Bishop Philippe Christory of Chartres, France. / Credit: Eichthus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

French Bishop Philippe Christory pointed out that the essence of an advanced civilization “is to promote life and support the lives of those who suffer.”

Father Adam Muda, a chaplain for the U.S. Army, celebrates Mass on the field with soldiers while in Germany. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Adam Muda

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

During Pastoral Care Week, celebrated Oct. 19–25, a Catholic psychotherapist encouraged a group of Catholic chaplains and ministers to pursue prayer, rest, and self-care in light of burnout — a challenge that often accompanies their unique work.

At an Oct. 22 webinar, “Carrying the Cross Without Burnout: Self-Care for Catholic Chaplains,” Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, encouraged chaplains to make time for spiritual and emotional renewal. 

The webinar, organized by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC), a group that educates and supports Catholic chaplains across the country, highlighted the importance of finding rest amid the emotional toll of ministry.

“God doesn’t call us to self-erasure,” Koller told the nearly 100 chaplains who attended the webinar. “He calls us to stewardship of our bodies, our minds, and spirits.”

Koller described self-care as “stewardship” and “caring for the vessel God entrusted to you.”

“One of the most powerful mindset shifts I’ve seen in ministry is this: Self-care is not selfishness; it’s stewardship,” Koller said. “You are the vessel God entrusted with the work he gave you, and taking care of that vessel honors him.”

“You’re not taking away from your calling. You’re strengthening it,” she said. “Renewal isn’t an indulgence — it’s obedience.” 

Erica Cohen Moore, executive director of NACC, highlighted the importance of caring for chaplains, both during Pastoral Care Week and throughout the year. 

“Our chaplains are often called into spaces where few others are willing or able to go,” Cohen Moore told CNA. “They serve people in some of the most marginalized and challenging situations, where grief and suffering can be profound.” 

Pastoral Care Week “gives opportunities for organizations and institutions of all types to recognize the spiritual caregivers in their midst and the ministry that the caregivers provide,” according to the NACC’s website.

Chaplains are often priests, but seminarians, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and laymen and laywomen can all serve as chaplains, providing professional spiritual and emotional support in a range of areas — often in prisons, hospitals, fire departments, and campuses.  

To help prepare and support chaplains, the NACC offers a variety of resources, training, community, and support for chaplains, both Catholic and non-Catholic. 

What does burnout look like? 

“Over the years, I’ve walked with countless individuals who appear incredibly strong on the outside yet wrestle with exhaustion, doubt, or the feeling that their work has taken more from them than they have time to replenish,” Koller told attendees. 

Koller noted that the “emotional weight” of service can lead to burnout.

“That emotional weight, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong; it means you’re human,” she said. “But we do take on that emotional weight, and that can lead, if unchecked, to burnout.”  

“Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re weak or we’re incapable,” Koller continued. “It happens because we care deeply, we give fully, and sometimes we forget to refill our own cup.”

To combat the weight of service, Koller encouraged ministers to pray before and after each difficult meeting or encounter, and to offer the weight of those challenges to the Lord. She also led the group in grounding prayer exercises that incorporate breathing into prayer. 

Cohen Moore noted that burnout is a “very real concern” that chaplains face — one that her organization works to combat through the resources they provide.  

The association educates chaplains with a program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which is “a process that equips them to manage burnout and care for themselves and one another,” according to Cohen Moore.

The group also offers webinars on topics such as self-care, mental illness and trauma, and mental health, as well as networking groups and in-person gatherings, and publishes a magazine called Works of Hope.

The association plans to launch a learning institute early next year to include a course on “sustaining pastoral ministers and helping them avoid burnout,” Cohen Moore said. 

“Burnout is a very real concern in our field, and we take it seriously as we continue exploring new ways to provide care and connection,” Cohen Moore said. 

‘I will give you rest’ 

When Koller speaks with “those in service, especially chaplains and first responders,” she said that one verse “always comes to mind.” 

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Koller noted that Christ “doesn’t say: ‘Keep pushing, work harder, work harder, deplete yourself, run yourself into the ground.” 

“No — he says, ‘Come to me,’” she said.

“That invitation isn’t to perform,” Koller continued. “It’s to rest, in a way, to surrender the illusion that we have to carry everything alone. That’s where our renewal begins.”

Antonia Salzano is the mother of St. Carlo Acutis. / Credit: “EWTN Noticias”/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Antonia Salzano, St. Carlo Acutis’ mother, who was present with the rest of her family at his canonization on Sept. 7, shared what it’s like to be the mother of a saint.

