Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge leads the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Diocese of Arlington

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, said the country can simultaneously protect its borders and treat immigrants with respect.

In a Nov. 14 interview with “EWTN News Nightly,” Burbidge said the U.S. bishops’ special message on immigration in the United States is a call for respect of the human dignity that belongs to every person as a child of God.

The bishops voted to approve the statement on Nov. 12 at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore. The message said bishops oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” It is rooted in Jesus’ teachings, Burbidge said.

The bishops have called for a meaningful immigration law “that will provide safe pathways” to citizenship, Burbidge said. “There’s not an easy solution, but there has to be a solution.”

“The bishops understand that a country, of course, has a right to protect its borders for the sake of the common good, but at all times must treat persons with respect,” Burbidge said. He also said the country must do everything possible so people don’t live in distress.

‘Fear and anxiety’

Pastors in the bishops’ dioceses have said the execution of immigration laws is “causing a lot of fear and anxiety,” Burbidge said. The bishops are continuing to minister to immigrants who are “contributing to the good of the Church” and “the good of our communities,” he said.

“We’re representing those who seek no harm to our country, who only want to do good, and we want them to be treated with the respect that is necessary,” Burbidge said. “Again, we also say this does not have to be in conflict with a country protecting itself.” 

“We express gratitude to our elected officials for the dialogue that we have had in the past and hopefully that we will continue to have. We love our country. We love the immigrants who have contributed to our country, and we would like our country to be freed from this violence, from rhetoric, from fear,” Burbidge said. 

“There has to be a way that we can live together in harmony, and we want to work together,” Burbidge said.

St. John Paul II. / Credit: Adrian Tusar/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A new Vatican-set thriller based on a true story is currently in the works, according to Variety.

“Santo Subito!” will follow Father Joseph Murolo, an American priest asked by the Vatican to serve as the “devil’s advocate” in the investigation of Pope John Paul II’s life and his path to sainthood.

The film will take place after the pontiff’s death and follows Murolo, who “must make sure that nothing undermines the sanctification of Karol Wojtyla, the first non-Italian pope in 450 years,” the synopsis reads, as he interviews candidates and witnesses. The description goes on to say that the priest will navigate a “moral labyrinth” that will “put his own faith to the test.”

Murolo will be played by actor Mark Ruffalo, known for his role as Bruce Banner, or the Hulk, in “The Avengers” movies.

Filming is expected to begin on March 9, 2026, on location in Italy and Poland.

“The film offers a genuine behind-the-scenes investigation of the Vatican world, while also taking us into the deeper realm of faith and values,” a co-producer of the film, Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, said. “The script itself is a page-turner, and I can’t imagine any audience remaining indifferent to Father Murolo’s journey.” 

In the canonization process of the Catholic Church, the “advocatus diaboli,” or the devil’s advocate, was established to ensure rigorous scrutiny of a candidate’s life, virtues, and reported miracles. The role’s purpose was to consider all possible doubts and inconsistencies, and to present evidence that might challenge claims of holiness, so that only those truly worthy would be declared saints.

However, in 1983, Pope John Paul II reformed the process through the apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister, changing the role of the devil’s advocate, also known as the “promoter of faith.” The emphasis shifted from an adversarial model to one more focused on collecting and verifying evidence, with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints overseeing the process.

null / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

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

Nearly 70 Planned Parenthood centers have closed nationwide in 2025

Nearly 70 Planned Parenthood centers have closed this year due to Medicaid and Title X funding cuts, according to a recent Planned Parenthood report.  

Planned Parenthood has closed 20 facilities since federal defunding earlier this year following a round of nearly 50 other closures. 

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act prevented federal taxpayer dollars from being used to subsidize abortion providers for one year, meaning abortion providers don’t currently qualify for federal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Rather than giving up abortion offerings, abortion providers like Planned Parenthood are closing clinics across the country. 

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the defunding “cruel.” 

“They are intentionally dismantling health care for patients most in need and pushing Planned Parenthood health centers further to the financial brink,” Johnson said in a Nov. 12 statement.

Community health centers, meanwhile, vastly outnumbered Planned Parenthood locations in the U.S., according to a report by the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute.

There are “more than 8,800 community health centers that provide comprehensive care to vulnerable populations and offer women’s health services, in comparison to just 579 Planned Parenthood centers as of spring 2025,” a Charlotte Lozier Institute report reads.

