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Time Magazine named Pope Leo XIV (pictured in the Paul VI Audience Hall) one of its Top 100 most influential thinkers concerning AI on Aug. 28, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Time Magazine included Pope Leo XIV in its 2025 list of the “World’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence” on Thursday, Aug. 28, praising the pontiff’s focus on the ethical concerns related to the emerging technology.

The magazine listed the top 100 influential people in artificial intelligence (AI) in four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers, and Thinkers. Leo XIV is among the 25 most influential thinkers in the field, according to Time.

In a profile included in the magazine, Time technology correspondent Andrew Chow noted that Leo XIV chose his papal name, in part, based on the need for the Church to address ethical matters related to AI and wrote that the Holy Father is “already making good on his vow.”

When the pontiff met with the College of Cardinals two days after he assumed the papacy, he said he took the name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who had “addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.”

Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 until 1903, published the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which discussed the needs of the working class amid the industrial revolution. The text eschewed both socialism and unrestrained market power, opting for cooperation between competing interests that is centered on the dignity of the human person.

The current pope, Leo XIV, said he took the name because of the “developments in the field of artificial intelligence,” which he noted pose “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

Time’s profile noted that the Vatican hosted the Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Corporate Governance in June, and stated: “Leo XIV’s keynote speech underlined AI’s potential as a force for good, particularly in health care and scientific discovery.”

“But AI ‘raises troubling questions on its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp and process reality,’ he added,” the profile stated, quoting the Holy Father. “And he warned that the technology could be misused for ‘selfish gain at the expense of others, or worse, to foment conflict and aggression.’”

Other figures on Time’s list include xAI founder Elon Musk, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Sen. Chris Murphy.

This is the third annual list published by Time focusing on the most influential people in AI.

“We launched this list in 2023, in the wake of OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, the moment many became aware of AI’s potential to compete with and exceed the capabilities of humans,” Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs wrote regarding the publication of the list.

“Our aim was to show how the direction AI travels will be determined not by machines but by people — innovators, advocates, artists, and everyone with a stake in the future of this technology,” he added. “... This year’s list further confirms our focus on people.”

Police cruisers near Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, following a mass shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others, 14 of them children. / Credit: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 29, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The shooter who killed two children and injured 17 others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27 voiced some regret over his 'gender transition' efforts when he was a minor, according to handwritten notes he displayed in a YouTube video before the attack.

Robin Westman, who was named “Robert” at birth, legally changed his name when he was 17 years old to reflect his self-identified status as a transgender girl. Court documents show that his mother signed off on the name change.

Westman published videos to YouTube shortly before the attack, which contained written notes, some of which were in English and others using the Cyrillic alphabet. Several Slavic languages use the Cyrillic script, but Westman was not writing in any of them. Rather, he tried to match the sounds of the Cyrillic letters to form English-language words when read aloud.

According to a partial translation published by the New York Post, Westman wrote: “I regret being trans,” and added: “I wish I was a girl. I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.”

The Post’s translation states that Westman also wrote he wished “I never brainwashed myself,” but kept his long hair “because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans.”

“I can’t cut my hair now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported,” he wrote. “It just always gets in my way. I will probably chop it on the day of the attack.”

According to the translation, Westman also wrote: “I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”

Jason Evert: Westman did not get ‘mental health care he needed’

Chastity Project Founder Jason Evert, who authored “Male, Female, Other? A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender,” told EWTN News that he believes Westman “was not receiving … the mental health care that he needed.”

Evert noted that many people who struggle with gender dysphoria often suffer from other mental health conditions, such as major depressive disorder or borderline personality disorder, or have experienced bullying, isolation, and social distress.

“If they’re being told, ‘Well, hey, you need to change your outfit or change your name, and you’ll feel at home in your own body,’ … it’s depriving the young people to have opportunities to live in their bodies and get the clinical intervention that they actually need to receive,” he said. 

Catholic teaching

In 2024, the Vatican issued the declaration Dignitas Infinita, which teaches that “the soul and the body both participate in [human] dignity” and the body “is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.” It adds that “sex-change intervention … risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”

In contrast, Evert noted that doctors in the United States primarily follow the “Dutch protocol,” which is to “affirm” a person’s self-asserted transgender identity and then provide minors with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and eventually transgender surgeries. However, recent studies have shown that most children outgrow transgender inclinations and that surgeries do not solve their mental health issues.

