St. Thomas Aquinas/St. John Henry Newman. / Credit: Public domain

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV declared St. John Henry Newman, along with St. Thomas Aquinas, as a patron saint of the Catholic Church’s educational mission in his recent apostolic letter on education, “Drawing New Maps of Hope.”

In the letter, the pontiff draws a connection between the two saints, separated by six centuries but united by the same mission: teaching within the Catholic Church.

Paul Gordon, professor of Catholic social doctrine and contemporary history and literature at the Ángel Ayala Institute of Humanities, reflected on the Holy Father’s letter in a recent conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Union between faith and reason

As the Scottish professor noted, both Newman and Aquinas were theologians who promoted dialogue between the sciences, especially between faith and reason, positioning the gift of faith as a guide in the search for truth. 

In the apostolic letter, published on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Gravissimum Educationis, the pope recalls the words of Newman, who will also be declared a doctor of the Church on Nov. 1: “Religious truth is not only a part, but a condition of general knowledge.”

According to Pope Leo, this involves an invitation to “renew the commitment to knowledge that is as intellectually responsible and rigorous as it is profoundly human.”

A keen insight into modern times

Aquinas, known as the “angelic doctor,” plumbed the depths of the Christian faith “in the light of Aristotle’s philosophy” and Christianized the ideas of the Greek philosopher, Gordon explained.

“St. Thomas Aquinas introduced Aristotle’s philosophy into the Catholic Church at the beginning of the modern world, in the 13th century,” he added.

For his part, Newman, who was the first rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, “unified faith and reason” with his keen insight into modern times.

Gordon also noted that Newman is one of the most celebrated converts to Catholicism in recent times, making the pope’s gesture “another milestone marking the return to Rome” that Newman himself experienced.

Though criticized by many at the time, Newman “was among the first” who ”dared to leave Anglicanism, which is still the official and established Church” in Great Britain, and go “over to the Catholic Church because he knew that’s where the truth resided,” Gordon said.

Newman’s conversion paved “the way for many other converts in my country and in English-speaking countries.”

Gordon said he thinks Pope Leo XIV intends to emphasize the importance of ecumenism in light of Newman’s courageous and brave example: “He shows us that we must pray for the unity of the body of Christ, because division is a sin.” 

A light for teaching today

Both saints can serve as a light for the teaching profession in today’s world, Gordon emphasized, where “education, especially at the university level, has become a kind of utilitarian vocational training where spirituality has no place.”

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

Sister Allison Gliot, a Daughter of St. Paul, is the author of the “In Aeternum” series as well as other nonfiction and children’s books. She also works as an acquisitions editor for Pauline Books and Media. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Pauline Books and Media

CNA Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When a religious sister felt inspired to write a Catholic vampire trilogy, she knew the inspiration came from Jesus — but she did not know if the other sisters would think she was “crazy.”

Vampire novels are not known for inspiring teens to become Eucharistic ministers, attend Eucharistic adoration, or discern religious life. But the “In Aeternum” series is different. The books aim to draw their fans to Christ.

After she felt Jesus “stir up the story idea,” Sister Allison Regina Gliot, a Daughter of St. Paul, got to writing.

“The nuns are going to think I’m crazy that I wrote a vampire book,” Gliot remembered telling Jesus in prayer.

But after the leap of faith, Gliot’s story has made it into print.

The “In Aeternum” trilogy begins with “The Curse He Chose,” which centers on Elizabeth, a Catholic teenager who gets caught up in a fight between vampires and is forced to go on the run with a vampire outcast named Christopher. The story continues in the second book, “The Light They Left” — announced Oct. 31 — which will be released on Jan. 2, 2026, by Pauline Books and Media, the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Why a vampire novel? 

The Daughters of St. Paul, also known as the “media nuns,” evangelize through media — from social media to storytelling to, apparently, young adult Catholic vampire books.

“There are a lot of teens and young adults who love fiction, who love supernatural fiction, who love urban fantasy and sci-fi stories,” Gliot said. “And so if we can provide a Catholic option, it can genuinely move them forward in their relationship with God and their relationship with the Church.” 

Besides being hugely popular among young adults — especially with the “Twilight” craze of the early 2000s — vampire novels have something else to offer. 

Classic vampire stories had explicitly Catholic elements, Gliot noted. In Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” for instance, the Eucharist, holy ground, and a crucifix all help protect against vampires.

