Pope Leo XIV meets with the Augustinian nuns of Montefalco on Nov. 20, 2025, in Italy. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 22, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

“A moment of great familiarity” is how Abbess Maria Cristina Daguati of the Augustinian convent in Montefalco, Italy, described Pope Leo XIV’s visit on Thursday.

After visiting the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi and meeting with the Italian bishops on Nov. 20, the pope traveled to the Italian city of Montefalco to celebrate Mass at the monastery of the Augustinian nuns, erected in the 13th century and one of the oldest and most significant spiritual centers in the Umbria region.

After meeting with the Italian bishops in Assisi, Pope Leo XIV traveled to the Augustinian monastery of St. Clare of Montefalco, where he wished to spend some time with the cloistered nuns. The Holy Father spoke informally with the community, celebrated Mass, and shared lunch with the nuns.

The pope arrived by helicopter in the city, known for its medieval architecture, and landed in the sports field, where he was greeted by Mayor Alfredo Gentili and Deputy Mayor Daniele Morici.

At the gates of the monastery — where 13 nuns currently live — residents of this small region of Perugia gathered, awaiting his arrival with great anticipation.

“We have known him for years; it was a moment of familiarity. He has a very peaceful personality,” Mother Maria Cristina explained in a statement to Vatican News.

Leo XIV had already been to the convent when he served as superior of the Order of St. Augustine, and on Nov. 20, he returned as pope, becoming the first pontiff to do so.

This convent is intrinsically linked to the figure of St. Clare of Montefalco (1268–1308), also known as St. Clare of the Cross, an Augustinian mystic whose contemplative life left a profound mark on the spiritual tradition of the Catholic Church.

“It’s a great friendship, because obviously we’ve known him for many years, so I would say that everything unfolded in an atmosphere of great familiarity,” the abbess said.

The pope spoke with the Augustinian nuns, then celebrated Mass and shared lunch with them. For the nuns, the day was characterized by “great simplicity” spent with “a disarmed and disarming man” with a personality that sets you at ease. 

“Pope Leo XIV brings with him a great atmosphere of prayer. So it wasn’t that he inconvenienced us too much; it was truly beautiful,” Daguati added. Before lunch, the pope celebrated Mass in the convent church, built in the 17th century and designed by the Peruvian architect Valentino Martelli.

Before returning to the Vatican, the nuns presented the pope with a 2026 calendar titled “Toward an Unarmed and Disarming Peace,” featuring texts from his speeches and homilies as well as from St. Augustine.

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

null / Credit: Andrii Vodolazhskyi/CNA

CNA Staff, Nov 22, 2025 / 08:20 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

4 out of 5 Americans have concerns with embryonic screening, study finds

Four in five voters have some at least some concerns about embryo screening, a recent Ethics and Public Policy Center poll found.

Embryonic screening is the practice of selecting some babies to be born because of their genetic traits — such as appearance, health, or predicted intelligence — while discarding other unborn babies. 

The Ethics and Public Policy Center poll, led by center fellow Patrick Brown, comes in the wake of some Silicon Valley-funded startups saying they will give parents the ability to screen embryos.  

The poll found that very few Americans want Silicon Valley to “hack” reproduction.

“While Americans support measures to help infertile couples have children, they express concerns about broader implications of these technologies,” the report says. 

Across demographic groups, voters voiced support for “commonsense regulations.” 

Women were more likely to have concerns about embryo screening than men, while older voters (ages 46+) were more likely to have concerns than younger voters (ages 18-45).  

South Carolina right-to-life group opposes proposed bill to criminalize women who have abortions

A South Carolina bill would enable prosecution of women who have abortions — a practice that South Carolina Citizens for Life (SCCL) and most pro-life groups oppose. 

The bill, which would designate abortion as equivalent to the homicide of a born person, contains no provisions protecting women who obtain abortions. 

While pro-life groups tend to support prosecution of abortionists who illegally perform the deadly procedure, most groups oppose the prosecution of abortive mothers themselves, whom they also consider to be victims of abortion. 

