Monsignor Melchor Sánchez de Toca, relator of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. / Credit: Diocese of Vitoria

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 1, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The relator for the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Monsignor Melchor Sánchez de Toca, said the lives of the saints “pierce our conscience.”

Pope Leo XIV prays during his general audience on Sept. 24, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Oct 1, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October is for collaboration between different religious traditions.

In a video released Sept. 30, the Holy Father asked the faithful to “pray that believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice, and human fraternity.”

In the video, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention.

Here is Pope Leo’s full prayer:

Lord Jesus,

You, who in diversity are one

and look lovingly at every person,

help us to recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters,

called to live, pray, work, and dream together.

We live in a world full of beauty,

but also wounded by deep divisions.

Sometimes religions, instead of uniting us,

become a cause of confrontation.

Give us your Spirit to purify our hearts,

so that we may recognize what unites us

and, from there, learn again how to listen

and collaborate without destroying.

May the concrete examples of peace,

justice, and fraternity in religions

inspire us to believe that it is possible to live

and work together, beyond our differences.

May religions not be used as weapons or walls,

but rather lived as bridges and prophecy:

making the dream of the common good credible,

accompanying life, sustaining hope,

and being the yeast of unity in a fragmented world.

Amen.

The video prayer intention is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sept. 30, 2025 in Quantico, Virginia. / Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 30, 2025 / 18:22 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said the U.S. Department of Defense secretary’s way of speaking about war is “worrying.”

Addressing an audience of military brass summoned to Virginia, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sept. 30 urged senior officers to lead with an eye on more “lethality.” President Donald Trump this month signed an executive order changing the department’s name to Department of War, although it has not been officially changed by Congress.

Asked about the secretary’s meeting with the generals and comments about readiness for war, Pope Leo said: “This way of speaking is worrying, because it shows each time an increase in tensions — this vocabulary, even shifting from ‘Minister of Defense’ to ‘Minister of War.’ Let’s hope it is only a way of speaking. Certainly, they have a style of government where they want to show strength, to put pressure, and we hope it works, but that there will not be war. One must always work for peace.”

The Chicago-born Pope Leo spoke to reporters as he was leaving the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo near Rome, where in recent weeks he has made it a practice to spend Tuesdays before returning to the Vatican.

The pope’s comments were translated from Italian.

The Defense Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Sept. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 30, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV responded with a father’s heart to a 21-year-old Roman medical student who asked him “What does the future hold for us?” and “What can young people do to aspire to a better world, when there is so much injustice, tragedy, and war today?”

Veronica, whose dream is to be a doctor, wrote a letter to Leo XIV asking him these and other questions. She pointed out to him that all the current problems make it seem “impossible to live in peace,” according to the September issue of Piazza San Pietro magazine.

After encouraging Veronica to fulfill her dream of serving “the weakest and most unfortunate,” the Holy Father noted that her “questions are those on the hearts of many of your contemporaries. It is true that we live in difficult times: Evil seems to overwhelm our lives, wars claim more innocent victims.”

“But all this must not make us lose hope for a better world. As I have already said, quoting St. Augustine: ‘Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times.’ Likewise, the times will be good if we are good!” Leo continued.

“For this to happen, we must place our hope once again in the Lord Jesus. It is he who has stirred in your heart the desire to make of your life something great,” the pope emphasized.

“It is he who will give you the strength to improve yourself and the society around you so that the times we live in may be truly good,” the pontiff continued.

Recalling the 2025 Jubilee of Youth, which brought together 1 million people in Rome, Pope Leo XIV repeated “the invitation I made to you and to all the young people who came to Tor Vergata: ‘Cultivate your friendship with Jesus.’ It’s worth it. You can be sure.”

The Holy Father then asked Veronica to keep him “in the loop about your studies and your inner journey. I bless you from my heart.”

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

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Parish Church of St. Anne in the Vatican on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 30, 2025 / 12:26 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day morning, Dec. 25 — a custom dating to the pontificate of St. John Paul II.

The Vatican announced Tuesday Pope Leo’s Mass schedule for Nov. 1 through the end of the Christmas season in January 2026.

The addition of Christmas Mass During the Day, before the urbi et orbi blessing, is accompanied by a new hour for the celebration of the papal Christmas Mass During the Night on Dec. 24.

Leo has moved the celebration of the Christmas Eve Mass from 7:30 p.m. local time, as it was celebrated by Pope Francis, to 10 p.m. The midnight Mass has not been celebrated at midnight at the Vatican since John Paul II’s pontificate.

The relatively young and healthy Leo has presided over a large number of Masses and other prayer services during the first months of his pontificate.

