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Marcus Peter of Catholic World Report argues that twelve U.S. bishops praying for the President has become a scandal that requires public apologies due to political division within Catholic discourse.

A United Nations report states that women and girls accounted for one in four of the more than 37,000 civilians killed in armed conflicts in 2025. This figure is double their share of civilian deaths recorded in 2021. The secretary-general’s annual report on Women, Peace and Security notes that at least 25 women and girls are killed every day in conflict settings.

The report indicates that 750 million women and girls live within 50 kilometers of active conflict, which is 40 million more than in 2024 and the highest number since 1990. UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda told journalists in New York that war is becoming deadlier for women and girls.

The UN verified 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, which is more than twice the number from the previous year and nearly four times the 2022 figure. In Haiti, reported cases of sexual violence increased by 163%.

Health risks for women in conflict zones have also increased. Gumbonzvanda stated that a woman giving birth in a conflict-affected country is five times more likely to die from maternal causes than a woman in a stable country. In Gaza, the report found that the destruction of hospitals and maternity facilities contributed to a 41% decrease in live births and a 300% increase in miscarriages.

Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J., pledged that the Catholic Church in Hong Kong will support migrant workers facing mistreatment and unfair dismissal. Speaking at the diocesan Migrants’ Day Mass at Christ the King Chapel in Causeway Bay, Chow stated the Church would walk alongside these workers to ensure their voices are heard.

The Mass, organized by the Diocesan Commission for Pastoral Services to Migrant Workers, drew approximately 700 people from various migrant communities. The event was held under the theme "Migrants’ Family: Messengers of Hope" and coincided with the 80th anniversary of the diocese.

In his homily, Chow attributed the mistreatment of migrant workers to a failure to recognize their inherent dignity. He acknowledged the hardships these workers face and thanked them for their contributions to the city. More than 10 priests concelebrated the Mass, including chaplains for the Filipino, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and German-speaking communities.

Catholic faithful in the Archdiocese of Maseru, Lesotho, gathered for Fatima pilgrimages on Saturday, October 24, 2026.

Archbishop José H. Gómez led a Mass at St. Matthias Church in Huntington Park on Oct. 18 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Fuerza Inc. The nonprofit organization supports Spanish-speaking parents of children with developmental disabilities.

Rosario Marín founded the organization 40 years ago after finding a lack of developmental resources available in Spanish. While Marín was able to access support groups in Los Angeles for her son, who has Down syndrome, she noted that non-English-speaking parents were often excluded from such services.

Fuerza Inc. began by serving families of children with Down syndrome but expanded its scope through conferences and symposiums. The organization now assists parents of children with various developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy.

Commission secretaries met Tuesday, October 27, at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands headquarters in Port Moresby.

The meeting brought together departmental leaders and General Secretary Father Lawrence Arockiaraj. The participants met to align pastoral strategies and improve collaboration between different commissions.

The Daughters of St. Paul celebrated 50 years of presence in Kenya during a Golden Jubilee on October 25 at their community in the Archdiocese of Nairobi.

The congregation arrived in Nairobi on February 15, 1976, following an invitation from Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga to operate the diocesan bookshop. Sister Mari Lucia Kim, the Superior General of the Rome-based congregation, expressed gratitude for the sisters' work using books, audio-visual tools, and the internet to share the Gospel. Sister Kim noted that the Nairobi community has since expanded to become a provincial house.

Sister Janet Angala, the Provincial Superior for Eastern Africa, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, read the Superior General's speech. The address highlighted the sisters' service in distributing various editions of the Bible, including the African Bible edition.

The Tanzania Episcopal Conference has called for national prayers on Thursday, October 29, to remember victims of violence related to the 2025 elections. Bishop Wolfgang Pisa, chairman of the conference and bishop of the Lindi Diocese, issued the request in a letter dated October 23.

Bishop Pisa noted that the events following the disputed elections on October 29, 2025, which included reported killings and a crackdown, continue to cause pain and mourning in the country. He asked the faithful to pray for those who were injured, went missing, or died during the unrest.

The bishops recommended that parishes, prayer centers, and Church institutions across Tanzania celebrate Holy Masses for these intentions and for the nation. These Masses may be held in the morning at the usual time or at another convenient time using the daily readings or other appropriate texts.

St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers and journalists, taught that measured speech is essential to spiritual life. According to Angie Allen for Catholic Exchange, the saint emphasized speaking with honesty and kindness while warning against excessive or careless words.

The saint identified six pillars for mindful speech: gentleness, using reason to control the tongue, brevity, avoiding mockery, avoiding indecent language, and maintaining a lighthearted manner without ridicule. He believed that mastering speech helps a person grow closer to God.

While the saint valued controlled speech, he did not advocate for constant silence. He taught that wisdom consists of knowing when and how to speak and when to remain silent.

An article by Angie Allen for Catholic Exchange examines how individuals may test God through bad faith and a lack of desire to know Him.