Holly Gatling, who heads South Carolina Citizens for Life, called the bill “unacceptable.” 

“This provision of the law alone would shut down post-abortion ministries such as Rachel’s Vineyard and jeopardize the livesaving, compassionate work of pregnancy care ministries,” she told CNA.

The Catholic bishops ask that Project Rachel, a counseling resource for post-abortive women, be present in every diocese in the U.S.

Gatling said she opposes the bill “because it criminalizes post-aborted women, jeopardizes the work of pregnancy care centers and post-abortion ministries, and undermines the pro-life legislation previously passed by the General Assembly.” 

“Not only are post-aborted women subject to criminal prosecution, but pastors, counselors, and any ‘person’ also can be compelled to testify in the criminal prosecution of a post-aborted woman,” Gatling said. 

Gatling noted that South Carolina’s current heartbeat law has saved thousands of lives while explicitly protecting women from prosecution. 

“SCCL and many other pro-life and pro-family organizations in South Carolina oppose legislation that reverses this protection for women,” Gatling said. 

U.S. government can’t compel Christian employers to accommodate abortions, judge rules

A federal court has issued a permanent injunction ruling that Christian employers will not be compelled to accommodate abortions.

The Herzog Foundation in a lawsuit had argued that a Biden-era rule requiring employers to accommodate abortions for pregnant employees violated the First Amendment. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri granted the permanent injunction protecting faith-based employers.

Herzog Foundation spokeswoman Elizabeth Roberts lauded the court’s decision in a Nov. 20 statement, saying that the ruling “solidifies that the government cannot overstep its authority by trying to dictate or suppress our beliefs.” 

3 state attorneys general file challenge to mail-in chemical abortion drugs

Attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri filed a challenge to stop mail-order abortion drugs and block the recent approval of generic mifepristone.

The Nov. 20 challenge claims that the FDA “cut corners when it removed safeguards from this dangerous drug.” 

Mifeprisotone’s label says that 1 in 25 women will go to the emergency room after taking the drug, while other studies have found that it poses a risk to the women and girls who take it.  

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a statement that Missouri “will not stand by while manufacturers gamble with women’s lives.” 

“Mifepristone is sending women to the hospital with life-threatening complications, and yet drug companies continue pushing new versions of it into the market without basic medical safeguards,” Hanaway said.

Texas sees decrease in minors getting abortions

After Texas implemented a heartbeat law protecting unborn children when their heartbeats are detectable, the state has seen a marked drop in abortions among minors, a recent study found. 

Published online on Nov. 13 by the American Journal of Public Health, the study found that abortions decreased by more than 25% among minors in Texas.

Additionally, among Texans ages 18-24, abortions decreased by about 20%; for Texans aged 25-29, abortions decreased by 17%, the study found. 

The study, which cited concerns about “young people’s reproductive autonomy,” has several authors affiliated with abortion clinics including Planned Parenthood as well as two authors affiliated with a pro-abortion research center, Resound Research for Reproductive Health.

Pope Leo XIV greets young American Catholics from the Vatican during a digital dialogue held between the Holy Father and participants in the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 22, 2025 / 07:56 am (CNA).

The 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference features prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers from Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis.

Note: CNA has concluded this live blog. Please visit our main website for ongoing coverage and other Catholic news.

The Holy Father in a new Italian-language book states that faith “unites us beyond our personalities, our cultural and geographical origins.” / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Nov 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican Publishing House published Nov. 20 a new Italian-language book by Pope Leo XIV titled “The Power of the Gospel: The Christian Faith in 10 Words,” a compilation of the pontiff’s speeches and addresses that also includes a previously unpublished text in which he invites readers to dream of a “reconciled, peaceful, and harmonious humanity.”

The Holy Father affirms that faith “unites us beyond our personalities, our cultural and geographical origins, our language, and our histories” and presents the Church as “a plurality that strives for unity and that does not fall into the disorder of confusion.”

In today’s world, “marked by so many wars,” the pope asks Christians “to be witnesses of this harmony, this fraternity, this closeness.”

