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Bishops condemn broadcast of firing squad execution, emphasize Church’s opposition to death penalty
U.S. bishops, including Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, continue to denounce plans to livestream the Dec. 3 execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.
In a joint statement with Broglio issued Oct. 12 by the Texas Catholic bishops, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of the Diocese of Austin said the public broadcast of Hasan’s execution “would make a spectacle of death.” He wrote that “True justice cannot be achieved through further violence or vengeance.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced Oct. 5 on X that President Donald Trump had approved the execution of Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting. On Oct. 8, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with Real Americaʼs Voice that Hasanʼs execution would be livestreamed from Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, where Hasan killed 14 people, including an unborn baby, and wounded more than 30 others in the attack.
“The tragedy at Fort Hood has traumatized the loved ones of those killed, the survivors, and the entire military community,” Garcia, whose diocese encompasses Fort Hood, said. “Carrying out this execution at Fort Hood, especially as a public broadcast, will only exacerbate that trauma.”
Garcia asked Catholics to pray for military service members “called upon to participate in the execution.” In a letter issued the same day, Broglio went further, writing that he obliges “any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church.”
I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church.”
Archbishop Timothy BroglioArchdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Broglio, who was received by Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 12, added that “it is my duty to express my disapproval of what is proposed regarding the execution of the terrorist Hasan in the Archdiocese entrusted to my spiritual care to be done by those for whose salvation I have been constituted as the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA,” pointing out the “moral injury … the members of the firing squad might experience.”
He also expressed his sympathy for the family and friends of the victims of Hasan’s attack, which he said “disregarded the dignity of the human person,” and reiterated the Church’s opposition to the death penalty, saying that it too offends human dignity.
Broglio called Hasan’s crime “heinous,” and asked if “exposing the public to his execution” would serve any purpose. “Will the exposure of a live-stream to the young and impressionable during the 250th anniversary year of our independence be able to be repaired?” Broglio asked.
He urged that the decision be reconsidered, and if not, for “the young and impressionable” to be protected from viewing the livestream of the execution.
He asked if Americans “really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?”
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, agreed. He also issued a statement on Oct. 12, calling the upcoming execution “performative barbarism.”
“Do we really want our children, who will inevitably view it, exposed to the pornography of a state-sponsored slaying?” he asked.
Cupich said a televised execution will not prevent future crimes and might even encourage the conferral of “martyrdom on the Fort Hood killer.”
He also said the livestreamed execution further “contributes to the characterization of our nation as a violent, vengeful place. Forgiveness bestows grace. Murder by the state is an insult to Our Lord who teaches that all life is sacred.”
Broglio concurred, asking “if there really is a value to throwing [the U.S. military] in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world? Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?”
Last week, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in an Oct. 9 statement: “It is with shock and great sorrow that I have learned of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan.”
“Our God is the God of life,” Coakley said. “In no way can Hasan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.”
Citing Romans 12:17, which commands: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil,” Coakley continued: “The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.”
“I pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel that we as a nation may always choose life even in the most trying times and circumstances.”
Across the Middle East, children answer Pope Leo’s call to pray the rosary for peace
In a Middle East scarred by war, children in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria gathered in churches and schoolyards this month to answer Pope Leo XIV’s call to pray the rosary for peace, joining more than a million young people worldwide.
Their prayers were part of “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” organized by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and took place Oct. 1–7. This year’s campaign drew particular inspiration from Our Lady of Fátima’s promise: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Lebanon
At least 261 children have been killed and 1,056 injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to figures published by UNICEF. In March, the agency reported that an average of at least 19,000 children were being displaced each day.
Against this backdrop, in the Maronite Diocese of Antelias, more than 1,300 students gathered around Bishop Antoine Bou Najem to pray. “We are praying today for children living in fear, for those who have no home, and for those enduring war, hunger, and sorrow,” Bou Najem said.
Palestine
In Palestine, the prayer for peace took place against the backdrop of the devastation and displacement caused by the war in Gaza, whose effects continue to weigh heavily on children and families there.
