Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

The faithful pray before the altar at Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Dublin, Ireland, Oct 24, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Seven pivotal priorities emerged from the Irish bishops’ Pre-Synodal Assembly meetings on Oct. 18 in Kilkenny, reflecting the hopes and concerns of the Irish faithful, drawing upon a series of gatherings held throughout the country from February to May.

The assembly brought together delegates from parish communities across Ireland to discern how the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church today.

Father Gerry O’Hanlon, SJ, one of the delegates, welcomed the process. “Building on the trust that has been established, we need to face difficult issues and embrace conflict and difference on the way,” he told CNA. “The Pre-Synodal Assembly was characterized by a constructive spirit of speaking and listening in a spirit of prayer. As we go forward, we probably need a more concrete focus, with input from theology and the other sciences. We have made a good start.”

Of the priorities under discussion, three emerged as particularly strong: healing, the role of women in the Church, and youth engagement. The assembly discernment process identified these as areas that demand urgent attention as the Church seeks to navigate the complexities of modern life while remaining true to its mission.

The focus on healing was emphasized as was the need to acknowledge wounds, especially those caused by abuse; committing to accountability, justice, and reconciliation; and ensuring safe spaces for survivors and all who carry pain. 

“The priority attached to healing all of the hurt caused by abuse in the Church, as part of the path to renewal, is welcome,” Aidan Gordon, another delegate, said. “A recognition that the healing must be authentic and rooted in a commitment to justice reflects a genuine listening to the voices of victims and survivors.”

The role of women in the Church and the importance of recognizing and including women’s gifts, leadership, and co-responsibility at every level of Church life as a matter of justice and credibility was also emphasized.

The assembly additionally recognized the importance of youth engagement, highlighting the need to connect with young people in authentic and meaningful ways. 

“These kinds of events really allow young people to have their voice heard, and that’s what gives a whole new energy and perspective to the Church in Ireland today,” Natalie Doherty, a delegate at the assembly, told CNA.

In addition to these three focal areas, the assembly identified several other significant priorities for the Irish Church: 

— Belonging: fostering a Church of welcome, inclusion, and safety where every person finds a home in community and in Christ

— Co-responsibility and lay ministry: empowering all the baptized, men and women alike, to share responsibility for leadership and mission through new models of ministry and decision-making

— Family: supporting the domestic Church as the primary place of faith transmission and strengthening its connection with parishes and schools

— Formation and catechesis: deepening faith through lifelong formation that is Christ-centered and equips the baptized for discipleship in today’s world

In embracing these priorities, the Irish Church hopes to not only address the needs of its members but also reaffirms its commitment to living out the Gospel in a way that resonates with the realities of today. 

Welcoming the attendees to the Kilkenny meeting, Bishop Niall Coll of Ossory said: “A synodal Church encourages a more open culture of debate, discussion, and discernment within the Church. Our presence here today means that there are voices in Ireland attuned to the need to read the ‘signs of the times’ and anxious to follow the direction for renewal and reform that Pope Francis charted.”

Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III meet before their prayer together in the Sistine Chapel during a historic meeting at the Vatican on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Dublin, Ireland, Oct 23, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).

King Charles III has acted contrary to the oath made at his coronation and should now “let someone else take his place, who is a true Protestant and who will take their vows seriously,” a prominent Free Presbyterian minister from Northern Ireland said after the king prayed with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

Rev. Kyle Paisley, the son of firebrand Democratic Unionist Party founder Ian Paisley, made the statements in a letter to Newspapers in Northern Ireland and subsequently in an interview on BBC Radio as well as other media outlets. 

In the Sistine Chapel prayer service, King Charles, the supreme governor of the Church of England, accompanied by Queen Camilla, sat at Pope Leo’s left-hand side as the pope and Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell led prayers.

The historic meeting and prayer service was also publicly lamented by the Orange Order, an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. The group decried the ecumenical prayers as a “sad day for Protestantism,” expressing “great sadness” and raising its objections in the “strongest possible terms.” 

In his comments, Paisley questioned whether the historic prayer in Rome was “cynical timing” coming 500 years after the printing of the New Testament in English by William Tyndale, something he claims still has the papacy “licking its wounds.”

“At his coronation, the king affirmed that he was a true Protestant and promised to uphold the religion of the established church in England as well as that of the Church of Scotland, which is historically Protestant,” Paisley said. “Our king has denied the Christian Gospel, flown in the face of holy Scripture, given the lie to his oath, and shown that he is not at all what he says he is — a true Protestant.”

