Conference encourages Black Catholic men to lead families, parishes, and communities
Twenty-four years ago three priests from the Society of the Divine Word and founders of the Bowman Francis Ministry had the idea to bring Black Catholic men together for fellowship, workshops, discussions, and prayer — with the hope that the men would then take what they learned back to their communities and ministries. That dream eventually became an annual conference, and its 24th gathering just took place in Birmingham, Alabama, Oct. 15–18.
The Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference was created by Father Chester P. Smith, Father Charles Smith, and Father Kenneth Hamilton and invites Black Catholic men from across the United States for a weekend of faith, leadership, brotherhood, and cultural reflection.
This year’s conference — hosted by the Bowman Francis Ministry, the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries, and the Office of Black Catholic Ministry of the Diocese of Birmingham — had the theme of “The Rock I Stand On,” which aimed to equip participants with the spiritual and life skills needed to take on their roles as protectors and providers.
Attendees were able to experience a guided, firsthand look at Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights movement and engage in meaningful dialogue that connects faith, justice, and social responsibility. The Civil Rights Immersion Tour also included a Harambe Town Hall, which featured notable Birmingham community leaders debating todayʼs social and political climate.
Cameron Beatty serves as the conference’s program chair. For him, the conference holds a special place in his heart — Father Chester P. Smith was his godfather.
Beatty told EWTN News in an interview that he has been attending the conferences since they first started 24 years ago.
“I was in high school during the first one and I would be like a reader or an altar server … then I would start leading workshops or doing the youth workshops,” Beatty recalled. “Then it kind of evolved once he [Smith] passed away. [It was] like, ‘Hey, we need somebody to step up and take on some more leadership roles,’ because he would do a lot of the planning and the executing and thatʼs how I got involved in more of a leadership role once he passed.”
He added: “We want to make sure that his legacy lives on and his commitment to the ministry lives on, and I am very busy but this is something that Iʼm committed to because I believe in it strongly.”
Smith grew up in Chicago’s inner city and made history when he and his identical twin — Father Charles Smith — were ordained priests in 1988, becoming the first pair of African American twins to become priests in the United States. As a priest, he rose to become an international leader in African American ministry and youth outreach.
He founded Ambassadors of the Word, a peer group ministry program that fosters youth rites of passage and cross-cultural experiences. And he and his brother developed Boyhood to Manhood, a parish-based program to help young Black men realize their value, get in touch with their spirituality, and train future Church leaders. And he was a co-founder of the Bowman Francis Ministry, which is an outreach organization that evangelizes and ministers to Black Catholics.
Smith died on April 8, 2020, at the age of 60. Father Charles Smith is still alive.
Beatty called his godfather “an amazing, amazing person.”
“We would say they’re [the Smith brothers] the Ying and the Yang,” he shared. “Father Chester was the outgoing one, the boisterous one. He was the one that would go out and do revivals in Black Catholic communities, he would go out and do the Lent services. People from all over the country knew him because they would invite him to their parish as a guest priest or a guest homilist … Father Charles, heʼs a little — and Iʼll say this to his face — heʼs a little bit more reserved. He likes to keep to himself. He can still preach, he can still minister. But, them together were just a powerful force.”
Beatty explained that Smith’s great contribution to the Black Catholic community was that he remained “unapologetic” about the cultural aspect found in the identity of being a Black Catholic.
A couple of years before Smith passed away, Beatty recalled an instance where Smith gave a powerful message at the men’s conference. While Smith typically never chose to include himself in the list of speakers — he preferred remaining as the planner behind the scenes — that year he decided to preach.
“He preached that year and I just had never — Iʼve grown up with him, Iʼve known him my entire life — and Iʼve just never seen him preach that way,” Beatty shared. “He talked about the Promised Land, what does it mean to get to the Promised Land, and you canʼt just show up at the Promised Land, you have to work to get there … You hear it all the time, you hear the Scripture, you hear the reading, but I just had never heard it framed that way so passionately that it just resonated with me.”
