Catholic news today

Catholic musician and composer Craig Colson will lead a praise and worship evening on Oct. 16 at St. Mary Parish in Hales Corners. He is also scheduled to speak at a conference on Oct. 17 titled “Hope and Healing After Loss,” presented by the Archdiocesan Liturgical Music Association at the same parish.

The conference aims to teach parish ministers how to accompany community members experiencing grief and loss. During his presentation, Colson will share how his personal experiences with loss led him to use music as a ministry for those in mourning.

Colson previously worked as an associate music director and associate youth minister at St. Theresa Parish in Phoenix. His musical background includes studies at Mesa Community College and Arizona State University, and he has performed drums at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The All India Catholic Union (AICU) expressed grave alarm on Tuesday regarding police actions against protesters demanding the resignation of India's chief election official. The organization, which represents lay Catholics from the Latin, Syro-Malabar, and Syro-Malankara Churches, called for the immediate release of all protesters detained during demonstrations against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The AICU stated that police actions, including mass detentions and prohibitory orders, appear intended to intimidate protesters rather than protect them. The group appealed for an independent judicial inquiry into police excesses, specifically noting the treatment of women, journalists, and lawyers.

To address the situation, the AICU requested that the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi be restored as a site for peaceful assembly. The organization also called for the protection of press freedom, the impartial functioning of the Election Commission of India, and dialogue between the government, opposition parties, and civil society to restore constitutional trust.

Bishop Jeffrey R. Haines described the long-standing missionary relationship between St. Frances Cabrini Parish in West Bend and the Kobonal Haiti Mission in the Diocese of Hinche.

The twinning relationship began in 1989 and centered on a large parish and school in the rural Central Plateau region of Haiti that enrolled more than 1,200 students. For 14 years, starting in June 1996, Haines served as pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Parish, where parishioners traveled annually to Kobonal to provide aid to residents. Haines noted that the missionaries often felt they received more from the faith of the Haitian people than they provided through their service.

Bishop David M. O'Connell and parishioners visited the relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous at St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral in Freehold during the weekend of Oct. 10-11. Father Brian Meinders, the parochial vicar, led an opening prayer service when the relics arrived around noon on Oct. 10.

Bishop O'Connell and diocesan chancellor Father Jean Felicien attended the arrival while participating in a diocesan PTA breakfast conference at the parish center. The relics are part of a national tour that began in the United States in September after traveling from Lourdes, France.

Pope Leo XIV is recovering at Gemelli Hospital in Rome this week following lung surgery.

The Catholic News Agency reports that the faithful may turn to St. Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan friar and patron saint of lung diseases and respiratory illnesses, for intercession. Bernardine Albizeschi overcame severe throat and respiratory issues early in his life.

Before becoming an evangelist, Bernardine spent years ministering to the sick and dying. Between 1397 and 1400, he served at a hospital in Scala and eventually took charge of the facility during a plague outbreak in Siena.

St. John the Baptist Parish in Plymouth and St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Elkhart Lake have supported the Mary Mother of God Perpetual Help Center in Tanzania through a twinning relationship since 2018. Seven members from these Wisconsin parishes visited the center in August to observe the results of their support.

The partnership assists ZeruZeru Simama Sasa, a nonprofit founded in 2013 by Eric and Dr. Karene Boos. The organization was established after the Boos, then parishioners at St. Thomas Aquinas, witnessed the persecution of people living with albinism in Tanzania. The name ZeruZeru reclaims a Swahili slur used against people with albinism to promote dignity.

In Tanzania, albinism occurs in approximately 1 in 1,400 people, a higher frequency than in North America or Europe. Children with the condition face discrimination and threats from individuals who believe their body parts possess magical or healing properties. The nonprofit works alongside Sister Helena Ntambulwa at the Mary Mother of God Perpetual Help Center to support these children.

Pope Leo XIV announced he will undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule. Senior cardinals praised the disclosure as an unprecedented gesture of transparency and humility.

Pope Leo XIV is addressing the challenges facing marriage and the Church's ability to reach young people ten years after the publication of Amoris Laetitia.

Jhado Rinpoche led a group of students from Mongolia, Singapore, Australia, and other regions on a pilgrimage to Sri Lanka from July 18 to 25, 2026. The nine day journey brought together Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist practitioners at sites such as the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura.

Venerable Tenzin Lekdron accompanied Rinpoche and his students during the trip. According to Lekdron, the pilgrimage provided an opportunity to meet with the Malwatte Mahanayaka Thero, the head of all Theravada Buddhist lineages in Sri Lanka, to strengthen the relationship between the different traditions.

Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, discussed immigration and the Catholic call to welcome strangers in a radio interview with Christopher Gunty. Pimentel described her decades of service at the southern border and how her organization supports vulnerable families through emergency assistance, including food, shelter, and help for those facing homelessness.