In Jerusalem, Our Lady of Pilar College, also known as the Spanish School, shared photographs of its students gathered in the school courtyard to pray for peace.
Located in Jerusalem’s Old City and run by the Missionary Daughters of Calvary, the school serves underprivileged students belonging to the poorest families in and around East Jerusalem.
Syria
In Syria, children and families gathered at Holy Spirit Cathedral in Homs, a city scarred by years of war, to join the same international initiative.
“From Homs, a city that has known the pain of war and longs for peace, the children’s prayers rose with a simple yet profound hope,” the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Homs, Hama, and Nabk wrote in its post. “Queen of Peace, pray for us … and bring the world together in love and unity.”
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated for and adapted by EWTN News English.
ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español
There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.
I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”
This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.
I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.
3 feasts, 3 patrons
This Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.
We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.
It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.
There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.
On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.
A platform built for us
A shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.
We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.
That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.
And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.
Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.
And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.
As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).
Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.
What does not change
The name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.
What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.
St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!
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 White House press secretary describes ‘miracle’ when her mother chose adoption over abortion
Newly appointed White House press secretary and pro-life advocate Katie Zacharia, whose appointment President Donald Trump announced Oct. 9, has shared that her biological mother chose life over abortion in the final moments before a scheduled procedure, calling it a “miracle.”
Last year Zacharia, now herself a mother of four and an attorney, described in an interview with “We The People with Gates Garcia” how the precise circumstances of her birth became the foundation of her pro-life convictions.
She told Garcia that she was “approximately 20, 30 minutes away from being aborted” when her mother, Ruth, changed her mind.
Ruth, whom Zacharia described as having a “tough background of sexual abuse,” was about to head to her abortion appointment when the biological father called, pushing the abortion.
Ruth was about to walk out the door to head to the clinic when the phone rang again. Ruth walked back to the phone to answer it, and the Christian counselor who’d called urged her to “consider an open adoption rather than an abortion, so you have an opportunity to know who this child could be and give this child an opportunity to live.”
The counselor told her she did not understand “how painful” abortion would be for her, because along with “the loss of [her] baby,” there would be “ensuing psychological, physical … trauma.”
Zacharia said her mother decided not to go through with the abortion “to the anger and dismay of her family,” which allowed Zacharia to be adopted as a newborn. She later met her biological mother at age 18, who told her the story. She said that “seconds of a phone call … saved my life,” calling her story “a miracle” that explains why the issue is “so near and dear” to her.
Zacharia, who while in law school at Pepperdine University served as president of the university’s Christian Legal Society chapter, has also served on the board of advisers for the White Rose Resistance, a group founded by Seth Gruber that advocates for legal protection for the unborn.
Zacharia has been a frequent commentator on Fox News, Newsmax, and other outlets. She also previously worked as general counsel for Fix California, a conservative nonprofit.
In February, she became deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security under then-Secretary Kristi Noem. She resigned after roughly a month, citing the strain on her family of commuting between California, her home, and Washington, D.C. In June, she joined Trump Media & Technology Group/Truth Social as a senior communications adviser.
Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who in an interview with Sean Hannity last month explained that she left the position to spend more time with her growing family.
Trump said Zacharia would begin her new role on Oct. 12 and hold an introductory news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 9:30 a.m. ET in the White House press briefing room.
‘Lead, Kindly Light’: New documentary on St. John Henry Newman premieres in Rome
A new documentary about the life of St. John Henry Newman has premiered in Rome.
The film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman” premiered at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, marking the first celebration of his feast day since Pope Leo XIV declared him the 38th doctor of the Church in 2025.
The movie, produced by Lumine Studios in Brazil, features places significant to Newman’s life, including his childhood home in London, the University of Oxford, and Rome, where he studied for the Catholic priesthood after converting from Anglicanism.
The movie is available in English on the Catholic media website Formed.
