Airbus computer issue affects papal plane during trip to Turkey

The flights for Pope Leo XIV's first apostolic journey are taking place aboard an ITA Airways Airbus A320neo, one of thousands of Airbus planes affected by a computer issue, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News.CNA Staff, Nov 29, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).The papal plane set to fly Pope Leo XIV from Turkey to Lebanon on Sunday is one of thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft affected by a computer issue.Around 6,000 Airbus planes were grounded this weekend after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers, according to the BBC. For most of the affected aircraft, the issue could be resolved with a software update, but around 900 planes, including the papal plane, needed onboard computers physically replaced.According to Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni, a plane arrived in Istanbul from Rome on Saturday with a technician and the replacement computer for Pope Leo's ITA Airways A320neo.&nbs...

Pope Leo XIV and Bartholomew I 'deeply alarmed' by global tensions

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople sign a joint declaration at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 29, 2025. / Vatican MediaIstanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said on Saturday they are "deeply alarmed by the current international situation," issuing a joint appeal for peace.The appeal took place during the pope's first international trip, a journey that has taken him to Turkey and will continue on to Lebanon.The two leaders signed a joint declaration at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul. The text rejects the use of religion to justify violence, urges global efforts toward peace, supports cooperation among believers of different faiths, and entrusts a suffering world to God with renewed hope in the Holy Spirit.The pope and the patriarch, who is considered first among equals among Easter...

Pope Leo XIV, at Mass in Turkey, calls for Catholic, ecumenical and interreligious unity

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 29, 2025. / Screenshot: Vatican MediaIstanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV marked the start of Advent on Saturday with an appeal for unity and peace, telling thousands gathered for Mass in Istanbul that Christians "journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to Heaven," keeping their eyes "fixed on both shores" until they are united "in the house of the Father."The pope celebrated Mass on Nov. 29 at the Volkswagen Arena, a large multipurpose venue within Istanbul's Uniq cultural complex. The liturgy, held on the eve of the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of Turkey, took place during the third day of his first international apostolic trip, which has brought him to Turkey and will soon continue on to Lebanon.In his homily, the pope reflected on the beginning of Advent, saying it prepares believers "to experience anew at Christmas the mystery of Jesus, the Son of God, begotte...

Don't let Christmas take you by surprise: advice on Advent from the Church

null / Lisa Missenda / ShutterstockDenver, Colorado, Nov 29, 2025 / 12:36 pm (CNA).The First Sunday of Advent 2025 is tomorrow, Nov. 30, less than four weeks before Christmas this year, and while the Church provides this time to allow you to be caught by the joy of the Incarnation, you can be easily caught by surprise that it is Christmas. To help remedy this surprise, the Church provides songs, signs, and symbols to enter into the season of Advent more fruitfully.Here are three ways the Church teaches us about the meaning of the season:Advent hymnsMany of the customary hymns for Advent highlight the movement of the soul toward what Pope Francis termed in a homily on Advent as a "horizon of hope." No hymn epitomizes this better than "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," with its overtones of expectation and its mournful remorse over the state of man, captive to sin. The cultivation of hope and expectation is also seen in Advent hymns such as "O Come Divine Messiah" and "People Look East."...

How a remote island in Indonesia forms hundreds of priests for the world

Seminarians at St. Paul's Major Seminary on the Indonesian island of Flores. / Credit: St. Paul's Major Seminary, Flores, IndonesiaEWTN News, Nov 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Roughly 500 miles east of Bali lies the island of Flores, a vocational powerhouse that supplies seminarians not only to Indonesia but also to Catholic communities around the world. Catholicism first arrived here in the 16th century, when Portuguese spice traders brought missionaries to the rugged, mountainous island. Today, the faith is deeply rooted, with more than 80% of the island's 2 million people being Catholic.Flores hosts several seminaries, most clustered around Maumere on the island's northern coast. Religious congregations including the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), the Somascan Fathers, the Rogationists, the Vocationists, and the Carmelites all operate seminaries there, creating a dense network of vocational formation rarely found elsewhere in Asia.Archbishop Paulus Budi Kleden, SVD, of Ende a...

LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV's second day in Turkey focuses on prayer

Pope Leo XIV greets children outside of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 28, 2025, the second day of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon. / Credit: Vatican Media.CNA Staff, Nov 28, 2025 / 00:12 am (CNA).The second day of Pope Leo XIV's apostolic journey to Turkey is focused on praying with the Christian community. Watch LIVE the major events of this trip at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit:

Pope Leo reminds Turkish Catholic minority of the 'logic of littleness'

Pope Leo XIV encourages Catholic clergy, religious brothers and sisters, and lay pastoral workers to see the Catholic community's small size as a strength during an encounter at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 28, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.Istanbul, Turkey, Nov 28, 2025 / 01:55 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey's small Catholic community Friday to rediscover what he called the Gospel's "logic of littleness," urging them not to be discouraged by their tiny numbers but to recognize in them the strength of authentic Christian witness.The pope addressed bishops, priests, religious, pastoral workers, and laypeople at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul on his second day in the country. Catholics in Turkey make up roughly 0.05% of the nation's 85 million people.Calling Turkey a "holy land" where the Old and New Testaments meet, the pope recalled the deep Christian roots of the region: Abraham's journey through Harran, the early Christi...

Pope Leo shares 'secret of Christian charity' with Little Sisters of the Poor

Pope Leo XIV visits a care home for the elderly run by a community of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 28, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.Istanbul, Turkey, Nov 28, 2025 / 03:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV visited the Nursing Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Istanbul on Friday, telling the community that Christian charity begins not with doing, but with being, i.e., living a real communion with those one serves."The secret of Christian charity is that before being for others, we must first be with others in a communion based on fraternity," he said during the encounter on Nov. 28, the second day of his apostolic trip to Turkey, where he is marking the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. A papal stop at a charitable institution has become customary during international journeys, and Pope Leo chose to spend time with the elderly as a sign of closeness to those often marginalized in modern societies.Founded in France in 1839 by St. Jeanne...

Was Squanto Catholic? What we know about this hero of the first Thanksgiving

Image from page 155 of "Young Folks' History of the United States" (1903). / Credit: Public domainSt. Louis, Missouri, Nov 27, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).In 1621, lacking both the skills and the resources necessary to survive in the harsh territory of New England, European pilgrims encountered a miracle: a Native American who not only spoke English but who also used his skills and knowledge to help them adapt to their environment and survive the brutal winter.This was Squanto, a man who occupies a special place in the hearts of many people who celebrate Thanksgiving because of his willingness and ability to help the newcomers to his land.Squanto's full name was Tisquantum, and he was a member of the Patuxet tribe, which lived in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was probably born around 1585 in the area that is now Boston.Little is known about Tisquantum's early life, but what is known is that he was abducted from his homeland as a slave by an Englishman, Thomas Hunt...

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to protect medical residents from coercive abortion training

Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2025. / Credit: VALERY HACHE/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).Here is a roundup of recent pro-life- and abortion-related news.U.S. legislators introduce bill to protect medical residents from coercive abortion training U.S. legislators have introduced a bill to protect the conscience rights of medical students and residents who often feel pressured or even coerced into participating in abortions during their training. U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and others introduced the Conscience Protections for Medical Residents Act, designed to "ensure medical students and residents are never pressured or coerced into abortion training that violates their moral or religious beliefs," according to a press release.  The bill would establish federal protections for students, making abortion training an "opt-in" rather than "opt-out" system as "residents often fear th...