“We must look our world squarely in the face: We cannot continue to tolerate structural injustices by which those who have the most receive even more, and those who have the least become increasingly impoverished,” the pontiff says.

Similarly, he warns of the risk that hatred and violence will cause “misery to spread among peoples.”

“Peace is not the fruit of oppression or violence; it is not related to hatred or revenge,” he says, noting that the saints have taught that “only goodness disarms perfidy and that nonviolence can annihilate oppression.”

“Precisely the desire for communion, the recognition of ourselves as brothers and sisters, is an antidote against all extremism,” he says.

‘We are not condemned to live in perpetual conflict’

For the pope, this model of fraternity is replicable in other areas. He thus affirms that the Church, “a home for diverse peoples, can become a sign that we are not condemned to live in perpetual conflict” and can “embody the dream of a reconciled, peaceful, and harmonious humanity.”

“It is a dream that has a foundation: Jesus, his prayer to the Father for the unity of his followers. And if Jesus prayed to the Father, all the more reason we should ask him to grant us the gift of a peaceful world,” the pope writes.

In this way, he emphasizes the centrality of Christ and says that faith has nothing to do with “the titanic effort to reach a supernatural God” but rather with the discovery that “the face of God is not far from our hearts.”

Leo XIV recalls that Christ’s entire existence was marked by the “will” to be a bridge.

“The Church is this communion of Christ that continues in history. And it is a community that, in unity, lives diversity,” he explains after using the metaphorical image of a garden that St. Augustine used to illustrate the beauty of a community of believers.

In the text, the pope includes the words of the prior of the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, Christian de Chergé, who was kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in March 1996 and executed two months later. He was beatified along with 18 other men and women religious who were martyred.

“Speaking of [the terrorist] who had violently broken into the monastery, he wrote: ‘Do I have the right to ask [God]: Disarm him, if I don’t first ask; disarm me and disarm us, as a community? This is my daily prayer,’” the pope recalls, noting that in that same land of North Africa, some 1,600 years earlier, St. Augustine remarked: “Let us live well and the times will be good. We are the times.”

“We can have an impact on our time ourselves, with our witness, with our prayer to the Holy Spirit that he would make us men and women with a peace that is contagious, welcoming the grace of Christ and spreading in the world the fragrance of his charity and mercy,” the pontiff emphasizes in the new book.

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

Kevin Duffy'’s analysis of ONS conceptions data over the 10 years to 2022 illustrates that approximately half of women who have not had a child by the age of 30 would not have been childless without abortion in the years before this. Duffy says: “For these women it was a decision upon becoming pregnant, not to continue into motherhood at that time, for a whole myriad of reasons.” / Credit: Courtesy of Kevin Duffy

London, England, Nov 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A report called “Abortion and Childlessness” shows that many women who have abortions in their 20s may be faced with the real risk of remaining childless at 45.

A close-up of the tomb of St. Ceclia at the basilica dedicated to her in Trastevere, Rome, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 22, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Cecilia, widely known as the patron saint of music and musicians, is buried in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in the Roman neighborhood of Trastevere where a famous Baroque sculpture of her still puzzles scholars.

According to popular belief, Cecilia was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the third century. Despite being forced by her family to marry, she remained a virgin, as she had vowed to do as a young girl.

Her pagan husband, Valerian, converted to Christianity after their marriage, and Valerian’s brother, Tiburtius, was also baptized a Christian. Both men were martyred. St. Cecilia, too, would later be tortured and martyred. It is said she took three days to die after the executioner hit her three times on the neck with a sword.

After her martyrdom, St. Cecilia was buried in the Catacomb of St. Callixtus. The underground burial place of early Christians was created around the turn of the first century A.D. by Callixtus, a deacon who later became pope.

Located under the Appian Way, an ancient Roman road connecting the city to southeast Italy, the Catacomb of St. Callixtus once held the bodies of more than 50 martyrs, including St. Cecilia, and popes from the second to the fourth centuries.