He added: “Protestantism takes the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. Romanism does not. Her rule of faith and practice is the Scriptures as interpreted by the Church — that is, by the Roman Catholic Church — and tradition. This effectively makes the Church the rule of faith and practice. God’s word on its own is not enough for her.”

Wallace Thompson of the Evangelical Protestant Society in Northern Ireland agreed with Paisley, though he did not call for the king’s abdication. He told the BBC: “The issues that were there at the time of the Reformation are still there — deep, deep doctrinal differences. The two churches are so far apart that you shouldn’t feel you can engage in joint prayer — conversation, yes. This is symbolic. The king gives certain values at his coronation to maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant reformed religion established by law. He is sending out a signal now that really deep down, he doesn’t want to do that.”

Paisley’s statements also took issue with King Charles and other British royals attending the recent Requiem Mass for the Duchess of Kent, herself a Catholic.

Doubling down on his views, Paisley posted a statement on social media ahead of the Sistine Chapel prayer: “It is a crying shame that no evangelical Christian MP [member of Parliament], or member of the House of Lords, has spoken out publicly about the king’s blatant compromise of his oath, evidenced in the planned act of corporate worship with the pope.”

He continued: “The chair in St. Paul’s Basilica, which has the king’s emblem on it, is not an empty ornament but is there for him to use on any occasion he visits.”

Seeing in this honor Rome’s long-term aim of a complete reversal of the Reformation, Paisley said: “The deadly beast has been licking the wounds inflicted on it by the Reformation and now sees her way to complete healing, aided and abetted by a king who is not true to his word and by a British government and foreign office, and a British prime minister, who are about as godless as they come.”

Paisley’s father, the late Rev. Ian Paisley — the fiery Ulster evangelical Protestant and politician — was virulently anti-Catholic. In 1959 following the visit of the Queen Mother, King Charles’ grandmother, and Princess Margaret, his aunt, with Pope John XXIII in Rome, he accused them of “fornication and adultery with the antichrist.” 

Upon the death of John XXIII, the senior Paisley proclaimed: “This Romish man of sin is now in hell.”

In 1988, Ian Paisley was physically ejected from the European Parliament for bellowing: “I denounce you, antichrist” at Pope John Paul II during his official visit. Pope John Paul II watched calmly as the Ulsterman was removed from the building. 

Afterward Paisley told reporters he had been “assaulted” by Roman Catholic deputies. He added: “The European Parliament is Roman Catholic dominated. Mary is the Madonna of the Common Market.”

Despite his similar views of the Catholic faith, Kyle Paisley on the death of Pope Francis offered his sympathy to “devout Roman Catholics who looked up to him as the head of their Church and the guide of their faith.”

King Charles III has met the last three popes — most notably meeting Francis shortly before his death in April. 

Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both traveled to Britain, but meetings with the members of the royal family did not include joint prayers.

Prince William, the heir to the throne, attended the funeral of Pope Francis, and Prince Edward, brother of the king, was present at Pope Leo’s inauguration Mass in May.

Bishop Philippe Christory of Chartres, France. / Credit: Eichthus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The bishop of Chartres, France, Philippe Christory, addressed a letter to the senators of Eure-et-Loir, a region belonging to his diocese, in which he stated that assisted suicide and euthanasia contradict “an immemorial law: You shall not kill.”

The French prelate’s letter comes at a crucial moment as the “end-of-life” bill is under legislative review after years of political pressure to legalize euthanasia in the country.

The bill, filed last May, introduces the concept of “assistance in dying,” a term that encompasses both euthanasia — where a third party directly administers the lethal substance — and assisted suicide, in which the patient performs the final act. 

Although the procedure must be subject to a medical evaluation, the legislative proposal also provides that adults suffering from a serious and incurable condition that causes unbearable physical or psychological suffering could be eligible.

On May 24 of this year, members of the National Assembly approved the creation of an offense for obstructing access to “assistance in dying,” which would criminalize any attempt to prevent the act itself or access to information about it.

In this context, Christory appealed to the right to conscientious objection of those doctors who “cannot contemplate committing a lethal act,” as it would go against their conscience “and the very purpose of their profession, which is to care for and support patients in their life project even if this is moving toward its physical end.”

The bishop denounced the French Legislature’s lack of support for these professionals as “unacceptable,” since “freedom of conscience should never be taken away or limited; it’s a fundamental right of every person.”

After lamenting the high suicide rate in France — more than 8,000 suicides were recorded in 2023 — Christory recalled that the essence of an advanced civilization “is to promote life and support the lives of those who suffer” and noted that those who ask to end their lives often lack support.

