Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gniezno, president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (left), and Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, embrace after signing the joint declaration “Courage of Extended Hands” at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław, Poland, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, during commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the historic correspondence between the Polish and German Bishops’ Conferences. / Credit: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Rafael Ledschbor

EWTN News, Nov 20, 2025 / 09:10 am (CNA).

In 1965, Polish bishops sent a letter of reconciliation to their German counterparts. “We grant forgiveness and ask for forgiveness,” they wrote on Nov. 18. The German episcopate responded on Dec. 5, 1965, expressing the hope that “the evil spirit of hatred may never again separate our hands.”

It was a significant two-sided gesture of reconciliation after World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, killing many people and establishing concentration camps on Polish soil. Sixty years later, a commemoration took place in Wrocław on Tuesday, Nov. 18, with delegates of both episcopates including their chairs, German Bishop Georg Bätzing and Polish Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda. Polish Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś and German Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki were also present.

They gathered at the monument to Archbishop Bolesław Kominek — later cardinal — who had been behind the idea of the Polish letter and served as archbishop in Wrocław.

This Polish prelate showed how to “bind a prophetic voice with reality.” Neither was he “naive nor a dreamer,” nor “a highly pragmatic Church leader,” Bätzing acknowledged.

On the contrary, he was a Polish patriot who knew the German language and culture, so he “was predestined to be a bridge-builder.” He did the necessary work to achieve his goal, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference stressed.

“The Polish-German reconciliation was found in the person of Cardinal Kominek,” Bätzing underlined.

Current Metropolitan Archbishop of Wrocław Józef Kupny called the letter of the Polish bishops a “visionary step.” At the commemoration, he mentioned that the letter was attacked by communists who ruled in Poland 60 years ago. “Also today this message may arouse opposition, controversy, or misunderstanding,” he added.

Yet we must proceed with similar acts in “our daily choices, decisions, and attitudes” so as to create a “relay passed on by generations based on truth and real forgiveness,” the Polish prelate emphasized.

“True change does not begin with grand treaties, but with our hearts,” he said.

The participants then moved to the cathedral for a Mass. The commemoration was followed by an exhibition — “Reconciliation for Europe” — ecumenical prayer, and an international conference the day after.

The bishops’ representatives signed a declaration titled “Courage of Extended Hands.” The text affirms that the motto “We Forgive and We Ask for Forgiveness” is not history, as it guides us today and must do so in the future. Germany and Poland are co-responsible for Europe and the world nowadays and recognize the importance of “a European idea, a shared place of rights and peace,” the declaration said.

The churches in Poland and Germany want to “continue to work to break down and overcome enmities in Europe.”

The bishops are convinced that “Europe must stand together against violence,” referring to “the Russian war against Ukraine.” They encourage “countries to do everything to ensure the survival of the Ukrainian people” and to “contribute to the defense of fundamental values.”

“Practical solidarity with those under attack and compassion are needed,” the declaration reads.

Pierre Louvrier (center) speaks during the “Schuman Plan 2.0 — Europe’s Role in a Fragmented World” debate at the European Parliament, Nov. 11, 2025. / Credit: Maria Grazia Ricciardi

EWTN News, Nov 19, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

A Vatican-based foundation has proposed a new peace initiative inspired by Venerable Robert Schuman, one of the European Union’s founding fathers, during a debate at the European Parliament.

The Clementy Schuman Legacy Foundation presented what it calls “Schuman Plan 2.0” — a blueprint for peace through economic cooperation and shared resources — at a Nov. 11 debate hosted by the European People’s Party Group, the largest political group in the European Parliament.

The proposal draws on the French politician and Catholic’s historic declaration of May 9, 1950, which stated: “Europe will be made through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” That declaration laid the foundation for what would, many years later, become the European Union.

German member of the European Parliament Niels Geuking, a member of the European People’s Party and the Family Party, organized the debate. He told CNA that Europe has reached a point where it needs to “re-strengthen its political and social foundations, just as Robert Schuman did after the Second World War.”