After the end of Christian persecution, the relics of the Christians buried in the city’s many catacombs were moved to churches for veneration. St. Cecilia’s remains were transferred in the early 800s to a church built on the ruins of her former home.

It is said that hundreds of years later, during a restoration of the church in 1599, her tomb was opened, revealing her body to be, miraculously, incorrupt. Artist Stefano Maderno was commissioned to create a marble sculpture of the saint.

Sources disagree about whether the Baroque artwork, still on display today at Cecilia’s tomb in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, is a depiction of how the saint’s body was found in 1599 or an invention of Maderno. Either way, the sculpture — which depicts Cecilia lying on her right side, her hands tied, her face turned toward the ground, and the wound of her martyrdom visible upon her neck — is considered a masterpiece.

There are several widely-told legends about St. Cecilia and her husband. One of the oft-repeated beliefs, dating to the fifth century, is that she sang to God “in her heart” as musicians played at her wedding feast.

This story about the saint comes from a Latin antiphon, but there is a competing interpretation, however.

“Cantantibus organis, Caecilia virgo in corde suo soli Domino decantabat dicens: fiat Domine cor meum et corpus meum immaculatum ut non confundar,” the Latin antiphon says. In English it means: “While the instruments played, the virgin Cecilia sang in her heart to the Lord alone, saying, ‘Let my heart and my body be made pure, that I may not be confounded.’”

Another version of the antiphon gives a slightly different opening word, “candentibus,” instead of “cantantibus,” which would change the translation from musical instruments playing to “glowing” instruments of torture.

Scholars continue to disagree about which Latin version is the correct one and which may be a copy error. What is without dispute, however, is St. Cecilia’s selfless example of faithfulness to God, even to the point of the sacrifice of her own life.

St. Cecilia’s feast day in the Church is celebrated Nov. 22.

This story was first published on Nov. 22, 2024, and has been updated.

Notre Dame President Robert A. Dowd, CSC, said he is reinstating “Catholic Mission” among staff values on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

The University of Notre Dame has reinstated “Catholic Mission” among its staff values after it opted to drop the language in an effort to reprogram the school’s Catholic identity as overarching. 

In a Nov. 21 staff announcement, Notre Dame President Robert A. Dowd, CSC, said commitment to the school’s Catholic mission was referenced in the preamble to the new four staff values announced at a town hall meeting last week “as a way to show its overarching importance.” 

“Thanks to some constructive feedback we received, we now realize that placement is causing confusion and that some could interpret that not as elevating our mission as we intended but as a sign of diminishing commitment,” he said. “To avoid any further confusion, we have now included the language on Catholic mission as the first of our five core values.”

“Catholic Mission” is now listed first in the university’s staff values, with the description: “Be a force for good and help to advance Notre Dame’s mission to be the leading global Catholic research university.” 

Dowd emphasized that the school’s Catholic mission “guides and informs all that we do and how we work together,” adding: “Our Catholic mission has animated our common work from the university’s founding, and it will always be our guiding force.”

“I could not be more grateful for the many ways you embody the very best of Notre Dame,” he concluded, addressing Notre Dame staff. “As I have said on many occasions, you inspire me with your generosity, kindness, and dedication to Our Lady’s university.”

Ezequiel Ponce, a high school senior from Downey, California (left), and Elise Wing, a senior from Waterloo, Iowa (right), speak at a press conference following their digital dialogue with Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/National Catholic Register

Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov 21, 2025 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

At a press conference Friday following Pope Leo XIV’s historic “digital visit” with 16,000 young people at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, leaders and young participants praised Pope Leo’s warmth, humility, authenticity, and pastoral clarity, highlighting his central message: a personal relationship with Jesus is essential.

“Walking up on that stage felt like history. It really did,” said Elise Wing, a high school senior from Waterloo, Iowa, and one of the teens selected to ask Pope Leo a question during the live dialogue, which was facilitated digitally by EWTN on Nov. 21. 

“It’s beautiful to see somebody so holy really coming to us like that, like Jesus would — like Jesus does,” Wing said. 