He added: “I could see after he had preached, he was so drained and exhausted because he put everything, his whole body, his whole spirit, into that message. And I just had never felt that or seen that from him as many times as Iʼve seen him preach. And to me that was just transformative for me, and thatʼs why I commit to this and hope to see the conference go on for many, many years.”
Beatty said he believes a conference like the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference is needed “for folks to feel like they have a strong community.”
“Sometimes folks might be going to an African-American parish in their respective city or sometimes theyʼre the only Black family in their parish, given on where they live or practice their Catholicism,” he explained. “So, I think a conference like this gives folks an opportunity to come together with like-minded men … and itʼs an opportunity to have conversations that sometimes they canʼt have in their respective parishes.”
Beatty said he hopes that those who attended the conference took away “some energy to go back to their respective communities and still evangelize about what it means to be Catholic, about what it means to be Black and Catholic, about what it means to be a man that is Black and Catholic in terms of the leaders of their family, the leaders in their community, the leaders within their parishes, their churches, and take away some tools in order to enact those types of things of ministering to folks that might not have any idea of what it means to be Christian and to be Catholic.”
Falling cross that killed priest a punishment from God? A priest reflects
The death of Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari on Saturday, Oct. 17, which occurred when a cross fell on him while he was celebrating Mass in Guayaquil, Ecuador, has left Catholics in shock.
In response to comments on social media questioning whether the incident was a punishment from God, Father Juan Carlos Vásconez, a priest and rector of St. Josemaría Escrivá Church in Guayaquil, pointed to a passage from the Gospel to explain why it should not be interpreted in that way.
In comments to EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Vásconez spoke about the collapse of the tower of Siloam, which resulted in the deaths of 18 people (cf. Luke 13:4-5).
He explained that Jesus made it clear that the victims were no more sinful than the other inhabitants of Jerusalem. Rather than assigning them blame, the Lord called everyone to repentance.
“In the face of death, there is a message of equality. Life is fragile, and we will all go through that moment,” he said.
The priest recalled that Sánchez was very well loved in Guayaquil and noted his piety. In February, he had led a retreat that was attended by other priests.
A cross falls during Mass
For Vásconez, the circumstances surrounding the Redemptorist priest’s death also invite reflection on the Christian faith.
“The Mass is the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, and it is the greatest thing we Christians have here on earth,” he noted.
Vásconez shared in the grief caused by Sánchez’s passing, affirming that even in the midst of a tragedy, the faithful can find strength in God. He also asked for prayers for the Redemptorists and for the community of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, which has lost its parish priest.
“I would say that this will serve as a seed, inspiring [more men] to also want to dedicate themselves,” he added, referring to the possibility that the priest’s witness might encourage new vocations.
Reviewing safety in churches
Vásconez also called for an inspection of objects installed within churches to prevent accidents. He emphasized the need to ensure that crosses and religious images are securely fastened and that items attached to walls and ceilings are also checked.
He mentioned that he recently learned of another incident in which a piece of marble detached from a wall. Consequently, he explained that at the church where he serves, they will inspect the ceiling lights to ensure they are securely anchored.
“These are safety matters which incidents like this serve as a reminder to pay attention to such things,” he noted.
The priest asked for prayers for the parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and for the Redemptorist family following the death of Sánchez.
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.
U.S. bill would hold Syrian officials accountable for abuses against minorities
Amid reports of ongoing abuses against religious and ethnic groups in Syria, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pennsylvania, introduced a bill aimed at strengthening accountability for serious human rights abuses and persecution, including those targeting Christians and Alawites.
The bill calls for a report identifying Syrian officials suspected of involvement in the abuses and for consideration of targeted sanctions against them.
The bill is titled the “Syrian Religious and Ethnic Minorities Protection Act.” It was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as the House Committees on the Judiciary and Financial Services, for consideration of matters within their respective jurisdictions.
On his website, Mackenzie said the measure aims to strengthen congressional oversight, identify those responsible for abuses, and ensure the United States uses the tools available to hold them accountable. He said protecting religious freedom and human rights should remain a priority as Syria builds its future.
