Jordan’s Church leaders back bill expanding legal options for Christian families
The Council of Heads of Churches in Jordan welcomed the Cabinet’s approval of a 2026 bill amending the Christian Denominations Councils Law and its referral to Parliament to complete the constitutional process.
The proposed changes are expected to allow Christians to address a range of personal status matters under their churches’ laws, including marriage, divorce, wills, and adoption. The council emphasized that the bill reflects agreement among the churches and now awaits completion of the legislative process.
In a statement issued Oct. 11, the council expressed appreciation to King Abdullah II, the prime minister, and Cabinet members for their attention to issues affecting Christians in Jordan.
The council said the Cabinet’s approval reflects the state’s commitment to protecting the rights of all citizens, respecting their religious traditions, and strengthening citizenship, justice, and equality under the rule of law.
It stressed that Christians are not a minority separate from society but an integral part of Jordan’s history, identity, and national development. They are partners in building the country, advancing its progress, and safeguarding its achievements, the council said.
The council also emphasized that shared citizenship provides the foundation for equal rights and responsibilities, national unity, and coexistence.
The statement concluded by praising the cooperation and agreement among the churches during the drafting process, which produced a unified legal framework for wills, inheritance, and adoption intended to meet Christian families’ needs and aspirations.
It urged both chambers of Parliament, the Senate and the House of Representatives, to fulfill their legislative role and approve the bill through the constitutional process so it can take effect.
Although the amendments would not establish full, automatic equality between men and women in inheritance, they would give parents greater scope to provide more equitably for sons and daughters through wills. The option of distributing an estate under the Islamic inheritance rules currently in use would remain available to those who prefer it.
The proposed amendments would also recognize the right to adopt, giving Christian families who wish to adopt the opportunity to welcome children deprived of family care and provide them with a stable home.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Pope leads pilgrims in prayer one day after leaving hospital
Pope Leo XIV appeared at the window of his private study in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Sunday, just one day after being discharged early from the hospital following surgery last Tuesday.
The pontiff thanked “all those who have prayed for me in recent days” and expressed “particular gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and all the staff of the Gemelli University Hospital,” where he was treated.
“This experience has made me feel a special closeness to all those who are going through illness and experiencing poor health,” Leo said.
“Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with Godʼs help and your prayers.”
The pope did not mention his planned trip to three countries in South America, scheduled for next month. The Vatican has announced no changes in that plan. The Vatican said last week that Leo had canceled all private audiences through Tuesday Oct. 20.
Sunday was the first time the Holy Father had spoken publicly since the operation. The appearance was eagerly awaited by Catholics around the world, who had anxiously followed each new official Vatican bulletin on his medical condition in recent days.
According to the official Vatican News outlet, 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square despite a morning of cloudy skies and intermittent rain in Rome. They were eager to see the pope recovering from surgery and to express their affection for him the day after his release from the hospital.
At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the pontiff left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital following his first hospitalization since the beginning of his pontificate, during which surgeons removed a malignant tumor from his right lung. Leo XIV appeared to be in good condition and walked with a steady gait, greeting several patients without showing signs of fatigue.
Smiling, the pope stopped to shake hands and speak with patients in the hospital corridors. About 15 minutes after leaving the hospital, the car carrying him entered Vatican City through the Perugino Gate.
For now, the pontiff will remain in Rome rather than travel to Castel Gandolfo, where he usually spends periods of rest.
A response that exposes hypocrisy
During his reflection before the Angelus prayer, the pontiff discussed one of Jesus’ best-known teachings: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Leo explained the context in which Jesus originally spoke the words, amid what the evangelist Matthew describes as “a situation of hostility towards Jesus.”
“The Pharisees gather together to see how they might catch him in his words,” the pope said, quoting the Gospel account. “They decide to send some people to question him on a controversial matter: ‘Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’”
According to Leo XIV, “The Teacher’s response is astute, for it allows him to avoid the trap and exposes the hypocrisy of those who seek to put him to the test.”
