Posted on 09/19/2025 13:30 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke with Catholic journalist Diane Montagna in Rome this week, praising Pope Leo’s “Christ-centered proclamation of the Gospel.” / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 19, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).
German Cardinal Gerhard Müller praised the “Christ-centered proclamation of the Gospel” throughout the first four months of Pope Leo XIV’s papacy in an interview with Rome-based Catholic journalist Diane Montagna.
“There is a more Christ-centered proclamation of the Gospel, greater order, and less emphasis on matters of secondary importance for the Church, such as migration, which is primarily the task of the state,” Müller said when asked about changes he’s seen in the Vatican amid Leo’s papacy.
“Certainly, the Church can assist through charitable works, but our first mission is to preach the Gospel to everyone and to evangelize those coming to Europe — not merely to provide material aid, but to give them the truth,” the cardinal said.
Müller expressed his belief that Leo “wishes to overcome this ideological polarization within the Church,” but added: “This cannot be achieved through compromise. We must speak the truth — and the truth inevitably divides people into those who follow the Word of God and those who do not.”
Montagna’s interview was published on Wednesday, Sept. 17, on Substack.
Müller’s comments came after Leo’s first sit-down interview as pope, with Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen, was released this week.
“I don’t see my primary role as trying to be the solver of the world’s problems,” Leo said in the interview. “I don’t see my role as that at all, really, although I think that the Church has a voice, a message that needs to continue to be preached, to be spoken and spoken loudly.”
In his interview with Montagna, Müller expressed grave concerns about the LGBT jubilee pilgrimage in Rome earlier this month, led by American Jesuit Father James Martin. More than 1,000 pilgrims and about 30 priests attended the Mass concelebrated by Bishop Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference.
Montagna referenced a viral photograph of a homosexual couple holding hands, while one wore a backpack that read “[Expletive] the Rules.” The two walked through the Holy Doors with that message on display, which exacerbated the cardinal’s concerns.
Müller said this action “desecrated the temple of God,” and added: “The LGBT movement is absolutely against the will of God the Creator, who instituted marriage as a holy sacrament in Christ, and it is an absolute scandal that this occurred.”
“They abused the Catholic faith and the grace and symbol of the Holy Door — which is Jesus Christ — for the sake of propaganda, while living in open contradiction to the will of the Creator,” Müller said. “They denigrated the Church of God by obscene gestures and by their lifestyle.”
Müller cited St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie.”
The cardinal encouraged Catholics to “consult the doctrine of the Church on matrimony and family” and referenced the first chapter of Part II of the Second Vatican Council’s Gaudium et Spes.
“As a dogmatic theologian I don’t want to be diplomatic,” Müller added. “The Catholic Church must proclaim the truth but also contradict lies. That is, we must not only positively explain the faith but also actively refute error.”
Posted on 09/19/2025 10:00 AM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)
As part of the Jubilee of Justice, an evening event will be held at the Chancellery Palace in Rome featuring a colloquium with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, pictured here delivering the 2024 commencement address at Franciscan University of Steubenville. / Credit: Franciscan University of Steubenville
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 19, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Jubilee of Justice, to be celebrated Saturday, Sept. 20, will bring together some 15,000 pilgrims from around the world, necessitating the relocation of the events to St. Peter’s Square.
This is the first time in the history of jubilees that a single event is dedicated to those who, performing various functions, are involved “in the world of secular, canonical, ecclesiastical justice, the Vatican City State, and the Roman Curia, as judges, prosecutors, magistrates, lawyers, legal practitioners, and administrative staff,” along with their families, according to the Holy See Press Office.
Registered participants will come from approximately 100 countries around the world, with the largest delegations coming from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, France, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Australia, Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines.
Among the pilgrims will be representatives of important legal institutions, from the law schools of various pontifical universities or those affiliated with various Catholic institutions, and from professional associations and official entities.
The presence of representatives from Italy’s Ministry of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and the Supreme Court of Cassation has been confirmed, as have representatives from the Confederation of Catholic Jurists of France and the Supreme Courts of the United States, Brazil, Colombia, and Spain.