The bill’s text, which is supported by In Defense of Christians, the American Syriac Union, and the Alawites Association of the United States, cites reports of unlawful detention, ongoing sectarian violence against minorities fueled by hate speech whose perpetrators go unpunished, the abduction of women and minors, mass dismissals from employment, enforced disappearances, intimidation and property seizures, forced displacement, police abuse of authority, government-backed looting, coercion to change religion, and extrajudicial killings.
The bill also draws on reports from international organizations, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, documenting continued violations of religious freedom and persecution based on religious and ethnic identity. It points to the Syrian transitional authorities’ failure to include minorities in governance and the transition, investigate crimes against them, and prosecute those responsible. It also cites reports that foreign fighters remain in senior positions within state and security institutions.
Under the bill, the U.S. secretary of state, in coordination with the director of national intelligence, would be required to submit a report to the relevant committees within 90 days of the bill’s enactment. The report would identify senior Syrian officials and people associated with them who are credibly suspected of participating in, directing, facilitating, or covering up the abuses, and assess whether measures should be imposed against them.
Possible measures include blocking property, visa and entry restrictions, financial restrictions, and other actions authorized under U.S. law.
From rector in Rome to bishop in England, Stephen Wang embraces new mission of truth and love
Following Pope Leo XIV’s announcement in July, Father Stephen Wang became the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton on Oct. 19 at the Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Philip Howard in England.
The milestone event at the cathedral in West Sussex gathered key figures across the community — from Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, the papal nuncio to Great Britain, to local priests, religious orders, and lay Catholics — alongside representatives from neighboring Christian churches as well as the Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu traditions, all standing together to mark this new chapter for the diocese.
Reflecting on his personal faith journey, Wang recalled converting to Catholicism decades prior in Harpenden, England. He shared how an icon given to him by a friend during his youth — inscribed with St. Paul’s reassurance that the Lord is faithful and will bring all things to fulfillment — has continually guided his vocation.
When addressing the congregation after the ordination Mass, Wang announced his episcopal motto as “Veritas in Caritate,” from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “to speak the truth in love.” He said this phrase has inspired his whole priesthood — from his teenage conversion to his time in London when he launched the faith formation program “Sycamore” in 2014 and his appointment in Rome as rector of the Venerable English College (VEC).
Wang has a deep, multilayered history with the VEC in Rome, having spent time there both as a student and later returning as its rector.
From 1992 to 1997, he completed his initial priestly formation at the seminary, earning a licentiate in philosophy from the college alongside a licentiate in fundamental theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Decades later, he returned to Rome to serve as rector of the VEC from 2021 until 2026, where he oversaw the preparation and formation of the next generation of Catholic priests before stepping down upon his new appointment as the bishop of Arundel and Brighton.
In his closing statement, newly ordained Wang said: “It’s not about us, it’s about God, his faithfulness, his love, a beauty that catches us by surprise.”
Rector of pontifical university in Brazil dies in wind-related accident during Arizona visit
The head of a pontifical university in Brazil died during a visit to the U.S. this month after suffering a head injury in Arizona.
The Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil, announced a memorial Mass in honor of Marist Brother Rogério Renato Mateucci, who died on Oct. 16 after being struck on the head by a piece of roofing at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West home near Scottsdale, Arizona.
Mateucci was reportedly part of a walking tour at the historic home when high winds tore part of the roof off of the structure. He allegedly died instantly. The school held the memorial Mass on Oct. 19.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation said it an announcement that it “[extended] its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones” of Mateucci. The property would be closed until further notice, the foundation said.
The Brazilian pontifical university, meanwhile, said it had canceled two days of classes in the wake of Mateucci’s death.
Mateucci had been appointed to the rectorship of the university first in 2021. He had previously served as a vice rector there as well as on the school’s board of directors.
His death was also mourned at Kent State University in Ohio, where he gave a keynote commencement address in May 2025 in which he called on graduates to take risks “to offer affection and make life easier for those around you.”
“May you have the courage to say yes to the life that persists in you,” he told the assembly.
Paulo Mussi Augusto, associate vice president for global education at the Ohio school, said Mateucci “spoke and acted with a rare gentleness and had a remarkable ability to listen, always making room for others to be heard.”