Geuking said he expects serious debate on Europe’s strategic realignment “with a focus on cohesion, shared values, and solidarity among the member states,” as well as concrete initiatives that put family, the common good, and responsible economic order back at the center of EU policy.

Pierre Louvrier, chairman of the foundation’s advisory board, presented the proposal to the European Parliament on behalf of the foundation’s board.

“We believe that the same principles that reconciled former enemies in 1945 can reconcile nations today,” Louvrier said. “When people work together to share energy, technology, and natural resources, war becomes redundant. That was Schuman’s genius — and it is the path Europe must rediscover if it wants to lead toward lasting peace.”

According to a white paper provided to CNA, the proposal outlines a broader “partnership for peace, prosperity, and security” between the United States and Europe as well as Russia and Ukraine. The document proposes extending Schuman’s founding model of shared resources to the entire Northern Hemisphere as a way to restore strength through shared prosperity and rebuild trust after years of geopolitical division.

The proposal states that sharing resources will broaden common responsibility for peace across the Northern Hemisphere. Each nation would retain its sovereignty, following the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, so that cooperation strengthens local freedom and cultural identity.

The foundation has operated from the Vatican, hosting high-level roundtables and dialogues — including one on Oct. 18 that participants said included high-level EU, U.S., Swiss, Russian, and Ukrainian nationals.

The foundation’s leadership includes Monsignor Bernard Ardura, postulator of the beatification cause of Venerable Robert Schuman and former president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. His presence underscores the initiative’s roots in Schuman’s Christian-democratic heritage and the Church’s understanding of Europe’s vocation.

The board also includes Henri Malosse, former president of the European Economic and Social Committee.

Speaking to CNA, Malosse said Europe’s deepest crisis today is not economic but moral.

“Today’s Europe first of all lacks humanity,” Malosse said. “Egoism is no longer only a personal attitude — it has become the attitude of nations. When one member suffers, others close their eyes and ears.”

Malosse said it is time for the European Union to embrace renewed solidarity. “We need projects that build social harmony — not social dumping — and real support for families, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The EU has become only about money and the economy. What we need is a union of culture, health, and care. Solidarity must once again become the soul of Europe.”

Louvrier told CNA that the Schuman Plan 2.0 aims to respond to that need.

“The Schuman Plan 2.0 is a practical path for Europe to assume its responsibility for peace, unity, and prosperity across the entire Northern Hemisphere,” he said. “What we are doing is simply carrying forward the legacy of Venerable Robert Schuman — a legacy of moral clarity and political courage.”

Robert Schuman, French foreign minister after World War II, was declared venerable by Pope Francis in June 2021, recognizing his heroic virtue. His 1950 proposal to pool French and German coal and steel production led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the precursor to the European Union.

Blessed Carmelo De Palma. / Credit: Dicastery for the Causes of Saints

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 18, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Father Carmelo De Palma, a priest known as the “hero of the confessional,” was beatified Nov. 15 in Bari, Italy.

Pope Leo XIV recognized the new blessed during the Nov. 16 Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, saying De Palma “was a diocesan priest who died in 1961 after a life generously spent in the ministry of confession and spiritual accompaniment.” 

“May his witness inspire priests to give themselves unreservedly to the service of God’s holy people,” he added.

The beatification Mass in Italy was celebrated by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. In his homily in the Bari cathedral, the prelate emphasized that “spirituality, when authentic, is always combined with charity toward one’s neighbor,” Vatican News reported.

“That our blessed lived out this sacramental fraternity is demonstrated both by the numerous testimonies given by priests during the process for his beatification and canonization, and by the subsequent dedication shown by the diocesan clergy in promoting and supporting this cause,” the cardinal said.

He also noted that many faithful found in De Palma “a spiritual guide to progress in their personal response to that ‘vocation which unites us all as baptized, living members of the one people of God: that is, the vocation to holiness.’”

De Palma, Semeraro added, was “for countless faithful a minister of reconciliation and forgiveness” and “a clear and balanced guide” for those who asked for his help “in discerning God’s will for their own lives.”

