Pope Leo XIV praises the ‘silent and hidden love’ of cloistered nuns
Pope Leo XIV receives cloistered Augustinian nuns at the Vatican on Nov. 13, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 15:43 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV praised the “silent and hidden love” of cloistered nuns who, he said, are free from the slavery of society’s focus on outward appearances.
Focusing on the contemplative dimension of the Augustinian nuns, Pope Leo recalled that their founder, St. Augustine, reflected in his book “Confessions” on the joy granted “to those who serve the Lord out of pure love.”
In his address, delivered from the Paul VI Audience Hall on Nov. 13, the pope offered his reflection during an audience at the Vatican with participants in the Ordinary Federal Assembly of the Federation of Augustinian Monasteries of Italy.
He invited the nuns to embrace “the cloistered life with enthusiasm,” which, he assured them, will give them “peace and consolation, and to those who knock on the doors of your monasteries, a message of hope more eloquent than a thousand words.”
The pope then emphasized the witness of charity of the cloistered Augustinian nuns and counseled them, in order to spread the fragrance of God throughout the world,” to strive to “to love one another with sincere affection, as sisters, and to carry in your hearts, in secret, every man and woman in this world, to present them to the Father in your prayers.”
“In a society so focused on outward appearances, where people sometimes do not hesitate to violate the respect of others and their feelings in pursuit of a spotlight and applause, may your example of silent and hidden love help others to rediscover the value of daily and discreet charity, focused on the substance of loving one another and free from the slavery of appearances,” he said.
At the end of his address, the pope emphasized the communal nature of the federation with the “form of association” promoted by Venerable Pius XII and reaffirmed by Pope Francis to foster fraternity among monasteries with the same charism.
“It is a demanding challenge, but one we cannot shy away from, even at the cost of making difficult choices and sacrifices, and overcoming a certain temptation to ‘self-referentiality’ that can sometimes seep into our circles,” Leo XIV cautioned.
The pope thanked the Augustinian nuns for all they do and promised them his prayers and heartfelt blessing.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Border czar Homan says ‘Catholic Church is wrong’ on immigration
U.S. Border czar Tom Homan defended the morality of the Trump administration’s enforcement policies. / Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 15:13 pm (CNA).
Border czar Tom Homan strongly opposed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) “special message” on immigration, saying the statement would encourage people to make a dangerous trek to the United States.
Homan told EWTN News on Nov. 14 that the “Catholic Church is wrong. I’m sorry. I’m a lifelong Catholic. I’m saying it as not only a border czar. I’ll say it as a Catholic. I think they need to spend time fixing Catholic Church in my opinion.”
The bishops approved the message on immigration at the 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 12. “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the message said.
More than 95% of the American bishops voted to support the message. The bishops said in the message they “are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ” and “are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.”
The bishops’ message cited Scripture such as Luke 10:30-37, referring to the good Samaritan who “lifts us from the dust,” and Matthew 25, in which “we see the One who is found in the least of these.” Floor debate on the measure included bishops’ discussion of “the One” referring to the face of Jesus Christ as seen in the migrant.
“The Church’s concern for neighbor and our concern here for immigrants is a response to the Lord’s command to love as he has loved us (John 13:34),” the statement said.
Homan said: “So according to [the bishops] the message we should send to the whole world is: ‘If you cross the border illegally, which is a crime, don’t worry about it. If you get … removed by a federal judge, that’s due process, don’t worry about it, because there shouldn’t be mass deportations.’”
He added: “If that’s the message we send the whole world, people are still going to put themselves in harm’s way to come to the greatest nation on earth.”
“We saw during the Biden administration, when there was no immigration enforcement, over 4,000 aliens died making that journey” and “40 million Americans died from fentanyl,” Homan said. Homan said he wants the Catholic Church to understand that secure borders save lives.
U.S. bishops acknowledged the need for secure borders in their special message, writing: “We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good.”