“Because in the end … we’re not excited because we got to talk to the pope. We’re excited because this is Jesus working through the Church, working through the pope in this conversation. I just think that knowing that, and feeling that it wasn’t just about us in that moment, makes this experience all the more incredible.”

Joining the young people on the press conference stage were Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, episcopal adviser to the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM); Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis; Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News; Christina Lamas, executive director of NFCYM; and Katie Prejean McGrady, an author, radio host, and moderator for the dialogue with the pope.

Ezequiel Ponce, a senior from Downey, California, said his heart was thumping as he approached the microphone, but the extensive preparation that the teens had received before the dialogue gave him confidence.  

“I was really able to live in a moment. I felt at ease. When I was talking to the pope, I felt like I was talking to my dad or someone close to me. It felt personal because he addressed us. He said my name. He said it right,” Ponce said. 

During the dialogue, five teens from around the country asked Pope Leo probing questions about mental health, artificial intelligence (AI), and the future of the Catholic Church, while tens of thousands of their peers in the stadium and at least 50,000 people online watched live. The dialogue was also picked up by several major secular news outlets globally.

If you want to help the Church prepare for the future, the pope told the young attendees, start by “being involved today” — stay connected to your parish, attend Sunday Mass, join youth activities, and say yes to faith-nurturing opportunities, the pontiff advised. 

“I will accept Pope Leo’s challenge of really being involved in the Church,” Ponce commented. “He talked about finding people that you can really trust … that not only will listen to you, but help guide you with your faith in the Lord, push you to ask questions and push you to better your understanding and be there for you truly.”

Wing expressed amazement that the pope addressed the teens by name and engaged directly with their questions during the face-to-face call.

“The pope just kept bringing it back to the Lord. That’s why we’re here. That’s why all of us are doing what we’re doing,” she said. 

“Jesus is what we’re longing for. And I think that that is the message that was really conveyed.”

Ponce, who is involved in a Catholic summer camp back home in California, said it was “super refreshing” to hear Pope Leo vocalize a sentiment that Ponce’s youth leader has also told him: that young people aren’t merely the future of the Church, they are also “the present.”

“To hear that basically being put into Pope Leo’s words and being shown by him directly nodding and agreeing with us … It felt super, super refreshing to hear that. [And] not only is that message going to be sent across to us, and back home, but all over the world,” Ponce said. 

Wing agreed, saying that the pope modeled for young Catholics respectful, non-polemical dialogue that she hopes will shape wider Church and cultural engagement.

“I think that the pope set an amazing example for how we should really communicate with each other. All the bishops and people that are here at NCYC are people who want to talk to teenagers, and who are willing to listen, but not everybody in the world is like that,” Wing said. 

“To hear the pope do what he did and talk to us, and be able to not debate but understand each other is, like Ezequiel said, just refreshing.”

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, praised the poise and maturity of the teen participants and spoke about how he feels the pope’s words, and the dialogue in general, was valuable for all Catholics. 

“I had the impression that it was a ‘Church event.’ It was not just a ‘show’ of the Holy Father. It was a Church event,” the cardinal said. 

“Because the Church is made of people. The Church is not something above us. We are quite often tempted to put ourselves as the judges of the Church, as if the Church was something else … [but] we are the Church.”

Lamas spoke about the fulfillment of her “dream” that the pope would directly address the thousands of young people at the annual conference. 

“I recall myself sitting there and just looking around the stadium, thinking to myself, ‘This generation that we’re seeing here will now enter into a new phase.’ They have now experienced Pope Leo in a way that none of us as Church [have]. And so what’s to come into the future? I don’t know. But I know hearts have been changed,” Lamas said. 

Lamas also said the pope’s “yes” to taking the time and considerable effort to have a genuine dialogue with the young people of the United States shows an authenticity that resonates with the youth she works with.

“I saw Pope Leo [being] very authentic, and that’s what our young people are craving — authenticity. He said it numerous times in his words and how he answered some of the questions. He wants people to show up … he did that for them,” Lamas said. 