Who was Father Carmelo De Palma?

De Palma was a diocesan priest who dedicated his life to the ministry of confessor and spiritual direction of the faithful, priests, seminarians, and especially the Benedictine nuns of St. Scholastica in Bari, Italy.

He was born on Jan. 27, 1876, in Bari. After being orphaned, he entered the seminary in his hometown at the age of 10. He was ordained a priest in Naples in 1898.

On June 17, 1900, he was appointed chaplain of St. Nicholas Basilica in Bari, where he served by celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and encouraging various pastoral initiatives.

Later, the basilica was entrusted to the Dominican Fathers by order of the Holy See, and De Palma was appointed spiritual director of the Benedictine nuns of St. Scholastica in Bari as well as the Oblates of St. Benedict. 

Over the years, his health deteriorated severely due to chronic colitis, arteriosclerosis of the heart, and progressive vision loss. In February 1961, he celebrated Mass publicly for the last time, and because of his illness, he continued to celebrate the Eucharist in his room, where he also continued to hear confessions.

He died in Bari on Aug. 24, 1961, of heart failure. The miracle that led to his beatification was the inexplicable healing of a Benedictine nun who had a severe spinal cord injury that prevented her from walking.

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

Three women share their stories of experiences with abortion at the pro-life event at the European Parliament in Brussels, Oct. 15, 2025. / Credit: European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ)

EWTN News, Nov 17, 2025 / 10:06 am (CNA).

On Nov. 5, the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality voted 26-12 to back the pro-abortion initiative “My Voice, My Choice” — just weeks after pro-life advocates held the largest gathering in the Parliament in more than a decade to challenge the initiative’s push for EU-funded cross-border abortion access.

The Oct. 15 conference, hosted by the European Centre for Law and Justice and co-organized with the One of Us federation, drew 300 participants including eight members of the European Parliament, former EU Commissioner for Health Tonio Borg, and former Slovenian Prime Minister Alojz Peterle.

Six women shared testimonies about their personal experiences with abortion — stories of regret, trauma, and long-term emotional consequences they say are often overlooked in policymaking.

Funding for My Voice, My Choice from pro-abortion foundations

While the committee’s draft resolution on My Voice, My Choice carries no binding legal effect, it nonetheless sets a symbolic precedent that has drawn sharp criticism from pro-life organizations across Europe. A European Citizens Initiative (ECI) allows EU citizens to propose legislation directly to the European Commission if they gather at least 1 million verified signatures from citizens across a minimum of seven member states.

My Voice, My Choice, supported heavily in Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Italy, collected 1,124,513 signatures and raised 923,028 euros from private donors and pro-abortion foundations.

Along with backing the draft resolution, the committee also approved an oral question to the European Commission — a formal parliamentary procedure used to demand an on-the-record explanation. In this case, it asks the commission how it intends to respond to My Voice, My Choice, ensuring the issue moves beyond the committee level and into a public parliamentary debate.

Pro-life organizations draw comparisons with an earlier ECI, One of Us, a pro-life campaign that in 2014 secured even greater public backing, collecting 1,721,626 signatures despite operating on a far smaller budget of 159,219 euros and relying largely on volunteer mobilization. 

Yet, despite surpassing the threshold by a wide margin, the European Commission declined to act on its proposals. The outcome remains a point of contention within pro-life circles, who argue it highlights an institutional double standard and political bias in how such initiatives are ultimately treated.

EU funding for abortions outside of home countries?

The Oct. 15 pro-life event focused on the social and emotional context surrounding abortion decisions — from family pressure and economic hardship to instances where abortion followed sexual violence.

According to organizers, the six women who shared their testimonies also contacted all 40 full members of the committee, offering to share their experiences individually. 

Most members did not agree to meet them.

For Nicolas Bauer of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), the lack of engagement reinforces a broader concern. He questioned whether some members of the European Parliament are guided more by ideology than by listening to the diversity of women’s experiences.

The committee’s endorsement of My Voice, My Choice, he explained, reflects a belief among left-leaning groups that abortion is “inherently a right and a social good,” leaving little space for accounts of suffering, regret, or moral conflict.