Homan said: “We’re going to enforce the law, and by doing that, we’re saving a lot of lives. One of the reasons no one talks about why we have the most secure border in the history of this nation is because [of] exactly what ICE is doing.”
“ICE has sent a message to the whole world: ‘Don’t give your life savings to come to [the] country, because you’re not gonna be released. You’re not going to cross [the] border illegally. You’re going to be prosecuted,’” Homan said.
President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.
Besides criticizing the bishops’ opposition to indiscriminate mass deportation, Trump administration officials also have condemned an “activist judge” who issued a temporary restraining order mandating cleanliness and hygiene standards as well as adequate legal representation at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Illinois. Court records, advocacy groups, and detainees’ reports have included claims about the stench of sweat, urine, and feces at U.S. immigration facilities, worm-infested slop, and an insufficient supply of menstrual products.
‘Worst of the worst’
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Nov. 14 statement to CNA: “DHS is targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens — including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists. 70% of illegal aliens ICE arrested across the country have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges just in the U.S. This statistic doesn’t account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, terrorists, etc. The list goes on.”
McLaughlin said: “We are a nation of laws, and, as America’s largest law enforcement agency, DHS is committed to enforcing those laws, all of which are just. Lawbreakers should unquestionably be living in a ‘climate of fear and anxiety,’ that they will be caught and sent home.”
In San Bernardino, California, Bishop Alberto Rojas granted a dispensation in July from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for those within the diocese who fear deportation. The Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, similarly indicated in May that “no Catholic is obligated to attend Mass on Sunday if doing so puts their safety at risk.”
Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 4 said: “Many people who’ve lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now.” Leo invited authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of detainees.
He reminded that “Jesus says very clearly … at the end of the world, we’re going to be asked … how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening.”
New York bishops oppose ‘wanton and unnecessary separation of families’
Cardinal Timothy Dolan is among the New York prelates who condemn the deportations of migrants who are seeking refugee status in the United States and criticize the government’s actions to strip some asylum seekers of temporary protected status in a Nov. 14, 2025, statement. / Credit: U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 13:58 pm (CNA).
The Catholic bishops of New York issued a joint statement that condemns the deportations of migrants who are seeking refugee status in the United States and criticizes the government’s actions to strip some asylum seekers of temporary protected status.
“We do not support the sweeping revocation of the temporary protected status that was granted to many migrants who arrived in this country to escape the horrors occurring in their own, and who have justifiably relied upon the legal protections our government offered to them,” the statement said.
“Such persons should not be subject to the arbitrary cancellation of their legal status and threatened with a sudden return to the troubled and dangerous nations from which they fled,” the bishops added.
The Nov. 13 statement, titled “For You Too Were Once Aliens,” was published by the New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC). Every bishop who leads a diocese in New York, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, signed onto the statement.
It comes one day after the USCCB issued a unified statement to oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” More than 95% of the voting bishops agreed with the special message, with 216 voting to approve it, five voting against it, and three abstaining.
Asylum seekers may be eligible for temporary protected status when they enter the United States from a country that the federal government has deemed unsafe. The legal protection prevents deportations to those countries until the conditions improve.
Former President Joe Biden expanded the program by adding six countries, including Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. President Donald Trump has worked to remove this designation from nine countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan.
The New York bishops wrote that “many … refugee migrants have come to New York,” some of whom have been granted refugee or temporary status, while others given no legal status.
“Some have arrived from war-torn countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan; others from Central or South America have fled poverty, authoritarian governments, and drug cartels that made life in their country of origin dangerous for themselves and their families,” they wrote.
“Most of these migrants — the majority, our neighbors — are good people who arrived on our shores seeking a better life,” they added.
Bishops invoke Mother Cabrini
The bishops invoked St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, commonly known as Mother Cabrini, in their statement. She immigrated from Italy to the United States and “established, with God’s grace, numerous charitable institutions and schools to serve those finding their way in a new land,” the bishops noted.
