Shrine of the Queen Mother in Atibaia, Brazil. / Credit: Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

On the occasion of the centenary of the Secular Institute of the Sisters of Mary of Schoenstatt, Germany, Pope Leo XIV has granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who visits the original Schoenstatt shrine or any shrine, church, or chapel under the care of this community.

The indulgence can be obtained throughout the community’s jubilee, which began on Oct. 1 and will conclude on Nov. 4, 2026.

“For our community, this gift of indulgence in our jubilee year is an invitation from God, through the Church, for a deeper purification of our hearts,” the Schoenstatt Movement said on its website, adding: “We trust that God’s grace will sustain us in a more perceptible way at the beginning of a new era for our family.”

The decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See states that the indulgence is granted “to members of the institute and to all the faithful who, moved by repentance and love, unite themselves to the spiritual goals of the Jubilee Year 2025.”

The faithful are invited to make a pilgrimage to one of the aforementioned places and spend time there in contemplation.

To obtain the indulgence, which can also be obtained on behalf of a deceased person, the following conditions must be met: sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist, prayer for the pope’s intentions — according to the decree, the Our Father, the Creed, the invocation of Mary, Mother of God, as Queen of Peace and Mother of Mercy — and performing an act of penance and a work of charity.

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

“Use technology wisely, but don’t let technology use you,” Pope Leo XIV said during his address to hundreds of university students gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Oct. 30, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged young people to cultivate their “interior life” and to listen to their restlessness without “fleeing from it” or “filling it” with things that don’t satisfy, lest they fall into existential emptiness.

“Having a great deal of knowledge is not enough if we do not know who we are or what the meaning of life is,” the pope told the hundreds of university students he received Oct. 30 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican for an event held as part of the Jubilee of the World of Education.

In his message, he invited the students to rediscover the inner dimension of life and pointed out that “without silence, without listening, without prayer, even the light of the stars goes out.”

“We can know a great deal about the world and still ignore our own hearts,” he noted, while encouraging the students to constantly strive “toward the heights,” being “the beacon of hope in the dark hours of history.”

Leo XIV acknowledged that many young people experience a sense of emptiness or inner restlessness and emphasized that this disorientation is not solely due to personal reasons.

“In the most serious cases, we see episodes of distress, violence, bullying, and oppression — even young people who isolate themselves and no longer want to relate to others,” the pope observed. In his view, these deep wounds are “the reflection of “a void created by a society that has forgotten how to form the spiritual dimension of the human person, focusing only on the technical, social, or moral aspects of life.”

The pope was especially approachable and relaxed with the young people, with whom he shared several spontaneous moments. He introduced himself to them twice as a “former math and physics teacher,” recalling his teaching past, and even joked with them: “Perhaps you have a math exam soon?” he asked, going off script and eliciting laughter and applause.

The pope affirmed that a life that remains “stifled by fleeting pleasures will never satisfy us.” Instead, he asked each person to say in his or her heart: “I dream of more, Lord, I long for something greater, inspire me!”

“This desire is your strength and expresses well the commitment of young people who envision a better society and refuse to be mere spectators,” he emphasized after noting that the “desire for the infinite” is the compass they should use.

Instead of looking at your phone, ‘look to the sky, to the heights’

He urged the university students to not be satisfied “with appearances or fads” and instead of “being fixated on your smartphones, to look to the sky, to the heights.”

“How wonderful it would be if one day your generation were remembered as the ‘generation plus,’ remembered for the extra drive you brought to the Church and the world,” he exclaimed.

During his address, Pope Leo cited as role models St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who had “the courage to live life to the fullest” and “to the heights,” and St. Carlo Acutis, “who did not become a slave to the internet but rather used it skillfully for good.” The pontiff canonized these two young saints together on Sept. 7.

The pope also cited St. Augustine as an example, describing him as “brilliant but deeply unsatisfied” because he found “neither truth nor peace until he discovered God in his own heart.”

The Holy Father focused much of his address on the challenges posed by the digital world and the development of artificial intelligence, urging that these areas not become “a cage where you lock yourselves in” nor “an addiction or an escape.”