“It’s not working,” he added. “We’re actually contributing to a mental illness instead of actually treating it. We’re depriving these young people of opportunities and strategies to learn how to live in their bodies. And instead of that, we’re giving them hormones and telling them that they can hurt their body in order to be their authentic selves.”

Yet, Evert urged caution against suggesting that Westman’s gender dysphoria was the reason for the attack, emphasizing that “most people who do experience gender dysphoria would never commit an atrocity like this and most people who have committed school shootings do not identify as trans.”

“I think it’s careful that we at least explain that, so as to not stir up animosity amongst young people who might be struggling with their sense of sexual identity,” Evert said.

What we know about the shooter’s motive

Police have not identified a clear motive up to this point, but FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the agency is investigating the tragedy as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”

Videos Westman recorded before the shooting demonstrate some anti-Catholic motivation.

The videos show that Westman had attached an image of Jesus Christ wearing the crown of thorns to the head of a human-shaped shooting target. He also wrote anti-Christian messages on his guns and loaded magazines, which included “Where’s your God?” and a comment that mocked the words of Christ by writing “take this all of you and eat” on a rifle.

Some of the drawings also appeared Satanic, including an inverted pentagram and an inverted cross.

Other messages showed hatred toward Jewish people, Black people, Hispanic people, Indian people, and Arab people. The messages also included threats against President Donald Trump.

Some of Westman’s writings highlight a struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. He also apologized to his family for the trouble his attack would cause them but made clear he was not sorry to the children he wanted to murder. He showed a strong affinity for mass murderers.

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CNA Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news in the United States:

Illinois man faces homicide charge after allegedly poisoning girlfriend, unborn child with abortion pill

A 31-year-old Illinois man has been arrested for homicide of an unborn child after allegedly poisoning his girlfriend with abortion pills.

Police in Bloomington, Illinois, arrested Emerson Evans after police found the girlfriend in a bathroom with what appeared to be a human fetus in the toilet on Aug. 22, according to court documents.

The girlfriend, who was seven weeks pregnant, told police that the boyfriend had told her he wanted her to have an abortion, but she did not want an abortion. Evans has been charged with intentional homicide of an unborn child after allegedly poisoning his girlfriend and their child.

With the rise of the abortion pill, similar cases have been documented across the United States. In Texas this summer, two men are being charged for poisoning the mothers of their children with the abortion pill, leading to the deaths of their unborn children.

Illinois governor mandates that chemical abortion pills be offered on public college campuses

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law mandating that public universities offer chemical abortion and contraceptives this school year.

The new law requires all public colleges to offer abortion pills on their on-campus pharmacies and at student health centers. Pritzker also expanded shield laws protecting abortionists from laws in pro-life states.

On-campus student activism prompted the abortion pill mandate on college campuses, according to a local report. Recent graduates of a local public college testified in support of the bill after a student referendum question brought the issue to their campus.

Local bishop calls allegations that public school-funded student abortions ‘deeply troubling’

A local bishop has voiced concern over a report that a Virginia public school facilitated and funded abortion procedures for students.  

The report, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington said during a recent podcast, is “deeply troubling.”

Staff at Centreville High School, part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system, arranged abortions for two pregnant high school girls in 2021, according to a report by Walter Curt Dispatch Investigations from earlier this month.

According to the investigative report, one of the girls, who was 17 years old at the time, had an abortion after a school official brought her to an abortion facility.

“How terrible that the minors may have been advised or even provided funds to end the life of a child,” Burbidge said. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is investigating the report as state law protects minors from having abortions without parental consent. 

“The governor has rightly called for a full investigation, and we will await the outcome,” Burbidge said. 

Texas ‘Women and Child Protection Act’ closing abortion pill loophole advances

Texas lawmakers are advancing a bill to stop mail-order abortion pills amid the illegal abortion pill crisis.

The bill would enable Texas to shut down abortion pill companies that are sending abortion pills to Texas, where the law protects unborn children from abortion in most cases. 

The bill would also enable women who are harmed by illegal abortions to sue, according to Texas Right to Life.   

The Women and Child Protection Act, which was put forward by state Rep. Jeff Leach and sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, will head to the House floor next.  