The statement cited Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, which says the Church “knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”
The bishops also cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that prosperous nations “are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.” It adds: “Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”
In the statement, the bishops acknowledged that “sadly, as in any group, some have exploited the system and committed serious crimes and other misdeeds” and wrote “those immigrants or refugees who commit crimes should face the appropriate criminal and civil penalties, including deportation.”
“At the same time, general enforcement of the immigration laws must be carried out in a humane manner that does not target the hardworking and law-abiding; that does not permit the wanton and unnecessary separation of families; and that does not rely on campaigns of fear that cripple whole communities,” they wrote.
The bishops called on the intercession of Mother Cabrini, who is the patron saint of migrants, and asked Catholics to sign onto the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) “The Cabrini Pledge,” which calls for solidarity with migrants.
“We seek her intercession for the concerns we have mentioned,” they wrote. “By joining us in signing the pledge, you commit your prayers and energy for the welcome, protection, promotion, and integration of migrants.”
Priest found dead in Mexico; 2 suspects arrested
Father Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis. / Credit: Courtesy of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish/Screenshot
Puebla, Mexico, Nov 14, 2025 / 13:04 pm (CNA).
The Catholic Church has confirmed the discovery of the body of Father Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis, a priest of the Diocese of Cuautitlán in Mexico who had been missing for more than two weeks.
In a message, Bishop Efraín Mendoza Cruz of the Diocese of Cuautitlán expressed his gratitude “for the life and ministry of Father Ernesto, for his generous dedication to the Gospel, and for his pastoral service, which is a fruitful seed that will continue to bear fruit in the Church.”
He also urged the authorities to conduct investigations “that lead to the clarification of the facts of the case and to the justice that every human life deserves.”
The diocese also joined “the outcry of so many families suffering from violence and disappearances in our country, and we ask that this painful reality, which afflicts the lives of our communities, be brought to an end.”
Finally, the bishop called on the community to offer prayers for the priest’s family, that they might find consolation, and he entrusted “to Christ, victor over death, the soul of Father Ernesto and the souls of all the faithful departed.”
Suspected perpetrators arrested
In a statement released Nov. 13, the attorney general’s office of Mexico state reported the arrest of a man and a woman for their possible involvement in the murder of Hernández. An arrest warrant has been issued for another woman, and her eventual arrest is expected.
According to the attorney general’s office, the priest was attacked “with a sharp object,” inflicting “wounds that led to his death.”
The three alleged perpetrators identified by authorities “reportedly tried to obstruct the investigation by hiding the body in bags,” which they tied to a piece of furniture and abandoned in a sewage canal.
The authorities stated that one of the suspects has a criminal record in Mexico state, where he served an 18-year prison sentence for robbery with the use of violence.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Tanzania bishop urges respect for life amid reports of thousands killed post-election
Bishop Stephano Lameck Musomba of the Diocese of Bagamoyo in Tanzania has denounced the killings connected to the country’s disputed Oct. 29, 2025, general elections. / Credit: Radio Maria Tanzania
ACI Africa, Nov 14, 2025 / 12:24 pm (CNA).
The bishop of the Diocese of Bagamoyo in Tanzania has denounced the extrajudicial killings connected to the country’s disputed Oct. 29 general elections, stressing that those suspected of breaking the law should be allowed to go through legal processes instead of being killed unlawfully.
In his homily during a Eucharistic celebration on Tuesday that was held in honor of the victims of the election-related violence, Bishop Stephano Lameck Musomba underscored the need to uphold justice and due process when handling individuals suspected of any criminal wrongdoing.
“Some of those who were shot were participating in demonstrations, others were at home, on their way to work, or in their shops. They were struck by bullets and lost their lives,” said the 56-year-old Musomba during the event, which was held at the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in his diocese.
Musomba began his episcopal ministry as an auxiliary bishop of Dar-es-Salaam in July 2021 and became the first bishop of the Bagamoyo Diocese, which was officially erected on March 7.