Likewise, there will be representatives from the Vatican Judiciary, the Court of Accounts, the presidency of the Italian Council of State, the International Union of Catholic Jurists, and the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists, among other entities.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will welcome pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square and present the “lectio divina” prepared by Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, on the theme “Iustitia Imago Dei: The Worker of Justice, Instrument of Hope.”
Pilgrims will have access to simultaneous translation through the Vatican Vox app, which is available for free download.
At noon Rome time, Pope Leo XIV will hold the jubilee audience and address his remarks specifically to those working in the justice system. Following these events, pilgrims will proceed to the Holy Door of the papal basilica.
As part of the Jubilee of Justice, an evening event will be held at the Chancellery Palace in Rome featuring a colloquium with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.
Rome’s Palazzo Altemps will host another event organized by the French Embassy to the Holy See and the Pious Establishments of France in Rome and Loreto, led by French priest Patrick Valdrini, a professor at the Pontifical Lateran University.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Posted on 09/18/2025 20:57 PM (Catholic News Agency)
“[Kirk] gave his life in following his Lord, as a sacrifice for the truth that man is made in God’s image, male and female, and in opposition to the lies and self-mutilation promoted by so-called ‘trans ideology’" said Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller / Alan Koppschall/EWTN
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 18, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).
German Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Müller referred to Charlie Kirk as “a martyr for Jesus Christ” and condemned the “satanic celebration” of his death.
Posted on 09/18/2025 20:33 PM (Catholic News Agency)
Three Augustinian nuns (pictured on Sept. 16, 2025) fled their nursing home and returned to their convent in Austria. / Credit: Photo courtesy Nonnen_Goldenstein
CNA Deutsch, Sep 18, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).
Three elderly nuns have made international headlines and gained Instagram followers after fleeing a nursing home and returning to their convent in Austria.
Posted on 09/18/2025 20:03 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
null / Credit: Alex_Traksel/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Sep 18, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).
Here’s a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is refusing to renew more than a dozen grants related to human fetal tissue research.
The federal agency told Breitbart News that multiple grants involving human fetal remains “will not be renewed.” The funding was originally launched under the Biden administration, the NIH told the conservative news outlet.
The agency revealed the decision shortly after a report from the watchdog group White Coat Waste exposed the ongoing funding.
The NIH told Breitbart that it is “guided by a commitment to valuing human life and ensuring that federally funded research is conducted responsibly and transparently.”
Lila Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, emerged the winner in a debate about abortion at Yale Political Union, the pro-life group said this week.
The Yale group describes itself as “the oldest and largest collegiate debate society in America” and “the central forum for political engagement and debate at Yale.” Attendees are permitted to vote to determine the winner of debates after speeches are given.
Live Action reported that Rose on Sept. 16 debated Frances Kissling, a former Catholics for Choice president and the founding president of the National Abortion Federation.
Kissling “argued that preborn children are not as valuable as other humans,” while Rose “defended their humanity and pointed out the injustices that occur when society dehumanizes certain human beings,” Live Action said.
Rose “came out ahead in a 60-31 vote,” the pro-life group said.
“We won. The room voted for the pro-life side,” Rose later wrote on X. “Yale organizer was shocked. Change is here. Thank you for praying.”
Multiple elderly defendants are on trial in France for allegedly helping dozens of people purchase deadly drugs to end their own lives.
The trial of a dozen defendants, ranging from 74 to 89 years old, comes as the country debates legalizing assisted suicide. The French National Assembly approved an assisted dying measure earlier this year, with the bill now before the national senate.
Le Monde reported this week that the 12 defendants in the recently begun trial are accused of helping patients procure the drug pentobarbital, which is used in executions in the United States but is only legal to euthanize animals in France.
The defendants are reportedly members of Ultime Liberte (“Ultimate Freedom”), a pro-assisted-suicide group.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 17 signed into law a measure permitting state residents to sue manufacturers of abortion pills who circulate the deadly drugs in the state.