Texas Right to Life said in a statement that abortion businesses “ship lethal pills into Texas illegally from other states and countries — to the tune of at least 19,000 orders of abortion drugs each year.” 

New Jersey pregnancy centers challenge state attorney general investigation 

Five New Jersey pregnancy centers filed an opening brief in the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that their state attorney general targeted them with an “unconstitutional investigation” in which the government demanded personal information of donors and other confidential documents. 

First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, the collective of five faith-based pregnancy centers, challenged state Attorney General Matthew Platkin for issuing a subpoena demanding that First Choice disclose names, addresses, places of employment, and phone numbers of donors as well as up to 10 years of internal confidential documents, according to a press release. 

The opening brief also alleges that Platkin made an attempt “to manufacture procedural roadblocks to evade federal court review” and displayed an “undisguised animosity” toward the pregnancy centers.

Aimee Huber, executive director of First Choice, said in a statement that the attorney general has been “pursuing a personal and political vendetta” against them for more than two years.

Senior Counsel Erin Hawley of Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal nonprofit arguing on behalf of First Choice, added that the attorney general was “targeting” the pregnancy center.

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Washington D.C., Aug 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The 2025 EWTN Catholic Radio Conference has drawn hundreds of attendees to Washington, D.C., this week to discuss and learn more about Catholic radio as an evangelization tool.

During the conference, attendees have had the opportunity “to network with each other, learn things from each other, and discuss things that have worked, and things that haven’t worked, in Catholic radio,” EWTN Radio General Manager Jack Williams told CNA. 

Among the attendees, Williams said about 65 are associated with affiliate stations who carry the network’s radio programming in different parts of the country. He noted that many of them didn’t necessarily start off their careers in radio but are people who “heeded Mother Angelica’s call.”

On a live EWTN broadcast in 1995, hosted by network foundress Mother Angelica, “she put out the call that if anybody had, or could procure, an AM or FM radio station she would give them the programming for free. And that’s essentially what we’ve been doing since 1996,” Williams said. “By the end of that year, she had six people; now we have over 440 affiliates around the country.”

The conference always starts with a retreat day, and this year the group gathered for their retreat at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The days following the retreat have included workshops and professional development opportunities on various topics.

The topics discussed are tailored to what the attendees want to learn more about based on a sampling of affiliate groups that EWTN calls the “Affiliate Advisory Team.” They “meet on a monthly basis and talk about various issues facing the radio world in general, and Catholic radio in particular,” Williams explained.

“We use feedback from that group to help plan the topics for the workshops and the things that we think will best suit the operators that will help to propel them forward.”

Along with the workshops, the conference welcomed various speakers, including EWTN Chairman of the Board and CEO Michael Warsaw and EWTN News Vice President and Editorial Director Matthew Bunson.

During his Aug. 28 keynote address, Bunson, who hosts the network’s weekly “Register Radio” program, reviewed the relationship various popes have had with radio and how their work can serve as a guide for radio professionals.

The popes have “understood that radio had a role to evangelize, to proclaim Christ Jesus, to lead a profound cultural service, a service to truth, to justice, and to human dignity,” Bunson noted.

The popes’ work in radio dates back to Pope Pius X in 1931 when he began his broadcast that allowed him to speak “directly to the faithful across continents.”

Then in 1957, Pope Pius XII continued to “highlight the importance” of religious radio. Bunson said: “He exhorted bishops to increase and enhance programs, deal with Catholic affairs, and emphasize the need for well-trained priests and laity in the fields, seeing radio as a new means to fulfill Christ’s command to preach the Gospel.”

Pius XII “underscored a fundamental principle” that technology, when ethically used, can be “a powerful ally in the service of faith,” Bunson explained. 

“In the Second Vatican Council’s important 1964 document about the means of social communications, the famous document Inter Mirifica, the bishops made sure to include radio in the list of the great forms of expression that have to be put to use by the Church ... [to] reach and influence not only individuals but a whole human society.”

Pope Paul VI “expressed even more vividly the power of radio. He wrote: ‘TV and radio, they have given society new patterns of communication. They have changed ways of life ... broadcasters have access to the minds and the hearts of everyone.’”

Pope John Paul II “further articulated Catholic radio’s mission, stating that it is entrusted with the task of ‘proclaiming the Christian message with freedom, fidelity, and efficacy.’”