Demonstrations reportedly spread across Tanzania for several days following the Oct. 29 vote, as citizens took to the streets to protest an election that, according to foreign observers, fell short of democratic standards after key opposition figures were barred from participating.
At least 240 people have reportedly been charged with treason in connection with the deadly protests, while human rights groups alleged that thousands were killed in the post-election violence and warned that some victims may have been buried in secret mass graves.
Musomba noted that “even those who took part in demonstrations” should not have been judged or condemned instantly, emphasizing that guilt must be determined by a court of law and punishment should follow legal procedures.
“That is why, in matters of guilt, we speak of a suspect,” the Tanzanian-born member of the Order of St. Augustine said, adding: “It is the court that determines whether a person is guilty. And if found guilty, the rightful consequence is imprisonment, not death.”
He emphasized that “justice for everyone is the foundation of true peace in any nation” and called upon the people of God in the country to return to the founding principles of justice, peace, love, and solidarity that he said defined the country’s early years as a nation.
“You cannot build a house in the air. The foundation of true peace in any nation is justice — justice for everyone. If we are not careful, we will go astray,” he said.
He added: “Everyone is shocked. We are sad. We are crying. We don’t understand how this happened or why it has become this bad.”
“Now we are killing each other like animals, we hate each other, we are enemies, we do not help one another, we do not guide one another. It is a big problem,” Musomba said.
He went on to reflect on the sanctity of human life, stressing that those killed in the election-related violence “should be remembered not as political casualties but as children of God whose lives were sacred.”
“We were created in the image and likeness of God, whose nature is eternal. Whether you have sinned or not, your dignity remains,” he said. “That is why we say a human being deserves respect from another human being, not to be treated or handled however one pleases.”
He continued: “A person has the right to live, the right to be heard, the right to medical care, and the right to express themselves freely, and where there is justice, there is joy, unity, understanding, and brotherhood. No one sees another as an enemy.”
The bishop urged the people of God in the east African nation to continue praying for the souls of the departed, for healing among the injured, and for the nation to remain united.
“We pray that God may receive them in heaven and grant recovery to those who are still in pain. We place our country, Tanzania, in his hands. We pray for justice and peace, the foundation and strength of our nation, so that it may stand firm forever,” he implored.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Ruwa’ichi of the Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam on Nov. 9 and Archbishop Gervas Nyaisonga of the Archdiocese of Mbeya on Nov. 10 also condemned the killings linked to the election-related violence, each delivering a strong message about justice and peace and presiding over Masses for those killed in the violence.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Vatican guidance discouraging Marian title ‘Co-Redemptrix’ sparks Catholic debate
null / Credit: Srppateros via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 12:04 pm (CNA).
While the Vatican issued new guidance that encourages limits on the use of certain Marian titles out of a concern that they may overstate the Blessed Mother’s role in redemption and mediation, the intra-Catholic debate on the subject has continued.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), issued a doctrinal note with the formal approval of Pope Leo XIV that reaffirms Mary’s “unique cooperation” in God’s plan for salvation but expresses worry about two titles sometimes employed to communicate her role: Mary as Co-Redemptrix/Co-Redeemer and Mary as Mediatrix/Mediator.
According to the doctrinal note, using the title “Co-Redemptrix” to explain Mary’s role “would not be appropriate.” The document’s language for the title “Mediatrix” was less harsh but says “if misunderstood, it could easily obscure or even contradict” Mary’s role in mediation.
The beginning of the document lays out a biblical foundation of Mary’s cooperation in salvation, beginning with her “yes” to the archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation through to her presence at the Passion and standing before Jesus Christ at the foot of the cross.
It explains Mary is not just “a passive instrument in the hands of God” but is “freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience,” citing Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1964. This cooperation extends “throughout the life of the Church.”
Mary’s cooperation, however, should never be misconstrued to mitigate “Christ’s sole mediation … in the work of salvation” or suggest Mary’s role is equal to his, according to the doctrinal note. Due to the need of “explaining Mary’s subordinate role to Christ” when “Co-Redemptrix” is used, the doctrinal note asks Catholics to not use it at all.
