It’s a warm, sunny day as I prepare my backpack, borrow one of my son’s refillable water bottles, and grab a couple of protein bars. You would be justified in thinking I am getting ready for a hike, but this isn’t a hike. I am heading out to be in community, to practice accompaniment and […]

The post The immigrant’s journey is also a pilgrimage appeared first on U.S. Catholic.

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 09:26 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV called for shared responsibility in the face of world hunger during a visit to the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Thursday.

“The pope’s heart, which belongs not to himself but to the Church and, in a certain sense, to all humanity, maintains the confidence that, if hunger is defeated, peace will be the fertile ground from which the common good of all nations will be born,” Leo said Oct. 16.

After listening to remarks from the FAO’s director general, Qu Dongyu, the Holy Father spoke in both Spanish and English to participants in the World Food Day event, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Queen Letizia of Spain, King Letsie III of Lesotho, Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, and former U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

‘My brothers and sisters’

On the 80th anniversary of the founding of the FAO, the pope emphasized that our consciences must challenge us to resolve the tragedy of hunger, and he appealed to the responsibility of everyone.

“Those who suffer from hunger are not strangers; they are my brothers and sisters, and I must help them without delay,” he said.

Leo also warned that the world needs a real commitment on this issue, not just “solemn declarations,” so that no one lacks the necessary food.

He also claimed that allowing millions of human beings to die from hunger is a “collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical sin.”

Condemning world conflicts as “macabre spectacles,” the Holy Father condemned the use of food as a weapon of war, calling it a “cruel strategy” that denies the right to life.

“The silence of those dying of hunger cries out in everyone’s conscience, even though it is often ignored, silenced, or distorted. We cannot continue like this, since hunger is not man’s destiny but his downfall,” he asserted.

“It seems that we have become apathetic witnesses to heartbreaking violence,” the pontiff continued.

The pope said: “Do future generations deserve a world that is incapable of eradicating hunger and poverty once and for all? Is it possible that we cannot put an end to so many lacerating arbitrary acts that negatively impact the human family? Can political and social leaders continue to be polarized, wasting time and resources on useless and virulent arguments, while those they should serve continue to be forgotten and exploited for partisan interests?”

“We cannot limit ourselves to proclaiming values” but rather “we must embody them,” since “slogans do not lift people out of poverty,” he said.

He condemned a political paradigm and ethical vision that “replaces the person with profit.”

Real solutions, not ‘eye-catching posters’

We must not “be content with filling walls with large, eye-catching posters” but embrace a unified commitment, Leo said.

He also stressed the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation, so that the shortcomings of poor countries can be truly understood in order to solve their problems, “without imposing solutions concocted in distant offices, in meetings dominated by ideologies that frequently ignore ancestral cultures, religious traditions, or customs deeply rooted in the wisdom of the elders.”

Pope Leo XIV insisted that the plight of those who suffer from hunger invites us to reconsider our lifestyles, and that it is necessary to share their pain, since, by failing to live up to our commitments, we become complicit in the promotion of injustice. In the face of war, he emphasized that the international community “cannot look the other way.”

“We cannot aspire to a more just social life if we are not willing to rid ourselves of the apathy that justifies hunger as if it were background music we have grown accustomed to, an unsolvable problem, or simply someone else’s responsibility,” he stated.

The Holy Father concluded his message by recalling that there is also “a hunger for faith, hope, and love,” and he encouraged his listeners not to tire of asking God for the strength to serve those most in need.

“As you continue your efforts, you will always be able to count on the solidarity and engagement, the commitment of the Holy See and the institutions of the Catholic Church that stand ready to go out and serve the poorest and the most disadvantaged throughout the world,” he said.

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

Vatican City, Oct 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

International Catholic nonprofit Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will release its religious freedom report on Oct. 21 in Rome.

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 06:03 am (CNA).

The tome will include, for the first time, the writings of the current pontiff during his term as prior general of the Augustinian Order.

CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 05:11 am (CNA).

5&2 Studios, the production company behind the hit series “The Chosen,” is releasing its new animated series called “The Chosen Adventures” on Prime Video on Oct. 17. 

The new series follows 9-year-old Abby and her best friend Joshua as they navigate life in the city of Capernaum. When the two children meet a wise carpenter — Jesus of Nazareth — he changes the way they see the world. 

“The Chosen Adventures” consists of 14 11-minute episodes and features several of the original cast members, including Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Paras Patel as Matthew, and George Xanthis as John, among others. 

Joining the cast is Paul Walter Hauser as Sheep, Yvonne Orji as Pigeon, Romy Fay as Abby, Jude Zarzaur as Joshua, Danny Nucci as Abba, and Zehra Fazal as Eema.

Dallas Jenkins, writer, director, and creator of “The Chosen,” serves as an executive producer for the new animated series. He told CNA in an interview that the inspiration for the new show came from episode three of Season 1 of “The Chosen,” in which Jesus is seen interacting with children throughout the episode. 

“Not only did kids love it, but adults loved it because seeing Jesus with the eyes of a child is actually how Jesus often wants you to see him,” he told CNA. “And that episode resonated so strongly that we thought, ‘Okay, well, this is an opportunity. What if we did an animated series where Abigail and Joshua, the two main characters from that episode, were featured and it really allows us to explore a whimsy and a playfulness that you can really dig into with animation in a fresh way.”

Jenkins emphasized that while children will enjoy the show, it is also something adults can enjoy. 

“It's still grounded in truth,” he said. “And I still think that you'll watch this show and it will still feel real even though yes, there's a pigeon and a sheep that talk to each other, we always want to ground it in ‘The Chosen’ way.”

He added, “Yes, younger kids are going to appreciate it. But I think it's going to still feel like ‘The Chosen.’ It's not going to feel like it's a departure from who we are.”

As a huge fan of “The Chosen,” Hauser, who will voice the character of Sheep, told CNA that “the idea of doing a faith-based program that I was really proud of” was a major factor in what drew him to the role. He hopes the series will leave both children and adults feeling “encouraged or inspired to deepen their relationship with God.”

“You don't have to come to God with fancy big words and sound like someone you're not,” he added. “God is not impressed with us trying to dress up our faith in some way. I think it has more to do with authenticity and with the readiness to want to approach God and ask questions and engage with that.”

Jenkins added that he hopes viewers will be left inspired to be “curious.”

“Abigail sets an example for all of us with curiosity. She's asking questions. She never wants to stop learning. And I think God loves that,” he said. “I turned 50 this year. I never want to stop being curious. I never want to stop learning more, seeing things from a different perspective. I think we need that more than ever in society.”

He added: “Yes, we are grounded on foundational, Biblical truths that won't change but our perspective, the way we interact with others, the way we see the world, the way we see politics, the way we see other people, the empathy that we can find for other people that I think children are capable of, that we adults sometimes don't do, is something that is really important.”

CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French nun responsible for spreading the devotion of the Sacred Heart throughout the Western Church.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To improve the church's safeguarding approaches and measures, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said it relied on extensive input and feedback from victims/survivors in its second annual report.

As a consequence, the report featured a chapter listing more than 20 major concerns drawn up by its victim/survivor focus group, which included: an ongoing lack of accountability for church leaders and resistance to safeguarding reforms; the risk of retaliation and rejection for whistleblowers; the continued ministry of known perpetrators; the need to vet all church personnel properly; and the need for a "mature approach" to reparation.

"The primary need from victims/survivors is not financial compensation but rather recognition of harm, genuine apologies, and meaningful action to prevent future abuses," said the 103-page report, which was released Oct. 16 at the Vatican.

"In many cases, however, victims/survivors report that the Church has responded with empty settlements, performative gestures, and a persistent refusal to engage with victims/survivors in good faith," it said.