Drawing on the Gospel of Matthew, Allen notes that the Pharisees and Herodians attempted to entrap Jesus with questions regarding the legality of paying census taxes to Caesar. The report describes this as a malicious pretense intended to trick Jesus rather than a sincere effort to learn about God.

The text contrasts this behavior with the biblical account of the Persian emperor Cyrus, whom God used to liberate His people from Babylonian captivity despite Cyrus not knowing God. Allen suggests that while God can work through those who do not know Him, believers are called to a living communion with God through Jesus Christ.

Catholic Exchange reports that the use of contraception serves as a test of how Catholics practice their belief in God.

In his book Three to Get Married, written seventy-five years ago, Fulton J. Sheen argues that marriage is an opportunity to embrace or exclude God. Sheen writes that the love between a husband and wife is perfected when it becomes triune, involving the lover, the beloved, and love itself. He states that the Sacrament of Matrimony brings God into marriage as the creator of life.

Sheen describes human procreation as a continuation of God's creation. He characterizes contraception as a disruption between creation and procreation that signals a choice by spouses to live without being open to new life from God.

Dr. Philippa Martyr addressed the risks of Catholic celebrity culture and parasocial relationships in a column for The Catholic Weekly. She noted that a bishop in the United States recently instructed a priest serving as an exorcist to withdraw from public engagements for one year.

Martyr expressed concern that online fame and media cycles can negatively affect clergy and their followers. She observed that some supporters focus on spreading news about specific Catholic personalities rather than the Gospel. This tendency toward personality cults can distract from a person's primary relationship with God.

Pat McCloskey, OFM, explains the tradition of burying a statue of Saint Joseph on property intended for sale. While the exact origins of this popular piety are difficult to determine, the custom is linked to Saint Joseph's role as the patron of families. This practice is more common during the sale of houses than business property.

The tradition coincides with a global increase in devotion to Saint Joseph and the Holy Family during the 19th century. This period of devotion served as a Catholic response to the social stresses the Industrial Revolution placed on families moving from agricultural to factory work.

McCloskey notes that several figures expressed similar trust in Saint Joseph's providence. The architect Antoni Gaudí suggested that Saint Joseph would complete the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, a church that remains under construction. Similarly, Saint André Bessette expressed trust that Saint Joseph would provide for the Oratory on Mount Royal in Montréal. Pope Benedict XVI previously dedicated the Sagrada Familia.

The Southern Cross published the Mass readings for the liturgical period from November 1 to November 8, 2026, following Year A of the weekday cycle and Year II of the Sunday cycle.

Randall Smith of The Catholic Thing noted that a priest recently addressed the challenges of artificial intelligence during Mass, describing the technology as a pivotal choice for humanity.

Smith observed that while some claim society has entered a new age where everything has changed, these views are often influenced by specific interpretations of the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Modern World, Gaudium et spes. He noted that Gaudium et spes 4 describes the human race as being in a new stage of history due to rapid global changes.

However, Smith pointed out that the Council fathers also warned that such transformations bring serious difficulties. The document notes that as humans extend their power, they do not always use it for their own welfare. The Council fathers identified several problems resulting from these changes, including starvation, lack of education, the threat of atomic weapons, and increased atheism.

The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) Association of the Kerema Diocese held a three-day pilgrimage at St. Vincent de Paul Terapo Parish. More than 100 members from Moripi and Terapo parishes in the East Deanery participated in the event.

James Miri of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands reported that the gathering sought to strengthen the faith and unity of association members. The participants also raised funds to purchase a new statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart for the Kerema Diocese.

The Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram celebrated 75 years of missionary work in Thailand with a thanksgiving Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Chiang Mai on Oct. 24.

Bishop Peter Suphot Roeksujarit of Chiang Mai presided over the Mass. He was joined by Archbishop Peter Bryan Wells, the apostolic nuncio to Thailand, and Bishop Joseph Wuttilert Haelom of Chiang Rai. Priests, religious brothers and sisters, and laypeople from mountain parishes in the Lanna region also attended.

The Bétharram mission began in the early 1950s after political upheaval in China forced the French congregation to leave Yunnan Province. The missionaries moved into northern Thailand, working in the provinces of Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. For 75 years, the congregation has served Indigenous hill tribe communities in the highlands.

Very Rev. Luka Kriangsak Kitsakulwong, the superior of the Thailand-Vietnam Region for the congregation, noted that the missionaries initially faced language barriers, unfamiliar cultures, and difficult terrain while traveling on foot through forests to reach isolated communities.

Dr. Philippa Martyr questioned the utility of the findings in the report Absent from the Table, noting that the survey participants do not accurately represent the Australian Catholic population.

The study surveyed just under 2,000 people who do not attend Mass. Martyr noted several demographic discrepancies between the participants and the broader Church. While 30 percent of Australian Catholics live in Victoria, only 10 percent of the study participants were from that state. Additionally, 69 percent of participants were female, compared to 53 percent of the Catholic population according to the 2021 Census.