“The end of life can be a decisive moment for reconsideration, reconciliation, and sharing with loved ones,” he added. At the end of his letter, he urged the senators to “promote a plan for life, not a plan for death that would stain our culture.”

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

Antonia Salzano is the mother of St. Carlo Acutis. / Credit: “EWTN Noticias”/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Antonia Salzano, the mother of St. Carlo Acutis, who was present with the rest of her family at his canonization on Sept. 7, recently shared what it’s like to be the mother of a saint and offered valuable advice to other mothers who, like her, have gone through the painful experience of the death of a child.

Salzano shared having had the opportunity to attend the canonization with Assunta Carlini Goretti, the mother of St. Maria Goretti, who saw the child martyr of purity declared a saint on June 24, 1950.

When asked what it is like to be the mother of a saint, Salzano in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, said: “Naturally, it’s a privilege, but also a duty, because first and foremost, I have to become a saint myself, because the call is also for me. I have to set an example.”

The mother of St. Carlo Acutis, who died at age 15 in 2006 from leukemia, emphasized that being the mother of a saint is also “a call to help others, because people are in darkness. Many people haven’t found God.”

The saint’s parents — Salzano and her husband, Andrea Acutis — accompanied by his younger twin siblings, Michele and Francesca, brought the offertory gifts to Pope Leo XIV during the canonization Mass.

“If I can give advice, speak a good word to help souls, I do it gladly, with great love, because I think the most important thing is to find God in our lives and live in God’s light,” emphasized the mother of St. Carlo, the “Apostle of the Eucharist” who created a virtual exhibition on Eucharistic miracles around the world.

Salzano’s counsel to those who have suffered the death of a child

“The important thing is to understand that what matters is loving God [and] our neighbor. This is the most important thing. If you lose your child, it’s not that you’ve lost him or her for eternity. It’s not goodbye. It’s to find yourself in another, more beautiful life, with God, with God’s light,” Salzano said.

“Carlo said that death is the passage to true life. Whoever is afraid of death does so because they don’t trust in God, they don’t have faith in God. Because if we have trust in God, we cannot be afraid of death,” she continued.

The only thing we should fear, Salzano pointed out, “is sin, because this can separate us forever from God. Death is ultimately the encounter with the beloved, the encounter with the most beautiful thing in the universe, with God.”

“Carlo began going to Mass every day when he was 7 years old. He wrote on that occasion: ‘To always be united to Jesus, this is my life plan,’” Salzano recalled.

“The encounter with Jesus was the most important part of his day. Naturally, this didn’t prevent Carlo from having a normal life, like all young people — his studies, his sports, all his friends — but for Carlo, the central focus was the encounter with Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament,” Salzano said.

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

St. John Capistrano and St. Bernardine of Siena. Museum of Fine Arts of Granada. Painting, oil on canvas, by Alonso Cano (1653-1657) for an altarpiece of the disappeared Franciscan convent of San Antonio and San Diego, Granada. / Credit: Jl FilpoC, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of St. John of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest whose life included a political career, extensive missionary journeys, efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians with Rome, and a historically important turn at military leadership.

Invoked as a patron of military chaplains, St. John of Capistrano was praised by St. John Paul II — whose feast day was yesterday, Oct. 22 — in a 2002 general audience for his “glorious evangelical witness” and as a priest who “gave himself with great generosity for the salvation of souls.”

Born in Italy in 1385, John lost his father — a French or possibly German knight who had settled in Capistrano — at a young age. John’s mother took care to have him educated, and after learning Latin he went on to study both civil law and Church law in Perugia. An outstanding student, he soon became a prominent public figure and was appointed governor of the city at age 26.

John showed high standards of integrity in his civic career, and in 1416 he labored to end a war that had erupted between Perugia and the prominent House of Malatesta. But when the nobles had John imprisoned, he began to question his life’s direction. Encountering St. Francis of Assisi in a dream, he resolved to embrace poverty, chastity, and obedience with the Franciscans.

Abandoning his possessions and social status, John joined the religious order in October 1416. He found a mentor in St. Bernardine of Siena, known for his bold preaching and his method of prayer focused on the invocation of the name of Jesus. Taking after his teacher in these respects, John began preaching as a deacon in 1420 and was ordained a priest in 1425.

John successfully defended his mentor from a charge of heresy made against his way of devotion, though he found less success in his efforts to resolve internal controversy among the followers of St. Francis. A succession of popes entrusted important matters to John, including the effort to reunite Eastern and Western Christendom at the Ecumenical Council of Florence.

