3 minutes

Pope Leo has had in the Audience The Pope's General Audience this morning, on a rainy Roman morning, included two moments in which he made special reference to the wars. Addressing the Arabic-speaking faithful, especially those in the Holy Land, he invited them to "transform their cry in times of trial and tribulation into confident prayer." "For God always listens to his children and responds when it suits him best," he said.

Later, addressing the Polish-speaking people, he recalled that "today they celebrate the National Day of Polish Children Victims of War, which symbolically commemorates their suffering and their contribution to the reconstruction of Poland after the Second World War".

"Remember also in your prayers and in your humanitarian projects the children of Ukraine, Gaza and other regions of the world affected by war," he said. "I entrust you and the children who are suffering today to the protection of Mary, Queen of Peace. Pazand I bless you from my heart".

"The situation is really serious."

Yesterday, as he left his residence at Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV responded briefly to journalists' questions about the bombing of Doha, Qatar: "We don't know how things are going. We must pray a lot, continue to work and insist on peace." Regarding the evacuation order in Gaza City, the Pontiff said he tried to contact the parish priest: "I have no news."

Leo XIV expressed his concern about what was happening in the Middle East, reported the Vatican Agency: "The situation is really serious," he said. "We do not know where things are heading; it is always serious. We must pray fervently and keep working, seeking and insisting on peace."

The cry of Jesus on the cross

In his opening catechesis, the Pope continued with the theme "Jesus Christ, our hope", proper to the Jubilee, and centered his meditation on the cry of Jesus on the cross: "Jesus cried out with a loud cry and breathed his last" (Mk 15:37).

"In this catechesis we contemplate the death of Jesus on the cross. The Gospel offers us a very valuable detail, and that is that Jesus does not die in silence, but gives his life with a cry. This cry expresses pain, abandonment, faith, total self-offering," the Pope pointed out. 

Cry of pain to the Father, of humanity: prayer 

"The Son, who has always lived in intimate communion with the Father, now experiences silence, absence, the abyss. But the cry of Jesus is not one of despair but of sincerity and truth, and reveals a deep trust, which resists even when everything is silent."

The Pontiff emphasized that "in the Crucified One we can recognize a God who does not remain distant, but who enters into the depths of our pain. His cry is a profound act of humanity, and it is also an extreme form of prayer". 

In that cry, Jesus cries out to the Father because he believes in him, because he loves him and has not lost hope. Thus "he teaches us, in our dark nights, to offer our cries of pain to the Father. They are cries of hope in the hour of trial, which help us to trust and to open our hearts to the God who saves".

The centurion understands

The centurion, a pagan, understands the love of Jesus. "Not because he heard a discourse, but because he saw Jesus die in that way: 'Truly this man was the Son of God' (Mk 15:39). It is the first profession of faith after the death of Jesus". 

Let us ask the Holy Spirit, Pope Leo concluded, to help us "to give voice to the sufferings of humanity through our prayer and concrete works of charity, so that this voice, united to that of Christ, may become a source of hope for all."

To the French-speaking pilgrims, with a group from Montreal (Canada), the Pope said: "When the moment of trial arrives, like the new saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo AcutisWe learn from Christ the cry of hope and the desire to open our hearts to the will of the Father, who desires our salvation.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Evangelization

St. Nicholas of Tolentine, first Augustinian saint, and martyrs of Nagasaki

On September 10, the liturgy commemorates St. Nicholas of Tolentino (13th century), considered the first saint of the Order of St. Augustine. He was noted for his pastoral dedication as a confessor and his care for the most needy, and he is the protector of the souls in purgatory. The Blessed Martyrs of Nagasaki (Japan) are also celebrated today.  

Francisco Otamendi-September 10, 2025-Reading time: 2 minutes

Short biographies about San Nicolás de Tolentino They emphasize his asceticism, his kind smile, long prayers and fasting, always accompanied by sympathy and charity. This is pointed out by the vatican saints' calendar and the Roman Martyrology.

"In Tolentino, Piceno, St. Nicholas, a priest, religious of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, who, a friar of rigorous penance and assiduous prayer, severe with himself and understanding with others, often imposed on himself the penance of others († 1305)," writes the Martyrology.

As we said, St. Nicholas is recognized as the patron saint of the souls in Purgatory, protector of suffering souls. Especially after a vision in which a friar asked him to pray for him and other souls in Purgatory.

A fellow friar spoke to him from Purgatory

According toOne night, Father Nicholas was sleeping in his cell when he heard the voice of one of his fellow friars, who had recently died. The friar told St. Nicholas that he was in purgatory and asked him to celebrate the Eucharist for him and other souls who were there. So that they would be freed by the mercy of Christ. 

After Nicholas had celebrated Mass for this intention for seven days, the friar spoke to him again. This time it was to thank him and tell him that many souls, including his own, were now with God.

Many miracles are attributed to St. Nicholas, both during his lifetime and after his death. He always asked them not to comment on anything, and to thank God. When his days were running out, someone asked"Father, why are you so joyful and happy?" Fr. Nicholas replied, "Because my God and Lord Jesus Christ, accompanied by his Holy Mother and my Holy Father Augustine, is saying to me : "Come on! Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord".

Blessed martyrs of Nagasaki

On July 7, 1867, Pope Pius IX beatified 205 Servants of God martyred in Japan between 1617 and 1632. Of these, 52 were immolated, burned alive or beheaded, on the 'Martyrs' Hill' of Nagasaki (Japan), on September 10, 1622. Among the martyrs were priests, religious, married couples, young people, catechists, widows and children, who offered a heroic example. They belonged to various nationalities.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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