“As a man of faith, he was steadfast, slow to judge and always willing to give people another chance,” Augusto said. “His legacy will continue to inspire all of us who had the privilege of knowing him.”
U.S. companies settle religious discrimination claims by Christian, Muslim workers, government says
Two companies in the southern United States have settled five-figure discrimination complaints brought by religious workers, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced.
The agency said in multiple press releases that two companies from North Carolina and Georgia had settled with Muslim and Christian workers over discrimination allegations.
A detective agency in North Carolina said it would pay more than $65,000 to a Muslim worker who allegedly asked to be excused for a religious holiday but was denied the accommodation, the commission said. The company reportedly fired the worker without engaging in the necessary “interactive process” when she did not show up for work.
The company, N.C. Detective Agency, would also take “other corrective actions” including establishing “written policies prohibiting religious discrimination” and “procedures for addressing religious accommodation requests in the future.”
In another announcement, meanwhile, the commission said the Georgia-based Reynolds IGA Foodliner Inc. would pay $65,000 to a Christian worker who asked to have Sundays off to observe the Sabbath.
The employee worked at a Piggly Wiggly supermarket in Hazlehurst, Georgia, the federal agency said. The store reportedly denied her request, with a manager allegedly claiming that “if the store gave the employee Sundays off, it would have to do the same for all other employees.”
The supermarket eventually fired the worker after she repeatedly made the request. In addition to paying the employee tens of thousands of dollars, the company will update and clarify its religious accommodation polices and “provide specialized training to managers, supervisors and human resources personnel.”
Both incidents were alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the employment commission said. Patricia Carrasco, the deputy director for the commission’s Charlotte district, described religious freedom as a “fundamental American right.”
“No American should have to choose between practicing their faith and keeping their job,” Carrasco said. “Federal law protects employees’ right to observe their religion, including participating in religious activities, and employers must provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would impose an undue hardship.”
In September the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also announced that that it was suing the Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries Inc. for allegedly unlawfully firing a Jewish body shop technician after he requested a religious accommodation.
The ice cream company reportedly fired the employee less than a month after he refused to shave his beard as part of his employment there. The suit alleges that a company supervisor also “baselessly questioned the sincerity of the worker’s religious beliefs on multiple occasions.”
Pope Leo XIV tasks theologians with clarifying meaning of Church tradition
Pope Leo XIV on Monday renewed much of the International Theological Commission (ITC), appointing 24 new members, including four Latin American theologians and one Spaniard, who will take part in the bodyʼs work over the next five years.
The new group consists of 16 priests, one religious sister, and seven laypeople. The commissionʼs other six members will serve a second term. Among the new appointees are Argentine priests Fabricio Leonel Forcat and Jorge Alejandro Scampini, both professors at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
Sources at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith told EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the commission will be divided into two thematic subcommissions.
The first will study Church tradition, a central question in Catholic theology and in understanding how the faith has been handed down through the centuries.
According to the sources, this subcommission will seek to “clarify what Tradition with a capital T is, where it is found, how it is determined that something belongs to Tradition, and so forth.”
To accomplish this, it will draw on biblical, patristic, historical, philosophical, and even scientific contributions.
It will also examine the development of magisterial reflection on the subject.
"It will seek to thoughtfully assimilate what the various pontiffs, from Paul VI to Magnifica Humanitas, have clarified on the matter," the sources added.
Faith and culture
A second subcommission will focus on the cultural forms through which the faith is transmitted — that is, how the Churchʼs living tradition is expressed and passed on through different cultures.
“It will study that living Tradition that runs through the manifestations of faith of the People of God in their various cultural forms,” the dicastery sources said.
This work will include an in-depth examination of issues such as inculturation, popular piety, and the various forms of language through which the Christian faith is expressed and communicated in different cultural contexts.
“The topics chosen emerge from dialogue between the president of the commission [Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith] and the pope,” the sources explained.
Established by St. Paul VI in 1969 and affiliated with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the International Theological Commission is tasked with assisting the Holy See in studying doctrinal questions of particular importance.
Its members, internationally recognized theologians from around the world, are appointed by the pope at the recommendation of the dicasteryʼs prefect.