“You live in [digital education] and that’s not a bad thing; there are enormous opportunities for study and communication. But don’t let the algorithm write your story! Be the authors: Use technology wisely, but don’t let technology use you,” he urged.

‘It is not enough to silence weapons, we must disarm hearts’

Leo XIV emphasized the urgency of a “disarmed and disarming education” that forms new generations in respect, justice, and equality.

“You can see how much our future is threatened by war and hatred, which divide people. Can this future be changed? Certainly! How? With an education for peace that is disarmed and disarming,” the pope said. Furthermore, he warned that it is not enough to “silence the weapons,” but rather “we must disarm hearts, renouncing all violence and vulgarity.”

As in his recent document on education, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” Leo XIV called for avoiding all forms of exclusion or privilege in education, “recognizing the equal dignity of every young person, without ever dividing young people between the privileged few who have access to expensive schools and the many who do not have access to education.”

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 celebrates Mass for more than 1 million young pilgrims at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, in Rome's outskirts, on Aug. 3, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2025 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

Catholic teenagers and faithful across the country have started signing up to hear Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever digital address to American Catholic youth during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC).

Pope Leo will hold a 45-minute digital dialogue with young people from across the United States during the Nov. 20–22 NCYC in Indianapolis, hosted by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). The pope will speak at 10:15 a.m. ET on Nov. 21.

This marks the first time in history that a pope will directly engage with U.S. youth in a live digital encounter. The experience will connect the Holy Father at the Vatican with thousands of people gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and others watching online through a partnership with EWTN, the exclusive multi-cast provider.

People with tickets for the NCYC can watch the broadcast in person, but others across the world are able to join online from homes, schools, and parishes. Registration for the online digital talk is free and open to everyone.

Those who register for the experience will receive an exclusive invitation to a digital pre-event on Nov. 11, broadcast and livestream information from EWTN, and first access to digital follow-up resource kits for teens, parents, and ministry leaders.

The NCYC predicted the Holy Father would address as many as 15,000 registered people ages 14–18 from across the nation. A select number of teenagers will be chosen to converse directly with the Holy Father during the session.

EWTN announced in August that it will serve as the media partner for the three-day event, providing news coverage, broadcast, and digital streaming.

The talk is set to take place on the second day of the NCYC, which will gather Catholic youth, ministry leaders, clergy, and volunteers from across the country for prayer, formation, community, and celebration.

Aside from the encounter with Pope Leo, conference attendees will participate in Mass and adoration, and hear music from award-winning artists. NCYC reported it added additional tickets for the conference following an abundance of registrations.

As government-funded food assistance program such as SNAP and WIC are about to lose funding Nov. 1, 2025, due to the government shutdown, Catholic Charities USA is stepping in to help needy Americans. / Credit: rblfmr/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2025 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities USA has launched an emergency fundraising effort to support those about to lose access to federal food assistance in the coming days. 

Due to the ongoing government shutdown, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will lapse on Nov. 1, meaning millions of Americans will no longer have access to food assistance. 

“For low-income families and individuals who rely on SNAP and WIC to put food on their tables, this could be a catastrophic moment,” Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson said in an Oct. 30 press release announcing the emergency effort. “The Catholic Charities network stands ready to come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need.”

Contributions made to CCUSA’s designated donation portal will go directly toward helping “provide meals for those most at risk.” The group will use the donated funds to buy and ship food to its agencies across the country that have food pantries, soup kitchens, and food delivery programs, the release stated. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), SNAP “served an average of 41.7 million people per month, or 12.3% of U.S. residents,” in the 2024 fiscal year. Funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will also cease on Nov. 1.

“The ongoing government shutdown is not merely a political negotiation. It has created incredibly serious, real-life consequences for millions of people, from furloughed federal workers to those living in poverty who will now struggle even more to provide for their families,” Robinson continued. 