The Gospel recounts how Jesus asks to see the coin used to pay the tax, a denarius. After receiving it, he delivers the familiar teaching: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
“In Jesus, we contemplate a God who is not afraid of history but comes instead to dwell within it. His Kingdom does not abolish human roles and responsibilities,” the pontiff explained.
He emphasized, however, that Godʼs Kingdom “does, however, call us to live without compromise, free from selfish ambitions and unjust motives, seeking above all the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
Being truthful and free to do good
In this context, Leo XIV drew attention to the fact that Jesus’ questioners praised him despite their hostile intentions.
“In this regard, it is striking that those same people praise Jesus, even though their intentions are far from good,” he observed.
The pope recalled the words with which they addressed Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.”
Drawing on this passage, Leo XIV invited the faithful to reflect on what it means to live an authentic Christian life.
“Dear friends, this is precisely what it means to ‘give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s’: to be truthful, free from servile fear or hypocrisy, free to do good,” he said.
“Let us pray to the Lord to help us live in this way. And let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English. It has been updated at 6:20 am ET to include the pope’s remarks following the Angelus.
Priest in Ghana recounts escape from car fire, urges devotion to the rosary
ACCRA, Ghana — A Ghanaian Catholic priest has encouraged devotion to the rosary after recounting his escape from a burning car, which he attributed to the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In a reflection shared Oct. 14 — during the month dedicated to the traditional Catholic prayer of the rosary — Father David Obeng Paintsil, founder of the Global Rosary Network, recalled becoming trapped in his car while returning from a pastoral assignment 10 years ago.
Paintsil said he had led a three-day retreat at the invitation of another priest in a different diocese in Ghana. Before setting out on the return journey to his parish, he prayed the rosary and invited the Blessed Virgin Mary to accompany him.
After traveling for more than four hours, he heard an unusual noise from the car. He was about 15 minutes from his destination and stopped to investigate.
“I needed to stop and check what was happening,” the priest recalled during his reflection. “As soon as I parked the car and put off the engine, all that I saw was a huge fire. Boom! My car had caught fire.”
Paintsil said he tried to get out but found that the doors would not open and his seat belt remained locked.
“It was so intense. The doors of the car, as I tried to open them, were locked. My seat belt was locked. And I knew that was the end of my life,” he said.
Turning toward the passenger seat, he appealed to Our Lady, whom he had invited to accompany him, asking her to protect him.
Paintsil said that before he finished the prayer, the car doors opened and his seat belt was released, allowing him to get out.
The fire subsequently engulfed the car, he recalled, preventing him from retrieving his bag.
“Here I am. I have my life. And I said, well, God still has a mission for me to accomplish,” he said.
Reflecting on his devotion to the rosary, Paintsil said he had acquired it through family prayers and that the Lord had transformed his life in many ways.
“The rosary is really a wonderful prayer, a powerful prayer through which we can encounter God,” he said.
He encouraged others to pray the rosary, identifying it as a means of bringing people together in worship of God.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
International rosary in Rome held in advance of 100th World Mission Sunday
An international rosary in Rome united clergy, religious, and lay faithful to mark the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday.
The rosary was held on the grounds of the Pontifical Urban University on Oct. 17, the eve of this year’s World Mission Sunday on Oct. 18.
Led by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals and Grand Chancellor of the university, the rosary was recited in 13 languages across five mysteries representing Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.
The occasion also marked the 75th anniversary of the rosary’s establishment by Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, who was U.S. national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950 to 1966.
Sister Mary Teresa Baron, recently appointed president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, was not present during the rosary.
Several participants in the rosary explained how the faithful can support the Church’s missionaries beyond financial contributions.
Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, who serves as a secretary at the Dicastery for Evangelization, urged a focus on the Word of God.
“I am always a bit wary about monetizing mission,” Nwachukwu said to EWTN News. “So, I do not want to begin with money; I want to begin with the Word, because mission is all about bringing the Word of the Lord to the ends of the earth.”
At the same time, Nwachukwu indicated that supporting missionaries also means providing “the means to bring the Gospel to various places.” That support, he said, involves money.
“[Today] is also an occasion to tell people: please, be generous to missionaries,” Nwachukwu said.