What is Church tradition?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 78), tradition is the living transmission of the Gospel accomplished in the Holy Spirit. It is distinct from sacred Scripture, although closely connected to it.
Through tradition, “the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes” (Dei Verbum, 8).
This tradition receives the word of God entrusted by Christ and the Holy Spirit to the apostles and hands it on in its entirety to their successors, so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, explain, and spread it through their preaching (Catechism, No. 81).
Specifically, this refers to apostolic tradition, which transmits what the apostles received from Jesus' teachings and example and what they learned through the Holy Spirit. It is distinct from particular ecclesial traditions, which can vary according to place and historical period (Catechism, No. 83).
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.
New Vatican official says men and women are ‘in this together as witnesses to God’
Sister Mary Barron, a religious sister from Ireland, first landed in Tanzania as a missionary three decades ago. That experience had a huge impact on her and the roles she has held since — including her latest appointment as president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Mission Societies and adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
“I went there as an evangelizer, but I in turn was evangelized,” Barron told EWTN News in Rome on Oct. 19, speaking of her time in Africa.
“I learned so much from the people in Tanzania about how they see God, how they relate to God. And I, in turn, was able to share [my perspective],” she said.
Barron, the latest woman to be named a superior of a Vatican office, also spoke about women’s role in Church leadership and the possibility of their ordination as priests.
The Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) is a worldwide network of four missionary bodies — the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of the Holy Childhood, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, and the Missionary Union.
An official instrument of the Holy See, PMS supports the Church’s missionary activity around the world. An annual offering taken up in Catholic churches on World Mission Sunday, observed on the third Sunday of October, supports its work. In 2026, World Mission Sunday was observed on Oct. 18.
Barron said when she was a missionary in Tanzania, she cherished the spiritual support of her parish in rural County Donegal, which would pray for her every Sunday as a missionary abroad.
“World Mission Sunday is a day when every parish, every diocese in the world thinks of all those missionaries and prays,” she explained. “Of course, there’s the material support also. But first and foremost, [what’s important is] that spiritual connection, that universality of our Church, where we’re actually connecting with each other around the world.”
As she takes up her new roles in the Vatican on Jan. 4, 2027, Barron said that same spiritual connection of the Church with missionaries remains important to her.
“The priority for me … is very much about the missionary spirit,” Barron said, underlining the Second Vatican Council’s emphasis on the missionary vocation of members of the Church.
“Everyone is called to mission by virtue of their baptism … and weʼre slowly growing into that realization,” she said.
Women’s leadership in the Church
Barron is the first woman to be president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, but she said she sees her appointment to such a position to be less about raising the profile of women, as being “for the Church … for all of us.”
Leadership roles in the institutional Church used to be limited to ordained men, members of the “hierarchical Church,” she said. “And now gradually thereʼs an awareness that, yes, there are other dimensions of the Church that also are gifted … And I think itʼs for all of us. … For me, it’s never been a man-woman thing. Itʼs [that] weʼre all in this together as witnesses to God who created us all in Godʼs own image.”
Barron said she appreciates the willingness of Pope Francis and now Pope Leo to consider a person’s overall capability for a role — outside of whether or not he is a cleric.
“Itʼs beginning to use the giftedness of all the baptized for the good of Godʼs mission,” she said.
Views on women’s ordination
Barron has served since 2018 as congregational leader of her order, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles. She was also president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), which represents approximately 600,000 religious sisters in 80 countries, from 2023 to 2025.
In that role, she participated in the two monthlong assemblies of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican in October 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, during a press conference following synod discussions, Barron addressed the question of women who experience “a call to priesthood.”
“I think we have to look at the question very much from … the Spirit. ‘Is the Spirit calling women?’ Because some women do sense a call to priesthood or diaconate,” she said on Oct. 7, 2024.
St. John Paul II, in the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, stated that all Catholics must “definitively” follow the Church’s teaching on a male-only priesthood.
Pope Francis also repeated John Paul II’s declarations on the issue during his pontificate, saying in 2013 that on the ordination of women “the Church has spoken and says, ‘No.’ … That is closed, that door.”