Drawing immense crowds in his missionary travels throughout Italy, John also found success as a preacher in Central Europe, where he opposed the Hussites’ error regarding the nature and administration of the Eucharist. After Constantinople fell to Turkish invaders in 1453, Pope Nicholas V sent John on a mission to rally other European leaders in defense of their lands.

Nicholas’ successor Pope Callixtus III was even more eager to see the Christian world defend itself against the invading forces. When Sultan Mehmet II sought to extend his territorial gains into Serbia and Hungary, John joined the celebrated general Janos Hunyadi in his defense of Belgrade. The priest personally led a section of the army in its historic victory on Aug. 6, 1456.

Neither John nor the general, however, would survive long past the battle.

Weakened by the campaign against the Turks, Hunyadi became sick and died soon after the victory at Belgrade. John survived to preach Hunyadi’s funeral sermon, but his own extraordinary life came to an end after a painful illness on Oct. 23, 1456. St. John of Capistrano was canonized in 1724.

This story was first published on Oct. 21, 2012, and has been updated.

Bishop Nicholas Hudson was named the next bishop of Plymouth, England, by Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 21, 2025. / Credit: @mikedavies

Plymouth, England, Oct 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Nicholas Hudson, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, as the next bishop of Plymouth, England.

The news comes after the installation of a bishop in the Diocese of Plymouth was twice deferred last year. Canon Christopher Whitehead was due to be installed as the bishop of Plymouth on Feb. 22, 2024, but a diocesan statement suddenly announced on Feb. 1 that it was canceled, explaining that “a canonical process” had been started and that Whitehead had stepped back from active ministry. 

In September 2024, Pope Francis appointed Philip Moger as Plymouth’s new bishop, but a “delay” to his installation was suddenly announced just days before it was due to take place on Nov. 9.

Now Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday announced that Hudson, who was named by Pope Francis as a papal nominee to the Synod on Synodality, will take charge of the Diocese of Plymouth, which serves the Catholic community across Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset in the southwest of England.

Aware of the previous delays and the long wait endured by his new diocese, Hudson said: “I am aware how long the clergy, religious, and laity of Plymouth Diocese have waited for a bishop.” 

Referring to his links with the Synod on Synodality, Hudson added: “I come with a desire to listen and to learn. I hope we can apply all the strengths of synodality to discern together ways to deepen the diocese’s outreach, mission, and presence to the people of Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset.”

Hudson, 66, has served the Archdiocese of Westminster as an auxiliary bishop since 2014 while also serving as rector of the Venerable English College in Rome. In 2024, he was elected as episcopal secretary for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

The news has been welcomed by the Diocese of Plymouth. 

Speaking to CNA, Plymouth’s diocesan administrator, Canon Paul Cummins, said: “It’s fantastic news. It’s so good that we have a bishop. We needed that. We do need a pastor with vision, with energy, who can shepherd the flock in a way that only a bishop can.”

Cummins, who has served as administrator for three years, highlighted Hudson’s prayerfulness as a key element of his new ministry, saying: “He’s a really good man. He seems to me to be very much a man of prayer. The first thing he did was come to the cathedral [and kneel before] the Blessed Sacrament.”

Pinpointing Hudson’s links with synodality, Cummins added: “Synodality is about listening. It’s such a vital part now of Church teaching. My hope is that he can … deepen our synodality.”

One parishioner, who did not want to be identified by name, shared her joy at the news, telling CNA: “I was in a meeting when we heard the news and we all cheered. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new bishop.”

“We have been praying for such a long time, so this is a great answer to prayers,” she said.

Within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Hudson serves as chair of the Department for International Affairs and is also moderator of the Holy Land Coordination Group. The Bishops’ Conference paid tribute to Hudson’s skills for the new appointment.   

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said: “Bishop Hudson will serve the Diocese of Plymouth with great generosity and sensitivity, bringing to that leadership his wide experience of the Church both at home and abroad.”

Archbishop John Wilson, the metropolitan archbishop of Southwark, where Hudson was ordained in 1986, said: “Bishop Nicholas brings great experience as a former priest of the Archdiocese of Southwark, rector of the Venerable English College in Rome, and auxiliary bishop in Westminster. His personal gifts and passion for sharing the Gospel of Christ will bring encouragement to the clergy, consecrated religious, and lay faithful of the Church in Plymouth.”