Bauer explained that the proposal envisions a system in which a woman unable to obtain an abortion in her home country could “receive EU funding to have one in a country where it is available.” 

As an example, he noted that a French woman who is 22 weeks pregnant — beyond France’s legal limit — “could travel to the Netherlands for an abortion, financed by the EU.” 

Such a scheme would, in practice, “harmonize abortion law across Europe by aligning it with the most permissive countries,” regardless of national legislation or moral consensus. He attributed the campaign’s public traction not to broad ideological agreement but to “slick marketing backed by substantial financial resources.”

He further claimed that the European Commission “even helped the organizers of My Voice, My Choice to draft their petition in a way that would maximize its chances of being declared admissible,” contrasting this with the experience of One of Us, which, he noted, “gathered more signatures but did not benefit from the same institutional support.”

Examining top-down strategies

Matthieu Bruynseels, advocacy director for EU affairs at the Federation of Catholic Family Associations, stressed the importance of subsidiarity — a principle rooted in both EU treaties and Catholic social doctrine. He noted that issues such as abortion, gestational surrogacy, and euthanasia lie outside the EU’s direct competencies, yet they continue to be debated at the European level for political reasons. In the wake of My Voice, My Choice, Bruynseels said the federation is concerned about the European Parliament’s growing efforts to incorporate abortion rights into its policies.

The ECLJ plans to return to these themes at its upcoming conference on Nov. 26. The event will examine what it describes as increasingly top-down strategies within the My Voice, My Choice campaign as well as recent trends in ECI funding. It will also highlight Article 33 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which calls on the union to support, not redefine, family and motherhood. As with the October gathering, the November conference will again feature women sharing firsthand accounts of their experiences with abortion.

As for My Voice, My Choice, the initiative will enter its formal institutional phase. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2 in the European Parliament, during which the organizers will present their case to members of the European Parliament, the commission, and other stakeholders. After this hearing, the European Commission will be required to issue an official response outlining whether it intends to propose legislative action, pursue alternative measures, or decline to proceed and explain its reasoning publicly.

For advocates like Bauer, Bruynseels, and many within Europe’s pro-life movement, these unfolding developments highlight a defining question at the heart of EU politics today: Will abortion policy gradually align across the union, or will it continue to reflect the diverse ethical, legal, and cultural traditions of individual countries?

A roadside wooden crucifix in Bavaria. / Credit: AC Wimmer/EWTN News

EWTN News, Nov 17, 2025 / 09:06 am (CNA).

Church arson attacks across Europe nearly doubled in 2024, part of a broader surge in anti-Christian hate crimes that included 274 personal assaults against Christians and the killing of a 76-year-old Spanish monk, according to a new report released Monday by the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe).

The report documented 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2024, with 94 arson attacks on churches — nearly double the number recorded in 2023.

An official launch of the report will take place Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Conscience. OIDAC Europe compiled the report using official police figures, OSCE/ODIHR statistics, and its own case documentation.

Official numbers do not show the full scale

The spike in arson attacks is particularly prominent: A total of 94 arson incidents targeted churches and other Christian sites — one-third of which occurred in Germany.

France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Austria recorded the highest number of anti-Christian incidents overall. While most attacks were directed at places of worship, OIDAC Europe recorded 274 personal attacks against Christians in 2024, including assaults and threats.

Among the report’s findings are several severe cases, including the killing of a 76-year-old monk in Spain in November 2024 and the near-destruction of a historic church in Saint-Omer, France, by fire in September 2024.

Executive Director Anja Tang emphasized that the figures represent “very concrete acts of church vandalism, arson, and physical assaults that deeply affect local communities,” warning that official statistics still underestimate the scale of the problem.

New surveys from Poland and Spain reveal that nearly half of priests have encountered aggression. However, the vast majority never report these incidents to the police.

“If half of Catholic clergy experience aggression in a Catholic-majority country, hostility towards Christians can no longer be treated as a marginal issue,” Tang said.