Group to fund ultrasound machines in states where abortion is legal 

A leading Christian group is launching a program to place ultrasound machines in states where abortion is legal.

The Across State Lines program, launched by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), is meant to be “lifesaving” and “missional,” according to organizers.  

Across State Lines will work with Baptist state conventions to place the machines. 

Gary Hollingsworth, ERLC interim president, said Southern Baptists “stand firmly on the truth that God has created all people, from the moment of conception, in his image and endowed them with the right to life.”  

He said he hopes the ultrasounds will help mothers “see this truth.”

The Psalm 139 Project will fund the cost of ultrasound machines and training. 

Rachel Wiles, who directs the Psalm 139 Project, said the project is about “serving vulnerable women” with a “missional” attitude. 

“Southern Baptists are strongly pro-life and are missional people — whether ministering to others across an ocean or across the street,” Wiles said. 

“In the same way, we are asking those who live in more conservative states with pro-life laws to consider reaching across state lines with a missional mindset, ultimately saving preborn lives and supporting mothers who face unplanned pregnancies,” Wiles said.

Pro-life group to invest $80 million in midterms 

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA) is investing $80 million in the 2026 midterm elections to preserve a pro-life majority in the U.S. House and Senate in battleground states.

SBA, along with Women Speak Out PAC, plans to reach 10.5 million voters through canvassing, advertising, mail, and early vote campaigns, prioritizing pro-life voters who do not vote consistently in midterm elections.

According to an SBA press release, campaigners will make 4.5 million home visits to voters in battleground states such as Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina. 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA, said pro-life voters “are the heart and soul of the Republican Party,” referring to a CNN poll that found that President Donald Trump would not have won the election if 1% to 2% of pro-life voters had stayed home.

“The party that once claimed the position of ‘safe, legal, and rare’ is now the party of abortion anytime, anywhere, paid for by the taxpayer,” Dannenfelser said in a statement. 

Ernest Board (1877-1934), “Albertus Magnus Teaches in the Streets of Paris.” / Credit: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0

National Catholic Register, Nov 15, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Albert the Great was considered the “wonder and the miracle of his age” by his contemporaries. He was an assiduous Dominican whose accomplishments and gifts to the Church are difficult to exaggerate.

Born around 1206 and joining the Order of Preachers in 1223, Albert quickly became a master of almost every academic subject. Notwithstanding the standards of his own time, he became a pioneer of the natural sciences — both empirical and philosophical. His teachings on nature and theology were revolutionary, and he captured the attention of a young and taciturn Dominican — St. Thomas Aquinas.

While surpassing all his contemporaries in intellect and cogency, it was his own student who managed to shine brighter than he. If Albert blazed the path, then it was Aquinas who reached and held the summit. Then, tragically, when the quick flash of Aquinas’ life was over, it was Albert who defended him and held him up as a beacon of light for the whole Church. St. Albert the Great was a teacher, a bishop, and a forerunner to some of the greatest theological gifts the Church has received.

After joining the Dominicans, Albert went to Paris in 1245 and successfully received his doctorate. He then began teaching in Paris and then in Cologne, Germany. It was during his time in Cologne that he noticed a young man named Thomas. The quiet student was nicknamed “Dumb Ox” by his peers, because of his weight and the mistaken notion that his silence was due to an obtuse mind. In time, Albert realized the great acumen of the young man, and Albert took him on as a disciple.

God and nature

What drew Aquinas — and the praise and condemnation of others — to Albert was his exhaustive study of nature and God. Though it was over a millennium since the birth of Christ, the Church still struggled to define nature and its role in creation. In essence, different theological camps disagreed on how to communicate a supposedly autonomous nature — with its own laws and movements — and an omnipotent God.

If it snows, is God making it snow or are there self-moving natural causes for the snow? Though a simplistic example, the relationship between God and nature is a deciding point between theology and science or even faith and reason. Oftentimes, certain groups worried that granting nature independent causes would detract from God’s glory or resurrect pagan ideals.

At the center of many related controversies was the pagan philosopher Aristotle. The writings of Aristotle had come originally to Catholicism through Jewish and Islamic scholars, which detrimentally imported a good deal of erroneous commentary. The errors — which ranged from a misunderstanding of Aristotle to thinking Aristotle was infallible — colored the Catholic mind against the Greek philosopher on many counts. 