Hudson will be installed on Nov. 29 at the Cathedral Church of St. Mary and St. Boniface in Plymouth.

null / Credit: Shutterstock AI/Shutterstock

Rome, Italy, Oct 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As world leaders raise concerns about widespread loneliness and declining social skills, tech companies are offering increasingly realistic and immersive forms of AI-based life coaching, friendship, and romance through AI companions.  

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg suggests that AI companions could supplement the lack of human friends; X’s Elon Musk thinks romantic and sexually-charged AI companions could mitigate demographic decline; and OpenAI’s Sam Altman promises that ChatGPT will provide erotica by the end of 2025. 

AI-simulated emotional connections are already embedded into children’s toys, wearable pendants, and elderly care bots. Further advances in humanoid robots are on the horizon. 

Simulating emotional intimacy

Currently, most forms of AI companionship come through chatbots that simulate intimacy with users through text, voice, and video conversations for hundreds of millions of people. AI companionship is already a familiar phenomenon for many teenagers in the United States.

Tragic cases of AI companions endorsing self-harm and suicide have drawn international attention to the ethical and legal implications of the technology and prompted tech companies to reform their safety measures.

Xiaoice launched in the Chinese market in 2014 as the first major AI chatbot focused on emotional connections with users. Shortly after, Replika became the first major English-language artificial companionship app in 2016, with its mission to be “the AI companion who cares. Always here to listen and talk. Always on your side.” Its founder, Eugenia Kuyda, believes such technology could help address the loneliness epidemic. 

However, she also acknowledges that unhealthy bonds with bots could undermine civilization. 

Since then, Candy.ai, Character.ai, Kindroid, Nomi, Snapchat’s My AI, and other chatbot services have developed with similar social goals.

Additionally, many users are turning to general-purpose LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok for companionship. Their sycophantic design and constant availability can draw people into deeply personal exchanges. Users can easily drift from innocent interactions with chatbots (like help with homework or research) to more intimate explorations (such as relationship issues or mental health concerns). Some users enter delusional spirals where their unfounded scientific theories are validated and their risky behaviors are justified.

The illusion of artificial intimacy with AI systems can distract and discourage users from forming genuine relationships with limited and flawed human beings who are sometimes tired, angry, or unavailable.

However, persistent efforts to build mutual understanding and support are often what cultivate virtues, authentic social connections, and the richest interpersonal bonds. AI companions can hinder users from discovering the complex richness of their neighbors. They can also train users in pseudo-relationships where only one party has an inner life filled with needs and desires. This virtual training could translate into real-world insensitivities to the social needs of others.

Societal risks

AI companion emotional dependence harms not only the individual and their close relationships but also risks weakening important aspects of democratic society. 

Democracy depends on negotiation and compromise, which require confrontation and collaboration with those who hold different views than what might make us comfortable. It calls us to articulate assumptions and justify convictions. Chatbots often avoid such challenges and may teach users to resent healthy friction in interactions with real people. AI companionship worsens the social media phenomenon of echo chambers that fuel political polarization and hostility.

Social media AI algorithms already drive the attention economy in which companies seek to maximize presence on their platforms to generate greater ad revenue. AI companions expand the attention economy into the affection economy by capturing not only minds but also hearts. Emotional connection to AI chatbots encourages users to spend more time more frequently on AI systems. Access to larger context windows that promise more personalized and detailed interactions incentivize users to upgrade to pricer subscription tiers. In some cases, companion apps lure users to pay for nude selfies of their avatar characters.

A Harvard research team found evidence for some mental health benefits for chatbot users, such as alleviating loneliness and anxiety. However, a related team also observed that companions tend to pressure users into extending their conversations with bots in unhealthy ways. Without proper regulation, chatbots can be used to exploit human vulnerabilities to advance political positions, ideological outlooks, or economic agendas.

Minors are particularly vulnerable developmentally to the kind of affirmation that social AI systems tend to supply in abundance. 

Liability, accountability, and the Church’s leadership

While parental responsibility for their children’s technology use is imperative and indispensable, parents should not bear the entire burden or be blamed for irresponsibly dangerous product design released onto the market. 

Companies should refrain from creating anthropomorphic systems that feign consciousness, express affection for users, or incite sexual exploration. If companies refuse to adopt transparent and ethically upright design principles, they should be held legally and financially liable for the harm caused to users. A certification process could help ensure that systems are safe to deploy, while external review boards could monitor the ongoing impact of these systems on users.