The law, passed by the state Legislature earlier this month, will allow plaintiffs to collect up to $100,000 in damages from those who bring abortion pills into the state or provide them to Texas residents.
Pregnant women who use the pills cannot be sued under the law.
Posted on 09/18/2025 19:00 PM (CNA Daily News - US)
Ethics and Public Policy Center scholar Mary Rice Hasson praised the Bishop of Toledo's recent pastoral letter, titled "The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology." / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/Screenshot
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 18, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas’ recently released pastoral letter offering guidance on sex and gender identity issues received praise from the head of the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s (EPPC) Person and Identity Project, Mary Rice Hasson.
“[Thomas] really hones in so beautifully in this document on the truth that we are body and soul, and that our bodies reveal something wonderful about who we are,” Rice told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 17. “And so, rejecting the body, which is really what’s going on in the transgender issue, it’s sex rejection, rejection of yourself, is really turning back on yourself and hating and destroying something that is really, really good.”
Thomas’ letter, “The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology,” is the longest statement by a U.S. bishop dealing exclusively with gender ideology.
Drawing on Scripture, theology, philosophy, and social sciences, the letter presents Church teaching in a form the bishop said he hopes is “readable, digestible, accessible, and charitable.”“I think it’s tremendously important that we have a bishop speaking out and giving such timely, but really comprehensive, loving, and hopeful guidance,” Rice said, noting the letter comes in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Kirk was shot while answering a question about transgenderism and gun violence. Tyler Robinson, the man charged with murdering Kirk, has been romantically linked to his transgender roommate, Lance Twiggs, a biological male.
Kirk had said he supported an effort to ban transgender people from owning firearms in light of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota last month, which was also carried out by a man who identified as transgender.
While some dioceses have offered “terrific responses” to the transgender issue, Rice acknowledged, “there are some dioceses where there’s nothing, there’s not even a statement about how people should understand this issue [and] what the Church’s teaching is.”
“I encourage bishops, if they have not written and spoken to this issue to please do that,” she continued. “People want to hear that. And that’s what I hear from people when I travel all over the U.S. talking about this issue.”
Rice pointed out that while social media can be used well to form connections with other people, “it really has become a channel of evil in many respects,” especially regarding sexual orientation and gender identity issues.
“Our youth are particularly vulnerable because they’re young,” she said. “They don’t have the prudence, the discretion, to be able to judge what’s the truth of what’s coming at them. They’re very subject to manipulation and peer pressure.”
Rice further encouraged parents to be vigilant in monitoring social media usage among their children.
“We have to speak the truth, and we have to be really clear that this is evil,” Rice said of transgenderism. “There are wonderful holistic ways to deal with difficult feelings,” she said, adding: “God loves everyone so much, and he wants something better than what is on offer right now from the culture on this issue.”
Posted on 09/18/2025 14:08 PM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)
Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered for his Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sept. 14, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Sep 18, 2025 / 10:08 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV, in his first interview since his election, signaled he may be open to future changes to the Vatican’s controversial deal with China, saying that he is in dialogue with persecuted Chinese Catholics as he weighs the future of Vatican policy toward Beijing.
The interview, conducted in English in July and published Thursday in a new Spanish-language biography, provides the clearest view yet of the 70-year-old American pope’s priorities in global politics and Vatican diplomacy, including how he sees the Church engaging with the Trump administration, the war in Gaza, and the defense of human dignity.
On China, Pope Leo said he is listening to “a significant group of Chinese Catholics who for many years have lived some kind of oppression or difficulty in living their faith freely” as he tries to get “a clearer understanding of how the Church can continue the Church’s mission.”
“I would say that in the short term, I will continue the policy that the Holy See has followed for some years now … I’m also in ongoing dialogue with a number of people, Chinese, on both sides of some of the issues that are there,” he said.
As the first pope ever to have visited mainland China, Leo, who traveled there years before his election, said he draws on his experiences with “government as well as religious leaders and laypeople.”
Leo’s comments indicate openness to a possible shift from the status quo on China since 2018, when the Holy See signed a power-sharing agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops. The agreement was renewed under Francis three times in the past seven years despite objections from human rights activists and reports of increased persecution of the so-called underground Church in China, which rejects government control.
