Archbishop Gintaras Grušas and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Nikitas Loulias present the signed updated Ecumenical Charter to Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 18:29 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received in a Nov. 6 audience the members of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE, by its Spanish acronym), the Ecumenical Council of Churches (CEC), and the representatives of the Christian Churches of Europe, who met in Rome to sign the updated “Charta Œcumenica.”

Signed in 2001 by the presidents of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the CCEE, the Ecumenical Charter has been the cornerstone of European ecumenical cooperation for more than two decades. The revised version seeks to address contemporary challenges and reflect the changing realities of European society and Christianity.

The revision process, initiated in 2022, was led by a joint working group of the CEC and the CCEE. To this end, input from churches and ecumenical organizations throughout Europe was considered for the purpose of ensuring that the updated text responds to current ecumenical needs.

The updated version was signed on Nov. 5 by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania, the president of the CCEE, and by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Nikitas Loulias of Thyateira and Great Britain.

Challenges on the ecumenical journey

During the meeting at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father emphasized that “the challenges Christians face on the ecumenical journey are constantly evolving,” and for this reason, it has been necessary to reexamine the situation in Europe.

Loulias, president of the CEC, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, after the audience with the Holy Father that “the world has changed” and that the realities of 25 years ago are not the same as those of today.

“Now there is the problem of migration, and how to treat migrants and the laws related to it. Also, how to confront nationalism, populism, ideas based on prejudice and hate, and what we, as Christians, preach: peace,” he emphasized.

The pope also noted in his address the importance of “constant and careful” discernment while lamenting that many Christian communities in Europe “feel increasingly like a minority.”

In this context, he recalled that new peoples are arriving in Europe that must be welcomed and listened to, promoting dialogue, harmony, and fraternity, particularly “amid the clamor of violence and war, whose echoes resound throughout the continent.”

“In all these situations,” the pope continued, “the grace, mercy, and peace of the Lord are truly vital, because only divine help will show us the most convincing way to proclaim Christ in these changing contexts.”

The pontiff referred to the ecumenical document as a “testimony to the willingness of the Churches of Europe to look at our history with the eyes of Christ” and noted that “the synodal path is ecumenical, just as the ecumenical path is synodal.”

In this regard, he emphasized that the new Ecumenical Charter “highlights the common path undertaken by Christians of different traditions in Europe, capable of listening to one another and discerning together in order to proclaim the Gospel more effectively.”

Sharing a common vision

Furthermore, Pope Leo highlighted that one of the most remarkable achievements of the review process has been “the ability to share a common vision on contemporary challenges and to establish priorities for the future of the continent while maintaining a firm conviction in the enduring relevance of the Gospel.”

In this regard, Loulias commented to ACI Prensa on the progress made on the path of ecumenism, emphasizing that “a hundred years ago, we didn’t even speak to each other.”

Although he acknowledged that challenges and problems still exist, especially due to language differences, he noted that this update “has allowed us to come together, cooperate, work together, respect one another, exchange thoughts and ideas, and recognize the values ​​we share.”

At the end of his address, the Holy Father also expressed his desire to proclaim to all the peoples of Europe that “Jesus Christ is our hope, because he is both the path we must follow and the ultimate destination of our spiritual pilgrimage.”

Loulias referred to Pope Leo XIV as “a very humble, very thoughtful, and very kind man. We discussed various topics, and of course, I asked him to pray for peace during our private conversation.”

“As an Orthodox Christian and as a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, I am proud to have been part of this process. Now the pope is preparing to travel to Istanbul to meet with the ecumenical patriarch [Bartholomew I]; these are significant signs of what is happening,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV speaks with President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine during a private audience in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine for an audience in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Thursday, almost a month after the truce agreement in the Gaza Strip came into effect.

According to the Holy See Press Office, during the meeting “it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution.”

This is the first in-person meeting between Leo XIV and the 90-year-old Palestinian leader, who was also received at the Vatican by Pope Francis on Dec. 12, 2024, and on prior occasions.

Abbas spoke with Leo by phone on July 21. The conversation focused on the evolution of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the violence in the West Bank.