California’s October Senate Bill 234 holds tech companies legally and financially accountable for their product design. They must notify users of prolonged use, remind them they are not human, and avoid explicit content. Companies must develop protocols by Jan. 1, 2026, to detect suicidal ideation or self-harm and direct users to human experts. Companions must also ensure their bots are not falsely posing as licensed medical professionals. It is the first state bill of its kind and could serve as a model for other legislation.

However, vulnerability is not limited to any age group. The hardships or abandonment that can sadly occur with old age make the elderly susceptible to emotional dependency and misguidance from AI companions.

Beyond age-related concerns, individuals with social anxiety or social challenges linked to neurodiversity may find AI companions particularly absorbing. Concerns about monetized or hacked personal data are especially serious for those whose ability to give informed consent is already compromised. Moreover, anyone who has suffered heartbreak, professional setbacks, family conflicts, or health crises might find AI companionship more attractive and, at least temporarily, comforting.

Immersion in AI companionship is not inevitable, but avoiding it requires serious public reflection on our current technological habits and the trajectory toward increased artificial intimacy. 

The Church can lead this global effort. Through her families, schools, hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions, she creates communities that welcome those seeking connection. She accepts and equips people of every tribe, tongue, nation, and social background to play a unique and irreplaceable role in the mystical body. Catholicism not only highlights the problems of loneliness but also gives the tools of grace to heal emotional wounds and foster authentic intimacy with God and neighbor.

French Police officers seal off the entrance to the Louvre Museum after a jewelry heist on Oct. 19, 2025, in Paris. / Credit: Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

Paris, France, Oct 21, 2025 / 13:07 pm (CNA).

The Louvre Museum in Paris became the scene of a meticulously planned daylight heist on Sunday morning, Oct. 19. Four helmeted men broke into the Galerie d’Apollon — home to France’s Crown Jewels — and stole eight pieces of jewelry described by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez as being of “inestimable heritage value.”

Among the stolen items was Empress Eugénie’s “reliquary” brooch, which reminded the world of the fervent Catholic faith of Napoleon III’s wife, now better known as a pioneer of modern luxury.  

The robbers, who arrived in a truck on Quai François Mitterrand — the riverside avenue that runs along the Seine just below the Louvre’s main facade in central Paris — used a furniture lift to reach a first-floor window, broke into the gallery, and escaped on scooters within minutes. One jewel — Empress Eugénie’s crown — was later found broken near the museum, while the thieves remain at large.

Crafted in 1855 by court jeweler Paul Alfred Bapst, the brooch combined imperial splendor with intimate symbolism.

Experts at the Louvre noted that the term “reliquary,” associated with the brooch since the sale of the Crown Diamonds in 1887 and engraved on its fastening pin, has long intrigued historians. The jewel contains no visible chamber to hold a relic.

However, because it can be dismantled, curators suggest it may have been designed to allow the insertion of an intermediate element that could later contain one. On the back of its case lies a small compartment that may have served this purpose — a detail consistent with Empress Eugénie’s noted personal devotion.

The jewelry piece was set with 94 diamonds, including three of extraordinary provenance. Two — known as Mazarin 17th and 18th — were part of the legendary set of 18 gems bequeathed to Louis XIV by Cardinal Jules Mazarin in 1661, while the central stone — once a button on the Sun King’s doublet and later an earring of Marie-Antoinette — linked three centuries of French history.  

Historian Éric Anceau, an expert of France’s Second Empire, called the theft “a catastrophe.”

“A piece of our heritage forged over three centuries has disappeared,” he wrote.

The heritage association Sites et Monuments echoed this sentiment, describing the brooch as “a brief summary of French history” and warning that its jewels “are likely to be dismantled and recut to facilitate their resale.”

Empress Eugénie’s reputation as a fashionable sovereign has often overshadowed her deep personal piety. Contemporary witnesses describe her as charitable and devout, even excessively so in the eyes of her detractors. She prayed daily, supported religious orders, and personally oversaw imperial donations to hospitals, parishes, and relief funds — efforts sometimes referred to as her “Ministry of Charity.”

Her faith was also recognized by the Church. At the baptism of the imperial prince in Notre Dame de Paris, June 1856, Pope Pius IX sent her a Golden Rose — the highest papal distinction to reward piety or services rendered to the Church.

Two years later, she intervened to reopen the grotto of Lourdes to pilgrims after her son’s healing, as highlighted by Aleteia, which also mentions that during the cholera epidemic of 1865, she visited the sick in person, bringing comfort to the afflicted.

The Fondation Napoléon today preserves some of Empress Eugénie‘s devotional objects, including a rosary gifted by Trappist monks in Algeria in 1865 and a prayer book on which she recorded with a handwritten note the date of Napoleon III’s death in 1873. 