“It’s a very difficult situation. In the long term, I don’t pretend to say this is what I will and will not do,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV also spoke about President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Elon Musk, while insisting that he does not want to take part in political battles.
“I don’t plan to get involved in partisan politics. That’s not what the Church is about. But I’m not afraid to raise issues that I think are real Gospel issues, that hopefully people on both sides of the aisle, as we say, will be able to listen to,” he said.
The Chicago-born pope suggested that his background gives him an advantage in dealing with other Americans, including members of the Church. Referring to relations between the Vatican and U.S. Catholic bishops, he said: “The fact that I am American means, among other things, people can’t say, like they did about Francis, ‘He doesn’t understand the United States.’” Under his predecessor Pope Francis, the U.S. bishops’ conference clashed with the Vatican over the bishops’ designation of abortion as the “preeminent priority” of their public policy agenda.
Leo said he would not hesitate to meet with Trump if the opportunity arose and said he has already spoken with Vance “about human dignity and how important that is for all people, wherever you’re born, and hopefully to find ways to respect human beings and the way we treat them in the policies and choices we make.”
“Obviously, there’s some things going on in the States that are of concern,” Leo added.
Applauding Pope Francis’ letter to U.S. bishops earlier this year criticizing the Trump administration’s policy on deportation of immigrants, he said: “I was very happy to see how the American bishops picked that up, and some of them were courageous enough to go with that. I think that approach, in general, is a better approach, that I would engage with the bishops primarily.”
“The United States is a power player on the world level, we have to recognize that, and sometimes decisions are made more based on economics than on human dignity and human support,” Leo said. “But [we have to] continue to challenge and to raise some questions and to see the best way to do that.”
“Especially about questions of human dignity, of promoting peace in the world, which [Trump] at times has made clear he wants to do, in those efforts I would want to support him,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV also mentioned Elon Musk, reserving some of his sharpest words for economic disparities and the potential “crisis” that could result from the rise of artificial intelligence.
“One … very significant [factor] is the continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive,” he said. CEOs once earned a few times more than workers, but today “the last figure I saw, it’s 600 times more.”
He pointed to reports that “Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world,” warning: “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”
Leo also cautioned that artificial intelligence could cause a “crisis” because of its potential to accelerate shifts in the labor force. “If we automate the whole world and only a few people have the means with which to more than just survive, but to live well, have meaningful life, there’s a big problem, a huge problem coming down the line.”
Pope Leo weighed in on the debate over whether Israel’s campaign in Gaza constitutes genocide, with the pope noting that “the word genocide is being thrown around more and more.”
“Officially, the Holy See does not believe that we can make any declaration at this time about that,” he said. “There’s a very technical definition about what genocide might be, but more and more people are raising the issue, including two human rights groups in Israel have made that statement.”
Leo emphasized the importance of getting humanitarian aid, medical assistance, and food to people in Gaza, noting that the U.S. is “obviously the most significant third party that can place pressure on Israel.”
On Ukraine, Leo confirmed the Vatican had offered to host peace talks, though the offer was not accepted. “The Holy See, since the war began, has made great efforts to maintain a position that, as difficult as it might be, [is not] one side or the other, but truly neutral,” he said.
He also suggested that the Vatican might be able to help end a schism within the Orthodox world, between the patriarchs of Moscow and Constantinople, arising from disagreements over Orthodox Church leadership in Ukraine.
“If the bishop of Rome can help build bridges … I think there is certainly challenges in that, but a great service to be offered because ultimately, we do all believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Our Savior.”
Leo acknowledged the declining role of the United Nations and the shift to bilateral dialogue in international relations. “It seems to be generally recognized that the United Nations, at least at this moment in time, has lost its ability to bring people together on multilateral kinds of issues,” he said.
He also pointed to polarization worldwide, citing a “loss of a higher sense of what human life is about.”