Msgr. Thomas George Schluep, who also serves at the Dicastery for Evangelization, cited Pope Leo XIV’s message for World Mission Sunday as a reminder that unity in Christ precedes material support
“Pope Leo, in his message for this 100th Anniversary of World Mission Sunday, reminds us that we first must be one in Christ,” Schluep told EWTN News. “Our baptism calls us to be missionaries: to share that love with our families, our friends, our coworkers.”
Memories of missionaries, Pope Leo’s return from the hospital
Participants also shared personal anecdotes about missionaries and their impact on their faith journey.
Schluep shared his memory of Father Gerard Hammond, an American Maryknoll missionary priest known for his decades of humanitarian work in North and South Korea.
“I met him in Korea, where he had been serving since 1960 when he was ordained and sent on mission. He was celebrated by thousands of people in South Korea for bringing the faith to them over the course of 65 years,” Schluep said.
“In North Korea he could not speak of Christ, but his “apostolate of presence” and love for those suffering from tuberculosis was itself evangelization. He taught me a lot about the importance of being present to people, exactly where they are at in their lives, no matter the personal cost.”
Around the time the rosary was taking place, Pope Leo XIV returned to the Vatican after being hospitalized for surgery Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Nwachukwu expressed happiness at his return and hoped that “the Lord will keep him quite long among us”.
“We are all praying for him. We love the Pope, and we love what he is doing.”
The contributions of Americans
Schluep, an American from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also noted the significant contributions of Americans, such as Blessed Fulton Sheen, to missionary work through the Pontifical Mission Societies.
“The American contribution to the missions historically has been enormous,” Schluep noted.
“It was a great joy to see Fulton Sheen beatified, who did so much to evangelize the United States, but also who traveled personally to so many missions around the world and did so much to raise funds for those missions.”
Schluep said he hoped the example of Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, would encourage renewed American support.
“The fact that the Holy Father understands American culture and missionary life in Peru can help him in his particular guidance for us, but now he is the Pope of the entire world, and he calls us to think also of the entire world and not just our country, our families, and especially ourselves,” Schluep said.
Pope’s surgeon green lights Nov. 6–17 apostolic trip to Latin America
Pope Leo XIV has received the green light from his surgeon to proceed with his planned Nov. 6–17 apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.
In an interview with Vatican News following the Holy Father’s Oct. 17 discharge from the Gemelli Hospital, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who operated on Pope Leo on Oct. 13, said he expects Leo will be fully recovered and in shape to travel within the next “10 days or so.”
Calling him “an ideal patient,” Margaritora said that upon his discharge from the hospital Leo “was in entirely satisfactory clinical condition” with completely normal blood test results and heart function.
“The lung’s re-expansion after surgery is proceeding according to the usual timetable,” and “overall, his condition is good,” Margaritora added.
The surgeon indicated that the Holy Father’s lung adenocarcinoma was discovered during routine abdominal examinations, which underscores the importance of regular preventive checkups.
“In the Holy Father’s case, he had no respiratory symptoms and felt perfectly well,” the doctor noted.
The pope has “put his heart and soul” into his recovery, Margaritora said. “His determination to recover quickly has been effective in every respect” and “truly commendable,” he pointed out.
Illustrating the point, the doctor noted that on the second day after the operation, the medical staff found him arranging the chairs in the chapel himself. “Holy Father, we can do that,” Margaritora recounted. But Leo replied: “It doesn’t matter. I can do it, so I will.”
A century of Church growth: From 10 million to 347 million in the mission territories
A century after Pope Pius XI established World Mission Sunday, the Catholic Church has grown dramatically in the mission territories, from fewer than 10 million Catholics to nearly 347 million.
According to data from the website Domund100.es, produced by the Pontifical Mission Society of Spain, in 1925 the Church had 297 missionary dioceses, some of which encompassed entire countries.
There were 9,645,173 Catholics in these mission lands, representing 1.68% of the population. A century later, the number of Catholics in mission territories stands at 346,644,968, representing 8.6%.
This spread of the Gospel would not have been possible without the dedication of thousands of diocesan priests and men and women religious who answered the call to “go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation.”