‘A story of conversion and great personal sacrifice’
Father Hermann Geissler, FSO, director of the International Centre of Newman Friends in Rome, described the movie as a demonstration of faith and the significant personal sacrifices that would mark Newman’s life.
“It is a documentary film where we visit all of the places where Newman lived, doing interviews,” Geissler told EWTN News, “and where we are telling the story of Newman and reading parts of Newmanʼs letters. It is a wonderful film that shows the great faith of Newman, the sacrifice that his conversion cost, and the coherence of his life and thought.”
A doctor and patron for Catholic education
Pope Francis canonized Newman along with four others in 2019, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in Birmingham, England, in 2010.
In 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a doctor of the Church and a co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily, the pontiff cited Newman’s famous hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” to highlight the need for education to inspire hope.
“The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,” Leo said. “For this reason, I would like to say to you: Let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us share the great reasons for hope in today’s world.”
In February, the Vatican established Newman’s feast day as Oct. 9 in the General Roman Calendar.
Archbishop Hicks recounts pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Upon completing the final 62 miles of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) in northwestern Spain, New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks celebrated on Monday the pilgrimʼs Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
During his homily, delivered in both Spanish and English, the prelate shared aspects of his experience as a pilgrim and encouraged those present to reflect on what — and with whom — they had journeyed along the Camino de Santiago, the route that leads from various points across Europe to the site where tradition places the tomb of the apostle St. James the Greater.
Regarding the first question — “What were you walking with?” — the archbishop revealed that, beyond his backpack, walking sticks, and physical gear, he completed the route with something more: “With my prayers, with my problems, with my thoughts.”
He also took the opportunity to share that he made the pilgrimage wearing a baseball cap “featuring a photo of our Holy Father, Pope Leo,” to show that “I am Catholic and am walking with him and the Church.”
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As for the company he kept during the pilgrimage, the prelate expressed his joy at having walked the Camino de Santiago not only with a group of his own companions but also alongside other pilgrims from all over the world. He particularly noted crossing paths with an 89-year-old woman and a family with a 7-month-old baby.
“To say that we were walking with everything is another way of saying that we were walking with the Church, together as brothers and sisters. Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church is ‘everyone, everyone, everyone.’ When we are gathered together, Jesus is with us,” he added.
He also noted that the apostle James was very much present throughout the journey. In this regard, he affirmed that James is “not merely part of our past history” but is present today, for “he walked with us at every step.”
Referring to the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar — patroness of the Hispanic world, celebrated on Oct. 12 — Hicks recalled how she appeared to the apostle James in Zaragoza before her assumption into heaven at a time when he was feeling “a bit discouraged” at seeing no fruit from his preaching.
“Our Lady of the Pillar wants only one thing from us. She wants us to know her Son and to find salvation through, in, and with her Son Jesus Christ — in his life, suffering, death, and resurrection,” he added.
Hicks emphasized that the journey of faith is not limited to the Camino de Santiago; rather, “our journey is with Jesus toward heaven, toward eternal life.” In this regard, he added that the pilgrim’s Mass does not mark the end of the Camino de Santiago: “Our journey continues on to eternal life.”
A journey encouraged by Cardinal Dolan
Hicks arrived in Spain on Sunday, Oct. 4, embarking on what he described — in posts shared on his social media — as a “spiritual journey” he had long wished to undertake.
“I have been planning this journey for three years. Ever since I arrived, I kept asking myself, ‘Will I have time to do it? Am I too busy? Should I put it off?’” he explained shortly before traveling to Spain.
While weighing this decision, he received a call from Cardinal Timothy Dolan — his predecessor as archbishop of New York — who told him: “I hear you want to do the Camino. Here is some advice: Do it, do it, do it. I always wanted to do the Camino but never could, and I regret it.”
Taking that recommendation to heart, he decided to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, “following the voice of the Lord.” To that end, he announced that he would disconnect from social media for the duration of the trip.