Gliot, who grew up reading vampire stories, wondered: “Why did that get cut out?”

The “deep devotion” that the Daughters of St. Paul have for the Eucharist first drew her to the community. By interweaving spiritual realities throughout the novel, Gliot hoped her writing could support young readers in their faith regarding things like the Eucharist.

“By having characters like vampires who are super attuned to invisible spiritual realities, it helps readers see and realize that those realities are actually real,” she explained.

“Vampires are not real, but the Eucharist actually is Jesus,” she said.

Her books deal not only with vampires but also with having a relationship with God — and all the challenges that come with it.

The main character, Elizabeth, struggles with things that Gliot herself has wrestled with in her faith.

“One of the things that Elizabeth fears in showing her anger towards God is: What does that say about her?” Gliot said. “If some part of her hates God, is she going to run into the limits of God’s love? Or is God only helping her because she’s doing what he says?”

Meanwhile, the outcast vampire Christopher “has to learn how to experience” God’s love and forgiveness.

In the story, vampires have “rejected their humanity” to the point that they forget their human past. But in Book 2, Christopher’s memories start to come back.

“He struggles a lot with forgiving himself and struggles to accept forgiveness from others,” Gliot said. “And so accepting forgiveness from God is an even harder thing in some ways for him.”

The story has “organic Catholicism woven in,” she explained. The power of the sacraments and other theological elements are “all wrapped up into the action and the emotional stakes of what’s going on in the story.”

Several other sisters and a priest reviewed the manuscripts to make sure “that readers are not going to walk away with any misconceptions about Catholicism,” Gliot said. The book even includes a “fact or fiction” section at the end as a resource for readers.

The biggest theological idea that comes up in the series is that “God never gives up on us — that you are never so far gone or so far fallen that you can’t come back to him, but you have to make that choice to come back,” Gliot said.

“He’s there, he wants you, but it’s up to you to start taking those steps towards him and responding to that grace,” she said.

For future readers 

As she wrote, Gliot felt a call from Jesus to pray for her future readers. 

“What future readers?” she remembered asking herself. 

But she prayed anyway. 

When the first book came out, Gliot began to see these prayers coming to fruition. 

Readers have reached out to Gliot over social media and through handwritten letters “to share how much they love the book and cannot put it down and how they’re sharing it with all their friends,” she said. 

But what has moved her most is when readers have reached out saying that the book “changed their relationship with God” for the better. 

“I’ve had readers share that they have become Eucharistic ministers at their parish after reading my book or that they’ve started discerning religious life or going to daily Mass,” Gliot said. 

“God is present with the reader, just like he was present with me when I was working on the book,” she said.

null / Credit: Shower of Roses

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The celebration of “Holywins” (“Holiness wins“), is an initiative that originated in Paris in 2002 with the aim of celebrating the eve of All Saints on Oct. 31 in a Christian way. Over time, this Catholic celebration has been spreading to other places in the world.

On that day, parishes and Catholic communities gather to celebrate Mass, participate in Eucharistic adoration and prayer meetings, and take part in recreational activities to encourage the participation of children, young people, and their families.

It’s customary for children to dress up as their favorite saints, to discuss the exemplary lives of the saints, and to remind children of the call to sainthood. In addition, games are usually played, lively songs are sung, and food and sweets are shared.

The Diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain has been putting on a Holywins program for children and youths since 2009 that includes games, workshops, a procession to the cathedral, activities for the evening, and Eucharistic adoration.

Here are some ideas to celebrate Holywins with your family.

1. Dress up as your favorite saints.

A large investment isn’t needed to make a costume, and with the help of some fabrics or household items, you can create good characterizations of your favorite saints.

For example, to dress as St. Catherine of Siena, try a long white or cream-colored dress that represents the habit of the Dominican order, and a black cloth in the form of a veil used by nuns to cover their heads. In addition, a crown of dry branches can be made for the head and a cross and a small bouquet of lilies can be carried in the hand.

To dress up as St. Rose of Lima, consider using the same habit suggested for St. Catherine of Siena, but change the crown of dry branches for one of red roses.

To dress up as St. Juan Diego, all that is needed is a large white or cream-colored blanket or sheet to wrap around the body and on the front can be placed an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with some red roses at her feet.

To represent St. Dominic Savio, the patron saint of children’s choirs, you only need brown pants, a green jacket, a white shirt, and a bow tie.