“When an expression requires many, repeated explanations to prevent it from straying from a correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the people of God and becomes unhelpful,” the note adds.
The document further explains Mary’s subordinate mediator role but adds “special prudence is required when applying the term ‘Mediatrix’ to Mary.”
It adds: “We cannot talk of any other mediation in grace apart from that of the incarnate Son of God.” It warned of “a tendency to broaden the scope of Mary’s cooperation through this title” and asked Catholics to “specify the range of its value as well as its limits.”
Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, told CNA that the document helps to clearly explain Mary’s unique subordinate role by avoiding titles that “blur proper doctrinal distinctions between the Blessed Mother and her Divine Son” in some cases.
“The DDF doctrinal note helps proclaim clearly Our Lord Jesus Christ and his Gospel anew to a new generation, while also reaffirming his Blessed Mother as the Mother of God, our spiritual mother, and thus our great intercessor,” he said.
Nash said he expects to see “a shift away from using these Marian titles” from theologians. He said those inclined to use those titles will likely “make efforts to provide explanatory disclaimers if they do use them on occasion, as a means to preempt any doctrinal confusion.”
Frustration among some scholars
Not every Catholic academic has received the doctrinal note warmly, due to the long-standing historical use of both titles and an effort by some of the faithful for the Church to declare a fifth Marian dogma about Mary’s role in redemption and mediation.
Nash said he believes that effort “has been short-circuited” as a consequence of the doctrinal note.
Mark Miravalle, a theologian at Franciscan University and proponent of a declaration of a fifth Marian dogma, questioned the rationale of abandoning a title because it “has to be explained,” telling CNA that many teachings of the Church need deep explanations, including the Trinity, papal infallibility, transubstantiation, and currently defined Marian dogmas.
“I think that kind of begs the question of the Immaculate Conception and the [title] ‘Mother of God,’ which has to be repeatedly explained,” he said.
Miravalle said the doctrinal note has “understandably caused a lot of confusion” because “so many popes, saints, [and] mystics … have used the titles.” The document does note that St. John Paul II did use the term “Co-Redemptrix” but that Pope Francis was opposed to it, as was Pope Benedict XVI when he was still a cardinal.
Laurie Olsen, the author of the 2024 book “Mary & the Church at Vatican II,” also expressed reservations about the doctrinal note and emphasized that the title “Mediatrix” was included in the Second Vatican Council’s Lumen Gentium.
She told CNA the council fathers had an “in-depth theological discussion about the term” and its inclusion in the document was very intentional, despite a coordinated campaign to have it taken out.
Of the council fathers who expressed a clear opinion on the title “Mediatrix,” she said 87 opinions were submitted by 678 council fathers supporting it and 45 opinions were submitted by 540 council fathers opposing it, showing “a clear majority favors the term.” Additionally, she said 275 requested the language about Mary’s mediation be made stronger, which is “the single most requested change.”
Though “Co-Redemptrix” is not used in the council, Olsen said “mediation is the overall umbrella,” which includes “Mary’s role in the objective redemption.”
Both terms, Olsen said, respect the fact that Mary “is always subordinate to Christ,” which was always the understanding when they were employed. She said: “It is only because Christ is our redeemer that Mary is playing a part in his work.”
She does not think this will prevent theological discussions about the subject but rather said the doctrinal note “gives us an opportunity to continue to explore and clarify what we mean when we talk about Mary’s role in the redemption.”
Miravalle said he thinks the doctrinal note will likely “galvanize the movement” for declaring a fifth Marian dogma. He said the comment about the titles does not shut down any theological discussion about Mary’s unique cooperation in redemption and said the doctrines themselves are more important than the titles.
“I would hope that [this] would not be considered a final word,” he said. “Final words are usually reserved for dogmatic statements, which I think would be wonderful.”
Paris archbishop recalls jihadist massacre 10 years ago, offers hope
French press reports on the jihadist terror attacks the night of Nov. 13, 2015. / Credit: BalkansCat/Shutterstock
ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA).