Bunson said Catholic radio and other forms of Catholic social communication “have an obligation to understand the real media landscape.” It “requires continuous adaptation, updating, solid human, cultural, professional, and spiritual formation to the community.”

By reflecting on the popes, those working in Catholic radio can learn “to have clarity in self-identity, to be as professional as possible, [and] to follow the call of the Second Vatican Council to utilize all the means of social communications that are before us.”

Bunson added: “Authentic Catholic radio … must be built on from the ground up with a strong Catholic identity.”

Pope Leo XIV accepts the Medal of St. Augustine from Father Robert P. Hagan, OSA, prior provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova (right) and Father Joseph Farrell, OSA, vicar general of the Order of St. Augustine (left) in a video released on Aug. 28, 2025. / Credit: Screenshot from the YouTube page of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 05:10 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV expressed his gratitude to receive the Medal of St. Augustine, awarded by the United States Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, and affirmed that the spirituality of the doctor of the Church has marked his life and ministry.

“To be recognized as an Augustinian, it’s an honor held dearly. So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine,” he said in a video message shared on St. Augustine’s feast day, Aug. 28.

The Augustinian Province said on Facebook that the Medal of St. Augustine is the highest honor the province can bestow, “given to those who embody the spirit and teachings of St. Augustine, living with deep commitment to truth, unity, and charity.”

The province added: “From his early years in formation to his decades of service in Peru, leadership as prior general, and now as the first Augustinian pope, Pope Leo XIV has witnessed to a life of generosity, faith, and service. In him, we see a true son of Augustine — dedicated to building unity in the Church, teaching with wisdom, and shepherding with a heart rooted in love. We are honored to bestow upon him this award.”

In his video message, recorded from Castel Gandolfo, where he spent a few days of prayer and rest in mid-August, the pope recalled that the life of St. Augustine still inspires the faithful today.

“His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives. But through God’s grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart,” he said.

Leo emphasized that the example of St. Augustine invites us to put our talents at the service of others: “The life of St. Augustine and his call to servant leadership reminds us that we all have God-given gifts and talents, and our purpose, fulfillment, and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor.”

He assured the members of the Augustinian province that they are called to continue the legacy of the first Augustinians in the United States — such as Father Matthew Carr and Father John Rosseter — whose missionary spirit led them to proclaim the Gospel to immigrants in Philadelphia: “Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God through friendship, relationship, dialogue, and respect for one another.”

He also encouraged the U.S. Augustinians to become instruments of reconciliation. “As a community of believers and inspired by the charism of the Augustinians, we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God’s presence in one another.”

The pope emphasized the importance of listening, following the advice of St. Augustine: “It is within our hearts where God speaks to us.” He added: “The world is full of noise, and our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages. These messages can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy. As a community of faith … may we strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God’s love better.”

The pontiff expressed his confidence that, like Augustine, every believer can find in God the strength to overcome anxiety, darkness, and doubt, and “through God’s grace, we can discover that God’s love is truly healing. Let us strive to build a community where that love is made visible.”

Leo XIV concluded his message by asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, and by offering a prayer for the Church: “May God bless you all and bring peace to your restless hearts, and help you continue to build a community of love, one in mind and heart, intent upon on God.”

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

A 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) plaster cross was unearthed in an ancient monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island about 106 miles southwest Abu Dhabi, ACI MENA reported. / Credit: Courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 28, 2025 / 17:37 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

Ancient cross discovered in Abu Dhabi points to deep Christian roots in region

The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has announced a new archaeological discovery: a 30-centimeter (11.8-inch) plaster cross unearthed in an ancient monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island about 106 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported.

The artifact was uncovered during excavation work that began earlier this year. According to the Abu Dhabi Media Office, the cross was found in the courtyard of one of the monastery’s houses. The cross is believed to date back to the seventh or eighth century A.D. Its eastern-style design resembles crosses found in Iraq and Kuwait, reflecting the historic connections of the Eastern Church and its spread across the gulf in the early centuries of Christianity.

Church in Thailand equips seminarians to minister to the Deaf 

The Catholic Church in Thailand has launched a training program for seminarians at Fatima Minor Seminary in the Archdiocese of Thare-Nongseng to help strengthen their ability to minister to the Deaf, according to Vatican News.

