U.S.
US Army says religious support contracts to be ‘reexamined’ after Abp. Broglio objects
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army said religious support contracts for Army chapels would be “reexamined” after Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services raised alarm about their cancellation. In a statement Oct. 21, a U.S. Army spokesperson said, “The Army remains deeply committed to providing for the religious needs of all personnel, regardless of their faith background. … We recognize the importance of religious support in maintaining morale, fostering resilience, and promoting the overall well-being of our force. … To mitigate any potential impact during this period, contract support for Directors of Religious Education (DREs) and Religious Affairs Specialists (RAS) will be reexamined. These roles are vital in supporting the spiritual well-being of our community.” On Oct. 17, Archbishop Broglio said the cancellation of all religious support contracts for Army chapels, “including those for religious educators, administrators, and musicians,” placed on Catholics “an insurmountable restriction on the free exercise of religion.” (OSV News)
Pew: More U.S. adults see religion as important, positive to public life
WASHINGTON — A new study indicates a growing number of U.S. adults see religion as gaining influence in public life — with more Americans saying religion has a positive impact on society. In addition, an increasing number of the nation’s adults report feeling at odds with mainstream U.S. culture because of their religious beliefs. The findings were released by Pew Research Center in an Oct. 20 report. While “most Americans continue to say that religion’s role in society is declining,” Pew said, “Americans’ views about religion in public life are shifting.” The center noted that “the share of Americans expressing positive views of religion in 2024 and 2025 are up significantly from 2022 and 2019, indicating an overall shift toward more positive views about religion’s role in American life over the past five years or so.” From February 2024 to February 2025, Pew found “a sharp rise” in the share of U.S. adults who hold that religion is becoming more significant in public life. Back in February 2024, only 18% of U.S. adults — the lowest level recorded by Pew in over two decades — said religion was gaining traction in American life. But one year later, that number had shot up to 31%, “the highest figure we’ve seen in 15 years,” said Pew in its report. (OSV News)
Trump rolls out policy proposal to boost IVF, a procedure U.S. bishops ‘strongly reject’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Oct. 16 a policy proposal to increase access to in vitro fertilization, including issuing guidance urging employers to offer fertility benefits directly to their employees. However, the U.S Catholic bishops’ conference expressed concern the following day, saying that while they support ethical efforts to address infertility, they “strongly reject” the effort to promote IVF. Trump previously campaigned on requiring the government or insurance companies to pay for IVF, which is a form of fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church on the grounds that it often involves the destruction of human embryos, among other moral and ethical concerns. The 1987 document from the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith known as “Donum Vitae” or “The Gift of Life,” states the Church opposes IVF and related practices, including gestational surrogacy, in part because “the connection between in vitro fertilization and the voluntary destruction of human embryos occurs too often.” (OSV News)
Boston auxiliary named bishop of Albany, N.Y.
WASHINGTON — Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, 77, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Albany, New York, and has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Mark W. O’Connell of Boston as his successor. The resignation and appointment were announced by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., in Washington Oct. 20. Bishop O’Connell, 61, will be installed as Albany’s 11th bishop on Dec. 5. Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston in 1990, then-Father O’Connell served in parish, seminary and tribunal roles before being named an auxiliary bishop of Boston June 3, 2016. He was ordained a bishop on Aug. 24 of that year. (OSV News)
WORLD
Pope Leo meets with coalition of survivors of clergy abuse
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV met with a coalition of survivors of abuse and victims’ advocates for the first time at the Vatican Oct. 20. Members of the board of Ending Clergy Abuse met with the pope for about an hour in a closed-door meeting that was later confirmed by the Vatican. “This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse in Canada, said in a press release. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing and real change.” “Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard,” Hickey said in the statement. While the group of six people representing ECA met with the pope, video clips from the Vatican also showed a separate meeting between Pope Leo and Pedro Salinas, a Peruvian journalist and abuse survivor. Salinas is a former member of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae who suffered physical and psychological abuse by the movement’s founder, Luis Fernando Figari. (CNS)
Attacks on religious liberty increase, say cardinal, papal foundation
ROME — Religious freedom is not only a fundamental and essential human right, “it is also a pathway to truth and deeper communion with God and neighbor,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state. However, religious freedom is severely restricted in 62 of the world’s 196 countries, affecting around 5.4 billion people; “in other words, almost two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries where serious violations of religious freedom take place,” the cardinal said. Cardinal Parolin was citing information contained in the 2025 Religious Freedom Report compiled by the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need and released Oct. 21 during a conference at Rome’s Augustinianum Patristic Institute. The fact that the 2025 report runs 1,248 pages, the largest in its 25-year history, “indicates that violations of religious freedom are increasing year on year,” the cardinal said. (CNS)
Pope Leo XIV names new archbishop for Vienna to succeed Cardinal Schönborn
VIENNA — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop-designate Josef Grünwidl as the next archbishop of Vienna, the Vatican announced Oct. 17. The 63-year-old Austrian priest succeeds Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who led the archdiocese for nearly three decades. Archbishop-designate Grünwidl has served as apostolic administrator since January and admitted he initially declined the role, feeling overwhelmed. But after encouragement from Church leaders and laypeople, he said yes, adding, “God doesn’t want me to be perfect, but available.” Regarding his personal spirituality, the archbishop-designate said his faith must be shown daily, not just in actions but also in deeds and daily encounters with others. Archbishop-designate Grünwidl’s episcopal ordination and installation Mass is expected later this year. (OSV News)