For St. Ignatius of Loyola, a black robe is all that is needed; and for St. Francis of Assisi, a brown robe.

You can find more ideas for costumes here.

2. Share themed foods and treats.

A Holywins celebration is usually accompanied by food, so take advantage of this day to cook with your family and prepare desserts related to favorite saints. As you enjoy the meal, share with your family stories of or quotes by these saints.

For example, for St. Juan Gualberto, the patron saint of parks and forest workers, you could make chocolate cupcakes decorated with white frosting and small trees made with chocolate or stretchy dough. In the case of St. Rose of Lima, you could make cupcakes with frosting in the shape of red roses.

For St. Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, or St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and environmentalists, you could make or buy cookies in the shape of animals or leaves or trees.

3. Come up with playful activities about the saints.

In addition to the prepared desserts, you might fill large containers or cups with candy with each one wrapped in a piece of paper that has a quote from a saint written on it. You can also fill cups with candy and place a lollipop stick or a short stick inside with the image of a saint glued to it.

If you have pumpkins, draw a star or a cross on them and fill them with candy that has quotes from your favorite saints wrapped around them. In this way, the scary faces that are typically carved on pumpkins will be avoided and a more Christian meaning will be given to this activity.

Later, you could tell the story of some saints or watch movies of saints as a family — perhaps animated ones for children — and then ask questions to see how much family members understood. With those who already know various stories of the saints, you could play charades. Those who answer correctly can be rewarded with a small prize.

You could also have the smallest children in your family make a dramatization or performance of the story, episode, or anecdote of one of their favorite saints. This activity could be more fun if they have a costume or something associated with the saint.

In addition, each member of the family could be encouraged to draw his or her favorite saint or make origami or crafts representing his or her patron saint or some characteristic element of the saint. Afterward, each member could explain why he or she chose that saint and share a favorite quote of the saint with the others.

4. Decorate your home altar and pray as a family.

Set up a family altar in your home if you don’t already have one. This is an excellent place to pray the rosary as a family, and this devotional practice is better done with others than individually.

Images of saints are often placed on altars for veneration and can also be very educational.

Remembering that this space in the home should be special and encourage recollection for prayer, take advantage of this special day and decorate it as a family with images of your favorite saints and flowers for the Virgin Mary, whether natural or made with paper using the origami technique. 

Then, pray the rosary with your family, asking God for holiness for every member, and dedicate a prayer to the saint or saints of your devotion. Each family member could read a mystery of the rosary, and at the end everyone could sing a Marian hymn.

The concept of Holywins

For last year’s celebration of Holywins, the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares explained that “the phonetic similarity with the word ‘Halloween’ is not accidental, since Holywins seeks to help reinforce the Christian festival of All Saints in the face of [an] increasing” pagan influence on Halloween.

The diocese pointed out that although “Halloween means ‘All Hallows Eve’ in English, currently this celebration has no relation to the Christian faith. On the contrary, its way of approaching life and death, good and evil, is completely different from that of the Gospel of Christ and the tradition of his Church.”

Holywins is an initiative that seeks to encourage breaking with “the cult of death and the exaltation of the monstrous or ugly that it brings with it, since what is proper to Christians is to celebrate the triumph of life and promote beauty and [goodness],” the diocese said.

Holywins seeks to “convey the same message: Life is beautiful and its goal is heaven; there are many who have already arrived and we are all called to share their happiness, since we can all be saints,” the diocese pointed out.

The diocese also noted that “with the costumes of the living dead that fill the streets of the cities on Oct. 31” for the celebration of Halloween, “more and more dioceses are joining the celebration of Holywins.”

“We Catholics want to return to this day its true meaning and celebrate all those who heroically followed Jesus Christ, with a luminous feast of All Saints that overflows with joy and hope,” it concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, on Oct. 25, 2022, and has been translated, adapted, and updated by CNA.

Mercedes Schlapp, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) senior fellow (left), and conservative political commentator and practicing Catholic Jack Posobiec (right) discuss Christian persecution at the Summit on Ending Christian Persecution on Oct. 30, 2025, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. / Credit: CPAC

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA).

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) launched an initiative to combat Christian persecution domestically and abroad, a subject at the heart of its latest summit in Washington, D.C. 

CPAC hosted a Summit on Ending Christian Persecution at the Kennedy Center on Oct. 30 as a part of its wider effort to collaborate with its coalition partners to raise awareness and identify policy solutions to religious targeting of Christians.