A hundred years ago, missionaries numbered fewer than 10,000 priests, just over 2,300 male religious, and more than 20,000 female religious. Today, there are more than 100,000 priests, over 76,000 male religious, and more than 200,000 female religious in mission lands.
The Church’s evangelizing work has translated into concrete achievements. For instance, the number of parishes has grown from 627 to over 41,000 in a century.
Although there are no records from that time regarding schools or social institutions such as hospitals, orphanages, and care homes established by the Church in these regions, the comparison over the last 50 years speaks volumes: The number of schools rose from fewer than 50,000 to nearly 125,000, and social institutions increased from 12,000 to more than 26,000.
On average each day, over the last 100 years in mission territories, the Church has seen more than 9,000 people becoming Catholic, two priestly ordinations, five women taking vows as religious, and the construction of one parish church and three new schools.
1,133 missionary dioceses
Currently, the Pontifical Mission Societies support 1,133 missionary dioceses, those that following the initial proclamation of the Gospel do not yet possess sufficient resources of their own to sustain themselves and therefore depend on the Dicastery for Evangelization.
These dioceses, which account for one-third of the Catholic Church, are spread across 138 countries covering almost all of Africa and Asia (with the exception of the Philippines), Oceania (excluding Australia), and the Amazon basin in the Americas.
Given that two-thirds of the worldʼs population lives in these territories and considering the growth of the Catholic faith there, the face of the Church is gradually changing. Indeed, 22 out of every 100 Catholics are African, whereas 40 years ago African Catholics represented barely 7%.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Pope Leo XIV leaves Gemelli Hospital, returns to Vatican
Pope Leo XIV left the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time on Saturday to return to the Vatican.
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The 71-year-old pope had been admitted last Tuesday and underwent surgery just hours later to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. The procedure, which lasted about an hour and a half, was performed using a video-assisted technique, while an intraoperative histological examination confirmed a diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
His discharge from the hospital was announced by the pontiff’s attending physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Professor Stefano Margaritora.
As he left, the pope greeted the faithful gathered along the barriers. Daniele Franco, chairman of the board of the Gemelli University Hospital Foundation, was also there to welcome the pontiff upon his exit.
Before getting into the car, Leo greeted several members of the faithful who presented him with gifts. The pope did not stay in the papal suite on the hospitalʼs 10th floor, as it was undergoing renovation, but rather in adjacent rooms on the same floor.
Yesterday, the first postoperative images of the pope were released, showing Leo XIV presiding over Mass in a room at the Policlinico hospital that had been specially set up for the celebration. Beside the pope was his personal secretary, Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga.
Around noon on Saturday, Oct. 17, the pope also celebrated Mass before leaving the Roman hospital, the Holy See Press Office reported.
In the days following the surgery, Leo XIV has resumed his work, meeting at the hospital on various occasions with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals; and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome.
On Friday, the press office also reported on a telephone conversation between the pope and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sunday morning at noon, the pope will appear at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace for the customary recitation of the Angelus. It was only last Sunday that Leo XIV himself, at the conclusion of the Angelus prayer, announced the news of his imminent hospitalization and the associated surgery.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
For the first time in 5 years, the number of priests worldwide rose
The number of Catholic priests worldwide has risen again after five years of no growth, according to statistics published by the Vatican agency Fides ahead of the 100th World Mission Sunday, which will be celebrated Sunday, Oct. 18.
According to the Fides report, the total number of priests rose from 406,996 to 407,421, representing an increase of 425 compared with the previous year. The Vatican agency noted that the data comes from the Statistical Yearbook of the Church and is current as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Africa recorded the largest increase with 1,676 more priests, followed by Asia with 1,065. The Americas also reversed the previous yearʼs downward trend, adding 199 priests.
In contrast, Europe lost 2,483 priests over the course of the year, while Oceania recorded a decrease of 32.
The overall increase is attributed to the growth in the number of diocesan priests, which reached 279,238, an increase of 496 compared with the previous count. Meanwhile, the number of religious order priests fell by 71, standing at 128,183.