Ten years ago on Nov. 13, armed jihadists stormed the Bataclan concert hall in Paris and elsewhere in the city, murdering over a hundred innocent people.
Suicide bombers also attacked people near France’s national stadium while other jihadists opened fire on restaurants and cafe terraces packed with people, leaving 130 dead and nearly 400 wounded.
On the 10th anniversary of the attack, the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, recalled the shock people experienced on Nov. 13, 2015, “in the face of the most gratuitous, the most blind violence,” and especially “in the face of the intensity of the evil.”
The French prelate delivered a message filled with hope to the Parisians who witnessed that “long night of anguish.”
“Our faith also leads us not to forget how, in the midst of this darkness, brightly shone that night, glimmers of brotherhood, love, mutual aid, and hope,” he said.
Faced with the abyss into which violence “had resolved to plunge us,” Ulrich continued, “these simple and courageous gestures, gestures of compassion and kindness, were the most solid of bulwarks.”
“We Christians believe that God was truly present that night: in the promptness of the medical personnel, in the selflessness of the police, in the spontaneous outpouring of humanity from so many Parisians,” he affirmed.
The archbishop expressed his closeness and tireless prayers for those who died and their loved ones, as well as for those who survived and are still “wounded, scarred, and bruised” to the point that life itself has become “a very heavy burden to bear.”
Many survivors witnessed harrowing scenes whose consequences they still bear. Two of them took their own lives shortly after the attacks.
Ulrich said in his message that the bells of all the churches in Paris would ring that evening “to invite us to unite, all together, in this same prayer” for the city and for the country.
He invited the faithful to participate in Masses and vigils for those affected and encouraged citizens to light a candle and place it in their windows.
“Having died and risen again, Christ walks through the night for us, walks through the night with us. May he grant us to be ever more faithful witnesses of his hope, his love, and his peace to those who suffer around us, brothers and sisters on the journey,” the archbishop concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Iowa man receives life in prison for 2023 stabbing of Nebraska priest
Father Stephen Gutgsell. / Credit: Archdiocese of Omaha
CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:04 am (CNA).
An Iowa man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he pleaded guilty in October to stabbing a Nebraska priest to death in 2023.
Kierre Williams last month pleaded guilty to the assault that claimed the life of Father Stephen Gutgsell. Williams broke into the rectory of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Calhoun on Dec. 10, 2023, and stabbed Gutgsell, who later died of his injuries at a hospital.
Williams himself was arrested shortly thereafter. He originally argued that he was not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity before changing his plea to guilty last month.
Washington County Chief Deputy Attorney Erik Petersen said in court this week that the murder “shattered the innocence” of the small town of Fort Calhoun.
“I’m hoping this court’s sentence will bring some peace to the citizens” of the town, he said, according to local media reports.
Gutgsell’s sister Therese Hupf, meanwhile, said in court that his family “cannot, even today, fully grasp his absence.”
“He was stolen from his family and his parish family, who are hurting beyond words,” she said.
Gutgsell’s funeral was held at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha followed by his burial at nearby Calvary Cemetery. He was 65 years old at the time of his death.
The priest grew up in Omaha and attended the College of St. Thomas — now the University of St. Thomas — and St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota. He was ordained in 1984. In addition to his priestly ministries he taught adult education including Bible study, sacramental preparation, and Church history.
Bishops approve 2029 Eucharistic Congress in bid to revive ‘long-lost tradition’
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presides over the closing Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress in Lucas Oil Stadium on July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 10:34 am (CNA).
In a move to renew a “long-lost tradition,” the U.S. bishops confirmed the next National Eucharistic Congress will take place in the summer of 2029.
At the plenary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore on Nov. 12, the bishops voted to confirm the date for the country’s second National Eucharistic Congress of the 21st century.
Last year’s National Eucharistic Congress, the first to take place on American soil since World War II, attracted tens of thousands of people for several massive sessions of Eucharistic adoration in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.
