A conservative on the US Bench, and up for possible election as USCCB President, Portland’s Archbishop Sample issues weak statement amid city’s ongoing ICE activity, stops short of criticizing administration’s policies on immigration. archdpdx.org/statement-on...

VATICAN: This afternoon, Pope Leo met with 15 people from Belgium who were victims of abuse by clergy when they were minors. The meeting was held in an atmosphere of closeness with deep and painful listening and dialogue; it lasted for almost three hours, then ended with an intense moment of prayer.

While details are unknown, Leo’s call for Cardinals to gather in Rome Jan 6-7 for Extraordinary Consistory is significant. Jan 6 marks end of Jubilee Year. Francis nor Benedict called zero such meetings. JP2 convened 6 Extraordinary Consistories; the first in 1979 to discuss his upcoming trip to US.

Pope Leo XIV intends to call all the cardinals to the Vatican for a two-day meeting on Jan. 7-8, 2026, the Vatican Secretariat of State has told them. www.americamagazine.org/vatican-disp...

Pope at Jubilee Audience: "I hope for a collective commitment from institutions and civil society to create valid employment opportunities that offer stability and dignity so that young people can realize their dreams and contribute to the common good.” www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Pope to #COP30: “May ecological conversion inspire the development of a new human-centred international financial architecture that ensures all countries, especially the poorest & those most vulnerable to climate disasters, can reach their potential & see the dignity of their citizens respected.”

Pope: 'Entrepreneurs and communicators must seek common good' www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Pope Leo: “The growing use of the internet, computers, and smartphones is associated not only with clear benefits, but also with excessive use, which often results in addictions with negative consequences for health." www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Pope Leo to AI Forum: “The Church calls all builders of AI to cultivate moral discernment as a fundamental part of their work — to develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo met with Palestinian President Abbas this morning discussing urgent humanitarian aid for Gaza and how “to end the conflict by pursuing a two-State solution.”

Pope Leo to Conference of European Churches: "Although in some parts of Europe there are indeed positive and encouraging signs of growth, at the same time many Christian communities feel increasingly in the minority.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome today to honor the memory of Pope Francis. "I came to him because I cannot forget what he did for Palestine and its people," he said. Tomorrow morning he will be in a private audience with Pope Leo.

Pope Leo: Priesthood “is not a flight from what one does not wish to face, nor a refuge from affective, family, or social difficulties. Neither is it a promotion nor a safeguard, but a total gift of one’s existence.” www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Cardinal McElroy has been diagnosed with a “non-aggressive cancer; his “prognosis is very good.”

Pope Leo at General Audience: “Hour by hour, we have so many different experiences: pain, suffering, sadness, intertwined with joy, wonder, serenity. But through every situation, the human heart longs for fullness, a profound happiness.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope was asked about migrants detained in Chicago not being able to receive communion: "I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to their needs many times they have been separated from their families for a good amount of time, no one knows what’s happening.”

New from Vatican: “It would not be appropriate to use the title ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s cooperation” in salvation. “This title risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith. “

Bishop Seitz at Border Mass: “Right now, as we are gathered here at this imposing fence, the government is hunting migrants down with malice, running roughshod over constitutional rights and due process, tearing apart and uprooting families…” drive.google.com/file/d/12458...

This evening Pope Leo XIV stopped by the Basilica of Santa Maria the Major to pray in front of the tomb of Pope Francis and, afterwards, in front of the icon of the Virgin, Salus Populi Romani. He then went to Castel Gandolfo.

Leo at Mass for Pope Francis: “With great affection, we offer it for the chosen soul of Pope Francis, who passed away after opening the Holy Door and imparting the Easter Blessing. Thanks to the Jubilee, this celebration—for me, the first—acquires a distinctive flavor: the flavor of Christian hope.”

Upon his return to the Vatican after the Mass in suffrage of the deceased faithful at Rome's Verano Cemetery, Pope Leo went to the Grotto of the Basilica of San Pietro for a moment of private prayer for the deceased Pontiffs.

Pope Leo at Cemetery Mass on All Souls Day: Praying for the dead “is not so much about looking back, but instead looking forward towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feast that awaits us.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

The Pope at Rome's Verano Cemetery for the Mass in suffrage of the faithful departed. Upon arrival, Leo XIV laid a bouquet of white flowers on a tomb bearing the inscription "Antonia Coccia Nicolino and his." A tribute to all the deceased buried in the Roman Cemetery.

Pope Leo at Angelus on All Souls Day: “Let us commemorate the future, for we are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

“Organizers said they followed Department of Homeland Security protocol and formally requested access more than one week ahead of the Mass and emailed and hand-delivered a second letter on Thursday. The request was denied,” chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Members of the faithful lock arms as clergy, including a Chicago Auxiliary Bishop ask for entrance into Broadview ICE detention facility; they are denied entrance again; Fr. Dan Harnett is now leading a prayer of Spiritual Communion with detained immigrants.