“The value of human life, the value of society, of the family … if we lose the sense of those values, what matters anymore?” he asked. “You oftentimes find people questioning: What is this all about and what is the meaning of life, and why should we be doing this?”
The interview appears in the Spanish-language book “León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI” (“Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century”), a biography by Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen, published on Sept. 18 in Spanish by Penguin Peru. English and Portuguese editions are expected in 2026.
In the book, Pope Leo, a longtime missionary in Peru before he was pope, underlines that the Church’s primary mission remains spiritual, not political.
“My role is announcing the good news, preaching the Gospel,” he said. “I don’t see my primary role as trying to be the solver of the world’s problems. I don’t see my role as that at all, really, although I think that the Church has a voice, a message that needs to continue to be preached, to be spoken and spoken loudly.”
Posted on 09/18/2025 12:30 PM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)
Pope Leo XIV presides over his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sept. 17, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Sep 18, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV said his primary role as leader of the Church is confirming Catholics in their faith and sharing the Gospel with the world, not resolving global crises.
Speaking to Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen in the first sit-down interview of his pontificate, Leo also said he was “trying not to continue to polarize or promote polarization in the Church.”
Leo’s first formal interview as pope took place as part of the biography “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century,” by Allen, out now in Spanish and next year in English.
“I don’t see my primary role as trying to be the solver of the world’s problems. I don’t see my role as that at all, really, although I think that the Church has a voice, a message that needs to continue to be preached, to be spoken and spoken loudly,” he said.
In the extensive interview, the first U.S.-born pontiff explained how he plans to tackle divisive issues in the Church, including his approach to LGBT debates, the possibility of women deacons, synodality, and the Traditional Latin Mass.
Leo said he is aware that the Church’s teaching on sexual morality is a highly polarizing topic, and though he welcomes everyone in the Church, he does not intend to make changes — at least not anytime soon.
Signaling his intention to be in continuity with Francis’ open approach, he said “everyone’s invited in, but I don’t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity.”
“People want the Church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change. I think we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question,” he said.
“I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the Church’s doctrine in terms of what the Church teaches about sexuality, what the Church teaches about marriage, [will change],” he said.
“The individuals will be accepted and received,” the pontiff added, reiterating the importance of respecting and accepting people who make different choices in their lives.
“I’ve already spoken about marriage, as did Pope Francis when he was pope, about a family being a man and a woman in solemn commitment, blessed in the sacrament of marriage,” he continued.
The “role of the family in society, which has at times suffered in recent decades, once again has to be recognized, strengthened,” Leo said.
He also criticized the publication of rituals blessing “people who love one another” in countries in Northern Europe, saying they violate Pope Francis’ directives in Fiducia Supplicans, which gave permission for nonliturgical blessings of same-sex couples.
“I think that the Church’s teaching will continue as it is, and that’s what I have to say about that for right now,” he said.
Another change the pope said he will not be making at the moment is allowing the ordination of women deacons.
“I hope to continue in the footsteps of Francis, including in appointing women to some leadership roles at different levels in the Church’s life,” he explained. “I think there are some previous questions that have to be asked. … Why would we talk about ordaining women to the diaconate if the diaconate itself is not yet properly understood and properly developed and promoted within the Church?”
He noted that there is a study group, in the context of the Synod on Synodality, specifically to examine the question of ministries in the Church, including a potential women’s diaconate.
“Perhaps there are a lot of things that have to be looked at and developed at this time before we can ever really come around to asking the other questions. … We’ll walk with that and see what comes,” he said.
Leo described synodality, Francis’ program for wider consultation on Church governance and teaching beyond the hierarchy, as “an attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand” and a process “of dialogue and respect for one another” that could take different forms.
“I think there’s great hope if we can continue to build on the experience of the past couple years and find ways of being Church together,” he noted. “Not to try and transform the Church into some kind of democratic government, which if we look at many countries around the world today, democracy is not necessarily a perfect solution to everything.”
He expressed throughout the interview his willingness to sit down with, and hear out, anyone’s point of view, including proponents of the Traditional Latin Mass — though he has not made up his mind about how to resolve tensions over its celebration.