The program kicked off with training sessions on Aug. 22–24 led by Father Peter Bhuravaj Searaariyah, director of pastoral ministry for the Deaf of the Diocese of Chanthaburi and of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand. The sessions included an introduction to religious sign language terminology, participation in a Thai Sign Language (TSL) Mass, and the recitation of the Liturgy of the Word in sign language, Vatican News reported.

Nigerian priest: Surge in child trafficking a ‘national emergency’ 

A Nigerian Catholic priest is sounding the alarm over the growing trafficking of secondary school children — most often young girls who live in poverty across the west African nation who are taken during and after school hours.

“This is a national emergency. We are dealing with a crisis that threatens the future of our children and the soul of our nation,” Father George Ehusani told ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, in an interview on Monday. “When teenagers who should be in classrooms are lured, moved, and exploited by criminal networks, the entire community is diminished.”

Armenian Catholics launch website for St. Maloyan’s canonization

The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia has announced the official launch of a website dedicated to the upcoming canonization of Blessed Ignatius Maloyan, ACI MENA reported Thursday. 

The site provides detailed information for the faithful who wish to participate in the celebration, including visa instructions for Lebanese citizens and comprehensive travel packages covering flights, accommodations, and local transportation. The platform also offers specialized services for the Armenian diaspora to facilitate participation in this historic event at the heart of the universal Church.

Climate activists convene in Kenya for interfaith prayer against fossil fuel expansion

Climate activists and faith leaders from across Africa gathered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Aug. 24 for an interfaith prayer session to push for an end to fossil expansion on the world’s second-largest continent.

Convened by the continental Laudato Si’ Movement at the Holy Family Basilica, the prayer vigil was grounded in prayer and moral witness, ACI Africa reported. The movement’s programs manager, Ashley Kitisya, told ACI Africa: “Our goal is to increase moral and spiritual pressure on decision-makers to halt fossil fuel expansion and instead invest in a just and sustainable transition.”

Summit cross in Swiss Alps uprooted in act of vandalism

In the Swiss Alps, a cross and a statue of Mother Mary were torn out of the ground in an act of vandalism, CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported earlier this week. The cross and statue were located in the Basòdino mountain, the second-highest peak in the canton of Ticino.

Roberto Iori, who runs a mountain hut in the area, said: “What also torments me is the fact that the perpetrator of this abominable act probably passed our hut and maybe even slept here. The cross and the Madonna were symbols for mountain lovers … It could be religiously motivated vandalism. It’s not the first time someone has destroyed religious symbols on a summit.”

British MP: Catholic support for Palestinians in Gaza ‘extremely powerful’ 

Independent British member of Parliament Shockat Adam said in an interview with Crux this week that support from the Catholic Church for people in Gaza has been “extremely powerful” and emphasized the Church’s unique role to play in ending the conflict.

“The Vatican has been doing it, but other Christian denominations and even Muslim leaders haven’t been as vociferous and clear on this,” Adam said. “The Vatican has a role to play, have played a role, and should continue to do so … The leadership of the Church addressing parliamentarians and legislators and world leaders is a really powerful avenue of making change.”

7 Christians jailed after Hindu groups say they violated anti-conversion laws 

A group of seven Christians in the Uttar Pradesh state in India have been jailed following accusations made by “Hindu vigilante groups” that they violated the northern Indian state’s anti-conversion laws by “converting gullible people to Christianity,” according to a UCA News report.

The arrests took place on Aug. 24 in three separate locations where Sunday prayer services were taking place. Six prayer services were interrupted in total that same day, an anonymous church leader told UCA.

The major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Raphael Thattil. / Credit: Syro-Malabar Church

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 16:23 pm (CNA).

The Holy See Press Office has published a series of decisions by Pope Leo XIV to bring about unity in the Syro-Malabar Church of India, which has been at serious risk of schism in recent years due to liturgical disputes.

The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 23 Eastern Churches in full communion with the bishop of Rome and follows the Chaldean liturgical tradition. It is the largest Eastern Church after the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and its origins date back to the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle.

Since 1999, the Church has undergone a long period of division as a result of liturgical reforms that were later confirmed by the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church in 2021.

In July, Pope Leo XIV terminated the 2023 appointment of Archbishop Cyril Vasil’ as papal delegate to the Syro-Malabar Church after an internal agreement was reached without his mediation.