Albert’s indefatigable spirit strove to show that Aristotle’s account of nature could import a great service to the Church and her theology. Though he wrote an entire chapter titled “The Errors of Aristotle,” Albert showed that the principles articulated in Aristotle’s natural philosophy could be harmoniously placed within the cosmos described by Scripture.

The Church and science

The first major gift Catholicism has inherited from the riches of St. Albert’s pursuit is the idea that the Church and science are not at war with one another. Though nature moves by its own laws, the Author of those laws is the same Author of holy Scripture — this stance is a great affirmation of the belief in a harmony between faith and reason. 

The philosophical foundations for the Church discussing issues like evolution, the age of the earth, psychology, the origins of the universe, etc., all point back to the early erudition of St. Albert the Great. The concept of nature having its own causes, and that those causes could be studied via experiments, was so revolutionary that many could not decipher between scientific experiments and magic; thus, St. Albert was once accused of being a magician.

Scholasticism

The second achievement of St. Albert was Scholasticism and his pupil St. Thomas Aquinas. The Scholastic approach was unique in the sense that it centered itself on a true belief in the harmony of faith and reason, and in a well-ordered cosmos with one Divine Author. It was precisely this holistic gathering of all the sciences under one divine science that earned the scholastic St. Albert the title of “universal doctor.”

It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance Scholasticism still holds within Holy Mother Church. Pope Leo XIII declared that “it is the proper and singular gift of Scholastic theologians to bind together human knowledge and divine knowledge in the very closest bonds.” 

Pope Sixtus V confirmed that Scholasticism “has an apt coherence of facts and causes, connected with one another; an order and arrangement, like soldiers drawn up in battle array … by these the light is divided from darkness, and truth from falsehood. The lies of heretics, wrapped up in many wiles and fallacies, being stripped of their coverings, are bared and laid open.”

And while St. Albert must be remembered in his own right, we must acknowledge the magnificence of his student — St. Thomas Aquinas. 

After Thomas’ sudden death on the way to the Council of Lyons, St. Albert declared that the “light of the Church” had gone out. Later, the Church bestowed upon St. Thomas the title of “angelic doctor.” 

The Church only continued to esteem the scholar and his scholasticism: The “chief and special glory” was having his “Summa Theologiae” laid upon the altar as a source of inspiration at the Council of Trent. He was then declared the patron of all Catholic schools and universities by Pope Leo XIII.

Behind all the appropriate adulation for St. Thomas, his “Summa” and all it represents is the genius and perseverance of St. Albert.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Nov. 15, 2011, and has been adapted and updated by CNA.

French press reports on the jihadist terror attacks the night of Nov. 13, 2015. / Credit: BalkansCat/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA).

Ten years ago on Nov. 13, armed jihadists stormed the Bataclan concert hall in Paris and elsewhere in the city, murdering over a hundred innocent people.

Suicide bombers also attacked people near France’s national stadium while other jihadists opened fire on restaurants and cafe terraces packed with people, leaving 130 dead and nearly 400 wounded.

On the 10th anniversary of the attack, the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, recalled the shock people experienced on Nov. 13, 2015, “in the face of the most gratuitous, the most blind violence,” and especially “in the face of the intensity of the evil.”

The French prelate delivered a message filled with hope to the Parisians who witnessed that “long night of anguish.”

“Our faith also leads us not to forget how, in the midst of this darkness, brightly shone that night, glimmers of brotherhood, love, mutual aid, and hope,” he said.

Faced with the abyss into which violence “had resolved to plunge us,” Ulrich continued, “these simple and courageous gestures, gestures of compassion and kindness, were the most solid of bulwarks.”

“We Christians believe that God was truly present that night: in the promptness of the medical personnel, in the selflessness of the police, in the spontaneous outpouring of humanity from so many Parisians,” he affirmed.

The archbishop expressed his closeness and tireless prayers for those who died and their loved ones, as well as for those who survived and are still “wounded, scarred, and bruised” to the point that life itself has become “a very heavy burden to bear.”

Many survivors witnessed harrowing scenes whose consequences they still bear. Two of them took their own lives shortly after the attacks.