“As Catholics, we are all called to help those most in need, those who are facing persecution here and across the globe,” Mercedes Schlapp, CPAC senior fellow, told CNA. “CPAC and our coalition partners have made it a priority to start the CPAC Center for Faith and Liberty, committed to finding policy solutions, working with national and international leaders to bring awareness to the atrocities that we are seeing against our Christian brothers,” said Schlapp, who helped moderate the event.

“We hope to continue in this fight and really provide protection and solutions to those persecuted Christians, to those who have died as martyrs, and to bring peace to our world,” she said. 

The event included dozens of attendees and speakers such as Sean Nelson, ADF International senior counsel; Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia; Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey; Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri; and conservative political commentator and practicing Catholic Jack Posobiec. 

Topics included a recent surge of political violence. Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah on Sept. 10. In June, catechist Melissa Hortman, the former Minnesota Democratic House speaker, and her husband, Mark Hortman, were murdered. 

During a fireside chat with Schlapp, Posobiec said that while he is proud of the work that has been done to raise awareness of persecution abroad, “it’s coming here to the United States.” 

A Minneapolis Annunciation School shooting left two students dead on Aug. 27.

“The shooting of the children in Minneapolis at [Annunciation Catholic School], which happened just two weeks to the day before the murder of Charlie Kirk, was an anti-Christian act of persecution,” Posobiec said.

Shrine of the Queen Mother in Atibaia, Brazil. / Credit: Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

On the occasion of the centenary of the Secular Institute of the Sisters of Mary of Schoenstatt, Germany, Pope Leo XIV has granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who visits the original Schoenstatt shrine or any shrine, church, or chapel under the care of this community.

The indulgence can be obtained throughout the community’s jubilee, which began on Oct. 1 and will conclude on Nov. 4, 2026.

“For our community, this gift of indulgence in our jubilee year is an invitation from God, through the Church, for a deeper purification of our hearts,” the Schoenstatt Movement said on its website, adding: “We trust that God’s grace will sustain us in a more perceptible way at the beginning of a new era for our family.”

The decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See states that the indulgence is granted “to members of the institute and to all the faithful who, moved by repentance and love, unite themselves to the spiritual goals of the Jubilee Year 2025.”

The faithful are invited to make a pilgrimage to one of the aforementioned places and spend time there in contemplation.

To obtain the indulgence, which can also be obtained on behalf of a deceased person, the following conditions must be met: sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist, prayer for the pope’s intentions — according to the decree, the Our Father, the Creed, the invocation of Mary, Mother of God, as Queen of Peace and Mother of Mercy — and performing an act of penance and a work of charity.

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

“Use technology wisely, but don’t let technology use you,” Pope Leo XIV said during his address to hundreds of university students gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Oct. 30, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged young people to cultivate their “interior life” and to listen to their restlessness without “fleeing from it” or “filling it” with things that don’t satisfy, lest they fall into existential emptiness.

“Having a great deal of knowledge is not enough if we do not know who we are or what the meaning of life is,” the pope told the hundreds of university students he received Oct. 30 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican for an event held as part of the Jubilee of the World of Education.

In his message, he invited the students to rediscover the inner dimension of life and pointed out that “without silence, without listening, without prayer, even the light of the stars goes out.”

“We can know a great deal about the world and still ignore our own hearts,” he noted, while encouraging the students to constantly strive “toward the heights,” being “the beacon of hope in the dark hours of history.”

Leo XIV acknowledged that many young people experience a sense of emptiness or inner restlessness and emphasized that this disorientation is not solely due to personal reasons.

“In the most serious cases, we see episodes of distress, violence, bullying, and oppression — even young people who isolate themselves and no longer want to relate to others,” the pope observed. In his view, these deep wounds are “the reflection of “a void created by a society that has forgotten how to form the spiritual dimension of the human person, focusing only on the technical, social, or moral aspects of life.”

The pope was especially approachable and relaxed with the young people, with whom he shared several spontaneous moments. He introduced himself to them twice as a “former math and physics teacher,” recalling his teaching past, and even joked with them: “Perhaps you have a math exam soon?” he asked, going off script and eliciting laughter and applause.

The pope affirmed that a life that remains “stifled by fleeting pleasures will never satisfy us.” Instead, he asked each person to say in his or her heart: “I dream of more, Lord, I long for something greater, inspire me!”

