Speaking to the recent Fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development delivered an address entitled “Dream Come True.”

“Three dreams come together into one,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ. “The Word of God takes up the cry of those crushed by the system and demanding change. This is the ancient dream of Jubilee, and this is what Jesus did; this is Pope Francis’s dream of world meetings to plant the flag here in Rome at the Vatican; and this is Pope Leo’s invitation to both the Popular Movements and the Church to walk together in the third millennium.”

Pope Leo XIV also addressed the gathering.

During the recent Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, Pope Leo XIV addressed questions from seven participants.

“The synodal process, as Pope Francis reminded us on numerous occasions, was intended to help the Church fulfil her primary role in the world, which is to be missionary: to announce the Gospel and to give witness to the person of Jesus Christ in every part of the world and to the ends of the earth,” Pope Leo said.

In addressing the questions, the Pope referred to the importance of listening to the Word of God, listening to one another, and prayer.

“The Jubilee is an invitation to conversion, reconciliation and new life that we have received from Jesus Christ,” he said. “These are aspects that can truly inspire us to continue being Church (siendo Iglesia) and building paths of inclusion, inviting many more—everyone—to accompany us, to walk with us.”

The Roman Martyrology (2004) commemorates today St. Narcissus of Jerusalem (99-215) who was consecrated Bishop of Jerusalem about the year 180. He was already an old man, and God attested his merits by many miracles. The holy bishop had many false accusations against him, but the truth prevailed. He decided to use this as an opportunity to pursue a life of solitude, and he withdrew secretly into the desert for a time. Then Narcissus returned to Jerusalem and resumed his office. He died in extreme old age, bishop to the last.

At the conclusion of his public audience on October 29, Pope Leo XIV encouraged prayers for the people of Jamaica, which had been hit by the violence of hurricane Melissa, and for Cuba, next in the storm’s path.

The Pope offered “his closeness and prayer to the populations affected” by the hurricane.

Pope Leo XIV dedicated his weekly public audience on October 29 to the Vatican II declaration Nostra Aetate, marking the 60th anniversary of its promulgation.

The Pope said that inter-religious dialogue, the focus of Nostra Aetate, reflects the Gospel encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well, in which the Lord “overcomes the barriers of culture, gender, and religion.” He said:

This luminous document teaches us to meet the followers of other religions not as outsiders, but as travelling companions on the path of truth; to honor differences affirming our common humanity; and to discern, in every sincere religious search, a reflection of the one divine Mystery that embraces all creation.

Noting that the Vatican II declaration gives special emphasis to dialogue with the Jewish faith, the Pontiff hailed the development of a closer relationship between Catholic and Jews. He also denounced anti-Semitism, saying that “the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”

"...the purity of his heart will undoubtedly conquer the devil.”

Martin Lorentz, a carpenter who helped restore Notre-Dame after the devastating 2019 fire, married his fiancée, Jade, inside the very cathedral he had helped rebuild.

WASHINGTON – In the midst of the ongoing federal government shutdown, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a plea for lawmakers and the Administration to work in a bipartisan way to ensure funding of lifesaving programs and an end to the government shutdown. Archbishop Broglio cited the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a government program that aids needy families, as an example of an impacted program.

“As this government shutdown continues, the U.S. bishops are deeply alarmed that essential programs that support the common good, such as SNAP, may be interrupted. This would be catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table and places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward. This consequence is unjust and unacceptable. The U.S. bishops have consistently advocated for public policies that support those in need. I urgently plead with lawmakers and the Administration to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that these lifesaving programs are funded, and to pass a government funding bill to end the government shutdown as quickly as possible.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic education, which has changed over the centuries, must continue to evolve to help young people face the challenges not only of technology but of confusion about the meaning and purpose of life, Pope Leo XIV said.

"I call upon all educational institutions to inaugurate a new season that speaks to the hearts of the younger generations, reuniting knowledge and meaning, competence and responsibility, faith and life," he wrote in an apostolic letter.