"Figures of authority within the Church who perpetrate or enable abuse have perhaps viewed themselves as too essential and important to be held accountable," it said.

"The Church believes herself to be central to God's plan for humanity," it said, "but God's promises to the Church are not a 'too essential to fail' free pass of impunity: to the contrary, the Church needs to remember that judgment begins within the household of God." 

The papal commission's Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding is meant to serve "as both compass and chronicle in the Church's global pilgrimage toward accountability," Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, France, president of the papal commission, wrote in the document's introduction.

Using data from multiple sources for the 2024 calendar year, including observations from apostolic nuncios and the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child's reporting mechanism, the report analyzed several church entities, offering an overview of their current safeguarding measures, ongoing challenges and recommendations from the commission members.

Each year, the report focuses on a different set of bishops' conferences, religious institutes and offices of the Roman Curia, and this year's report also included a lay association: the Focolare movement.

In addition to providing precise details regarding individual church entities, the report also offers a global analysis of its main findings and observations.

It said there are six areas "that the church must further address in order to fulfil its fundamental obligations to victims/survivors": safe spaces for listening and care; better communication, such as with public and private apologies; better spiritual and psychotherapeutic support; financial support that is tailored to each victim's specific needs; meaningful sanctions and institutional reforms; and more safeguarding initiatives throughout the church community. 

The commission will further develop the six areas into "more detailed procedures to be offered as guidance to episcopal conferences and religious orders, tailored to their different cultural and social contexts," the report said. 

One major focus of the report was on the need for proper and concrete "reparation" to victims by the entire church community.

"One cannot harm one of Christ's precious 'little ones' without betraying, harming, and, indeed, angering Christ," it said. Therefore, "in facing the tragedy of abuse, the Church must acknowledge her debt of reparation to God" as well as to victims/survivors and to the larger community.

"We must re-emphasize that the Church's decades-long pattern of mishandling reports, including abandoning, ignoring, shaming, blaming, and stigmatizing victims/survivors, perpetuates the trauma as an ongoing harm," it said.

"The first objective of repair is to stop the spiritual and emotional bleeding precipitated by the combination of abuse, enablement of abuse, and mishandling of reports of abuse. This is why both new and old cases matter," it added.

The report listed multiple harms caused by abuse and the mishandling, silencing and cover-up of cases.

Not only are whole families, innocent priests and religious harmed, it said, a toxic environment marked by fear and distrust of priests, bishops, religious, teachers and other church staff, can undermine a child's "relationship to the Church and separate them from spiritually nurturing experiences."

In addition, priests, religious and church personnel can be unwilling to "nurture and mentor children and adolescents, based on fears of being unjustly accused or because of over-restrictive safeguarding protocols," it said. 

Anywhere there is an environment of fear and suspicion, it said, "the necessary boundaries of safeguarding can become barriers and children can be viewed as too dangerous for interactions," which is "gravely harmful to the development and spiritual formation of children and adolescents."

The report also called for greater transparency by specifying when the resignation and/or removal of church leaders or personnel was made because of abuse or negligence.

While such communication would need to respect principles related to privacy and the presumption of innocence, those principles cannot be used "at the cost of victims," Benyam Dawit Mezmur, a commission member, said at a Vatican news conference Oct. 16.

"Reparations definitely -- particularly apologies, rehabilitation, even financial compensation -- require that level of transparency, of course, without undermining the right to privacy and presumption of innocence," said the lawyer, who also had served on the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The report said it was "not merely an account of the Church's progress and continued areas for improvement. Rather, it seeks to be a living instrument of shared conversion -- a means of communicating the wisdom and knowledge learned through the witness of victims/survivors, and the commitment of countless women and men of goodwill who have sought to respond to the question: what did you do, once you knew?"

By gathering and sharing on-the-ground, lived experiences and perspectives, it said, the report sought to represent a "shared journey" to help the church restore trust and credibility.

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