Ulrich said in his message that the bells of all the churches in Paris would ring that evening “to invite us to unite, all together, in this same prayer” for the city and for the country.

He invited the faithful to participate in Masses and vigils for those affected and encouraged citizens to light a candle and place it in their windows.

“Having died and risen again, Christ walks through the night for us, walks through the night with us. May he grant us to be ever more faithful witnesses of his hope, his love, and his peace to those who suffer around us, brothers and sisters on the journey,” the archbishop concluded.

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

Archbishop Bernard Bober, chair of the Conference of Slovak Bishops. / Credit: Bohumil Petrik/EWTN News

EWTN News, Nov 14, 2025 / 09:18 am (CNA).

Slovakia’s Catholic bishops will lead an unprecedented Day of Repentance on Sunday, asking forgiveness for the Church’s historical failures in a public act of contrition as the country marks the 36th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that ended communist rule.

The Day of Repentance on Nov. 16 will acknowledge failures “in relation to God, each other, and society at large,” the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia (KBS) announced as the Church marks the Jubilee Year of Hope.

“We hope to renew respect, solidarity, and peace in our society, which we so desperately need,” Archbishop Bernard Bober, president of the KBS, said. Other Christian denominations are joining in, which may “bring reconciliation and strengthen unity among Christians,” he added.

“We need to release accumulated frustrations and disappointments — perhaps from politics, previous regimes, or family and regional wounds,” Bishop František Trstenský of Spiš underlined.

The bishop said this form of public apology is not an erasure of memory but a healing gesture that represents “a shift in mindset from I have a right to I want to serve,” which he called “a real revolution.”

The Day of Repentance is “neither a political gesture nor a public appeal, but a spiritual act,” Trstenský explained.

Among the failures of members of the Church, the bishops’ conference included divisions among churches, silence in moments when it was necessary to speak up, and offenses against minorities such as Jews or Roma. Moreover, the episcopate’s mea culpa includes “collaboration with unjust regimes and ideologies, the lack of love and pastoral care for those who have not found acceptance in the Church.”

Some observers warn of rising polarization, a lack of social cohesion, and declining trust in institutions in Slovakia.

Ivan Eľko, general bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, admitted that “more than moralizing others out there, it is needed to carry out a sincere act of repentance, reconciliation, and mutual blessing” within churches and religious communities.

The date of the event is highly symbolic. It is the eve of the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy. On Nov. 17, 1989, mass protests in Czechoslovakia led to the fall of communism — remembered as the Velvet Revolution. While it used to be a public holiday in Slovakia, the current government has reclassified it as a working day.

More than 200 guests have accepted the invitation to the Day of Repentance, including representatives of state institutions, churches, academia, and several prominent figures from the social and cultural spheres, the KBS press office confirmed to CNA.

The week leading up to the event is marked by spiritual preparation with minor days of repentance, culminating on Sunday. The jubilee gathering will take place in a former parliamentary building in Bratislava, the nation’s capital. Public service television and Catholic media outlets will livestream the event.

Representatives of the Roman Curia and the German bishops’ conference meet to discuss the proposed Synodal Conference statute at the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. / Credit: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Kopp

EWTN News, Nov 13, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Representatives of the Roman Curia and the German bishops’ conference met on Wednesday to continue discussions on the proposed statute of a “synodal conference” for the Church in Germany, marking the fourth such dialogue since talks began in 2022.

The meeting, held in Rome on Nov. 12, took place in what a joint press statement described as an “honest, open, and constructive atmosphere,” with both sides discussing various aspects of the planned synodal body’s character, composition, and competencies.

No further details of the encounter were shared. 

The proposed conference concept represents the latest iteration of plans to establish a permanent body in Germany in the wake of the controversial Synodal Way, following repeated interventions by Pope Francis and the Vatican.

The now-proposed German “synodal conference” was previously touted as a permanent synodal council, but both the name and statutes were changed last year following discussions in Rome that led to assurances both sides wanted to “change the name and various aspects of the previous draft” for the body. 

Both sides also announced last year that the synodal council would not be “above or equal to the bishops’ conference.”

The meeting on Wednesday continued the series of encounters that previously took place in July 2023, March 2024, and June 2024.

Bavarian bishop as ‘guest’

Vatican representatives on Wednesday included Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state; Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; and Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

The German delegation was led by Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German bishops’ conference, along with Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen, Auxiliary Bishop Ansgar Puff of Cologne, and Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau, who participated as a guest. 