The event also featured numerous talks and workshops related to the Catholic faith and a 60,000-participant Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who chaired the first congress, said it was “a time of great grace for the Church in the United States.”
“I believe that continuing the transformational, unitive events every four years can continue to stoke the fires of revival and support the incredible work that you’re already doing in your diocese in evangelization,” he told the bishops at the plenary assembly on Nov. 12.
Prior to 2024, the last Eucharistic Congress in the U.S. was held in 1941. Cozzens said holding two events so close is a bid to “resume our long-lost tradition of having a National Eucharistic Congress every four years.”
“I believe that the Eucharistic Revival was a great gift to our country from the Holy Spirit,” Cozzens said.
In December the bishops will publish findings on the “lasting fruit” of the three-year Eucharistic Revival that culminated in the Eucharistic Congress, according to Cozzens.
“It was a moment of unity, a moment of celebration, a moment of incredible grace, a moment of mission,” the bishop said.
Many dioceses are seeing increased Mass attendance and rising OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) participation, Cozzens noted during the assembly.
The revival was initially inspired by Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium on the proclamation of the Gospel in the world today.
“We were inspired by those two pillars of encounter and mission,” Cozzens said. “Pope Leo carries forth this missionary zeal, as he said on Corpus Christi of this year.”
Pope Leo XIV urges ‘thinking the faith’ amid risk of cultural emptiness
Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome on Nov. 14, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 10:04 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Friday urged academics to “think the faith” in order to confront what he called an increasingly pervasive “cultural emptiness.”
The pope spoke at a ceremony inaugurating the academic year at Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, the ecclesiastical university under the direct control of the Holy See, an event that brought together more than a thousand students and professors.
In his address, Pope Leo XIV highlighted what he called the Lateran University’s unique and “altogether special” bond with the successor of Peter, a characteristic that he said has shaped its identity and mission from the beginning. He recalled the contributions of various pontiffs since its founding in 1773 and described the Lateran as “a privileged center where the teaching of the universal Church is elaborated, received, developed, and contextualized.”
“Today we urgently need to think the faith so that we can express it in contemporary cultural settings and challenges, but also to counter the risk of cultural emptiness, which in our time is becoming increasingly invasive,” he said.
The pope noted that the faculty of theology is called “to reflect on the deposit of faith and to manifest its beauty and credibility in today’s diverse contexts,” while the study of philosophy “must be oriented toward the search for truth.”
Turning to the university’s canon and civil law faculties, he encouraged students and professors “to consider administrative processes in depth, an urgent challenge for the Church.” He also pointed to the cycles of study in peace sciences and ecology and the environment, instituted by Pope Francis, describing them as “an essential part of the Church’s recent magisterium.”
The “formation of people,” he said, is at the heart of the Lateran University’s mission. For this reason, he urged its members to keep “their eyes and hearts directed toward the future” and to face contemporary challenges with courage.
The pope encouraged the academic community to be a “prophetic sign of communion and fraternity,” and said authentic academic formation serves as an antidote to individualism, self-reference, prejudice, and what he called “solitary leadership.”
He also underlined the importance of scientific rigor, noting that it is “often not appreciated as it should be” because of “deeply rooted prejudices that unfortunately persist even within the ecclesial community.” Scientific research and intellectual effort, he said, are indispensable. “We need well-prepared and competent laypeople and priests,” he added.
“The purpose of the educational and academic process must be to form people who, guided by the logic of gratuity and the passion for truth and justice, can become builders of a new, fraternal, and solidary world,” the pope said.
He concluded by insisting that Catholics must take seriously the task of “thinking in faith,” and invited the university to explore the mystery of Christian belief with passion and in dialogue with the world.
“The Lateran University holds a special place in the pope’s heart,” he said, “and the pope encourages you to dream big, to imagine new spaces for the Christianity of the future, and to work with joy so that all may discover Christ and in him find the fullness they seek.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.