St. John Capistrano and St. Bernardine of Siena. Museum of Fine Arts of Granada. Painting, oil on canvas, by Alonso Cano (1653-1657) for an altarpiece of the disappeared Franciscan convent of San Antonio and San Diego, Granada. / Credit: Jl FilpoC, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of St. John of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest with an extraordinary number of achievements.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio speaks at Mass on Dec. 3, 2023. / Credit: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 18:04 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, expressed concern that the U.S. Army is not adequately addressing its discontent with canceled religious contracts, which the archdiocese said is straining its ability to minister to Catholics in the armed forces.

This month, the Army canceled all contracts for three roles: coordinators of religious education (CRE), Catholic pastoral life coordinators (CPLC), and musicians. The contract terminations affected Catholics and those of other faiths.

CREs served as catechists trained by the archdiocese to assist the priests in religious education in the military chapels. The archdiocese also trained CPLCs who offered administrative support such as liturgy coordination, assistance with sacramental record documentation, and weekly bulletin preparation. Contracts also included musicians, usually pianists who played music during Mass.

Military Services Archbishop Timothy Broglio sent a letter to Congress on Oct. 17 saying Army officials assured him that religious affairs specialists (RAS) and directors of religious education (DREs) — federal employees — would accommodate the needs of the archdiocese amid the canceled contracts but that he believes this is not possible.

Neither an RAS nor a DRE is a trained catechist, he explained, and neither are properly trained or qualified to perform the roles of people who served in the canceled contracts. There is no requirement for a DRE to be Catholic or for an RAS to have any faith.

In response to the archdiocesan complaint, an Army spokesperson told CNA it would reexamine its contract support for RASs and DREs “to mitigate any potential impact during this period.“

Archdiocese: Response is ‘wholly inadequate’

Elizabeth A. Tomlin, a lawyer for the archdiocese, told CNA that the Army’s response is “wholly inadequate” and “demonstrates the spokesperson’s total lack of understanding of the issue.”

“Merely eight DREs across the entire Army are Catholics, so most DREs are not qualified to direct Catholic religious education,” Tomlin said.

“[RASs] are soldiers, [usually] anywhere from private first class to staff sergeant in rank,” she explained. “There is no requirement whatsoever for RASs to be Catholic or have any training in catechesis or catechetical methodology that could possibly equip them to coordinate religious education.”

Tomlin rejected the Army’s assertion that people in these positions could fulfill the work of the CREs, CPLCs, or musicians.

“Without meeting the basic requirement of a catechist, namely, to be a confirmed Catholic, these people are not qualified to be involved in Catholic religious education programs whatsoever,” she said.

Tomlin said the only way to have music during Mass is if someone volunteers.

“It is factually inaccurate that DREs or RASs are fulfilling the duties of CREs, CPLCs, or liturgical musicians,” Tomlin said.

‘No knowledge of our faith’

Jena Swanson — who worked as a Catholic CRE at Fort Drum from August 2024 until her contract was canceled on March 31, 2025 — told CNA she agrees with the archdiocese’s assessment that those employees cannot fulfill the roles of those whose contracts were canceled.

She said she helped facilitate religious education classes, Bible studies, sacrament preparation classes, and retreats, and collected sacramental records, among a variety of other tasks. She said she mostly worked independently of the DRE because that employee did not have much knowledge about the Catholic faith.

“The DRE is not guaranteed to be Catholic depending on the installation military families are stationed at,” Swanson said. “In our 13 years of military family life (my husband is active duty Army), we’ve experienced one Catholic DRE and only for two years.”

She said in her experience, RASs “are as helpful as they can be” but often “have no knowledge of our faith.”

Swanson said the Catholic community at Fort Drum “was thrown into a bit of chaos” once her contract ended. Some weeks there were no teachers for religious education, families did not know whom to direct questions to, and weekly Mass attendance dropped about 50%.

“Our families want answers and want to continue coming to our parish, but if these options are not open it will drastically affect attendance and faith formation,” Swanson said.

Bishop Edward Malesic addresses the First Friday Club of Cleveland on Feb. 10, 2022. / Credit: Diocese of Cleveland

CNA Staff, Oct 22, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Cleveland has confirmed that the Vatican granted permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at two diocesan churches for an additional two years. 