Pimentel explained that Catholic Charities also addresses food insecurity, housing insecurity, and family separation. She noted that immigration is one part of a broader mission that includes working with civic groups, local organizations, and other faith communities to respond to disasters and help struggling families.

The interview comes ahead of Pimentel's scheduled visit to Maryland to serve as the keynote speaker for the Catholic Charities of Baltimore symposium. That event will take place on Oct. 21 at the Church of the Nativity in Timonium.

Kevin Clarke offers a reflection for Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time, encouraging readers to experience the fruit of the Spirit.

The 2023 horror film The Boogeyman is available for streaming on Netflix. Directed by Rob Savage, the movie follows a widowed father and his daughters as they deal with an unwelcome visitor. Based on a 1973 short story by Stephen King, the film features minimal blood and focuses on the family's dynamics.

The Motion Picture Association rated the film PG-13, cautioning parents that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. OSV News classified the film as A-III for adults due to stylized violence, gruesome imagery, profanity, and crude language.

Archbishop Curley High School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel School will play in the inaugural PIE Homecoming Classic on Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. The game takes place at Under Armour Stadium in the Baltimore Peninsula to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Partners In Excellence scholarship program.

Roxanne Fiddler, the program director, and the PIE board of advisors organized the event as a fall season celebration. The matchup features two Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference teams that were already scheduled to play a league game.

The Cougars of Mount Carmel enter the game following a 28-21 loss to John Carroll on Oct. 2, though they previously outscored their first three opponents 132-22. The Curley Friars recently defeated St. Vincent Pallotti 41-0, led by running back Mike Cutchember.

Rita Buettner of the Catholic Review reflected on the human desire to witness significant events, noting the 109th anniversary of the miracle of the sun in Fátima, Portugal.

The reflection follows an attempt to view a jellyfish cloud created by a SpaceX launch in Florida from Maryland. Buettner noted that despite searching the sky, the cloud could not be seen, possibly due to light pollution, trees, or location. She connected this search for visual phenomena to the broader human tendency to seek clarity, answers, and signs of God's presence during difficult times.

Mount Olivet Cemetery and Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services of Colorado will offer local Catholics the opportunity to inter the remains of loved ones at no cost on Monday, November 2.

The annual commemoration, titled Bring Them Home, allows families to provide a final resting place for deceased relatives without charge.

The National Association of Catholic Church Musicians changed its name on Oct. 6 to mark 50 years of service to liturgical music in the United States. Formerly known as the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the group intends to continue its work of training musicians to support sacramental worship.

Anna Betancourt, the vice chair of the association, said the organization aims to help worshippers encounter God through music. Betancourt previously led cathedral choirs in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Anaheim before moving to Texas.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin reported that Pope Leo XIV sent greetings to the group for its national convention in July. The Pope expressed hope that the efforts of these musicians will help the Church offer reverent and dignified worship in parishes, schools, and other institutions.

Street children in southern Nairobi, Kenya, explore their talents and dreams at the Tone la Maji center, according to Vatican News. The center's name means "a drop of water."

Pallium Canada is calling for a new approach to medical care that could prove economically beneficial in the long run.

Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told justice and peace coordinators in Southern Africa to center their advocacy on human dignity. In a video address to participants at a five-day workshop, she stated that every social injustice involves a person whose life requires recognition and protection.

The workshop brings together coordinators from the six episcopal conferences within the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA). The event focuses on empowering religious leaders to advocate for socio-political, economic, and environmental issues across the region.

Sr. Smerilli identified several key areas for advocacy, including economic justice, governance, human rights, human trafficking, xenophobia, natural resources, and integral ecology. She noted that these topics represent real human experiences, such as families forced from their homes or victims of human trafficking. She explained that the Church advocates for these issues because of the call to ensure everyone enjoys life in its fullness and that the dignity of every person is respected.

The Lamp published a piece questioning the ethics of those intending to watch a proposed broadcast from the Trump administration, which the author characterizes as a snuff film.

The author asks viewers to consider their motivations and the settings in which they might watch the proceedings, whether on large home theater systems or mobile devices. The text questions if watching the events live will convince viewers of the power of the military, the impartiality of the legal system, or the nature of divine justice. Additionally, the author asks if viewers will discuss their viewing habits with others and if those who do not watch should be scorned. The piece attributes the idea for the proceedings to Peter Hegseth.

Pope Leo XIV arrived at the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome to greet patients and staff, according to Vatican News.

Cardinal Arthur Roche stated in an interview that the Pope will not reverse the provisions of Traditionis Custodes or return to the norms of Summorum Pontificum.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina presided over the recitation of the Holy Rosary on October 13, 2026.