Thursday’s meeting coincides with a time of intense diplomatic activity surrounding the Palestinian issue, marked by more than two years of war in Gaza and increasing violence in the West Bank as well as by renewed international recognition of the State of Palestine, including by France and several other European countries.

The Holy See, which has officially recognized the State of Palestine since 2015, has repeatedly reiterated its support for the two-state solution, based on respect for international law and the need to guarantee the security of Israel and the dignity of the Palestinian people.

Leo has multiple times expressed his concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where the civilian population continues to suffer the consequences of the prolonged conflict.

The papal audience with Abbas coincides with the 10th anniversary of the agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, signed on June 26, 2015, which formalized bilateral relations and addressed issues relating to the life and activity of the Catholic Church in the Palestinian territories.

Visit to the tomb of Pope Francis 

Upon arriving in Rome on Nov. 5, Abbas visited the tomb of Pope Francis in Santa Maria Maggiore, according to Vatican News.

The Palestinian head of state entered the papal basilica at 4:30 p.m., accompanied by Father Ibrahim Faltas, former vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, and his entourage. Abbas remained in prayer for approximately 15 minutes and, before leaving, placed a white rose on the marble tomb of the Argentine pope.

“I have come to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he has done for Palestine and the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone asking him to,” Abbas told reporters waiting in the square outside the basilica.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a Vatican-Palestinian agreement recognizing the State of Palestine and guaranteeing the freedom of the Catholic Church in the territory.

"During the cordial talks, it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-State solution," the Vatican said in a statement released after the 30-minute meeting Nov. 6.

While it was their first meeting in person, Pope Leo and Abbas had spoken by telephone in July when the fighting was still raging in Gaza and the humanitarian disaster was increasingly intense. 

The Palestinian Authority claims Gaza as part of its territory and controlled the region before Hamas took over in 2007. Abbas, who has been the president of Palestine since 2005, belongs to the Fatah party, which has been in an ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Speaking to reporters Nov. 4, Pope Leo said he was thankful that the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was continuing even though it was "very fragile."

But he also was asked about Israelis expanding settlements in the West Bank and settlers threatening Palestinian villagers and provoking tensions by going up to the square outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.

Al-Aqsa is located on what is known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, where the two biblical Jewish Temples stood. 

"The theme of the West Bank and these settlers is really complicated," Pope Leo told reporters. "Israel says one thing and then does another sometimes. We want to try to work together for justice for all people."

Soon after arriving in Rome Nov. 5, Abbas went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major and laid a bouquet of white roses on the tomb of Pope Francis.

"I came to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he did for Palestine and for the Palestinian people," he told reporters, "and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone having to ask him to do so."

With the signing in 2015 of the "Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine," the Holy See officially recognized the state of Palestine and restated its longtime support of a "two-state solution" to tensions in the Holy Land with both Israel and Palestine enjoying sovereignty, security and defined borders.
 

Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday addressed a letter to seminarians of the Archdiocese of Trujillo, Peru, reminding them of the need to be close to Christ while discerning a vocation to the priesthood.

In a long letter to men studying at the “San Carlos y San Marcelo” major seminary, who celebrated the institution’s 400th anniversary on Nov. 4, the Holy Father emphasized that prayer and the search for truth are not “parallel journeys” but a single path that leads to God.

‘Nurture both’

“A piety without doctrine becomes fragile sentimentality; doctrine without prayer becomes sterile and cold,” he wrote. “Nurture both with balance and passion, knowing that only in this way can you authentically proclaim what you live and live coherently what you proclaim.”

As an Augustinian missionary, Leo XIV once served as the seminary’s director of studies. From 1989–1998 he taught San Carlos y San Marcelo seminarians canon law, moral theology, and patristics.

Stressing the importance of forming both the “spiritual and intellectual life” at the seminary, the Holy Father said the combination of study and prayer prepares candidates for a “solid and luminous priesthood.”

Focusing on the centrality of Jesus Christ, the pope said the “first task” of all seminarians is “to be with the Lord, to let him form you, to know and love him, so that you may become like him.” 

In the letter, he explained that the Church has always wanted seminaries to be places to help foster their personal relationship with Jesus and “prepare those who will be sent to serve the holy people of God.”