“This desire is your strength and expresses well the commitment of young people who envision a better society and refuse to be mere spectators,” he emphasized after noting that the “desire for the infinite” is the compass they should use.

Instead of looking at your phone, ‘look to the sky, to the heights’

He urged the university students to not be satisfied “with appearances or fads” and instead of “being fixated on your smartphones, to look to the sky, to the heights.”

“How wonderful it would be if one day your generation were remembered as the ‘generation plus,’ remembered for the extra drive you brought to the Church and the world,” he exclaimed.

During his address, Pope Leo cited as role models St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who had “the courage to live life to the fullest” and “to the heights,” and St. Carlo Acutis, “who did not become a slave to the internet but rather used it skillfully for good.” The pontiff canonized these two young saints together on Sept. 7.

The pope also cited St. Augustine as an example, describing him as “brilliant but deeply unsatisfied” because he found “neither truth nor peace until he discovered God in his own heart.”

The Holy Father focused much of his address on the challenges posed by the digital world and the development of artificial intelligence, urging that these areas not become “a cage where you lock yourselves in” nor “an addiction or an escape.”

“You live in [digital education] and that’s not a bad thing; there are enormous opportunities for study and communication. But don’t let the algorithm write your story! Be the authors: Use technology wisely, but don’t let technology use you,” he urged.

‘It is not enough to silence weapons, we must disarm hearts’

Leo XIV emphasized the urgency of a “disarmed and disarming education” that forms new generations in respect, justice, and equality.

“You can see how much our future is threatened by war and hatred, which divide people. Can this future be changed? Certainly! How? With an education for peace that is disarmed and disarming,” the pope said. Furthermore, he warned that it is not enough to “silence the weapons,” but rather “we must disarm hearts, renouncing all violence and vulgarity.”

As in his recent document on education, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” Leo XIV called for avoiding all forms of exclusion or privilege in education, “recognizing the equal dignity of every young person, without ever dividing young people between the privileged few who have access to expensive schools and the many who do not have access to education.”

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

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for more than 1 million young pilgrims at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, in Rome's outskirts, on Aug. 3, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2025 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

Catholic teenagers and faithful across the country have started signing up to hear Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever digital address to American Catholic youth during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC).

Pope Leo will hold a 45-minute digital dialogue with young people from across the United States during the Nov. 20–22 NCYC in Indianapolis, hosted by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). The pope will speak at 10:15 a.m. ET on Nov. 21.

This marks the first time in history that a pope will directly engage with U.S. youth in a live digital encounter. The experience will connect the Holy Father at the Vatican with thousands of people gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and others watching online through a partnership with EWTN, the exclusive multi-cast provider.

People with tickets for the NCYC can watch the broadcast in person, but others across the world are able to join online from homes, schools, and parishes. Registration for the online digital talk is free and open to everyone.

Those who register for the experience will receive an exclusive invitation to a digital pre-event on Nov. 11, broadcast and livestream information from EWTN, and first access to digital follow-up resource kits for teens, parents, and ministry leaders.

The NCYC predicted the Holy Father would address as many as 15,000 registered people ages 14–18 from across the nation. A select number of teenagers will be chosen to converse directly with the Holy Father during the session.

EWTN announced in August that it will serve as the media partner for the three-day event, providing news coverage, broadcast, and digital streaming.

The talk is set to take place on the second day of the NCYC, which will gather Catholic youth, ministry leaders, clergy, and volunteers from across the country for prayer, formation, community, and celebration.

Aside from the encounter with Pope Leo, conference attendees will participate in Mass and adoration, and hear music from award-winning artists. NCYC reported it added additional tickets for the conference following an abundance of registrations.

As government-funded food assistance program such as SNAP and WIC are about to lose funding Nov. 1, 2025, due to the government shutdown, Catholic Charities USA is stepping in to help needy Americans. / Credit: rblfmr/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2025 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities USA has launched an emergency fundraising effort to support those about to lose access to federal food assistance in the coming days. 

Due to the ongoing government shutdown, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will lapse on Nov. 1, meaning millions of Americans will no longer have access to food assistance. 

“For low-income families and individuals who rely on SNAP and WIC to put food on their tables, this could be a catastrophic moment,” Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson said in an Oct. 30 press release announcing the emergency effort. “The Catholic Charities network stands ready to come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need.”