And that is exactly what he did; upon arriving Sunday in Compostela — standing in the imposing Plaza del Obradoiro beside the cathedral — he picked up his phone again to share that he had felt the Lord’s companionship every step of the way: “Jesus was walking with me the whole time.”
Santiago de Compostela is one of five cities in the world that enjoy the privilege of celebrating jubilee years in perpetuity, alongside Jerusalem and Rome as well as Santo Toribio de Liébana and Caravaca de la Cruz, both in Spain.
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.
Carlo Acutis and the 4 popes
Oct. 12, 2026, marks the 20th anniversary of the death of St. Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who captivated a generation of young Catholics with his love of the Eucharist and passion for technology.
Acutis’ journey to sainthood has unfolded alongside the lives of the last four popes, each of whom has marked a different chapter in the teenager’s short life and legacy.
Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was later beatified during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Finally, Pope Leo XIV canonized him, along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, on Sept. 7, 2025, making him the first millennial to ever be made a saint.
A childhood inspired by John Paul II
Born in 1991 during the pontificate of John Paul II, Carlo Acutis grew up at a time when the Polish pontiff was inspiring millions with his travels and teaching. It was Carlo’s Polish nanny, herself devoted to the pope, who helped cultivate Carlo’s early faith.
In October 2000, the Acutis family traveled to Rome to attend a landmark moment of the Great Jubilee: Pope John Paul II’s act of entrusting the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Standing in St. Peter’s Square, the then-9-year-old Carlo witnessed a crowd united in prayer, gathered beneath Bernini’s colonnade and in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fátima.
“The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future,” John Paul II prayed to Our Lady.
Offering his suffering for Benedict XVI
When white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in April 2005, 13-year-old Carlo Acutis watched closely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. According to his mother, Carlo was “fascinated” by Benedict XVI.
The following year, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. Before he died of cancer in October 2006, he offered up his suffering for Benedict XVI, saying: “I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven.”
Beatification under Pope Francis
Pope Francis declared Carlo Acutis’ heroic virtue in 2018 and recognized the two miracles attributed to Carlo’s intercession that made possible his beatification and canonization.
Francis frequently cited Carlo as a model for youth in the digital age. In Christus Vivit, his apostolic exhortation to young people, Francis wrote that Carlo’s life stood as a witness against the temptation of “self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure” in the digital world.
“His witness indicates to today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least,” Pope Francis said the day after Carlo’s beatification in 2020.
Pope Francis had been scheduled to preside over Carlo’s canonization on April 27, 2025, during a jubilee event expected to draw 80,000 teenagers to Rome. Instead, with Francis’ death on April 21, 2025, Carlo’s canonization awaited a new date until a new pope was elected.
Carlo Acutis and Pope Leo XIV: A witness to young people
Carlo Acutis’ canonization on Sept. 7, 2025, was one of the first major acts of Leo XIV following his election to the papacy in May 2025. In his homily at the canonization, the pontiff hailed Acutis and Frassati as models for youth seeking holiness.
“Dear friends, Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces,” Leo said.
Their example, the pope explained, is the “type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven.”
Ishmael Adibuah contributed to this report.
This story was first published on April 27, 2025. It was updated on Oct. 12, 2026.
Breaking the stigma: Rome conference highlights Catholic mental health ministry
A conference in Rome last week brought together clergy, pastoral workers, and mental health professionals to discuss how to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health in the Church.
The conference, “A Healing Presence: The Church’s Call to Mental Health Ministry,” held in Rome from Oct. 9–10, responded to Pope Leo XIV’s October prayer intention for mental health. Organized by the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, the conference also coincided with World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.
The conference was also under the patronage of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Among those present were Bishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix, and Deacon Ed Shoener, a founding member of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers.
‘The Church is a safe space, not a replacement for psychologists’
Among the themes discussed at the conference was the Church as a place where individuals can seek spiritual remedies for their mental health challenges.
Shoener clarified that the Church and those dedicated to mental health ministry complement medical professionals rather than replace them.