“For this reason, before anything else, it is necessary to allow the Lord to clarify one’s motivations and purify one’s intentions,” he wrote. “The priesthood cannot be reduced to ‘achieving ordination’ as if it were an external goal or an easy way out of personal problems.” 

The priesthood as ‘a total gift of one’s existence’

“It is not an escape from what one does not want to face, nor a refuge from emotional, family, or social difficulties; nor is it a promotion or a shelter, but a total gift of one’s existence,” he added.

Underscoring the importance of freedom in the discernment process, the pope said it is not possible for a man “bound by interests or fears” to freely offer his life for others through the priesthood.

“The will is truly free when it is not a slave,” he wrote in his letter, quoting St. Augustine’s “The City of God.”

“The decisive thing is not to be ‘ordained’ but truly to be priests,” he said.

Warning that the priesthood should not be confused with a “personal right” or a “mere prerogative or bureaucratic function,” Leo said a genuine vocation “arises from the choice of the Lord” to share in his saving ministry.

“Seminary life is a journey of inner rectification,” he said. “Rectitude of intention means being able to say every day, with simplicity and truth: ‘Lord, I want to be your priest, not for myself, but for your people.’”

Encouraging seminarians to be configured to Christ, the Holy Father urged them to devote time to encountering the Lord through dedicated times to prayer and study using sacred Scripture. 

‘Those who do not speak enough with God cannot speak of God’

“Time spent in prayer is the most fruitful investment of one’s life, because it is there that the Lord shapes our feelings, purifies our desires, and strengthens our vocation,” he said. “Those who do not speak enough with God cannot speak of God!”

Speaking about the importance of the magisterium, the pope said: “The Church has always recognized that the encounter with the Lord needs to be rooted in intelligence and to become doctrine.”

“Without serious study there is no true pastoral ministry, because the ministry consists in leading people to know and love Christ and, in him, to find salvation,” he wrote.

Before concluding his letter with his apostolic blessing, the Holy Father said Eucharistic union and communion with others is essential to understand Jesus’ “priestly fatherhood” and “the unity between ministry and sacrifice.”

“Dear sons, in conclusion, I want to assure you that you have a place in the heart of the successor of Peter,” he said. “The seminary is an immense and demanding gift, but you are never alone on this journey.”

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his general audience on Nov. 5, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2025 / 08:20 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV appealed on Wednesday for the international community not to abandon the people of Myanmar as the country remains gripped by civil war and severe humanitarian need. He made the appeal during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, which also included a catechesis on how the resurrection of Christ sheds light on suffering and death.

“Brothers and sisters, I invite you to join me in prayer for those who suffer as a result of armed conflicts in different parts of the world. I am thinking in particular of Myanmar and I urge the international community not to forget the Burmese people and to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance,” the pope said before thousands of pilgrims.

Leo expressed his concern for the long-running violence in the Asian nation, where civilians continue to suffer from armed clashes, forced displacement, and the lack of basic resources. United Nations estimates show that the crisis has reached catastrophic levels, with nearly 20 million people expected to need assistance in 2025 and some 3.5 million displaced internally, many living in precarious conditions. The situation has been worsened by natural disasters such as an earthquake in March and by limited international funding.

The Holy See has repeatedly voiced its closeness to the people of Myanmar. Since the outbreak of violence, the pope has sent appeals for dialogue and reconciliation, calling on all sides to reject revenge and seek peace through mutual understanding.

Catechesis: Easter as a compass in daily life

Earlier in the audience, Pope Leo continued his Jubilee 2025 catechesis on the theme “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” reflecting on how the Resurrection gives meaning to everyday challenges.

“The paschal mystery is the cornerstone of Christian life, around which all other events revolve. We can say, then, without any irenicism or sentimentality, that every day is Easter,” he said.

“The pasch of Jesus is an event that does not belong to a distant past, now settled into tradition like so many other episodes in human history. Hour by hour, we have so many different experiences: pain, suffering, sadness, intertwined with joy, wonder, serenity. But through every situation, the human heart longs for fullness, a profound happiness,” he explained.