Oster’s presence as “guest” is particularly noteworthy, as the Bavarian prelate has been an outspoken critic of the German Synodal Way and has distanced himself from the controversial plans.

St. Nicholas Church in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. / Credit: Kirill Neiezhmakov/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 12, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

The Czech Republic, known for its historical heritage, fairytale castles, and medieval architecture, is considered the most atheist country in Europe.

Evangelization in this land — which still bears the scars of a past marked by communism and division — is a constant challenge but not an impossible goal. Czech missionaries say they perceive “miraculous touches of God’s presence” in a society increasingly thirsting for love and truth. 

Approximately 80% of the Czech Republic’s more than 10.5 million inhabitants claim to have no religious affiliation. Although about a third of the population say they believe in God — in many cases without being linked to a specific denomination — only 9.4% identify as Catholic.

Nearly a quarter of Czechs declare themselves atheist, according to the 2017 Pew Survey on European Values, making the country one of the most secularized on the continent. Comparing census results since 1991 reveals a clear decline in church membership and an increase in personal belief in God without institutional affiliation.

‘Miraculous touches of God’s presence’

Brother Šimon Růžička, OFM, who is in charge of the Franciscan urban missions in the country, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that the missionaries experience “miraculous touches of God’s presence,” reflected in a “deep thirst for love and, therefore, for God.”

“We also perceive how God touches people’s hearts, sometimes even long before they meet one of our missionaries,” he added.

For Father Daniel Vícha, vicar for pastoral care of the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava, evangelizing those who “know nothing about the faith” is not “so difficult” since, he noted, matters of faith “are usually a surprise” to them.

“The majority of the population declares themselves atheist, but at the same time, 70% say they believe in ‘something,’ and that is precisely where we must begin,” he said.

The priest told ACI Prensa that he encounters greater difficulties evangelizing those who have some notion of Christianity, for example, “because of history classes or reports about abuse” and that they “are usually more unreceptive.” 

Růžička agreed with this statement and emphasized that it is more difficult “to be a prophet in your own home” and in the daily mission, in parishes, and among friends or family.

Atheism, a consequence of deep historical roots

The low number of Catholics in the country is due to several reasons. At the beginning of the 15th century, Protestant reformer Jan Hus — and the subsequent repression of his followers, the Hussites, by the Austro-Hungarian Empire — the Catholic Church has been associated in the collective memory with foreign power and imposition. 

Furthermore, the aftermath of 40 years of communist persecution following World War II left “deep wounds in the local Church” that have not yet fully healed, according to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

After the fall of communism, there was a brief religious resurgence, though more as a political reaction than a genuine conversion. Since then, religious affiliation has continued to decline, and faith in the Czech Republic today is characterized by individual spirituality without strong institutional ties.

Vícha explained that communism has played a significant role but “simply completed something” that was already deeply ingrained in Czech society. 

“Four centuries of the nation being part of the Catholic Austrian monarchy fostered a negative predisposition toward faith,” he said.

Because of its strong sense of national identity, the priest explained, the Czech nation distanced itself from Catholicism, which was represented by the Austrian government.

“With such a varied history, it’s not surprising that Catholics make up less than 10% of the population. However, I see it as a miracle that the Church of Christ is a truly living organism, independent of worldly powers and human errors and failures, often including our own,” Růžička added.

The faith of the Czech people

Vicha emphasized that Czechs “are skeptical by nature” and that “before accepting something as their own, they need to reflect for themselves.” 

This, according to the priest, is due to their location in central Europe, where “various schools of thought have alternated and the nation has had to think for itself about what is truly right. If a Czech person accepts a faith, it very often needs to be rationally justified,” he said.

The vicar for pastoral care underscored that believers “are no longer burdened by fear, as was the case during the communist era. If their faith is authentic, they are not ashamed of it and can talk about it with their peers.” 

Conversely, if it is merely “a dead tradition” — as often happens in more religious areas — they prefer to abandon their faith “because it offers them nothing. They are very sensitive to any form of clericalism, superiority, or dogmatism,” Vícha said.

Růžička pointed out that young people receive the faith from their elders “with openness and new creativity,” and although they are sometimes “immersed in a sea of ​​confusion and uncertainty,” he assured that “they are not satisfied with mere words, but seek and yearn for a true relationship with God.”