Here is Pope Leo XIV’s Mass schedule for November, December, and the beginning of January:

Nov. 1 in St. Peter’s Square: Mass and the declaration of St. John Henry Newman as a doctor of the Church during the Jubilee of the World of Education on the solemnity of All Saints

Nov. 3 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass for the soul of Pope Francis and the cardinals and bishops who died in the past year

Nov. 9 in the Basilica of St. John Lateran: Mass for the feast of the dedication of the basilica

Nov. 16 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Nov. 23 in St. Peter’s Square: Mass for the Jubilee of Choirs and Choristers on the solemnity of Christ the King

Dec. 8 in Piazza di Spagna in Rome: act of veneration to the Immaculate Conception on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Dec. 12 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass for the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dec. 14 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass for the Jubilee of Prisoners on the third Sunday of Advent

Dec. 24 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass During the Night for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

Dec. 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass during the Day for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

Dec. 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica: urbi et orbi blessing from the central loggia of the basilica

Dec. 31 in St. Peter’s Basilica: first vespers and Te Deum in thanksgiving for the past year

Jan. 1 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass for the World Day of Peace on the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Jan. 6 in St. Peter’s Basilica: Mass and the closing of the Holy Door and the Jubilee Year 2025 on the solemnity of Epiphany

Jan. 11 in the Sistine Chapel: Mass and the baptism of several babies on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord

The flag of Slovakia, pictured in the country’s capital, Bratislava. / Credit: RossHelen/Shutterstock

Rome, Italy, Sep 30, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Slovakia’s recently-amended constitution, which aims to protect family, marriage, and parenthood, has been called an “important step” by the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia.

Saint Jerome Writing, a painting by Caravaggio, dated to 1605–06. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, Sep 30, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The Vulgate became the predominantly used Bible of the Middle Ages and has endured to this day.

Pope Leo XIV meets with members of the European Parliament’s Working Group on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue on Sept. 29, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 29, 2025 / 14:52 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday said European institutions need “people who know how to live a healthy secularism” while urging recognition that religion has value both on a personal and social level.

“When the religious dimension is authentic and well cultivated, it can greatly enrich interpersonal relationships and help people live in community and society. And how important it is today to emphasize the value and importance of human relationships!” he noted.

Leo XIV made his remarks on Sept. 29 when receiving at the Vatican the European Parliament’s Working Group on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue. The objective of this structure, an initiative of the European People’s Party (EPP) coalition, is to promote dialogue between different cultures, religions, philosophical beliefs, and nondenominational communities within Europe.

The pope also emphasized that participation in interreligious dialogue, by its very nature, “recognizes that religion has value both on a personal level and in the social sphere.”

“Being men and women of dialogue means remaining deeply rooted in the Gospel and the values ​​derived from it and, at the same time, cultivating openness, listening, and dialogue with those from other contexts, always placing the human person, human dignity, and our relational and communal nature at the center,” the pope explained in his address.

The Holy Father emphasized that promoting dialogue between cultures and religions is a “fundamental objective for a Christian politician” and cited as examples Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide De Gasperi, considered the founding fathers of what eventually became the European Union, who also lived their faith as a sociopolitical commitment.

Thus, he urged the cultivation of a style of thought and action that affirms the value of religion, while “preserving its distinction — not separation or confusion — with respect to the political sphere.”

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

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered for the Mass for the Jubilee of Catechists on Sept. 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 29, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has put a spotlight on the risks of artificial intelligence in his choice of theme for next year’s World Day of Social Communications, as the Vatican emphasizes the important role of Catholics in media and AI literacy.

The pope’s choice of theme for the 60th World Day of Social Communications 2026, published Monday, is “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.” The day is celebrated every year on Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists and writers.

The Vatican’s explanatory note emphasizes the risks of AI, including that it “can generate engaging but misleading, manipulative, and harmful information, replicate biases and stereotypes from its training data, and amplify disinformation through simulation of human voices and faces.”

The theme of the World Day of Social Communications was released as the Vatican’s communication department is struggling to stem the tide of “deepfakes,” false images and videos of Pope Leo XIV saying and doing things he did not say or do.

Pope Leo XIV signaled at the beginning of his pontificate that the challenge of AI would be a significant theme of his teaching.

The Vatican announcement on Monday urged the introduction of media and artificial intelligence literacy into educational systems to combat the risk of misinformation.

“As Catholics we can and should give our contribution, so that people — especially youth — acquire the capacity of critical thinking and grow in the freedom of the spirit,” the document says.

The Vatican message underlines that “public communication requires human judgment, not just data patterns.”

“The challenge is to ensure that humanity remains the guiding agent,” it says. “The future of communication must be one where machines serve as tools that connect and facilitate human lives rather than erode the human voice.”

null / Credit: maxuser/Shutterstock

Rome, Italy, Sep 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

What exactly is transhumanism, and how does the Church approach it?