Appointments of new bishops

The Vatican reported Aug. 28 that it had accepted resignations, made several episcopal appointments, and created several ecclesiastical provinces in the Syro-Malabar Church.

First, the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church accepted the resignation of the bishop of Belthangady, Mar Lawrence Mukkuzhy, and elected as new eparch Claretian Father James Patteril, “to whom the Holy Father had granted prior assent,” according to information provided by the Holy See.

Patteril, 63, is a native of Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka. He professed his vows in the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1988 and was ordained a priest in 1990.

After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was sent to Germany to study pastoral theology at the Pastoral-Theologisches Institut of the Pallottine Fathers in Friedberg. He has exercised his pastoral ministry in India and Germany.

Carmelite Father Joseph Thachaparambath has been elected bishop of the Eparchy of Adilabad. Born in 1969 in Nalumukku, India, he entered the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation in 1985.

After completing his studies in philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest in 1997. His pastoral work has focused on parish life and teaching at various educational institutions within his religious institute. Since 2023, he has served as superior of the Mar Thoma Province.

His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, with the consent of the synod of bishops, has accepted the resignation of Thomas Elavanal of the Missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Sacrament as bishop of the Eparchy of Kalyan.

New ecclesiastical provinces of the Syro-Malabar Church

Regarding the territorial organization of the Syro-Malabar Church, the Holy See has announced the establishment of several ecclesiastical provinces and the assignment of the corresponding metropolitan archbishops.

The ecclesiastical province of Faridabad will be composed of the dioceses of Faridabad, Bijnor, and Gorakhpur. The Diocese of Faridabad will become an archdiocese, with its current bishop, Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, designated as archbishop.

The ecclesiastical province of Kalyan will have the Eparchies of Chanda and Rajkot as suffragans, with Kalyan remaining as the archiepiscopal see. Its first archbishop will be Sebastian Vaniyapurackal, currently bishop of the Major Archiepiscopal Curia.

The ecclesiastical province of Shamshabad, named after the see that is being elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese, will have the Eparchy of Adilabad as its suffragan. Its first archbishop-designate will be Bishop Prince Antony Panengaden, currently the prelate of the same see.

Ujjain is the fourth ecclesiastical province created, taking its name from the Diocese of Ujjain. Its suffragan sees are Jagdalpur, Sagar, and Satna. The current bishop of Ujjain, Sebastian Vadakel, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Thomas the Apostle, was appointed metropolitan archbishop.

Finally, the Eparchy of Hosur has been designated a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Trichur.

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

Sabrina Steffans displays her newly decorated school parking space. / Credit: Courtesy of First Liberty Institute

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

A rising senior at a high school in Grand Island, New York, Sabrina Steffans, is now allowed to decorate her school parking space with Christian messages after her high school reversed course after initially rejecting her faith-based artwork.

Grand Island High School allows seniors to paint their parking spots “to encourage students to express themselves through positive artwork, to beautify the campus, to build school spirit, and to create a new and exciting radiation to support senior class activities and events.”

When Steffans, a Christian who leads a Bible club at her school, proposed three drawings for her parking space, the school rejected the first two, which had Christian themes.

Steffans said the school approved the third design, “which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything.”

Steffans said after the school rejected the second proposed drawing, “that’s when we kind of decided to take charge and move forward with this [legal action].”

Steffans hired lawyers from First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit religious liberty law firm, who wrote a demand letter to the Grand Island school district insisting she had a constitutionally-protected right to freely express her religious beliefs at school.

Days later, attorneys for the school district responded to the demand letter stating that Sabrina could proceed with her original design.

“We are pleased that the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design,” said Keisha Russell, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute. “The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools.”

In response to the threatened lawsuit, Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Brian Graham issued a statement last week saying the district takes “seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment.”

He continued: “While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the board of education and district leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”

Pope Leo XIV speaks to pilgrims at the general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 15:02 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV recalled what the “life and witness” of St. Augustine means for Christians on the day the Catholic Church celebrates his feast day, Aug. 28.

“The life and witness of St. Augustine reminds us that each of us has received gifts and talents from God and that our vocation, our fulfillment, and our joy come from giving them back in loving service to God and others,” the pontiff wrote on a post on X.