Challenges in the face of atheism

Vícha noted that although the Catholic Church is a minority in the country, it represents the strongest community in the religious sphere. “Due to historical experience, people do not seek faith within Christianity. For this reason, it is necessary for the Church to strive, above all, to be credible.”

For his part, Růžička identified the Church’s image in the world, which sometimes shows “a divided Church, worn down by material concerns,” as one of the main challenges.

Consequently, he said that a “living and spiritual Church” is necessary, one that loves the sinner but does not tolerate sin. A Church that does not judge but encourages and shows the way through its life and works. “That Church exists in our country, and I eagerly hope that it will grow and bear fruit.”

Increase in baptisms

Some 300,000 people regularly attend Sunday Mass, which is equivalent to a third of those who identify as Catholic. Last year, nearly 15,000 baptisms were administered (more than 12% of births), and adult baptisms reached 7%, the highest percentage since 1993.

Vícha confirmed that the Church is witnessing “an increase in the number of adults requesting baptism. But more and more believers are also dying due to old age. Therefore, the total number continues to decline, even though the number of catechumens is growing.”

Růžička noted with hope that in recent years “the number of people for whom this world without God has lost its meaning and who yearn for God has indeed increased. It depends on us if we know how to respond to that desire.” 

For this reason, he “sincerely believes that in the future it will not be a matter of quantity but of quality.”

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

null / Credit: LookerStudio/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Ana Lazcano, director of the University Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Francisco de Vitoria University in Spain, warned that AI is not an all-powerful deity and it is necessary to “lay the foundations of critical thinking” about the technology.

In a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Lazcano explained that the recently created institute she directs seeks to provide a unified vision of AI: “It is a discipline that has arrived like a tsunami, an interdisciplinary science that is sweeping us all away in every area, and we need a unified approach; we need to build strength together.”

For Lazcano, who also directs the university’s master’s programs in business analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and generative AI for business, this unified vision is “very necessary, because many ethical questions are also involved. How are we using AI? What is the objective? To replace us, to complement us? The more aligned the vision is with the university’s mission, the greater the benefit we will be able to obtain.”

The new University Institute of Artificial Intelligence is integrated into the university both organizationally and through the multidisciplinary nature of its collaborators: philosophers, anthropologists, educators, engineers, psychologists, and others.

“There are representatives from all faculties and departments of the university, allowing each to have their perspective from their field, share it, and find those common points,” Lazcano explained.

The proposed approach to AI from a specifically Catholic perspective, she affirmed, is the one of Pope Leo XIV: “Not to be afraid of it, to understand it, to approach it with great caution.”

This caution refers to the fact that “we cannot attribute qualities and properties to it that it does not possess: Artificial intelligence is not all-powerful. If we put this technology in its proper place — and what we are doing is prioritizing human knowledge, human wisdom, and above all, what makes us different from it — that is when we can make the most of it.”

“The moment we treat artificial intelligence as a deity, we are mistaken; it is far from that, it is a complement,” she emphasized.

Contribution to the common good

The new institute aims to base its activities on four pillars: training, research, technology transfer and application, and dissemination in order to contribute to the common good.

Lazcano shared that the institute hopes to provide society with “well-trained and prepared students,” not only in technical aspects, but above all, “for the ethical challenges posed by” AI as well as the knowledge generated through research and its practical application.

Regarding dissemination, Lazcano pointed out that “it is necessary to lay the foundations for critical thinking. There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, and unfortunately, because there are a lot of voices, there is a lot of noise. We want what we generate to truly contribute; to be quality content that is useful to people.”

Impact on the university world

Artificial intelligence has also impacted the university sphere, Lazcano said, posing a significant challenge to “how we teach, learn, and assess.” 

She said the university should provide technology training and services to professors, students, and researchers because “when you know the tools at your disposal, you are able to apply them more effectively.”

However, “there is resistance to change,” she acknowledged, so the school hopes to implement “a technological support model in which we explain that this is a small but significant revolution; that we have to ride the wave and, above all, take advantage of its capabilities, rather than fearing it or having a negative view.”