Speaking to EWTN News this week, Barron expressed the same views she espoused in 2024 — underlining the importance of being open to where the Holy Spirit guides the Church on the issue.
“Who am I to say whether the door is open or closed [to women priests]?” Barron said.
“Women today may hear the call to priesthood. Some of the great women saints heard that call also,” she said. “So for me, itʼs how do we within Church facilitate that discernment?”
The sister said she thinks the Church could do more to accompany women who feel called to the priesthood.
“What do we do as a Church to accompany that discernment to see if, yes, this is what the Spirit is calling the entire Church to or not at this point?” she said. Then, “in the discernment, thereʼs always a choice at the end. Itʼs either yes or no.”
Barron cited a line from the final document of the Synod on Synodality, published in October 2024, which says: “What comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.”
“So I think even though … there have been moments where we’ve been told we canʼt talk about this at all, itʼs over … it comes back and it comes back,” she said. “So I think the Spirit will guide us even if we say we canʼt talk about it now. I think at another moment itʼll probably come up again.”
“And I think the Spirit will guide us to when and if the time is right,” to consider allowing women’s ordination, she said.
Francis X. Rocca contributed to this report.
EU bishops set out 8 principles to keep AI ‘at the service of the human person’
The Catholic bishops of the European Union have called on the EU and its member states to ensure that artificial intelligence remains “at the service of the human person, the common good and peace,” setting out eight principles they want Europe to apply at home and promote abroad.
The declaration, titled “Europeʼs Responsibility in the Time of Artificial Intelligence: A Call to Safeguard the Human Person,” was adopted Oct. 16 at the close of the autumn plenary assembly of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in Brussels and published Oct. 19.
“Humanity stands at a decisive moment in which technological progress must be guided by a renewed commitment to the dignity of every person, justice and fraternity,” the bishops wrote.
The bishops acknowledged the “significant opportunities” AI offers but said its rapid development raises “profound anthropological, ethical, social and legal questions.” They acknowledged the EUʼs efforts to regulate the technology. They urged Europe to act “with urgency, ambition and responsibility” to strengthen its digital capacities and take a leading role in international AI governance.
The 8 principles
The bishops urged the EU and its member states to implement the following principles and promote them in international forums:
- Human dignity and human agency must remain paramount.
- The common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, care for creation, and justice must guide technological innovation.
- Responsibility, transparency, and accountability must accompany AI.
- AI must not become a source of discrimination, exclusion, or manipulation.
- AI must not diminish or displace the uniqueness of the human person, and people must not be “reduced to data or commodities.”
- The digital and technological commons require responsible governance.
- Democracy and the rule of law must be protected.
- AI must contribute to peace and human fraternity.
“Its future must be shaped not only by what technology can do, but by what human dignity, responsibility, solidarity and fraternity require,” the declaration concludes.
The Oct. 14–16 assembly opened with a Brussels presentation of Pope Leo XIVʼs first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published in May, on artificial intelligence. Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for Culture and Education, gave the keynote address.
The bishops also sent a telegram to Pope Leo wishing him “a speedy recovery following your surgery.” The pope underwent lung cancer surgery Oct. 13 and was discharged from the hospital Oct. 17.
COMECE, founded in 1980, represents the Catholic bishops' conferences of the EU member states before the EU institutions. Its current president is Italian Bishop Mariano Crociata.
New apostolate to atheists and agnostics takes off in Spain
Encuentros Siloé (Siloam Encounters), a new apostolate that introduces atheists and agnostics to the reasonableness of faith through in-home gatherings that combine personal testimonies, videos, music, and dialogue, all began with the conversion of Javier Huerta.
The ministry takes its name from Jesus’ healing of the blind man at the Pool of Siloam (Jn 9:1-41) whereby the blind man receives not only physical but also spiritual sight and puts his faith in Jesus.
Approximately 1,000 people have attended one of the more than 25 gatherings held over the last three years, and the results have prompted the organizers to take the step of formally establishing an association.
Although the initiative does not yet have official ecclesiastical endorsement, it receives spiritual guidance from several priests and will soon be presented to the Archdiocese of Madrid in Spain.