For her part, Alvarado noted that the digital encounter included two breakthroughs: a demonstration of cutting-edge Vatican production, and the pope’s fluency with tech culture — discussing such topics as “screen time” and AI. 

“That shows you that not just the Vatican, but the Church itself, is encountering the world in a new and different way through the person of Pope Leo XIV,” Alvarado said.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to teenagers during a digital encounter at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov 21, 2025 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV spoke to teenagers during a digital encounter at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday in Indianapolis during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). 

Five teenagers asked the pope questions regarding using technology, recovering from mistakes, giving worries to Jesus, avoiding distractions, and preparing for the future of the Church. The pope gave guidance to the young crowd with words applicable to both teenagers and the universal Church. 

The Holy Father’s advice that Catholics can apply to their lives included:

Sin never has the final word

“All of us struggle,” Leo said. “The truth is that none of us is perfect.”

“St. Paul teaches that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God … Because of original sin, we sometimes do the opposite of what we know is right. But there’s good news. Sin never has the final word,” the pope said.

“Whenever we ask for God’s mercy, he forgives us. Pope Francis said that God never gets tired of forgiving. We sometimes get tired of asking for forgiveness. So even when we fall again, we should remember St. Paul’s words, ‘Christ Jesus, came into the world to save sinners.’ He came for us, knowing our weaknesses,” he said.

“We may struggle to forgive, but God’s heart is different. God never stops inviting us back. We experience this mercy of God in a special way in the sacrament of reconciliation,” the pope said.

“It can be discouraging when we fall, but do not focus on all your sins. Look to Jesus. Trust his mercy and go to him with confidence. He will always welcome you home,” he said.

Give your worries to God

“In his first letter, St. Peter tells us to give all our worries to Jesus because he cares for us,” Pope Leo said. “Jesus does not just understand our struggles from a distance. He actually wants us to hand them to him because he loves us.”

“That trust starts when we have a real relationship. We cannot give our problems to someone whom we barely know. Think of your closest friends, for example. If they were hurting, you would talk to them. You would listen to them. You would stay close. Our relationship with Jesus is similar,” he said.

“He knows when life feels heavy. Scripture reminds us that he is near to the brokenhearted. Even when we do not feel his presence, our faith tells us that he is there. To entrust our struggles to Jesus, we have to spend time with him in prayer. We have to have a relationship with him,” he said.

“Daily moments of silence are so important, whether through adoration, reading Scripture, talking to him, looking for those little spaces of time where we can be with him. Little by little, we learn to hear his voice, to feel his presence, both within and through the people that he sends to us,” the pope said.

Find real friends 

“It’s … important to pray for the gift of true friends,” the pope said. “A real friend is not only someone who’s fun to be with, oh, that is good, too. But it’s someone who helps you grow closer to Jesus, someone who encourages you to become a better person. Good friends also push us to seek help when life gets difficult or confusing.”

“Good friends will always tell us the truth, even when that’s not easy to do. Scripture says that faithful friends are like a strong shelter and a treasure. I hope you are forming friendships like that, even during this conference. Friendships rooted in faith, rooted in love for Jesus,” the pope said.

It’s OK to get distracted, but then come back to God

When we get distracted in prayer, “sometimes the best thing to do is to follow the distraction for a moment, see why it’s there,” Pope Leo said. Then after acknowledging it, “turn back and remember why you’re there and why you’re in prayer and to say to the Lord, ‘Look I’m distracted right now. I know you understand.’”

“But not to allow yourself to be taken too far away, especially during prayer, because there are all kinds of temptations and all kinds of distractions, but there’s only one Jesus Christ, and we really need to give our time also in prayer to Christ,” the pope said.

Technology should serve your life, not the other way around

“Technology can really help in many ways,” and it “can help us live our Christian faith,” Pope Leo said. “It lets us stay connected with people who are far away … It also gives us amazing tools for prayer, for reading the Bible, for learning more about what we believe.”