Chicago Auxiliary Bishop José María Garcia-Maldonado at ICE detention facility: “Being here is an act of holiness…soon we will seek access to the facility to bring the Eucharist to our brothers and sisters; if they say no again, we will keep praying.”

At Broadview ICE detention facility for Mass today, Fr. David Inczauskis, SJ reveals “tragic” and “devastating” news that a member of group bearing Guadalupe Banner to Mass today, was detained by ICE this morning in procession to detention facility.

Pope Leo: “I am very pleased to welcome the official delegation of the Church of England…your presence today expresses our shared joy at the proclamation of Saint John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church. From Heaven, may he accompany Christians on their journey towards full union.”

Pope on All Saints: “Life shines brightly not because we are rich, beautiful or powerful. Instead, it shines when we discover within ourselves the truth that we are called by God, have a vocation, have a mission, that our lives serve something greater than ourselves.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo to Educators: “Today, in our educational contexts, it is worrying to see the increasing symptoms of widespread inner fragility, at all ages. We cannot close our eyes to these silent cries for help; we must strive to identify their underlying causes.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo to Youth: “In the synodal Church, we want to listen to what the Holy Spirit says to young people; we want to welcome their charisms, the gifts that are specific to their age and their sensibilities.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will present on November 4 the document “Mother of the Faithful People,” a doctrinal note on certain Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in salvation.

Pope to Jubilee of the World of Education: “We can know a great deal about the world and still ignore our own hearts.  You too may have experienced that feeling of emptiness or restlessness that does not leave you in peace.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo: “Jesus overcomes the barriers of culture, gender and religion. He invites the Samaritan woman to a new understanding of worship, which is not limited to a particular place…This moment captures the very core of interreligious dialogue: the discovery of God’s presence beyond all boundaries.”

As ICE raids sweep across Los Angeles and beyond into other major US cities, Pope Leo receives LA’s Archbishop Gomez in private audience today.

US Bishops: “As this government shutdown continues, the U.S. bishops are deeply alarmed that essential programs that support the common good, such as SNAP, may be interrupted.” www.usccb.org/news/2025/ar...

Pope on 60th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate: “We walk this journey not by compromising our beliefs, but by remaining true to our convictions. Authentic dialogue begins not in compromise but in conviction – in the deep roots of our own belief that gives us the strength to reach out to others in love.”

Pope at International Peace Meeting: “The world is thirsting for peace.  We need a true and sound era of reconciliation that puts an end to the abuse of power, displays of force and indifference to the rule of law.  Enough of war, with all the pain it causes through death, destruction and exile!”

Pope Leo to Jubilee of Education: “Today, we have become experts in the smallest details of reality, yet we have lost the capability of an overarching vision that integrates things through a deeper and greater meaning.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Journey outside of Italy will see the Holy Father travelling to Türkiye and Lebanon next month, 27 November - 2 December 2025, on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicea. www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

Pope to Assyrian Church: “In the spirit of the Synod, I sincerely hope that the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea will lead us to ‘put into practice forms of synodality among Christians of all traditions’ & inspire us with new ‘ecumenical synodal practices.’” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo at Angelus: “It is not by flaunting our merits that we are saved, nor by hiding our mistakes, but by presenting ourselves honestly, just as we are, before God, ourselves and others, asking for forgiveness and entrusting ourselves to the Lord’s grace.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo: “We must dream of and build a more humble Church; a Church that does not stand upright….triumphant and inflated with pride, but bends down to wash the feet of humanity; a Church that does not judge.,,but becomes a welcoming place for all.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

An unexpected step was taken today by Synodal Assembly of Italian Church. Among the approved proposals is that "local Churches, overcoming the discriminatory attitudes sometimes widespread in ecclesial circles & society, commit to promoting the recognition & support of homosexual & trans people.”

Pope Leo at Jubilee Audience: “The Church becomes an expert in humanity when she walks with humanity and carries in her heart the echo of its questions!” www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...

A poignant reminder of the Pope’s take on the mistreatment of migrants…from 2018…when Leo was “Bob.”

Pope Leo was asked when men and women will be equal in the church. His response: "Unfortunately, the way we live out faith is often influenced more by our culture than Gospel values. Women deacons is still being studied, but the equal dignity of women and men is clear and must be defended.”

Pope Leo moments ago: Canada and the United States ... as we are sitting here, are experiencing great difficulties. Two countries that were once considered the closest allies at times have become separated from one another.”

Pope to Jesuit Major Superiors: “Political systems often fail to respond to the cries of the poor. Populism and ideological polarization deepen divisions within and among nations. Many are affected by consumerism, individualism, and indifference.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...