The report's participants also differed in education and occupation. Martyr stated that 71 percent of those surveyed held university degrees, whereas approximately 25 percent of Australian Catholics do. Furthermore, 48 percent of participants worked in professional occupations, compared to 37 percent of the general Catholic population. Martyr concluded that the study primarily reflects the opinions of white, middle-class, highly educated women aged 40 to 60.

Mary Matestic writes that the call to sainthood is a universal vocation rather than a status reserved for a special few. She notes that many people mistakenly believe holiness is only for certain individuals, but historical figures came from all walks of life and various social conditions.

Matestic uses the life of Saint Francis of Assisi to illustrate that saints often experienced significant personal struggles. She observes that after his time in prison, Francis experienced melancholy and depression as he moved away from his former identity of popularity and ribaldry.

The article also references Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, who suggested that becoming saints is the only way to live through troubled times.

Dr. Joanna Howe has launched legal action against the University of Adelaide in the Federal Court.

In an email to supporters on October 23, Howe stated that she is facing more than 200 allegations and sub-allegations regarding her views on topics such as abortion and gender ideology. She noted that none of these complaints relate to her academic work or her conduct in the classroom. Howe, a professor appointed in 2023, said the legal action concerns her ability to express views that disagree with prevailing academic orthodoxy.

Howe is an expert in labor law, migration policy, and the legal regulation of temporary labor migration. She holds a PhD from the University of Oxford and has authored three books. She stated that the case concerns academic freedom and the protection of conservative, Christian, and junior academics in the workplace.

Dr. R. Jared Staudt explains that OCIA is not a class but a process involving the new birth of Baptism.

John F. Doherty reports in Public Discourse that antisemitism is increasing among non-Jews as the generations that lived through World War II pass away.

Doherty notes that some people are voicing fears of secret Jewish conspiracies involving Jeffrey Epstein or the state of Israel. These claims often lack evidence, as court examinations of Epstein's activities found no such conspiracy and many accusations against the Israeli government do not align with facts.

The report references Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism, noting a tendency to believe that hatred against Jewish people stems from their perceived power and influence. This perspective suggests that organized hatred is viewed by some as a reaction to Jewish importance in human affairs.

Francine and Byron Pirola suggest that the upcoming feasts of All Saints on November 1 and All Souls on November 2 serve as an invitation to practice memento mori, or remembering one's death. They write that contemplating death is not intended to be morbid but is a way to live more wisely.

The authors note that the month of November provides a season for remembrance and for considering the afterlife. They state that beliefs regarding eternity and what follows death influence how a person lives in the present. They observe that modern culture often prioritizes extending life or improving quality of life through diet and medical treatments, but they suggest that religious reflection offers a different perspective on how to approach mortality.

The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth held its annual trick-or-treat event to connect Halloween celebrations with the Catholic tradition of honoring the saints. The event featured a department booth decorating contest centered on the theme of classic family fun.

The housekeeping department received the award for best overall booth for its Mario-themed display, which included handmade decorations and interactive elements. Sisters from the Global Exchange in India served as judges for the contest, evaluating entries based on creativity, originality, and team participation.

The SCN Center, representing the COFA, the Central Leadership Team, and the SCN Ministry Fund, received the Sustainable Booth Award. This award recognized choices that reflected the commitment of the Sisters to caring for creation. Carolyn Cromer, director of ecological sustainability, evaluated more than 10 entries based on the use of reused decorations and costumes, the avoidance of single-use plastics, and candy packaging.

Hundreds of parishioners gathered at St. Matthew’s Windsor Parish on Sunday, September 20, 2026, to celebrate the feast day of their patron saint, St. Matthew the Apostle. The event also marked the 186th anniversary of the parish.

Parish priest Fr. Ranillo Creta celebrated the Mass alongside Deacon Paul Tran and Deacon Michael Tan. During his homily, Fr. Creta spoke about the conversion of St. Matthew, noting how the apostle left his life as a tax collector to follow Jesus.

This annual celebration was first held in 2025.

Paul Seaton argues that seminaries should include political philosophy and the study of statesmanship in their curricula. Writing for Catholic World Report, Seaton draws on his experience teaching in seminary programs and Catholic colleges to support the inclusion of these subjects.

Fr. Bonaventure Luchidio, the director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Kenya, called on Catholics to turn the missionary zeal from the centenary of World Mission Sunday into practical actions. In a reflection on October 26, Fr. Luchidio said the celebration of World Mission Sunday on October 18 should lead to a renewed commitment to evangelization rather than serving as a conclusion to the festivities.

Fr. Luchidio said the faithful should support the global Church through prayer and the sharing of material resources. He noted that every baptized person has a role in the Church's mission. He also suggested that the unity expressed during the centenary should be applied to daily parish life and family relationships to help reduce community divisions, violence, and polarization.

The director's remarks followed a video message released on October 7 by Pope Leo XIV, which addressed the faithful regarding the mission.

On the podcast The Spiritual Life, Father James Martin interviewed philanthropist Tim Busch about how exploring various forms of prayer and spirituality has encouraged him to pursue conversations intended to overcome polarization within the Church.