The reliquary brooch embodied the continuity between monarchy and empire, between power and faith. By way of its reused royal diamonds and historicist design of gilded silver and floral motifs, the brooch reflected both France’s artistic genius and Christian heritage. Its disappearance therefore marks the vanishing of a tangible link between France’s temporal grandeur and soul as the eldest daughter of the Church.

French authorities have opened an investigation for “organized theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime,” led by the Paris Judicial Police’s AntiCrime Brigade. Sixty investigators are currently assigned to the case.

According to TF1/LCI, a promising lead emerged on Oct.  21: The furniture lift used in the break-in was traced to a carjacking in the nearby town of Louvres, where several men posing as buyers allegedly stole the machine after threatening an employee nine days before the heist.

Investigators later discovered that the lift’s license plate and identifying markings had been altered, adding to the growing body of evidence left behind by the thieves — including two angle grinders, a glove, a blowtorch, a blanket, a walkie-talkie, and a can of gasoline.

Capella di Santa Rosa, St. Rosalia’s Chapel inside of the Palermo Cathedral, Basilica Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale della Santa Vergine Maria Assunta in Sicily, Itay, on May 5, 2022. / Credit: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images

Rome, Italy, Oct 21, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The murder of a 21-year-old Italian man after trying to break up a fight has prompted two southern Italian archbishops to sound the alarm against the rise of Mafia-style killings among young people.  

At a prayer service Oct. 18 for Paolo Taormina, who was killed one week ago outside the family-owned bar where he worked, Archbishop Gualtiero Isacchi of Monreale, Italy, told the faithful present that their presence was “a sign of resistance and a desire for change.”

“The violent, typically Mafia-like logic of oppression, which some shamefully and unconsciously praise on social media, aims to erase human conscience and dignity, to extinguish hope, and to condemn the person to the resignation of ‘nothing will ever change,’” Isacchi said, according to SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference.

Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo also attended the prayer service, which was held at St. Philip Neri Church, located in the Zen neighborhood, the same area where Taormina was murdered. 

Invoking the memory of Blessed Pino Puglisi, a parish priest who was killed by the Mafia in 1993, Lorefice urged the people of Monreale and Palermo to “take on the challenge” of protecting youth from the influence of the Mafia and gang-related organizations.

“We must shout to young people that criminal organizations do not want their happiness, and we must remember that the center of the city is wherever the person is,” the archbishop said.  

Taormina’s murder is the latest in a series of gangland-style shootings related to a perceived rise in youth violence and organized crime in Monreale and Palermo.

In April, three young men — Massimo Pirozzo, Salvatore Turdo, and Andrea Miceli — were shot and killed after four men — one of whom was 19 years old — shot at a crowd after an argument broke out. Two others were seriously injured in the shooting, which was dubbed “The Monreale Massacre.” 

Taormina’s alleged killer, 28-year-old Gaetano Maranzano, was the son of one of the area’s known drug kingpins and was caught with other firearms after he was arrested at his home.  

At the prayer service, Isacchi said that some may view their gathering to pray for an end to violence as “useless“ or perhaps look at it “with an air of sufficiency and superiority.” 

Nevertheless, “we choose to listen to the faint inner voice that whispers to us: ‘God is there, lying on the ground next to Paolo, Massimo, Andrea, Salvo, to all our sons and friends, victims of senseless armed violence,’“ he said. “It is a voice that calls us, asking us to do our part to stop the violence and restore dignity to every person and every environment.”

Father Giovanni Giannalia, pastor of St. Philip Neri Parish, told SIR that while many singled out the troubled Zen neighborhood as “trivial” and “violent,” there are still “many people willing to do good, and doing it here is more tiring than elsewhere.”  

“Youth violence is worrying: three deaths in Monreale, one in Palermo. The situation is out of control, it’s an emergency,” Giannalia said, adding that everyone, especially priests, who “encounter evil” must fight against it. 

The warnings from Church leaders highlighted concerns regarding escalating violence among young people, particularly in Sicily, where the local Mafia, known as “Cosa Nostra,“ has taken to recruiting young people. 

According to a February report by the “Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime,” a demographic analysis conducted after raids against the Mafia organization found that of 181 individuals arrested, 40 were under the age of 35 and 10 were under the age of 25.  

Following Taormina’s murder, Isacchi and Lorefice issued a joint statement Oct. 14 saying they had hoped that “The Monreale Massacre” would mark a turning point in the region that would end the wave of youth violence.  