Despite the increase in the number of priests, the number of Catholics per priest also rose, reaching 3,491 — an increase of 38 compared with the previous year. The average number of inhabitants per priest also climbed, reaching 16,104.
At 1.4 billion, Catholics are 18% of global population
Fides statistics further indicated that the global Catholic population reached 1,422,144,000 as of June 30, 2024, an increase of 16.69 million over the previous year. Based on these figures, Catholics represent 17.8% of the worldʼs population.
Africa saw the largest growth in the number of Catholics, with an increase of 7.58 million, followed by the Americas, with a rise of nearly 7 million. Asia added 968,000, Europe 911,000, and Oceania 239,000.
Number of seminarians worldwide decreases
While the number of priests is rising, the number of seminarians is decreasing. The number of major seminarians stood at 103,604 worldwide, a decrease of 2,891 from the previous year.
Africa was the only continent to record growth, with 786 additional seminarians, whereas Asia saw a decline of 2,733, Europe 701, the Americas 227, and Oceania 16.
The number of minor seminarians also decreased, falling to 94,041, which is 980 fewer than in the previous count. Africa reversed the previous yearʼs trend, adding 132, while Oceania recorded an increase of 20. In contrast, Europe lost 872, Asia 182, and the Americas 78.
Catholic Church’s educational and charitable work
Fides also compiles figures on the Churchʼs educational work around the world. Globally, the Church administers 75,448 kindergartens with over 7.4 million pupils; 103,666 primary schools attended by more than 36.3 million students; and 51,810 secondary schools with over 20.3 million students.
Joining them are nearly 2.7 million students in higher education centers and more than 4 million in university institutions affiliated with the Catholic Church.
In its healthcare and social assistance work, the Church manages 101,110 facilities worldwide. These include 5,397 hospitals, 13,646 dispensaries, 16,263 homes for the elderly, the chronically ill, and people with disabilities, 8,138 orphanages, 10,624 marriage counseling centers, and 3,194 social education or rehabilitation centers.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
In a wealthy Asian city, a play asks why St. Clare of Assisi chose to own nothing
SINGAPORE — St. Clare of Assisi, as she appears on a church stage in Singapore this week, opens her story with a list of what her family owned. “We had money, we had servants ... we had horses,” she tells the audience. “We had everything, but for a girl like me, my life was already written for me.”
The line comes early in “TO GAZE: St. Clare of Assisi,” performed Oct. 16 and 17 at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, a Catholic parish in Bukit Batok in western Singapore served by Franciscan friars.
Presented by CANA, a faith-based community and cultural hub in Singapore, and Saint Max, the production is part of the celebrations of the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, which the worldwide Franciscan family has held to mark 800 years since Francis died in October 1226.
Actress Sharda Harrison wrote the script and plays the role of Clare; according to the organizers, she also directed the show. Fra Rowland Yeo, OFM, a Franciscan friar, plays St. Francis, and the productionʼs poster says all proceeds go to the development office of the Franciscan friars.
An organizer from CANA who asked not to be named said that after a year of jubilee celebrations for Francis, the play was a fitting way to close the celebration with “the precious legacy of St. Clare.” The group turned to Harrison, the organizer said, because she had portrayed St. Thérèse of Lisieux for them in 2024 in “St. Thérèse: The Little Way,” a play she also wrote and directed.
Asked what audiences should take home, the organizer answered with a question: “Why is poverty a privilege? ... Why is this crazy lady Clare so resolved to live it?”
The second and last performance falls on Oct. 17, the United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Medieval marriage, modern ‘swiping’
In a city-state where Catholics live alongside Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists, and others, the script reaches for references from everyday modern life. When Clareʼs father looks for a husband for her, suitors appear on a large screen: Guido, Bernardo, and Silvestro, “my fatherʼs favorite.” Clare asks the audience to vote. “In your time ... you swipe right if you like the boy, and you swipe left if you donʼt like the boy,” she says.
The comedy gives way to the turning point of her life. Clare describes Francis as a merchantʼs son “born into wealth just like me.” She says: “I realized that I had everything, but I wanted none of it.” She slips out of her family home on Palm Sunday night, has her hair cut before Francis, and faces her furious father: “I belong to Christ now, Father.”