Contributions made to CCUSA’s designated donation portal will go directly toward helping “provide meals for those most at risk.” The group will use the donated funds to buy and ship food to its agencies across the country that have food pantries, soup kitchens, and food delivery programs, the release stated. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), SNAP “served an average of 41.7 million people per month, or 12.3% of U.S. residents,” in the 2024 fiscal year. Funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will also cease on Nov. 1.

“The ongoing government shutdown is not merely a political negotiation. It has created incredibly serious, real-life consequences for millions of people, from furloughed federal workers to those living in poverty who will now struggle even more to provide for their families,” Robinson continued. 

The cessation of funding comes amid reports that the USDA has “quietly deleted” its contingency plan to keep SNAP afloat in the event of a government shutdown. The USDA has said it will not use previously designated contingency funds to support the program in the 2026 financial year, according to a memo obtained by Axios. “The contingency fund is not available to support [fiscal year] 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,” the memo states.

While CCUSA pledged to help those affected by the lapse in funding, the organization pointed out that Catholic Charities agencies and other food insecurity programs “are already stretched thin” and that the funding gap “will lead to an immediate and even greater surge of demand around the country.”

“It is past time for congressional leaders of both parties and the administration to forge a bipartisan path to reopen the government and provide relief to all those who are suffering,” Robinson said. “In the meantime, Catholic Charities agencies will continue to live out their Gospel call to provide compassionate, merciful aid to those most in need in their communities.”

Students take part at a protest rally against corruption organized by the Catholic Church and others on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit; Santosh Digal

Manila, Philippines, Oct 30, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

A wave of corruption scandals has rocked the Philippines and triggered the country’s largest Church-backed protests in more than a decade. Philippine bishops have urged Catholics and others to persistently demand accountability and transparency from government authorities for the misuse of public funds.

On Oct. 26, Bishop Raúl Bautista Dáel of Tandag said that corruption in the country is a “serious issue” while celebrating the Marian feast of the Schoenstatt community in Talisay City, Cebu, in the central Philippines.

The prelate said corruption is “a system and a culture” that people have endured for a long time. He warned that every Filipino had become a complicit partner to it, either by cooperation or by silence.

Corruption must be addressed with courage, hope, and faith, Dáel said.

Additionally, Davao Archbishop Romulo Geolina Valles urged the faithful to fight corruption with grit and remain vigilant against it.

Valles, during a Mass on Oct. 25 in Davao, said that by robbing public funds supposedly used for government projects and services, corrupt officials and individuals have enriched themselves. Spending millions of dollars on poverty eradication, food security, infrastructure, employment, education, and home construction would have been beneficial.

A major challenge to overcome

The Philippines scored 33 out of 100 and ranked 114th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). It is behind its neighbors — Singapore (84), Japan (71), and Malaysia (50). Since 2017, the score has remained between 33 and 36.  

Corruption is a widespread problem in government and is embedded in daily civic life. It exists in bribery, graft, cronyism, embezzlement, nepotism, extortion, and fraud. Some examples of corruption include the misuse of public health funds, namely the PhilHealth system, and nonexistent infrastructure projects. This led to protests on Sept. 21, spearheaded by the Catholic Church, civil society groups, and youth movements.

Following the public protest, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. created a three-member independent commission for infrastructure to probe anomalies.

The economic impact of corruption affects governance efficiency, creates an uncertain business environment, and is a potential cause of poverty. As a social impact, corruption diminishes public trust in government and deprives the public of services.

Meanwhile, Marcos assured the public that legal and institutional frameworks are in place to address corruption.

Moreover, the media, Church organizations, and civil society groups have intensified their efforts to expose corruption issues.

The Church’s role as a moral force

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio S. David, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), compared corruption to a cancer afflicting the country.

Catholics and citizens are called to “participate, scrutinize, and hold the government accountable, without which corruption spreads unchecked,” he added.

“With such efforts, the nation has a fighting chance at recovery and has the potential for healing our democracy,” he said in a social media post on Oct. 28.

With people’s sustained participation, informed vigilance, and creative collaboration, along with research, digital platforms, and public engagement, it is possible to combat greed and impunity, David said.

“Corruption weakens the nation through silence and inaction. The Church serves as a beacon of morality by speaking out against corruption,” Niel Anthony Borja, a senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Law, told CNA.