The extension applies to St. Mary’s Church in Akron and St. Stephen’s in Cleveland, both of which, according to the Catholic Herald, had previously been granted limited approval to continue celebrating the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. 

At both parishes, diocesan priests say the Masses, rather than priests from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter or the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, as sometimes occurs in other dioceses.

In an email to CNA, Nancy Fishburn, executive director of communications for the Diocese of Cleveland, said: “The Holy See granted a two-year extension of permission for the two remaining diocesan celebrations of the Latin Mass within the Diocese of Cleveland.” 

Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes has restricted the use of the pre-Vatican II Mass by requiring Vatican approval for its celebration in parish churches, placing oversight directly under the Holy See. Bishops must now obtain authorization from the Vatican to permit the older form of the Roman rite in their dioceses.

It is unclear when Cleveland Bishop Edward C. Malesic requested the extension. Fishburn told CNA she had no further information.  

The extension of the TLM in Cleveland comes even as other dioceses are seeing its cancellation. 

In the Diocese of Knoxville last week, Bishop Mark Beckman informed the TLM community in an Oct. 14 letter that “by Jan. 1, 2026, every Latin Mass in the diocese will be celebrated using the 2002 Roman Missal ensuring consistency with the Church’s approved liturgical books while preserving the beauty and reverence you cherish.”

Beckman wrote that he had consulted with the three pastors in the diocese who currently celebrate the TLM, assuring parishioners that the transition away from the extraordinary form was “being handled with utmost pastoral sensitivity and care, honoring both your devotion to the sacred liturgy and the Church’s living tradition.” 

In the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, meanwhile, Bishop Michael Martin said in September that the TLM would cease at four parishes and would only be permitted at one chapel beginning Oct. 2.

Brian Williams, a leader of the TLM community in Charlotte, spoke with CNA in September.

“Why is going to the Latin Mass a bad thing? It’s no different from the Ordinariate, or Byzantine, or any other rite. It’s all still Catholic,” he said. 

Williams said he and other members of the TLM community are still hopeful that Pope Leo’s pontificate will be more welcoming of the TLM and that things can change, citing a post on X on Sept. 29 showing a priest at the St. Michael’s chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica saying the Mass in the extraordinary form, as well as the recent granting of an exemption to the restrictions imposed by Traditionis Custodes in the San Angelo Diocese in Texas, the first exemption granted under the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.

Crosses stand in a row at the Wounded Knee Memorial in South Dakota. / Credit: Von Roenn/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 15:24 pm (CNA).

Rapid City, South Dakota, Bishop Scott E. Bullock and South Dakota Jesuit leaders criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for honoring U.S. soldiers who carried out an 1890 assault on a Lakota reservation near the Wounded Knee Creek.

“Those who died at Wounded Knee are sacred,” the joint statement read.

“Jesus stands with all who suffer and die at the hands of others,” the statement added. “Those who committed the violence are also sacred; for this reason, Jesus offers them mercy and healing. Yet the acts themselves were grave evils and cannot be honored.”

On Dec. 29, 1890, U.S. soldiers killed nearly 300 Lakota people in an assault now known as the “Wounded Knee Massacre” or the “Battle of Wounded Knee” in South Dakota. Most of the Lakota killed were civilians, including unarmed women and children, and 31 American soldiers were killed.

After a review, Hegseth announced last month that 20 U.S. soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor for actions at Wounded Creek will retain those honors. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military honor, awarded by Congress for risk of life in combat beyond the call of duty. A review panel commissioned by former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recommended they retain their honors in October 2024.

“That panel concluded that these brave soldiers should, in fact, rightfully keep their medals for actions in 1890,” Hegseth said in a Sept. 25 post on X.

Hegseth criticized Lloyd for not issuing a final decision on the inquiry last year, saying “he was more interested in being politically correct than historically correct.”

“We’re making it clear — without hesitation — that the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 will keep their medals, and we’re making it clear that they deserve those medals,” Hegseth said. “This decision is now final and their place in our nation’s history is no longer up for debate. We salute their memory, we honor their service, and we will never forget what they did.”

Bishop, Jesuits call for ‘prayerful correctness’

Bullock, whose diocese serves western South Dakota where the assault took place, was joined in his statement by the De Smet Jesuit Community of West River, South Dakota.

They said their opposition to the Medals of Honor is not rooted in “political correctness,” as Hegseth called it, but rather in “prayerful correctness, grounded in truth, conscience, and compassion.”