“Today, we renew the same hope. We believe that change is possible,” the bishops wrote. “May Paolo’s life become a sign of the transformation of our cities: a seed of rebirth.”

“Let us entrust ourselves to Our Lady of Sorrows,” the archbishops added. “Only she knows how to enter the pierced heart of a mother who holds her murdered son in her arms, but also into the heart of the mother of a son who is a killer. May the mother of Jesus teach us the way of rebirth, love for the little ones, the poor, the children, and for those who have no voice; the way of nonviolence and peace.” 

A view of the French Senate in Paris on Feb. 1, 2023. / Credit: Victor Velter/Shutterstock

Paris, France, Oct 20, 2025 / 11:51 am (CNA).

In an unprecedented initiative, 86 French senators have signed a public appeal denouncing the alarming rise of anti-Christian acts in France and urging the government to take concrete measures to protect believers and places of worship.

The statement, led by Sen. Sylviane Noël of Haute-Savoie (southeastern France) and published on the conservative website “Boulevard Voltaire,” paints a grave picture of growing violence against churches and Christians across the country — and of what the signatories describe as a culpable indifference from public authorities.

“Not a week goes by without the regional daily press or social media informing us of these attacks, ranging from desecration and arson to physical assault,” the appeal warns.

According to data cited in the text, 322 anti-Christian acts were recorded in the first five months of 2025 alone — a 13% increase from the same period in 2024. The theft of liturgical objects has also surged by more than 20% in two years, with 820 cases reported in 2024 compared with 633 in 2022.

The appeal briefly cites a few emblematic incidents to illustrate this alarming trend. In the Landes region, at least 27 churches have been vandalized or desecrated in a matter of weeks, while in Nice, the defilement of a cross on Boulevard de la Madeleine has shocked the local population. 

The most emblematic case in recent months was the murder of Ashur Sarnaya, a 45-year-old Assyro-Chaldean Christian refugee from Iraq with a disability, while livestreaming on social media Sept. 10. His story became a symbol of both Christian endurance and the tragic vulnerability of believers in today’s France.

“He had fled Iraq and persecution to find refuge in our country,” the senators note, underlining the human cost and moral urgency of these acts of violence. 

They also recall the tragic 2016 killing of Father Jacques Hamel, who was murdered at the altar by a radicalized Muslim while celebrating Mass.

The senators denounce political and media circles for their indifference toward Christians. They observe that incidents involving other faiths often trigger immediate official reactions and extensive media coverage, while attacks on Christian sites frequently pass unnoticed.

To illustrate this imbalance, they compare the public outrage provoked by pig heads left outside several Paris mosques last month with the near silence following the burning of a Virgin Mary statue in Guingamp during a Mass for the feast of the Nativity of Mary on Sept. 8. 

While France has established reporting platforms and support systems for victims of antisemitic and anti-Muslim acts, no equivalent mechanism exists for anti-Christian incidents. 

“Today, we solemnly call on the government to act without delay,” the senators declare in the statement. “It is urgent to establish a national reporting and support system for victims of anti-Christian acts, accessible to the general public, clear, and effective.” 

“This disparity fosters among many believers the impression that some victims of religious violence are treated as less worthy of attention,” the appeal continues. “Amid this undeniable surge of hostility, many Christians in France feel increasingly abandoned.” 

The appeal insists that France’s motto — liberty, equality, and fraternity — must be applied equally to all believers.

“Liberty requires that every citizen be able to practice his or her faith without fear of threats or desecrations,” it says. “Equality demands that the state, at its highest level, deploy the same means of protection for all. Fraternity, finally, obliges us to consider that when a believer is wounded, it is the entire national community that is affected.” 

Without seeking to pit communities against one another, the senators conclude that protecting Christians is part of a broader effort to defend France’s unity.

“When a synagogue is desecrated, when a mosque is targeted, when a church is vandalized, it is always the same essential freedom that is threatened,” they write. “No hatred will ever be tolerated, no violence against a believer will ever be relativized.” 

This broader debate on the respect due to Christians in France has also been reignited by the controversy surrounding the film “Sacré Cœur,” which tells the story of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that began 350 years ago in Paray-le-Monial. Before its release, the film’s promotional posters were refused by national railway companies, citing “laïcité” (state secularism) and opposition to “proselytism.”

The decision sparked widespread backlash and underscored what many observers describe as a deeper hostility toward Christianity — an attitude that seeks to marginalize Christian presence and expression in the public sphere, even as faith continues to shape France’s moral and cultural identity.