U.S.
US bishops deepen commitment to fight racism with new permanent body
WASHINGTON — The nation’s Catholic bishops have deepened their commitment to combating racism, having made permanent a subcommittee dedicated to the issue, which has flared dramatically in recent years. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Sept. 10 that its Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism — established in 2017 under then-USCCB president, and now retired, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo Galveston-Houston, Texas — has been made a permanent USCCB body. The move, approved by the USCCB’s administrative committee Sept. 9, will place the committee, now named the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, under the conference’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. That committee’s mandate “includes Catholic social teaching on issues of domestic concern such as poverty, housing, the environment, criminal justice, and other challenges that often have a disproportionate impact on communities of color,” said the USCCB in its Sept. 10 media release. (OSV News)
WORLD
Ecumenical festival in Iraq proves strong faith of Christians once under Islamic persecution
ERBIL, Iraq — Christians in northern Iraq have marked a powerful milestone of faith and survival. From Sept. 9-13, believers from the Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriac Catholic, and Syriac Orthodox churches joined together in Erbil for the Festival of the Cross. The multi-day celebration included candlelight processions, prayers, concerts, sports and cultural events. Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil told Aid to the Church in Need pontifical charity that the festival was a defiant sign that, a decade after an Islamic State group tried to erase Christianity from the region, faith is alive and thriving. “What once was meant to be silenced has become a proclamation,” he said. Organized largely by young volunteers from all four churches, the festival is set to become an annual tradition. It’s also a message to the global Church: Despite persecution, displacement and dwindling numbers, Iraq’s Christians are still here — united, resilient and raising the cross high once again. “The cross has not been silenced, and in Iraq, a small and wounded Church has shown the world the power of unity, the courage of faith, and the joy of resurrection life,” Archbishop Warda said. (OSV News)
Modern Christian martyrs show power of love in face of hatred, pope says
ROME — In situations where “hatred seemed to have permeated every aspect of life,” modern Christian martyrs showed that love is stronger than death, Pope Leo XIV said at an ecumenical prayer service. The prayer service Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, commemorated 1,624 Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants who died for their faith between 2000 and 2025. During the Holy Year 2000, St. John Paul II had led a similar commemoration of Christians killed in the 20th century, mainly by communist and fascist regimes. Pope Leo was joined by 28 representatives of other Christian churches and communities for the prayer service at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The pope mentioned some of the new martyrs in his homily, including Sister Dorothy Stang, a U.S. member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who was shot and killed in the Brazilian Amazon in 2005 for defending the land rights of the Indigenous and poor farmers. (CNS)
Migrants are not enemies, just brothers and sisters in need, pope says
VATICAN CITY — At a time when people feel powerless to help migrants and refugees, Christians must continue to insist that “there is no justice without compassion, no legitimacy without listening to the pain of others,” Pope Leo XIV said. In a video message Sept. 12, the pope gave his full support to a bid by the people of the Italian island of Lampedusa to win UNESCO recognition for their “gestures of hospitality” to migrants as an example of an “intangible cultural heritage” that should be protected. For decades the small island, which lies between Sicily and the northern African nations of Tunisia and Libya, has been a major arrival point for migrants. Pope Leo paid trip to the islanders who “have shown and continue to show the smile and attention of a human face to those who have survived their desperate journey of hope.” (CNS)
Theology must address climate change, AI, other real concerns, pope says
VATICAN CITY — Because “true knowledge of God is realized in a life transformed by love,” the Catholic Church needs theologians whose pursuit of understanding is framed by care for the real concerns of modern men and women, Pope Leo XIV said. The Church’s constant task of bringing the Gospel to all people requires “a theology that is incarnate, imbued with the human pains, joys, expectations and hopes of the women and men of our time,” the pope told members of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. The pope met Sept. 13 with academy members and participants in their seminar on “Creation, Nature, Environment for a World of Peace.” Pope Leo told the participants that the issues are of “urgent relevance” and “are very dear to me, just as they were to my venerable predecessors St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.” (CNS)
Thousands of visitors celebrate Pope Leo’s birthday in St. Peter’s Square
VATICAN CITY — Dozens of small handmade signs and large bold banners waved in the crowd of some 30,000 visitors in St. Peter’s Square wishing Pope Leo XIV a happy birthday Sept. 14. Two gold mylar balloons with the numbers “7” and “0” were held up high. The largest banner, in red and white, was held by a group from the Peruvian city of Monsefú in the province of Chiclayo, where the pope had served as bishop for eight years. “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn 70 years old,” the pope said to huge cheers and shouts of “auguri,” meaning “congratulations” and “happy birthday” in Italian. “I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers,” he said after reciting the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Musicians and musical bands in the square struck up the “Happy Birthday” tune, and people sang and clapped along. (CNS)