It is not a one-woman show. Other actors play Clareʼs companions and the early friars, and Clare pulls women from the audience into the story, choosing them as “sisters” and giving them vows as her community grows.
‘The right to possess nothing’
Poverty runs through the script. Clare recalls that her mother, Ortolana, “saw God everywhere, especially in the poor,” and adds: “They were not hidden like today.”
“This is what it means to live in the privilege of poverty,” she says, “to be given the right to possess nothing.” The world, she tells them, “did not understand. Not even the Church.”
The title of the play echoes Clareʼs letters to St. Agnes of Prague, a princess who, in the playʼs words, “decided to give up everything to become a poor lady.”
In welcoming remarks before the curtain, Fra Michael DʼCruz, OFM, the Franciscan friar overseeing the event for the parish, quoted those letters and described how the two saints, Clare and Francis, worked together. “Francis was the voice; Clare was the quiet powerhouse of prayer,” he said.
Near the end, Clare looks back on a life of refusals. “Perhaps saying no was never the whole point,” she says. “I had to learn how to say yes, yes to Christ, yes to poverty.”
After the cast took their bow on opening night, Harrison dropped Clareʼs Italian accent to thank those present “for wanting to be here to listen to Clareʼs story,” promising “a bigger, grander farewell” for the last night.
St. Clare died in 1253 at San Damiano, near Assisi, Italy, her home “for the next 40 years,” as she says in the script.
German bishops join initiative for ‘child-friendly’ artificial intelligence
The German Bishops' Conference has joined an initiative that aims to make artificial intelligence safe and suitable for children, citing Pope Leo XIVʼs call to defend human dignity in the age of AI.
The initiative, called “KI kindgerecht!” (“Child-friendly AI!”), also involves Germanyʼs biggest Protestant body and an association of childrenʼs websites.
“AI is already embedded in many digital applications,” said Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, who chairs the bishops' media commission, in a statement Oct. 14.
"With the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV gives the Church a clear mandate: In the age of artificial intelligence, we must defend human dignity — especially where children are easily exposed to danger."
The initiative “combines protection, participation, and responsibility, and makes clear that digital spaces must serve the good of the child,” he said.
Responsibility must not be “shifted onto parents alone,” Bätzing added. “Precisely because we know how vulnerable children are, we see it as our duty to act as advocates for this group in need of protection — in the digital space as well. Technology must serve the human person, not purely economic interests.”
The Church in Germany is working with academics, educators, and interested providers on a code of conduct for child-friendly interactive AI, built on five principles: safety by design, respect for childrenʼs rights, age-appropriate spaces for participation, data protection, and human review.
The bishops also said providers “must be obliged to comply with child-friendly standards” and called for lasting investment in media education so children, parents, and teachers can learn to use AI confidently.
Vatican sharpens focus
The German initiative comes as the Church globally wrestles with AI and the Vatican sharpens its own focus on minors online.
At its Sept. 28–Oct. 2 plenary assembly in Rome, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors examined how digital technologies, AI, and websites are used in the pastoral care of children and backed wider collaboration with international partners and Curia offices so that “the dignity, safety, and wellbeing of children remain at the heart of technological development and governance,” Vatican News reported.
In March, Pope Leo XIV warned: “We must not allow children to end up believing they can find in artificial intelligence chatbots their best friends or the oracle of all knowledge, dulling their intelligence and their capacity for relationships, and numbing their creativity and thinking.”
Receiving participants of a Rome conference on “The Dignity of Children and Adolescents in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” on Nov. 13, 2025, Leo also warned that “children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to manipulation through AI algorithms that can influence their decisions and preferences.”
In Magnifica Humanitas, the encyclical on artificial intelligence published May 25, the pope wrote that “online phenomena such as grooming, blackmail, and the sexual exploitation of minors are not uncommon, and are made more insidious by the use of fake profiles, algorithms that facilitate dangerous contact, and AI tools capable of manipulating images and videos.”
This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.