Bullock and the Jesuits said soldiers massacred civilians: “This was not a battle. To recognize these acts as honorable is to distort history itself.”

“We acknowledge the government’s intent to honor its troops, yet we reject any narrative that erases the humanity of the victims or glorifies acts of violence,” they said.

The statement said as Catholics and followers of Christ, “we proclaim the infinite dignity of every human life. We confess that humanity — capable of love and goodness — is also capable of terrible evil.” It added that the Crucifixion and Resurrection “reveal that true victory comes not through killing but through suffering love, mercy, and truth.”

“If we deny our part in history, we deepen the harm,” they said. “We cannot lie about the past without perpetuating injustice and moral blindness. Even if we are not personally responsible for Wounded Knee, we bear a moral responsibility to remember and speak the truth.”

Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), told CNA Wounded Knee “was a complex historical event” that had “many conflicting narratives.” She said military records show conflicting accusations, investigations, and personal rivalries among military officers.

She said, with historical events, there is not always “easy moral clarity.” 

She said the events “cannot simply be viewed as an unprovoked massacre, racially motivated against all Native Americans indiscriminately.”

Hanssen expressed concern that the effort to revoke the honors for soldiers at Wounded Knee is part of an ongoing effort to target “American and Western culture,” which includes destroying statues of Christopher Columbus and attacks on George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, among others.

“It is perfectly reasonable for the United States government to refuse to revoke Medals of Honor from over a hundred years ago,” she added.

No Medals of Honor have been revoked for any reason in more than a century. The only time medals were revoked was in 1917, when Congress commissioned a comprehensive review of Medal of Honor recipients and revoked more than 900.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich (meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Oct. 9, 2025) issued a video with a message of support for immigrants on Oct. 21, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 13:14 pm (CNA).

In a new video, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago has once again pledged his support for undocumented migrants.

“Let me be clear: The Church stands with migrants,” Cupich said in a video message on Oct. 21. Citing family separation and “communities shaken by immigration raids and detentions,” he said ongoing deportation efforts in Chicago “wound the soul of our city.”

Cupich emphasized that “in the enforcement of the law, it is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being,” and noted parishes and schools in the archdiocese will neither turn away migrants seeking aid nor “be silent when dignity is denied.”

He continued: “I want to say something directly to those immigrants without documents: Most of you have been here for years, you have worked hard, you have raised families, you have contributed to this nation, you have earned our respect.”

“As the archbishop of Chicago, I will insist that you be treated with dignity,” he stated, concluding: “Americans should not forget that we all come from immigrant families. You are our brothers and sisters. We stand with you. God bless you all.” 

The video message comes amid the “One Church One Family” initiative spearheaded by the western Jesuits to hold national days of prayer and public witness for migrants on Oct. 22 and Nov. 13, the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, patron of migrants. 

The initiative calls on dioceses, parishes, schools, religious communities, and other Catholic institutions to host and promote “public actions that lift up the dignity of migrants,” such as “a vigil in front of a detention center, a prayer service at a place where migrants were publicly detained, or a rosary accompanying people who are going to immigration court hearings.” 

The initiative’s website includes, along with other resources, instructions on how to organize and implement a vigil, prayer service, or march in support of migrants, which includes a welcome letter from Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas.

“As Catholics and people of deep faith, we reject the culture of fear and silence that dehumanizes, and we choose instead to stand with migrants,” the initiative’s website reads. “Together, our voices will send a powerful message in defense of the dignity of our neighbors, family members, fellow parishioners, classmates, co-workers, and friends.”

Cupich was appointed by Pope Leo XIV to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State on Oct. 15. It is unclear whether the post will entail a relocation to the Holy City.

During a visit on Oct. 9, Leo expressed his “appreciation” to Chicago leaders, including Cupich, for their “welcome of immigrants and refugees.” This came shortly after the controversy surrounding Cupich’s attempt to honor Illinois pro-abortion Sen. Dick Durbin with a lifetime achievement award for his work with immigrants.

Bishop Nicholas Hudson was named the next bishop of Plymouth, England, by Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 21, 2025. / Credit: @mikedavies

Plymouth, England, Oct 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 21 named Bishop Nicholas Hudson, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, as the next bishop of Plymouth, England.

null / Credit: Shutterstock AI/Shutterstock

Rome, Italy, Oct 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Tech companies are offering increasingly realistic and immersive forms of AI-based life coaching, friendship, and romance through AI companions.