Since his election as successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV has continually alluded to his vocation as an Augustinian religious. In his first greeting from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, he exclaimed:

“I am an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’ In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”

Throughout his more than three months as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has consistently included in almost every one of his discourses, catechesis, and statements a pearl of wisdom passed on by the bishop of Hippo.

Not surprisingly, his papal motto, “In Illo uno, unum” (“In the one Christ, we are one”), comes from a homily by St. Augustine, the saintly disciple of St. Ambrose of Milan.

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

Pope Leo XIV addresses a delegation of political representatives and civic leaders from the Diocese of Créteil, France, on Aug. 28, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday encouraged Catholic politicians to live coherently as Christians and follow the Gospel, even when performing their public duties in a secular polity. 

During an Aug. 28 meeting with a delegation of political representatives and civic leaders from the Diocese of Créteil, France, accompanied by Bishop Dominique Blanchet, the Holy Father stated that “a more just, more human, more fraternal world” can only be “a world more imbued with the Gospel.”

Thus, he added, “in the face of the various deviations present in our Western societies, we can do nothing better, as Christians, than to turn to Christ and ask for his help in carrying out our responsibilities.”

For this reason, the pope highlighted the importance of political and social leaders being committed to acting in coherence with their faith, because “beyond mere personal enrichment, it carries great importance and usefulness for the men and women they serve.” 

In this regard, he underlined that such determination “is all the more praiseworthy considering that, in France, due to a sometimes-misunderstood secularism, it is not easy for an elected representative to act and decide consistently with their faith.” 

‘Christianity cannot be reduced to a mere private devotion’ 

Because the Christian message embraces every dimension of the human person, Leo XIV stressed that “Christianity cannot be reduced to a mere private devotion, since it entails a way of living in society infused with love for God and neighbor, who in Christ is no longer an enemy but a brother.” 

To face social challenges, the Holy Father said Catholic politicians must rely “on the virtue of charity that dwells within them since baptism,” a gift of God that, as he cited from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, constitutes a “force capable of inspiring new paths to address today’s problems and to renew profoundly from within structures, social organizations, and legal norms,” bringing charity from the personal realm into the social and political one because “it makes us love the common good and leads us to effectively seek the good of all.” 

Pope Leo XIV also noted that the Christian politician “is better prepared to face the challenges of today’s world, provided, of course, that he lives and bears witness to his faith in him, to his personal relationship with Christ.” 

In this sense, he warned against the temptation to promote values “however evangelical they may be, but ‘emptied’ of Christ, their author,” since they will be “incapable of changing the world.” 

Responding to Blanchet’s request for advice to Catholic politicians, Leo XIV replied: “The first and only one I will give you is to unite yourselves more and more to Jesus, to live and bear witness to him.” 

Coherence in public life 

“There is no split in the personality of a public figure: There is not, on one side, the politician and, on the other, the Christian. Rather, there is a politician who, under God’s gaze and before his conscience, lives his commitments and responsibilities as a Christian!” he added.

To achieve such coherence of life, the pope recalled the call for Catholic politicians “to strengthen themselves in faith, to deepen their knowledge of doctrine — especially social doctrine — that Jesus taught the world, and to put it into practice in carrying out their duties and in drafting laws.” 

He also affirmed the enduring validity of natural law, a norm “that all can recognize, even non-Christians. Therefore, we should not fear proposing it and defending it with conviction: It is a doctrine of salvation that seeks the good of every human being, the building of peaceful, harmonious, prosperous, and reconciled societies.”

Courage in the face of difficulties 

At the end of his address, the pope acknowledged that “an openly Christian commitment by a public official is not easy, especially in certain Western societies where Christ and his Church are marginalized, often ignored, and at times ridiculed.” 

Such a commitment also means facing political pressures, including that of “ideological colonization,” Leo said, using a term coined by his predecessor Pope Francis to refer to campaigns by wealthy countries and organizations to influence the values of developing nations.  Leo said that Christian public officials “need courage: the courage sometimes to say ‘no, I cannot,’ when the truth is at stake.” 

“Only union with Jesus — Jesus crucified! — will give you that courage to suffer for his name,” the pontiff declared, recalling Christ’s words: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage: I have overcome the world.” 

In conclusion, the pope expressed his support for Catholic politicians and encouraged them not to lose hope in a better world: “Remain certain that, united to Christ, your efforts will bear fruit and receive their reward.”

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