Quoting St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, whose secular name was Edith Stein, Leo said: “We are immersed in limitation, but we also strive to surpass it.” Stein, a Jewish-born German philosopher who became a Carmelite nun and was martyred at Auschwitz, was canonized in 1998 and named co-patron of Europe.

The pope described the Easter proclamation as “the most beautiful, joyful, and overwhelming news that has ever resounded in all of history,” because it proclaims “the victory of love over sin and of life over death.”

Recalling the women who found the empty tomb, Leo said that moment “changes everything — the course of human history and the destiny of each person.” From that day, he said, “Jesus will also have this title: the Living One.”

“In him, we have the assurance of always being able to find the lodestar towards which we can direct our seemingly chaotic lives, marked by events that often appear confusing, unacceptable, incomprehensible: evil in its many forms, suffering, death,” he continued. “Meditating on the mystery of the Resurrection, we find an answer to our thirst for meaning.”

The pope said that seen in the light of Easter, “the way of the cross is transfigured into the way of light. We need to savor and meditate on the joy after the pain, to retrace in the new light all the stages that preceded the Resurrection.”

“Easter does not eliminate the cross but defeats it in the miraculous duel that changed our human history,” he said. “Even our time, marked by so many crosses, invokes the dawn of paschal hope. Christ’s resurrection is not an idea, a theory, but the event that is the foundation of faith. He, the Risen One, through the Holy Spirit, continues to remind us of this, so that we can be his witnesses even where human history does not see light on the horizon. Paschal hope does not disappoint.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics in immigration detention centers have "spiritual rights" that Catholic clergy should be allowed to serve, Pope Leo XIV said.

Speaking briefly with reporters late Nov. 4 outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo was asked about a detention facility in Chicago denying access Nov. 1 to an auxiliary bishop and a delegation of clergy, religious sisters and laity, who wanted to bring Communion to Catholics detained there.

The pope was also asked about the increasing tensions between the United States and Venezuela and about the case of Father Marko Rupnik, an artist accused of multiple cases of abuse.

On the question of the Chicago detention facility, Pope Leo prefaced his remarks by noting how, at his Mass at a Rome cemetery Nov. 1, the Gospel reading was from Matthew 25 with its litany of feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger and clothing the naked. The Lord says, "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." 

"Jesus says very clearly that at the end of the world, we're going to be asked, you know, '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" with how immigrants in the United States are being treated today, the pope said.

"Many people who've lived (in the United States) for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what's going on right now," he added.

Pope Leo said he would like to ask "the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people. Many times they've been separated from their families for a good amount of time; no one knows what's happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to."

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to OSVNews that the Broadview facility in Chicago is "a field office, it is not a detention facility."

"Illegal aliens are only briefly held there for processing before being transferred to a detention facility. Religious organizations are more than welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities," McLaughlin said, but not at field offices where "detainees are continuously brought in, processed, and transferred out."

Pope Leo also was asked what he thought about the United States sending warships to the Caribbean, particularly off the coast of Venezuela. President Donald Trump has said the deployment is part of his effort to stop drug traffickers. 

"A country has the right to have a military to defend peace, to build peace," the pope said. "But in this case, it seems a bit different -- tensions are rising. Just five minutes ago, I read some news saying that they're getting closer and closer to the coast of Venezuela."

"I think that with violence, we don't win," the pope said. "The important thing is to seek dialogue, to try in a fair way to find solutions to the problems that may exist in any country."

The last question the pope took before driving back to the Vatican regarded requests by the alleged victims of Father Rupnik to have his mosaics covered up or removed from churches around the world, something the pope noted had been occurring. 

The priest, an artist and former Jesuit, has been accused of sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing more than 20 women -- many of them members of a religious community he co-founded -- over a span of four decades.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith announced in early October that it had appointed judges to form the tribunal for the priest's canonical trial.

"I know it's very difficult for the victims to ask that they be patient, but the church needs to respect the rights of all people," the pope told reporters. "The principle of innocent until proven guilty is also true in the church and hopefully this trial that is just beginning will be able to give some clarity and justice to all those involved."