“It’s become the kind of issue that’s so polarized that people aren’t willing to listen to one another, oftentimes. … That’s a problem in itself. It means we’re into ideology now, we’re no longer into the experience of Church communion. That’s one of the issues on the agenda,” he said.
“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. “It’s become a political tool, and that’s very unfortunate.”
He noted there would be an opportunity soon to speak with people advocating what he called the Tridentine rite of the Mass, a possible reference to an annual pilgrimage of Latin Mass devotees to take place in Rome at the end of October.
Leo said another issue on the forefront of his agenda is internal Vatican relations. He lamented that currently, the dicasteries work in a very “isolated manner.”
He praised the renewed focus on evangelization in Pope Francis’ reform of the Roman Curia through the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, but said there is still more work to be done.
“The lack of dialogue, of instruments of communication, between the different dicasteries has at times been of great limitation and harm to the government of the Church,” he said.
“So, I think that there is an issue there, of, someone used the expression ‘a silo mentality.’ … We have to find a way to bring people together to talk about that.”
One of the issues the Curia has on its plate is the clerical sexual abuse crisis. Pope Leo said while it remains unresolved, it cannot be the Church’s sole focus.
It is a challenge to balance providing help and justice for victims with respect for the rights of the accused, he said. “We’re in kind of a bind there.”
Leo put the issue of clerical sexual abuse into the context of his views on the wider role of the Church in the world: “We can’t make the whole Church focus exclusively on this issue, because that would not be an authentic response to what the world is looking for in terms of the need for the mission of the Church.”
The pontiff said this approach to the Church’s mission would also influence his interaction with Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists. He said it’s important to have respect for those with different beliefs, but “I believe very strongly in Jesus Christ and believe that that’s my priority, because I’m the bishop of Rome and successor of Peter, and the pope needs to help people understand, especially Christians, Catholics, that this is who we are. And I think that’s a beautiful mission.”
During encounters with representatives of other religions, he said, “I’m not afraid to say I believe in Jesus Christ and that he died on the cross and rose from the dead, and that we together are called to share that message.”
He also expressed satisfaction over what he perceives to be an improvement in relations with the Jewish community. Under Francis, the relationship had suffered following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza based on the pope’s strong support of Palestine.
“I may be too presumptuous,” Leo said, “but I daresay that already in the first couple of months, the relationship with the Jewish community as such has improved a bit.”
Posted on 09/18/2025 11:00 AM (CNA Daily News - Vatican)
Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered for his weekly general audience on Sept. 17, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
CNA Staff, Sep 18, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV downplayed concerns of the ongoing financial crisis at the Vatican in a recent interview, arguing that “things are going to be OK” regarding the Holy See’s finances even as more work is needed.
The Holy Father made the remarks as part of a wide-ranging interview with Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen. The interview appears in Allen’s biography on the pontiff, “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century,” published in Spanish on Sept. 18. An English version of the book will be published in early 2026.
Allen asked Leo about the financial situation of the Vatican, noting that the pope has previously indicated that the crisis is “not as bad as it’s sometimes been made out to be.” The Holy See’s pension fund has been facing a major shortfall after years of budget deficits.
Admitting that the Vatican has to “continue to work” to address the issue, Leo told Allen: “I’m not losing sleep over it.”
The Holy Father noted that the pandemic helped drive serious shortfalls in the Vatican’s budget when the worldwide health crisis closed the Vatican Museums, a major source of the Holy See’s revenue.
But travel has increased in recent years, he said. “There are more tourists in Rome this year. There are things going on that have made a significant turnaround in some of the issues that have been causes of concern in the past.”
The pope suggested that the various departments and initiatives at the Vatican need to cooperate to ensure the flow of financial resources there.
“Everything that I might have in this pocket doesn’t always get over to that pocket, and we have to learn to work together in a positive way also within the Holy See, within the Vatican,” he told Allen.
Part of the problem, he argued, is that the Vatican has “oftentimes given the wrong message” about the Holy See’s fiduciary state.