“It allows us to share the Gospel with people we may never meet in person. But even with all that, technology can never replace real in-person relationships. Simple things, a hug, a handshake, a smile. All those things are essential to being human,” he said.

“Watching Mass online can be helpful, especially when someone is sick or elderly or cannot attend in person. But actually being there, taking part in the Eucharist, is so important for our prayer, for our sense of community,” the pope said.

“It’s essential for our relationship with God and with each other. There’s nothing that can replace true human presence, being with one another. While technology certainly can connect us, it’s not the same as being physically present.”

Jesus will always protect, guide, and love his Church

“When we face challenges or worries about the future, it might be good to remember that promise that Jesus once made to Peter when he said, ‘The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.’ Jesus will always protect, guide, and love his Church,” the pope said.

“The day I was elected pope, I said, ‘God loves us, and evil will not prevail,’” the pope said. “We are all in God’s hands. Jesus wants everyone to come close to him.”

“The Church prepares for the future by staying faithful to what Jesus asks of us today. He told us not to be overwhelmed by worries but to seek first the kingdom of God, trusting that everything else will fall into place. He promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us and help us understand what we need to do,” the pope said.

Be involved 

Pope Leo encouraged involvement in the Church, especially among youth. “You are not only the future of the Church, you are the present,” he said to teens. 

“If you want to help the Church prepare for the future, start by being involved today. Stay connected to your parish, attend Sunday Mass, join youth activities and say yes to opportunities … where your faith can grow,” he said.

“Your voices, your ideas, your faith matter right now, and the Church needs you. The Church needs what you have been given to share with all of us,” he said.

“The more you come to know Jesus, the more you will want to serve him and his Church. One great way to build up the Church is by sharing your faith, teaching the faith to others, helping others who need you,” the pope said.

Your vocation is always connected to the greater mission of the Church

“As you discern your vocation, trust Jesus. He knows how to lead you to true happiness. If you open your heart, you will hear him calling you to holiness,” Pope Leo said. 

“As Pope Benedict XVI once said, ‘Jesus takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.’ When we give ourselves to him, we receive far more than we could ever imagine,” he said.

“If you think you may be called to marriage, pray for a spouse who will help you grow in holiness, help you grow in your faith,” the pope said.

“Some of you may be called to the priesthood to serve God’s people through the word and sacraments. If you feel that tug in your heart, don’t ignore it. Bring it to Jesus. Speak with a priest you trust,” Pope Leo said.

“Others may be called to consecrated religious life, to be witnesses of a joyful life completely given to God. If you sense this call, that gentle tug, do not be afraid,” he said.

We were made for something greater 

“Now is the time to dream big, be open to what God can do through your lives. Being young often comes with the desire to do something meaningful, something that makes a real difference. Many of you are ready to be generous, to help those who love, to work for something greater than yourself,” the pope said.

“That is why it is not true that life is only about doing what feels good to yourself, makes you feel comfortable, as some people claim it. Sure, comfort can be nice, but as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us: ‘We weren’t made for comfort. We were made for greatness. We were made for God himself,’” he said.

“Deep down, we long for truth, for beauty, and goodness, because we were created for them,” Pope Leo said. 

Don’t use political categories to speak about faith 

“Joy, hope, with creativity, authentic witnesses in the Gospel can help heal and unite humanity,” Pope Leo said. “Jesus also calls us disciples to be peacemakers — people who build bridges instead of walls, people who value dialogue and unity instead of division.”

“Please be careful not to use political categories to speak about faith, to speak about the Church. The Church doesn’t belong to any political party. Rather, she helps form your conscience … so you can think and act with wisdom and love. As you go closer to Jesus, do not fear what he might ask of you,” the pope said.

Archbishop José Gomez delivers the homily at a special Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels amid burning fires in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. / Credit: The Archdiocese of Los Angeles/YouTube

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

Archbishop José H. Gómez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and urged lawmakers to find a bipartisan solution to fix the American immigration system.