One of the biggest challenges is that AI “is opening a spectacular technological gap between teachers and students” in which students are more advanced. “Written work no longer makes much sense. I can no longer tell if a student has done a piece of work or not,” pointed out the expert, who, nevertheless, has a hopeful outlook on the matter.

“I like to think that this is bringing us back to an original concept of university, to debate, to conversation; to putting the student at the center and supporting him in that learning process,” she said. “It’s going to completely change the rules of education, but I think for the better. Once we’ve stabilized a bit, we’ll be able to return to those fundamental subjects and make critical thinking fashionable again, rather than artificial intelligence.”

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

Cardinal Gerhard Müller. / Credit: La Sacristía de la Vendée

Madrid, Spain, Nov 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, called for overcoming ideological divisions within the Catholic Church in a Spanish-language interview on the “Sacristy of the Vendé” YouTube channel in which he reflects on the “instrumentalization” of abuse cases.

Held last July, the interview was released this week after the coordinator of the priests’ YouTube discussion group, Father Francisco José Delgado, was acquitted of charges of “inciting hatred” against the Holy See, interfering in the Vatican’s investigation into the Sodality of Christian Life, and damaging the “good reputation” of layman José Enrique Escardó, one of the main proponents of the case against that apostolate.

Müller stated that, since its inception, the Catholic Church has experienced divisions “because of these false doctrines, heresies, or pagan ideologies” and thus proposed that “everyone has to be aware that one is following Jesus Christ and not ideologies.”

For the cardinal, within the Catholic Church it is not possible to define oneself as conservative, traditionalist, or progressive: “We must overcome these divisions that stem from the French Revolution, from the Jacobins. In the Parliament of that time, these right-wing and left-wing groups existed, but these are political and ideological concepts, not Christian ones.”

“We form one unity in Jesus Christ, one Christ, the head of the Church, and we are members of one body, one Lord, one God, one baptism, and one Eucharist. The sacraments are valid for everyone, and we are united in love, faith, and hope. This is the definition of the Church, not of an ideology or an NGO [nongovernmental organization].”

The exploitation of abuse cases

The prelate also addressed the issue of canonical processes stemming from accusations of sexual abuse and their exploitation both within and outside the Church. After acknowledging that victims “have every right to demand justice,” he stated that “justice cannot be demanded or achieved at the expense of the innocent.” To convict a person, he argued, “we need the certainty that he is guilty and also had a proper trial.”

“Alongside these real cases, we also have quite a few false accusations,” especially against deceased priests, noting that “some enemies of the Church exploit scandals, or non-scandals, when it comes to innocent people falsely accused, in order to damage the image of the Catholic priest.”

Faced with sweeping investigations into the entire Catholic Church, the cardinal advocated for examining individual cases “not indiscriminately against a group,” since, in his view, “this is also totalitarian thinking.”

In this regard, he added that the crime of abuse “has its cause in the morality or immorality of a person, not in the divine grace” of the sacrament of holy orders, in the case of priests. Otherwise, he pointed out, it would have to be said that “Jesus Christ is responsible for Judas’ betrayal.”

Delgado’s conversation with Müller also turned to the reality of martyrdom in 20th-century Spain and the Valley of the Fallen as a monument of reconciliation that the current Spanish government wants to redefine.

The Valley of the Fallen is a massive complex about 30 miles from Madrid inaugurated in 1959 and dedicated to the memory of those killed on both sides of the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War. Among those buried there are a number of blesseds and servants of God martyred for the faith. During the war, the leftist side martyred thousands of clerics, religious, and laity. Some have been canonized and quite a few have been beatified.

The Valley of the Fallen was intended to be a place of national reconciliation and includes a basilica and monastery. However, as it was built by order of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, whose right-wing Nationalist side won the conflict, the current leftist government led by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party considers it to be in some way a monument to the Franco regime and wants to “resignify” it for other purposes.

For the cardinal, “reconciliation in society, in the Church, in any community is not possible if the events of the past are forgotten,” emphasizing that the martyrs “are the crown, the jewels of the Church.”

“They are martyrs of the Gospel, witnesses to the Resurrection, to the victory of the risen Jesus, and therefore they are the first ones to invite all of us to overcome the ideologies that divide communities and the Church,” he said.

“The state must not decide on the value of the lives of others or the thoughts or beliefs of others. The state must remove itself from the conscience of people. The state is not God in the world,” he added.

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