The cessation of funding comes amid reports that the USDA has “quietly deleted” its contingency plan to keep SNAP afloat in the event of a government shutdown. The USDA has said it will not use previously designated contingency funds to support the program in the 2026 financial year, according to a memo obtained by Axios. “The contingency fund is not available to support [fiscal year] 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,” the memo states.

While CCUSA pledged to help those affected by the lapse in funding, the organization pointed out that Catholic Charities agencies and other food insecurity programs “are already stretched thin” and that the funding gap “will lead to an immediate and even greater surge of demand around the country.”

“It is past time for congressional leaders of both parties and the administration to forge a bipartisan path to reopen the government and provide relief to all those who are suffering,” Robinson said. “In the meantime, Catholic Charities agencies will continue to live out their Gospel call to provide compassionate, merciful aid to those most in need in their communities.”

Students take part at a protest rally against corruption organized by the Catholic Church and others on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit; Santosh Digal

Manila, Philippines, Oct 30, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

A wave of corruption scandals has rocked the Philippines and triggered the country’s largest Church-backed protests in more than a decade. Philippine bishops have urged Catholics and others to persistently demand accountability and transparency from government authorities for the misuse of public funds.

On Oct. 26, Bishop Raúl Bautista Dáel of Tandag said that corruption in the country is a “serious issue” while celebrating the Marian feast of the Schoenstatt community in Talisay City, Cebu, in the central Philippines.

The prelate said corruption is “a system and a culture” that people have endured for a long time. He warned that every Filipino had become a complicit partner to it, either by cooperation or by silence.

Corruption must be addressed with courage, hope, and faith, Dáel said.

Additionally, Davao Archbishop Romulo Geolina Valles urged the faithful to fight corruption with grit and remain vigilant against it.

Valles, during a Mass on Oct. 25 in Davao, said that by robbing public funds supposedly used for government projects and services, corrupt officials and individuals have enriched themselves. Spending millions of dollars on poverty eradication, food security, infrastructure, employment, education, and home construction would have been beneficial.

A major challenge to overcome

The Philippines scored 33 out of 100 and ranked 114th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). It is behind its neighbors — Singapore (84), Japan (71), and Malaysia (50). Since 2017, the score has remained between 33 and 36.  

Corruption is a widespread problem in government and is embedded in daily civic life. It exists in bribery, graft, cronyism, embezzlement, nepotism, extortion, and fraud. Some examples of corruption include the misuse of public health funds, namely the PhilHealth system, and nonexistent infrastructure projects. This led to protests on Sept. 21, spearheaded by the Catholic Church, civil society groups, and youth movements.

Following the public protest, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. created a three-member independent commission for infrastructure to probe anomalies.

The economic impact of corruption affects governance efficiency, creates an uncertain business environment, and is a potential cause of poverty. As a social impact, corruption diminishes public trust in government and deprives the public of services.

Meanwhile, Marcos assured the public that legal and institutional frameworks are in place to address corruption.

Moreover, the media, Church organizations, and civil society groups have intensified their efforts to expose corruption issues.

The Church’s role as a moral force

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio S. David, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), compared corruption to a cancer afflicting the country.

Catholics and citizens are called to “participate, scrutinize, and hold the government accountable, without which corruption spreads unchecked,” he added.

“With such efforts, the nation has a fighting chance at recovery and has the potential for healing our democracy,” he said in a social media post on Oct. 28.

With people’s sustained participation, informed vigilance, and creative collaboration, along with research, digital platforms, and public engagement, it is possible to combat greed and impunity, David said.

“Corruption weakens the nation through silence and inaction. The Church serves as a beacon of morality by speaking out against corruption,” Niel Anthony Borja, a senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Law, told CNA.

When Church leaders call corruption a moral wrong, they help restore public trust and accountability. The late Cardinal Jaime Lachica Sin, archbishop emeritus of Manila, once did so, condemning corruption, authoritarianism, and human rights abuses under the Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. regime. Sin’s leadership empowered citizens and inspired reform.

“By speaking truth to power, the Church keeps the nation’s conscience alive,” Borja added.

Allies in the fight against corruption

The Catholic Church networked with others in combating corruption.  