Earlier in the day, journalists had asked Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the doctrinal dicastery, about the status of the trial and when it might conclude.

"They are working," he said. "They are working independently" so he could not provide details about whether they had begun listening to witnesses or how long the trial might take.

The dicastery had said in October that "the panel of judges is composed of women and clerics who are not members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and who hold no office within any of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia."

"This has been done in order to better ensure, as in every judicial proceeding, the autonomy and independence of the aforesaid tribunal," it said. 
 

Pope Leo answers questions from journalists as he leaves Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican on Nov. 4, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

Rome Newsroom, Nov 4, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said dialogue is the solution to rising tensions with Venezuela.

There have been more than a dozen U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, often of Venezuelan origin. Dozens of deaths have been reported as a result, and the U.S. has increased its military presence in the Caribbean in recent months.

“A country has the right to have its own military to defend peace, to build peace,” Pope Leo XIV said Nov. 4 outside Castel Gandolfo. “In this case, however, it seems a bit different, with the tension increasing… Just five minutes ago I read some news saying that they are getting closer and closer to the coast of Venezuela. I think that with violence we do not win. The thing to do is to seek dialogue, to look for a just way to find solutions to the problems that may exist in a country. A country has the right to have its own military to defend peace, to build peace.”

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 61 other civil society organizations in sending a letter to Congress on Nov. 4 to express alarm at “illegal military strikes and extrajudicial killings of civilians on boats off of the coast of Venezuela.”

“The Trump administration has not provided any valid legal justification for these strikes or any evidence to substantiate its claims that the victims were an imminent threat to the security of the United States,” the letter said. “We fear that, barring decisive action by members of Congress, there will be more strikes, more extrajudicial killings, and potentially a full-blown limitless war with one or more countries in the region, with likely devastating humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.”

President Donald Trump called for mobilizing U.S. military assets against drug-trafficking organizations during the 2024 campaign. The administration began classifying regional drug cartels and criminal organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations” in 2025.

Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado with eight spiritual leaders including Sister JoAnn Persch attempt to bring Communion to detainees at the Broadview, Illinois, facility and were not admitted Nov. 1, 2025. / Credit: Bryan Sebastian, courtesy of Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 4, 2025 / 16:52 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said the spiritual rights of migrants in detention must be considered.

“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,” he said Nov. 4 outside Castel Gandolfo. “I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people. Many times they’ve been separated from their families for a good amount of time. No one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”

Catholic leaders in Chicago sought to bring holy Communion to detainees Nov. 1 at a Chicago-area building that holds people detained in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado and others were not admitted despite requesting access weeks in advance and attempting to follow U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines.

A federal judge heard testimony Nov. 4 about conditions at the building, the Broadview facility operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration advocates say conditions are inhumane, with people being kept at the Broadview facility for days, sleeping on floors, having medications withheld, with no showers. ICE has not responded to a request for comment.

The pope said the situation of migrants in detention warrants attention.

“I think in the first place, the role of the Church is to preach the Gospel. And just a couple days ago, we heard Matthew’s Gospel chapter 25, which says 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?’” Leo said.  

“There’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening” regarding migrants in detention, the pope said.

Father Marko Rupnik, SJ, in an interview with EWTN in 2020. / Credit: EWTN

Rome Newsroom, Nov 4, 2025 / 16:02 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV asked accusers of Father Marko Rupnik to have patience as a trial on the priest’s alleged abuse begins at the Vatican.

“A new trial has recently begun, judges were appointed. And processes for justice take a long time. I know it’s very difficult for the victims to ask that they be patient, but the Church needs to respect the rights of all people,” the pope said, addressing a question from Magdalena Wolinska-Reidi of EWTN News just outside his Castel Gandolfo residence, Villa Barberini, on Nov. 4.

“The principle of innocent until proven guilty is also true in the Church,” he added. “Hopefully, this trial that is just beginning will be able to give some clarity to all those involved.”

Leo answered questions from journalists as he left Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican. He has spent almost every Tuesday at the papal retreat, located 18 miles south of Rome, since early September.

The Vatican’s doctrine office announced last month that a panel of five judges had been nominated to decide the disciplinary case against Rupnik, accused of the sexual and psychological abuse of consecrated women under his spiritual care.