Christians under social pressure across Europe

Beyond physical attacks, the report documents the growing legal and social pressure on Christians across Europe between 2024 and 2025.

Examples include the prosecution of individuals for silently praying in so-called “buffer zones” near abortion facilities in the United Kingdom; the ongoing “hate speech” proceedings against Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen for quoting the Bible; and the high-profile employment case of United Kingdom teacher Kristie Higgs. The Court of Appeal in February 2025 ultimately recognized Higgs’ Christian views as legally protected beliefs.

“These patterns highlight the urgent need to strengthen the protection of freedom of religion or belief in Europe — including the right to express and discuss faith-based convictions in the public sphere without fear of reprisal or censorship,” Tang said.

In its recommendations, OIDAC Europe calls for stronger, more coordinated European Union action. This includes appointing a European Union coordinator to combat anti-Christian hatred, similar to existing mandates on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

The organization also urges governments to implement the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) new guide, Understanding Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Christian Communities, and to make systematic and comparable data collection on hate crimes against Christians a key priority.

“The Charity of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary,” painted by Edmund Leighton, circa 1895. / Credit: Edmund Leighton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 17, the Catholic Church celebrates the life and example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a medieval noblewoman who responded to personal tragedy by embracing St. Francis’ ideals of poverty and service. A patron of secular Franciscans, she is especially beloved to Germans as well as the faithful of her native Hungary.

As the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II, Elizabeth had the responsibilities of royalty thrust upon her almost as soon as her short life began in 1207. While she was still very young, her father arranged for her to be married to a German nobleman, Ludwig of Thuringia.

The plan forced Elizabeth to separate from her parents while still a child. Adding to this sorrow was the murder of Elizabeth’s mother, Gertrude, in 1213, which history ascribes to a conflict between her own German people and the Hungarian nobles. Elizabeth took a solemn view of life and death from that point on and found consolation in prayer. Both tendencies drew some ire from her royal peers.

For a time, beginning in 1221, she was happily married. Ludwig, who had advanced to become one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported Elizabeth’s efforts to live out the principles of the Gospel even within the royal court. She met with friars of the nascent Franciscan order during its founder’s own lifetime, resolving to use her position as queen to advance their mission of charity.

Remarkably, Ludwig agreed with his wife’s resolution, and the politically powerful couple embraced a life of remarkable generosity toward the poor. They had three children, two of whom went on to live as members of the nobility, although one of them — her only son — died relatively young. The third eventually entered religious life and became abbess of a German convent.

In 1226, while Ludwig was attending to political affairs in Italy, Elizabeth took charge of distributing aid to victims of disease and flooding that struck Thuringia. She took charge of caring for the afflicted, even when this required giving up the royal family’s own clothes and goods. Elizabeth arranged for a hospital to be built and is said to have provided for the needs of nearly a thousand desperately poor people on a daily basis.

The next year, however, would put Elizabeth’s faith to the test. Her husband had promised to assist the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sixth Crusade, but he died of illness en route to Jerusalem. Devastated by Ludwig’s death, Elizabeth vowed never to remarry. Her children were sent away, and relatives heavily pressured her to break the vow.

Undeterred, Elizabeth used her remaining money to build another hospital, where she personally attended to the sick almost constantly. Sending away her servants, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis, seeking to emulate the example of its founder as closely as her responsibilities would allow. Near the end of her life, she lived in a small hut and spun her own clothes.

Working continually with the severely ill, Elizabeth became sick herself, dying of illness in November 1231. After she died, miraculous healings soon began to occur at her grave near the hospital, and she was declared a saint just four years later.

Pope Benedict XVI praised her as a “model for those in authority,” noting the continuity between her personal love for God and her public work on behalf of the poor and sick. He also wrote in 2007, in honor of the 800th anniversary of her birth, that “[Elizabeth] also serves as an example of virtue radically applied in marriage, the family, and even in widowhood. She has also inspired political figures, who have drawn from her the motivation to work towards reconciliation between peoples.”

This story was first published on Nov. 14, 2010, and has been updated.

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.