“My brother bishops and I have seen how this deportation policy is ruining people’s lives and breaking up families; in our parishes and neighborhoods, people are now living in constant fear,” Gómez said in a Nov. 18 op-ed published in Angelus News.

Gómez — who serves the largest archdiocese in the country and a large Hispanic population — referenced the Nov. 12 special message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which conveyed unified opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” approved by 96% of bishops who voted.

In his op-ed, Gómez accused the Trump administration of carrying out deportations “in harsh and indiscriminate ways.” He criticized alleged quotas for arrests, raids on workplaces, limits to foreign worker visas and other legal pathways to the United States, and the revocation of some immigrants’ “temporary protected legal status.”

“Agents are not only picking up violent criminals, they are also detaining mothers and fathers, even grandparents, hardworking men and women who are pillars in our parishes and communities,” the archbishop said.

Gómez expressed concerns about a lack of due process and detention centers being “not safe or clean.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repeatedly denied these claims, with a spokesperson telling CNA on Nov. 17 that the administration “cares deeply about the intrinsic human dignity of everybody it comes in contact with.”

The archbishop also expressed concern about detainees being denied Communion, such as has occurred at a facility in Broadview, Illinois. A DHS spokesperson told CNA that the request in Broadview could not be accommodated because of safety concerns and the manner of clergy’s requests to enter.

“And this is what really could have avoided this entire kerfuffle on the front is if people just reached out ahead of time and did a lot of these things ahead of time, instead of, in one situation, there was one retired priest who simply just showed up in a large mob of people and demanded to be let in,” said Nate Madden, principal deputy assistant secretary for communications at DHS. 

Father Larry Dowling, a retired pastor and a member of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Life’s clergy council, led a Eucharistic procession to Broadview on Oct. 11 where participants sang and prayed the rosary in English and Spanish. After multiple denials following formal requests and attempts to follow DHS’ admittance policy, Catholic clergy have sued to exercise their right to freedom of religion and distribute Communion at the facility.

The DHS said pastoral care is available at all long-term detention facilities, but that Broadview is a short-term processing facility designed for 12-hour stays. Detainees have alleged confinement there for nearly a week.

The administration says it has deported more than 500,000 people and that at least 1.6 million more have self-deported, according to DHS. A department spokesperson said on Oct. 27: “This is just the beginning.”

Gómez acknowledged “our government has the right to enforce its immigration laws,” which includes deportations. Yet, he said, “deportation is not the only way to hold people accountable for entering the country wrongfully.”

Gómez encouraged the Trump administration to “pause” mass deportation efforts and “refocus its enforcement efforts on those who are truly a threat to public safety and order.” He asked the administration to work with Congress to pass immigration reform legislation.

Gómez: ‘There is still a way forward’

The archbishop acknowledged that anxiety about large-scale migration into the United States and former President Joe Biden’s “loose border enforcement policies” partly resulted in Americans electing Trump in 2024.

Gómez said “growing anxiety and fears about how the global economy is reshaping local economies and communities” and people seeing immigrants as “threats to their livelihoods” also factored into election results.

Although he said he understands “the popular anger about uncontrolled borders and large numbers of undocumented people in our country,” he said Trump’s policies are “no way to defend the rule of law or the sovereignty of our great nation.”

The archbishop said it’s true that people who entered the country illegally “have responsibility for their actions,” but said the system has been broken for more than 40 years. He said many “came with the implied understanding that the authorities would look the other way because businesses needed their labor.”

“Politicians, business leaders, and activist groups have long exploited this issue for their own advantage,” Gómez said. “That is why the problem persists.”

The archbishop said “there is still a way forward” on immigration. He said solutions could include holding people accountable in some way while also providing people with a pathway for legal status. 

“Millions of undocumented men and women in this country have no criminal record and have been living and working here for decades,” he said. “These immigrants own homes, they run businesses, or work in jobs our society needs; they have children and grandchildren; they are good neighbors and faithful parishioners.”

“Surely a great nation can find a generous solution for these people — to hold them accountable for breaking our laws, but also to provide them with a pathway to a permanent legal status,” Gómez said.