Titled "Disegnare Nuove Mappe Di Speranza" ("Drawing New Maps of Hope"), the letter was issued only in Italian Oct. 28. It marked the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Catholic Education. 

In the letter, Pope Leo formally declared St. John Henry Newman "patron of the church's educational mission alongside St. Thomas Aquinas."

The pope was scheduled to formally proclaim St. Newman a "doctor of the church" Nov. 1 in recognition of his contribution to "the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine." He was born in London Feb. 21, 1801, was ordained an Anglican priest, became Catholic in 1845, was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and died in 1890.

Even in the face of the digital revolution and the advent of artificial intelligence, Pope Leo said, Catholic schools and universities show "a surprising resilience."

When they are "guided by the word of Christ, they do not retreat but press forward; they do not raise walls but build bridges. They respond creatively, opening new possibilities for the transmission of knowledge and meaning," he wrote. 

Pope Leo asked Catholic educators and educational institutions to focus on "three priorities":

-- "The first regards the interior life: Young people seek depth; they need spaces of silence, discernment and dialogue with their consciences and with God.

-- "The second concerns a humane digital culture: We must educate in the wise use of technology and AI, placing the person before the algorithm, and harmonizing technical, emotional, social, spiritual and ecological forms of intelligence.

-- "The third concerns peace -- unarmed and disarming: Let us educate in nonviolent language, reconciliation and bridge-building rather than wall-building; may 'Blessed are the peacemakers' -- (Mt 5:9) -- become both the method and the content of learning."

At the same time, the pope said, it is obvious that Catholic schools cannot ignore technology or avoid it, but they must be discerning about digital platforms, data protection and fair access for all students. 

"In any case," he said, "no algorithm can replace what makes education truly human: poetry, irony, love, art, imagination, the joy of discovery" and even learning from mistakes "as an opportunity for growth."

In the letter, the pope briefly traced the history of Catholic education from the "desert fathers" teaching with parables, to the monastic study and preservation of classic texts and scholasticism's highly structured and interdisciplinary curriculum.

But he also noted the huge array of Catholic saints throughout the ages who insisted that learning to read and write and add and subtract were matters of human dignity and so dedicated their lives and their religious orders to educating women and girls, the poor, migrants and refugees and others on the margins of society.

"Wherever access to education remains a privilege," Pope Leo wrote, "the church must push open doors and invent new pathways because to 'lose the poor' is to lose the very meaning of the school."

"To educate is an act of hope," he said.

Catholic schools and universities, the pope wrote, must be "places where questions are not silenced and doubt is not banned but accompanied. The 'heart speaks to heart,'" he said, quoting St. Newman's motto as a cardinal.

Parents, as the Second Vatican Council affirmed, are the first and primary educators of their children, the pope said, but "Christian education is a choral work: no one educates alone."

Those who teach in a Catholic institution, he said, "are called to a responsibility that goes beyond the employment contract: their witness is worth as much as their lesson."

And while the human person is at the center of all educational initiatives, the goal is to help that person learn to see beyond him- or herself and "discover the meaning of life, inalienable dignity and responsibility toward others," he wrote.

"Education is not merely the transmission of content but an apprenticeship in virtue," Pope Leo said. "It forms citizens capable of serving and believers capable of bearing witness -- men and women who are freer, not more isolated."

The pope also called on Catholic schools and universities to be models of social and "environmental justice," promoting simplicity and sustainable lifestyles and helping students recognize their responsibility for caring for the earth.

"Every small gesture -- avoiding waste, making responsible choices, defending the common good -- is an act of cultural and moral literacy," he wrote.
 

The Church celebrates the Feast of the Apostles Saints Simon and Jude. Their names occur together in the Canon of the Mass and are also celebrated on the same day. They may be paired together because they both preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia where it is said they had both been sent, but in actual fact we know nothing for certain about them beyond what is told us of their being called as Apostles in the New Testament. St. Jude is the author of the short Epistle which forms part of the New Testament.