“Our goal is that someday, when someone faces a mental health challenge, the first place they think to turn is the Catholic Church as a safe space, Shoener told EWTN News. “We are not psychologists or psychiatrists providing medical care; rather, we provide the spiritual and social support that is so often missing due to stigma, discrimination, and fear.”
“We work closely with professionals because faith and science must go together,” he added.
Shoener also shared the personal tragedy of his daughter’s 2016 suicide, which prompted him to help establish the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers in hopes that others with similar challenges would be heard.
“Katie had bipolar disorder, lived with it for 10 years, went to college, had friends, and did not fit the stereotypes people often have about mental illness. Sadly, she died by suicide in 2016,” Shoener said.
“Her obituary went viral because we clearly stated that she had a mental illness, was not defined by it, and was a beautiful child of God.”
Speaking about the stigmatization of mental health in the wider culture and the Church, he also cited several reasons for it.
“In the U.S., we often avoid talking about it because we fear it makes us look weak or inadequate, potentially jeopardizing our success or employment. What brought me into this ministry was that overwhelming response from people longing for the Church to comfort them rather than push them aside,” Shoener said.
An epidemic hidden by happiness in Sweden
One participant, Samuelle Falk, discussed opportunities for the Church to minister to those with mental health challenges, particularly in her native Sweden, which is noted for its high Happiness Index.
“To the outside world, Sweden often appears as a model of security and comfort; we even rank fourth in the 2025 World Happiness Report,” Falk said. “Yet, beneath this surface of prosperity, we are facing a profound crisis of youth mental health, driven by a silent epidemic of loneliness.”
“Yet, I believe God has been using this inner suffering to lead a generation back to himself. The Catholic Church in Sweden is experiencing a clear influx of new members. The Church does not stand on the sidelines of the youth mental health crisis; she stands right in the middle of it,” Falk added.
Falk, a psychiatrist in training, began working in mental health ministry with the Diocese of Stockholm. Reflecting on her experience, she spoke of the unique offering the Church can give young people seeking help.
“The Church offers what medicine cannot: a home for the soul, a framework of meaning, and a sense of true belonging,” Falk told EWTN News. “Where youth are increasingly isolated behind digital screens, the Church offers a physical and present community. We proclaim the one truth the secular world cannot offer: Your worth does not lie in your achievements but in being unconditionally loved by God. We remind them that they are never walking alone.”
Pope Leo XIV appoints new archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, a 61-year-old Italian Franciscan, as the new archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The appointment also includes the positions of vicar general for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter, the body responsible for the conservation of the basilica.
Viola thus leaves the Secretariat of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a position he had held since 2021. To succeed him, the pope appointed Bishop Aurelio García Macías, until now undersecretary of the same organization.
Born on Oct. 4, 1965, in Biella, in northern Italy, Viola belongs to the Order of Friars Minor. He was ordained a priest in 1993 and holds a doctorate in Sacred Liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
Before arriving at the Roman Curia, he carried out much of his ministry in Assisi. Between 1999 and 2005 he was custodian of the convent and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels at the Porziuncola. He also headed Caritas of Assisi between 2008 and 2014.
Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Tortona in 2014. Seven years later, in May 2021, he called him to Rome to join the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments as secretary.
New secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship
The second appointment falls to García, a Spanish priest who has worked in the dicastery since 2015 and who until now served as undersecretary.
Born on March 28, 1965, in Pollos, in the Spanish province of Valladolid, he was ordained a priest in 1992 for that archdiocese. He studied philosophy at the University of Salamanca and obtained a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
Before joining the Vatican, he was diocesan delegate for liturgy and rector of the seminary of Valladolid.
In the Roman Curia he began as an official of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In 2016 he became head of office and, in May 2021, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary. He received episcopal ordination on July 11 of that year.
As secretary, García will work alongside the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Arthur Roche, on matters related to the liturgy and the discipline of the sacraments. Among the responsibilities of the body are the promotion and regulation of the liturgy of the Latin Church and the application of the norms governing liturgical celebrations.
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.