‘I didn’t believe in anything’
Huerta answered a call from EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, while walking the Camino de Santiago along the stretch that leads from Burgos Cathedral to León Cathedral.
Without breaking his stride, he explained with enthusiasm and gratitude how his conversion took place while he was in his garden at home: “I received the love of God. I didn’t believe in anything; I had no faith. In fact, I didn’t even remember that there were four Evangelists. I actually had to look up ‘Gospels’ on the internet,” he admitted humbly.
From that moment on, he experienced “the absolute certainty that God exists and is in our hearts” and that this entails turning to him “in order to become the best version of ourselves and offer that to others.” This same process also took place for his wife, Marta del Sol.
‘The best parties for Jesus’
On their journey of conversion, Javier and Marta made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. While walking the Stations of the Cross, a longing stirred in Javier’s heart: “I had to throw the best parties for Jesus.”
His home has always been open to friends and to hosting the best events. From that point on, the gift for hospitality was placed at the service of evangelization, as they wanted to share the joy they had rediscovered through their faith “with great pride, and without any sense of shame.”
Javier Huerta also felt a deep “need to know more and learn,” which led him to read countless books that showed that faith is reasonable, including works by José Carlos González Hurtado, president of EWTN Spain.
Drawing on all this information, he created a 40-minute video about God and the creation of the universe, which he uses during his events. Through this tool and his own testimony, they created an environment where people “could express themselves and talk about the meaning of life and more profound, transcendent matters.”
Those who attended the initial meetings left “filled with much love” and a desire to share the experience. The experience also resonated with their children, and they began holding double sessions: Fridays for young people and Saturdays for adults, with 45 participants in each group.
“We’ve done this some 20-odd times, and the sessions have always been full. The Virgin has always ensured they were full,” even with people they didn’t know.
Like the early Christians
Javier is convinced that hospitality in a private home helps those who are far from the faith and who harbor “strong resistance” toward going to a parish due to “false stereotypes.”
Following the model of the small Christian communities of the first century, they open their homes and speak about God without getting to “complex theology.”
It’s a matter, Javier explained, of doing what Andrew did for Peter, or Philip for Nathanael: “Bringing them to [Jesus]. And then, God’s grace must be allowed to work.”
On Saturday, Oct. 17, more than 400 people attended a theater in Torrelodones, a town near Madrid, where the association Encuentros Siloé was formally introduced, along with a second video about the person of Jesus.
Under the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The leadership team of Encuentros Siolé was formed under the mantle of the Virgin of Guadalupe. A few months ago, Javier and Marta traveled to Mexico City to participate in an Encounter conference, a Catholic training program for those engaged in apostolic ministry.
There they met Juan Armada and María Soledad Martínez-Avial, with whom they shared their experience, and they committed to working together to shape the association that had just been unveiled.
The fruits, beyond what has already been harvested, seem set to grow even further. For November alone, gatherings are already scheduled in Málaga, Burgos, and at several private homes in Madrid.
‘To reconquer Spain once again’
The creation of Encuentros Siloé, with its special focus on those estranged from the faith, comes shortly after the news that, for the first time, more Spaniards identify as atheists than as practicing Catholics.
Indeed, Bishop Mikel Garciandía recently observed that the country is in a sense a mission field, because “in Spain, the Word has theoretically been sown, but it has been forgotten or considered secondary" in people’s lives.
Javier said he feels deeply challenged by this reality. For this reason, he pointed out that “we must reconquer Spain, a land that belongs to Mary, and once again become a light to the world.”
Beyond home gatherings
The association includes about 25 people committed to the apostolate, all of whom contribute selflessly. Among them are some of the future hosts for these gatherings who will receive specific training to ensure the preservation of the method and doctrinal orthodoxy.
However, Javier and Marta’s experience has made them keenly aware that a one-time encounter is not enough; rather, any journey of conversion requires ongoing accompaniment.
Toward this end, they also hold biweekly online meetings, provide educational resources and reading materials, and strive to build community bonds and provide support for each individual’s personal journey.
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.