The Church in Vietnam

Monsignor Robert Sarno recently spoke on the theology of canonization during the second annual Saints on Their Way event at Seton Shrine. A retired priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and former official of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Sarno shared insights from his decades of work with canonization causes.

Sarno identified two primary reasons for looking to the saints. He stated that the saints serve as examples of imitation because they lived lives of heroic virtue despite facing many challenges. He also noted they serve as intercessors who bring petitions to God.

Sarno emphasized that saints are not perfect people. He cited Saint Padre Pio as an example, noting the saint was known to have a quick temper. He described holiness as something unique to each person, expressed through their specific vocation and where they live.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged participants to use technological innovation to serve human dignity, care for the created world, and promote the common good.

Montserrat Alvarado will become the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication on November 1. Pope Leo XIV appointed Alvarado, the former president and chief executive of EWTN News, to the position in early June.

Alvarado is the first laywoman who is not a member of a religious order to be appointed as a prefect of a Vatican dicastery. In an interview with EWTN News In Depth, she described the new role as a privilege, an honor, and a great adventure.

Alvarado stated that the mission of the dicastery is to communicate Christ to the world in communion with the Pope. She noted that her work involves serving the Church and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the current pontificate rather than imposing personal views. She also acknowledged the challenges of moving to a new country and learning a new language.

The Argentine Episcopal Conference will provide approximately 55 hours of official live streaming during the apostolic journey of Pope Leo XIV from November 8 to 11, 2026.

The broadcasts will air on the YouTube channel of the Argentine Episcopal Conference to cover major events and collect testimonies. Father Pablo Savoia will serve as the priest lead for the streaming project, working with a team that includes Agustín Podestá, María Claudia Enríquez, Francisco Sosa, Father Luis Zazano, Milagros Ortiz, and Father Elías Mangini. Digital missionaries will be stationed at the various locations the pope visits.

This visit marks the first time a pope has traveled to Argentina in 39 years. The pope's broader South American tour includes stops in Uruguay and Peru between November 6 and 17. The theme for the Argentine visit is "Welcome all. Go and announce."

The Diocese of St. Rose of Lima in Guatemala has formed a multidisciplinary team to investigate a consecrated host that failed to dissolve in water and developed reddish stains. Bishop José Cayetano Parra assembled the group to determine if the stains are blood and to examine why the bread exhibited certain human characteristics.

The investigation follows an event on July 30 during a Mass at a school in Cuilapa. A priest intervened when a teenager removed the Eucharist from his mouth to prevent him from dropping it on the floor. The priest placed the host in a glass vessel of water in the chapel of the Cathedral of the Child Jesus rectory, intending for it to dissolve naturally. On August 6, observers noted the host had not dissolved and showed red spots.

The investigative team includes a biologist, a physician experienced in similar cases, a psychologist, a nurse, a layperson from the community, and a priest from outside the local parish. Father José Alejandro García, the cathedral parish priest, stated that scientific studies may take several months. The diocese has asked the faithful to remain prayerful and patient, noting that only the Holy See has the authority to recognize a Eucharistic miracle.

Pope Pius XI ordained six Chinese priests as bishops at St. Peter's Basilica on October 28, 1926. The Pope selected each candidate from lists sent from China.

The ordinations were intended to establish native Chinese leadership within the local Church. The event occurred during a period when missions in China operated under a French protectorate. This historical milestone is noted in relation to the 2018 provisional agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China regarding the appointment of bishops. Under that agreement, the Vatican and Beijing follow a procedure where the Pope maintains the final decision on appointments.

The Church celebrates the feast of the apostles Saint Simon and Saint Jude Thaddeus on October 28.

Tradition holds that the two apostles preached the Gospel together and were martyred together. According to various historical accounts, Saint Simon was killed by being sawn in half, while Saint Jude Thaddeus was executed by an axe blow.

Saint Jude Thaddeus is often referred to as the patron of difficult or hopeless cases. He is credited with writing a letter in the New Testament that warns against false teachers and moral corruption. In the Gospel of John, he is noted for asking Jesus how the Lord would manifest himself to the disciples rather than to the world.

Saint Simon is identified in the Gospels as the Cananean. Some traditions suggest he was a relative of Jesus. Because of his martyrdom, he is sometimes depicted with a saw and is considered a patron saint of woodcutters.

Technology companies are seeking input from faith leaders and philosophers to help teach artificial intelligence how to distinguish right from wrong.

Chris Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, stated that questions regarding morality cannot be answered in a laboratory but are instead addressed by religious traditions. Olah made these comments during a Vatican presentation of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence.

