Syrian transitional president visits Greek Orthodox patriarch in Damascus

Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the East (right) receives Ahmad al-Shar'a, the head of Syria's transitional administration, on Oct. 26, 2025, at the patriarchal residence in Damascus. / Credit: Syrian PresidencyACI MENA, Oct 28, 2025 / 11:32 am (CNA).In a sign of diversity and coexistence in post-transition Syria, Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the East on Sunday received Ahmad al-Shar'a, the head of Syria's transitional administration, at the patriarchal residence in Damascus.Al-Shar'a was accompanied by Maher al-Shar'a, secretary-general of the presidency, and Maher Marwan Idlibi, governor of Damascus, at the Oct. 26 meeting.According to a post published on the official X account of the Syrian presidency, the purpose of the visit was to "learn about the situation of the Christian community." The presidency added that the visit "reflects the shared commitment to strengthen national values and foster unity among the people of...

St. Paul Center to kick off 'largest Bible study in America'

The St. Paul Center in Steubenville, Ohio, is a nonprofit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study from the heart of the Church. The center serves clergy and laity, students, and scholars with research and study tools. / Credit: St. Paul CenterWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 27, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology is launching a new Bible study program to help Catholics prepare for the Advent and Christmas seasons. The Bible study, titled "Bible Across America," is set to begin Nov. 5 and aims to gather Catholics "around God's Word to prayerfully study Scripture, grow in discipleship, and build one another up in the Lord," the organization announced. The course represents the latest addition to the St. Paul Center, whose offerings include online courses, academic books on Scripture and theology, and in-person events for clergy and laity across the country.Based in Steubenville, Ohio, the St. Paul Center i...

Putin signals concern for 'falling birth rates' in Russia, seeks state solutions

Vladimir Putin, president of Russia expressed concern about the ongoing internal problem of "falling birth rates" in October 2025. / Credit: FotoField/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 27, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).Russian President Vladimir Putin is voicing concern about the ongoing internal problem of "falling birth rates" in his own country and suggesting state action to address the issue.Putin said in an Oct. 23 meeting with the Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy that drops in birth rates have become "a global trend and a global challenge in the modern world" that is especially affecting economically developed countries, "and Russia is unfortunately no exception."Russia, he noted, has had "demographic pitfalls" from losses in World War II and problems that coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Though he did not mention the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russia has also lost between 137,000 and 228,000 soldiers in the war approac...

Pope Leo XIV meets with Viktor Orbán at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Oct. 27, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Oct 27, 2025 / 17:49 pm (CNA).In separate audiences on Monday, Pope Leo XIV received two political leaders with very different views on the migration issue. In the morning, he met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and in the afternoon he met with Magnus Brunner, European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration.Orbán maintains a restrictionist stance on migration and has repeatedly criticized the migrant redistribution policies promoted by the European Union. For his part, Brunner defends a common migration policy and supports the implementation of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, an agreement the Hungarian leader firmly rejects.Orbán arrived promptly at 9 a.m. at the Courtyard of San Damaso in the Apostolic Palace for his first official meeting with the Holy Father. He later met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary...

Pope Leo XIV on the gifts of women and synodality: 'Women are already better'

Pope Leo XIV speaks to participants in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies on Oct. 24, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Oct 27, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV drew laughter and applause on Oct. 24 when he recalled asking his mother in the 1970s whether she wanted equality with men. "No," she replied, "because we're already better."The pope shared the memory during a discussion on the role of women in the Church at the opening of the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, a three-day gathering for representatives involved in implementing the global synodal process.The story, he explained, came from a time when debates about equality between men and women were just beginning to take hold in his native United States. His mother's response, he said, was not a joke but an affirmation of women's distinctive gifts. "There are many gifts that women have," he added, recalling their vital roles in fa...

Influencer son of evangelical pastors shares how he embraced the Catholic faith

Jonatan Medina, son of evangelical pastors, shares how he converted to the Catholic faith. / Credit: EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, Oct 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Jonatan Medina Espinal is a young Catholic influencer who, as the son of evangelical pastors, was considered unlikely to embrace the Catholic faith, but he did so five years ago after a long and intense spiritual journey.Now, with clearer ideas about the faith, the young Peruvian has become a defender of Catholic doctrine, promoting it on his social media as well as in his Spanish-language book "Toward the Barque of Peter: My Journey from Protestantism to the Catholic Church."For Dante Urbina, a Catholic author, teacher, and lecturer who also influenced Medina's conversion, the book is "a testimony of profound conversion and intellectual depth that invites us to enter and persevere in the Catholic Church."Medina is a professional audiovisual communicator and describes himself as "a truth seeker." In an interview with "EWTN...

Pope Leo: Don't let tension between tradition, novelty become 'harmful polarizations'

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies on the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 26, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, Oct 26, 2025 / 08:10 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV said at a Mass on Sunday that no one in the Church "should impose his or her own ideas" and asked that tensions between tradition and novelty not become "ideological contrapositions and harmful polarizations.""The supreme rule in the Church is love. No one is called to dominate; all are called to serve," Leo said in St. Peter's Basilica on Oct. 26."No one should impose his or her own ideas; we must all listen to one another," he continued. "No one is excluded; we are all called to participate. No one possesses the whole truth; we must all humbly seek it and seek it together."The pontiff celebrated Mass on the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time for the closing of the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, part of the Church's wide...

Pope Leo XIV: There's no template for synodality across all countries

Pope Leo XIV sits next to Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the Vatican's synod office, during the jubilee of synod teams and participatory bodies in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Oct. 24, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Oct 25, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).There is no single model for what synodality should look like in all countries and cultures, Pope Leo XIV said in a discussion with synod leaders from around the globe, held at the Vatican on Friday."We have to be very clear, we're not looking for a uniform model. And synodality will not come with a template where everybody and every country will say this is how you do it," the pope said in the Paul VI Hall Oct. 24. "It is, rather, a conversion to a spirit of being Church, and being missionary, and building up, in that sense, the family of God."Leo spoke about synodality in unscripted remarks in English, Spanish, and Italian during the opening session of a meeting for the jubilee of synodal teams and p...

New York, California pour money into Planned Parenthood after federal defunding

New York and California are pouring taxpayer dollars into Planned Parenthood, joining several other states in counteracting the federal defunding of the abortion giant.  / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Oct 25, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).New York and California are pouring taxpayer dollars into Planned Parenthood, joining several other states in counteracting the federal defunding of the abortion giant. California Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged $140 million to Planned Parenthood locations in California on Oct. 24. On the same day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul committed $35 million in funding to Planned Parenthood locations in New York.Both states are known for their abortion shield laws, which protect abortionists who mail abortion pills into states where they are illegal. Several women are suing California and New York abortionists after being poisoned by or coerced into taking the abortion pill by the fathers of their children.New York and California join several...

How the 'baseball priest' uses the sport to spread the Gospel

Father Burke Masters speaks to Veronica Dudo on "EWTN News Nightly" on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 / Credit: EWTN NewsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Father Burke Masters' first dream was to be a major league baseball player, but after feeling a call from God to the priesthood he now uses the sport "to speak about Jesus and the Church.""I played college baseball at Mississippi State University, and then played briefly in the minor leagues," Masters said. "That was my dream to be a major league baseball player, but that didn't work out.""God eventually called me to be a priest," Masters said in an Oct. 24 interview with "EWTN News Nightly." He added: "It really wasn't what I wanted, but it was this persistent and gentle call from the Lord.""I went to seminary fully thinking I would go … not like it, and then go back to my plans," Masters said. "Yet when I got to seminary I just felt this overwhelming peace, and that's one of the fruits of the Ho...