When Church leaders call corruption a moral wrong, they help restore public trust and accountability. The late Cardinal Jaime Lachica Sin, archbishop emeritus of Manila, once did so, condemning corruption, authoritarianism, and human rights abuses under the Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. regime. Sin’s leadership empowered citizens and inspired reform.

“By speaking truth to power, the Church keeps the nation’s conscience alive,” Borja added.

Allies in the fight against corruption

The Catholic Church networked with others in combating corruption.  

“The collaborative and collective efforts among churches and the Catholic Church, leading as a moral force to fight corruption, have stirred a synergy of actions and reactions,” Sister Liza H. Ruedas, a member of the Daughters of Charity Justice, Peace, and Human Rights Commission, told CNA.

Many initiatives have been undertaken to address corruption among political leaders, including protests, prayer rallies, forums, education, and awareness-raising mobilizations, aimed at galvanizing citizens and drawing strength from mutual support.

There is a broad push across Catholic organizations and institutions toward addressing these issues: The Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines, Simbayanihan — the social action arm of the CBCP — Caritas, and Justice and Peace groups link together to promote advocacy and citizen participation.

“With what is happening in our country at present, it is imperative that we draw inspiration from our faith and recall our responsibilities as Christians. Compassion must guide us, compelling collective action against the corruption that has brought our government to the brink of moral collapse,” Associate Professor Gerlie Caspe-Ogatis, a faculty member of the College of Arts and Letters, Philosophy Department, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila, told CNA.

“Indeed, the shameless behavior of many politicians and their displays of excessive greed reveal a profound disconnect from genuine religious practice,” said Caspe-Ogatis, who is also managing editor of Mabini Review Journal.

“The Church must take a firm stance, reminding the faithful that authentic Christian living entails a profound awareness of and concern for the suffering and welfare of others.”

Pope Leo XIV prays during a Mass on Oct. 27, 2025, marking both the start of the academic year at Rome’s pontifical universities and the opening day of the Jubilee of the World of Education. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2025 / 13:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate All Souls’ Day with Mass for the faithful departed at Rome’s largest cemetery as well as a Mass for the soul of the late Pope Francis and deceased cardinals the following day. 

The Vatican has announced that Pope Leo will offer Mass at Campo Verano Cemetery near the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m., continuing the practice of Pope Francis, who made a point of visiting a cemetery each year on All Souls’ Day. 

On Monday, Nov. 3, at 11 a.m. Leo will also offer Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, who died in April, and for the bishops and cardinals who have died over the past year, following a long papal custom of commemorating deceased Church leaders at the beginning of November, a month the Church devotes to praying for the dead. 

All Souls’ Day, observed annually on Nov. 2, is a day of prayer for the souls of all who have died, especially those believed to be in purgatory, undergoing final purification before entering the presence of God. The Church encourages the faithful to offer prayers, sacrifices, and Masses for the souls in purgatory. 

Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, offered All Souls’ Day Mass in the Campo Verano cemetery for the first three years of his papacy before choosing to pray at other cemeteries in and around Rome, including in the Roman catacombs, at a cemetery for American personnel killed in World War II, and at a cemetery for unborn babies.

Visiting cemeteries is a prominent custom in parts of Latin America at this time of year, exemplified by the famous celebration of Día de los Muertos in Mexico on Nov. 1–2. Before his election as pope, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, served for two decades as an Augustinian missionary and later as a bishop in Peru, where Catholics customarily mark All Souls’ Day by visiting cemeteries, cleaning and decorating tombs with flowers and candles, and praying for their loved ones who have died.

Pope Leo XIV will mark the feasts of All Saints and All Souls this weekend with three consecutive days of papal liturgies in Rome.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, the solemnity of All Saints, Pope Leo will preside over a 10:30 a.m. Mass in St. Peter’s Square, during which he will declare St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. Tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected to take part, many of them participating in the Vatican’s Jubilee of Education, which Pope Leo opened earlier in the week. 

All Saints’ Day is a solemnity honoring all who have reached heaven and enjoy the beatific vision — the saints both canonized and uncanonized.

After the Mass, Pope Leo XIV will lead the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, at noon Rome time, as he does on every holy day of obligation. Because the feast falls on a Saturday this year, the U.S. bishops’ conference has lifted the obligation for American Catholics to attend Mass that day.

Before heading to Campo Verano cemetery for the All Souls’ Day Mass on Sunday afternoon, Pope Leo will pray the Angelus at noon from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square.