Rupnik — a well-known artist with mosaics and paintings in hundreds of Catholic shrines and churches around the world — is accused of having committed sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse against dozens of women religious in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith began to investigate the abuse accusations against Rupnik in October 2023 after Pope Francis lifted the statute of limitations.

In May 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith launched a criminal administrative process against Rupnik after the Society of Jesus reported credible complaints of abuse by the priest to the Vatican.

One year later, the Vatican declared Rupnik to be in a state of “latae sententiae” excommunication for absolving an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment. His excommunication was lifted by Pope Francis after two weeks.

The Society of Jesus expelled Rupnik from the religious congregation in June 2023 for his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”

Art

Leo also told journalists Nov. 4 he is aware of calls to remove or cover up Rupnik’s artwork by some abuse survivors and their advocates.

“Certainly in many places, precisely because of the need to be sensitive to those who have presented cases of being victims, the artwork has been covered up. Artwork has been removed from websites. That issue is certainly something that we’re aware of,” he said.

According to the Rome-based Centro Aletti, the art and theology school founded in 1993 and previously directed by Rupnik, the workshop has 232 completed mosaic and other art projects around the world — including in some of the most prominent international Catholic shrines, such as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in the state of São Paulo in Brazil and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

The Vatican has at least three original mosaics by Rupnik, including in the Redemptoris Mater chapel in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, in the chapel of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and in the San Calisto Building in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood.

Some calling for the art’s removal or concealment say that seeing the works in places of worship can have a traumatic effect on abuse victims, particularly since Rupnik’s accusers say he sexually abused them as they assisted him in the process of making his art.

The bishop of Lourdes, Jean-Marc Micas, announced earlier this year that the shrine would cover mosaics by Rupnik on the entrances to the shrine’s main church.

In June, the official Vatican News outlet removed images of the priest’s distinctive works, inspired by artistic traditions from Eastern Christianity, from its website, after years of criticism for its use of them to illustrate pages dedicated to saints and feast days.

Centro Aletti last year called the pressure to remove works of art by the studio part of “cancel culture” and the “criminalization of art.”

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors sent a letter to top Vatican officials last year urging them not to display artwork, like Rupnik’s, “that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of those accused of abuse. 

In an interview with Crux in July, Pope Leo said how to respond to the Church’s abuse crisis is “one of the many challenges that I’m trying to find a way to deal with.”

And while it remains unresolved, it cannot be the Church’s sole focus, he said. 

He also drew attention to the difficulty of striking a balance between providing help and justice for victims with respect for the rights of the accused. “We’re in kind of a bind there.”

Leo put the issue of clerical sexual abuse into the context of his views on the wider role of the Church in the world: “We can’t make the whole Church focus exclusively on this issue, because that would not be an authentic response to what the world is looking for in terms of the need for the mission of the Church.”

Pope Leo XIV prays during his general audience on Sept. 24, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 14:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of November is for the prevention of suicide. 

“Let us pray that those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts might find the support, care, and love they need in their community and be open to the beauty of life,” the pope said in a video released Nov. 4. 

According to a press release, this month’s video was made in collaboration with the Diocese of Phoenix.  

In the video, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention. Here is his full prayer:

Lord Jesus,

You who invite the weary and burdened

to come to you and rest in your heart,

we ask you this month for all the people

who live in darkness and despair,

especially for those struggling

with suicidal thoughts.

May they always find a community

that welcomes them, listens to them, and accompanies them.

Give all of us an attentive and compassionate heart,

capable of offering comfort and support,

also with the necessary professional help.

May we know how to be close with respect and tenderness,

helping to heal wounds, build bonds, and open horizons.

Together may we rediscover that life is a gift,

that there is still beauty and meaning,

even in the midst of pain and suffering.

We are well aware that those who follow you

are also vulnerable to sadness without hope.

We ask you to always make us feel your love

so that, through your closeness to us,

we can recognize and proclaim to all the infinite love of the Father

who leads us by the hand to renew our trust in the life you give us.

Amen.

The video prayer intention is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.