Bad messaging, he said, “doesn’t inspire people” to support the Vatican financially; rather, the pope argued, it leads them to conclude: “‘I’ll keep my money, because if you’re not going to administer properly, why should I give you more money?’”
Leo said that after studying the issue at length — including before he became pope — he is convinced that “things are going to be OK,” though he said improvements to the Vatican’s financial policies will continue.
“[W]e do have to continue the process of reform that Francis began,” he said.
Posted on 09/18/2025 10:00 AM (CNA Daily News - US)
Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a vocal evangelical Christian who was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, speaking at an event in Texas in 2018. / Credit: Carrington Tatum/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced he is seeking the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, the man charged with murdering Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” Gray said in a Sept. 16 news conference. “I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”
Robinson is charged with seven crimes, the most serious of which is aggravated murder. Utah’s criminal code has two forms of intentional homicide: “murder” and the more serious “aggravated murder.”
The maximum sentence for murder is life in prison, but an aggravated murder charge carries a maximum sentence of death. A person can only be charged with aggravated murder if there is an “aggravating” factor that applies, which, in this case, is that Robinson allegedly put additional people in harm’s way. About 3,000 people were present during the attack.
The charge lists that another aggravating factor was that the offense was allegedly committed in the presence of a child. Robinson also faces an enhancement for allegedly targeting Kirk for his “political expression.”
After Kirk was shot, Robinson allegedly told Lance Twiggs, his transgender romantic partner with whom he lived, in a text message to “look under my keyboard,” at which point Twiggs allegedly found a note that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” according to the charging documents.
When Twiggs asked Robinson why he did it, Robinson is alleged to have responded: “I had enough of his hatred” and “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
The charging document alleges that Robinson’s mother said her son had become more political “over the last year or so” and began “to lean more to the left — becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented.”
When Robinson’s parents suspected their son of carrying out the shooting and asked him why he did it, the charging documents allege he said it was because “there is too much evil and [Kirk] spreads too much hate.”
The bullet casings found along with the rifle allegedly used in the attack had messages carved into them, including “Hey Fascist! Catch!” and lyrics to the antifascist song “Bella Ciao.”
Robinson is exercising his right to remain silent and not answering investigators’ questions. Twiggs and Robinson’s family have cooperated and are speaking to law enforcement, according to officials.
Kirk was shot while answering a question from an audience member about transgenderism and gun violence. Kirk has long criticized gender ideology, the inclusion of biological males in female sports, and transgender surgeries for minors.
He supported an effort to legally ban transgender people from owning firearms after a transgender person killed two children and injured more than 20 others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis last month.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that investigators are looking into Robinson’s communications, including on the messaging application Discord, on which he was allegedly engaged in group chats.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, asked Patel on Sept. 16 whether the FBI is investigating a “broader network” that may have had foreknowledge of the attack, such as “accomplices” or people who may have “encouraged him.”
Patel said the FBI will be “investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.” The investigation is looking into “a lot more than” 20 people, he said. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, later asked Patel whether “others could have been involved” in the killing, to which Patel responded “yes.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” regardless of the crime committed.
After the announcement that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Robinson, Catholic Mobilizing Network Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy told CNA that capital punishment is not the proper way to seek justice in this situation.
“Regrettably, executions only model the killing and violence that we detest,” she said. “Seeking the death penalty in cases such as this could even provoke a certain notoriety that some want to emulate.”
“When seeking justice in times of tragedy, we do well to return to the principle that is the bedrock of our faith: human dignity,” Murphy continued. “This sacred valuing of every life needs to influence our response to crime and violence — even in instances of grave harm. The death penalty is contrary to human dignity. It neither deters crime nor provides authentic accountability.”
Murphy added that in “these divided and polarized times,” Catholics should be reminded of the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope, “an extraordinary year where we have been called to live as pilgrims of hope.”
“Our world is hungry for it,” she said.
“Our hope is rooted in Christ’s victory over death,” she continued. “May we honor the loss of life in a way fitting of our deepest convictions — by turning away from cycles of death and advancing the kind of justice that seeks to restore, repair, and make way for true healing.”