As executives debate how to develop morally good models and address the destructive potential of AI, some observers note a lack of public scrutiny regarding how these companies define religion or what they intend to gain from religious engagement.

Pope Leo XIV accepted the honorary title of Papal Confrater of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor on October 23, 2026. King Charles III, the dean, and the canons of Windsor granted the title with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The title serves as a visible sign of spiritual communion, ecumenical friendship, and Christian brotherhood. It recognizes progress in relations between the Catholic Church, the Church of England, and the Anglican Communion. This honor follows the King's appointment as a Royal Confrater of the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome during his visit to the Vatican on October 23, 2025.

Archbishop Leo Cushley, the president for ecumenical relations of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said the gesture shows a desire to promote Christian unity by emphasizing common values and mutual respect. St. George’s Chapel is a place of worship within the Church of England and the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter.

More than 500 million Christians live in countries where access to the Bible is restricted, according to a study by the Bible Access Initiative. The research indicates that over 125 million of these people cannot access the Bible in any form due to religious, political, economic, and educational barriers.

The Bible Access Initiative, a collaborative program between several Christian organizations, identified several primary obstacles to accessing scripture, including persecution, poverty, illiteracy, political restrictions, and a lack of internet connectivity. The study notes that difficulties arise not only from bans or controls but also from living conditions and the ability of believers to receive the text.

The study produced two separate lists based on its findings. The first list identifies the ten countries with the most severe restrictions on Bible access: Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Triều Tiên, Eritrea, Mauritania, Turkmenistan, Libya, Sudan, and Iran. The second list identifies the ten countries with the greatest shortage of Bibles: Cộng hòa Dân chủ Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ấn Độ, Uganda, Tanzania, Trung Quốc, Indonesia, Angola, and Mozambique.

Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo has announced plans for the first synod in the history of his diocese. The assembly will address evangelical needs and challenges.

Bishop Hansen unveiled the plans on October 18 during the observance of World Mission Sunday. The announcement comes as the Catholic Church in Scandinavia experiences an increase in conversions. Ragnhild Aadland Høen, public affairs officer for the Council of Catholic Bishops in Norway, stated that the Church is seeing a rise in adult initiation courses and confirmations. She noted that young people are increasingly finding community within local parishes.

Pope Leo XIV urged educators to recognize the challenges facing young people, including digital loneliness, broken families, and the pressure of a performance-driven culture. Speaking on October 22 to 1,200 participants at an international conference on school and university ministry in Rome, the pope addressed the difficulties students face in modern educational environments.

The conference was organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education under the direction of Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça. During his address, the pope noted that many students feel anonymous in schools and universities. He warned that a misguided meritocracy, which constantly compares and ranks individuals, can fail to respect people and cause them to give up. He also observed that some young people feel paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes or failing to meet expectations.

Pope Leo XIV stated that Catholic schools and universities should serve as a home where students feel known and valued. He described a welcoming environment as one where educators recognize a student's presence, remember their name, and notice when they are absent.

During the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus identifies two commandments that serve as the foundation for all religious law: loving God and loving one's neighbor.

A scholar of the law questioned Jesus to determine which commandment was the greatest. Jesus responded that the first is to love the Lord with all one's heart, soul, and mind, and the second is to love one's neighbor as oneself. These two commandments underpin the entire law and the prophets.

The readings for this Sunday also address the Mosaic Law's requirements for treating specific groups with justice and dignity, including foreigners, widows, and orphans. Father Koch, in a reflection for The Monitor, noted that the Mosaic Law demanded non-Israelites living in the land be treated with the rights due to them as human persons.

The Panamanian Bishops' Conference reported that more than 100 Catholic churches, chapels, and parish buildings sustained damage following a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on October 9. A preliminary report released by the conference on October 19 identified 149 religious spaces affected across various dioceses.

In the Diocese of Santiago de Veraguas, the report classified the St. Isidore the Farmer parish church in Soná and the Jesus of Nazareth Minor Basilica in Atalaya as totally destroyed. Other serious damage was noted in the Diocese of Penonomé at St. John the Baptist Parish, which has cracks in its side walls and choir balcony, and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, where the top of the oldest tower partially collapsed.

In the Diocese of Chitré, St. Athanasius Church lost the top level of its tower and sustained wall cracks. The Diocese of David reported that Our Lady of Remedies sustained sinking, wall tilting, and tower cracks. In the nation's capital, the Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria la Antigua has significant cracks and damage to the sacristy dome.

The earthquake, which occurred at 12:56 local time with an epicenter northwest of Tonosí, also caused one death and 27 injuries, according to the National Civil Protection System. More than 9,000 homes were damaged. The bishops' conference noted that many structures still require professional inspection.