“The collaborative and collective efforts among churches and the Catholic Church, leading as a moral force to fight corruption, have stirred a synergy of actions and reactions,” Sister Liza H. Ruedas, a member of the Daughters of Charity Justice, Peace, and Human Rights Commission, told CNA.

Many initiatives have been undertaken to address corruption among political leaders, including protests, prayer rallies, forums, education, and awareness-raising mobilizations, aimed at galvanizing citizens and drawing strength from mutual support.

There is a broad push across Catholic organizations and institutions toward addressing these issues: The Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines, Simbayanihan — the social action arm of the CBCP — Caritas, and Justice and Peace groups link together to promote advocacy and citizen participation.

“With what is happening in our country at present, it is imperative that we draw inspiration from our faith and recall our responsibilities as Christians. Compassion must guide us, compelling collective action against the corruption that has brought our government to the brink of moral collapse,” Associate Professor Gerlie Caspe-Ogatis, a faculty member of the College of Arts and Letters, Philosophy Department, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila, told CNA.

“Indeed, the shameless behavior of many politicians and their displays of excessive greed reveal a profound disconnect from genuine religious practice,” said Caspe-Ogatis, who is also managing editor of Mabini Review Journal.

“The Church must take a firm stance, reminding the faithful that authentic Christian living entails a profound awareness of and concern for the suffering and welfare of others.”

Pope Leo XIV prays during a Mass on Oct. 27, 2025, marking both the start of the academic year at Rome’s pontifical universities and the opening day of the Jubilee of the World of Education. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2025 / 13:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate All Souls’ Day with Mass for the faithful departed at Rome’s largest cemetery as well as a Mass for the soul of the late Pope Francis and deceased cardinals the following day. 

The Vatican has announced that Pope Leo will offer Mass at Campo Verano Cemetery near the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m., continuing the practice of Pope Francis, who made a point of visiting a cemetery each year on All Souls’ Day. 

On Monday, Nov. 3, at 11 a.m. Leo will also offer Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, who died in April, and for the bishops and cardinals who have died over the past year, following a long papal custom of commemorating deceased Church leaders at the beginning of November, a month the Church devotes to praying for the dead. 

All Souls’ Day, observed annually on Nov. 2, is a day of prayer for the souls of all who have died, especially those believed to be in purgatory, undergoing final purification before entering the presence of God. The Church encourages the faithful to offer prayers, sacrifices, and Masses for the souls in purgatory. 

Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, offered All Souls’ Day Mass in the Campo Verano cemetery for the first three years of his papacy before choosing to pray at other cemeteries in and around Rome, including in the Roman catacombs, at a cemetery for American personnel killed in World War II, and at a cemetery for unborn babies.

Visiting cemeteries is a prominent custom in parts of Latin America at this time of year, exemplified by the famous celebration of Día de los Muertos in Mexico on Nov. 1–2. Before his election as pope, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, served for two decades as an Augustinian missionary and later as a bishop in Peru, where Catholics customarily mark All Souls’ Day by visiting cemeteries, cleaning and decorating tombs with flowers and candles, and praying for their loved ones who have died.

Pope Leo XIV will mark the feasts of All Saints and All Souls this weekend with three consecutive days of papal liturgies in Rome.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, the solemnity of All Saints, Pope Leo will preside over a 10:30 a.m. Mass in St. Peter’s Square, during which he will declare St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. Tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected to take part, many of them participating in the Vatican’s Jubilee of Education, which Pope Leo opened earlier in the week. 

All Saints’ Day is a solemnity honoring all who have reached heaven and enjoy the beatific vision — the saints both canonized and uncanonized.

After the Mass, Pope Leo XIV will lead the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, at noon Rome time, as he does on every holy day of obligation. Because the feast falls on a Saturday this year, the U.S. bishops’ conference has lifted the obligation for American Catholics to attend Mass that day.

Before heading to Campo Verano cemetery for the All Souls’ Day Mass on Sunday afternoon, Pope Leo will pray the Angelus at noon from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with the head of government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, on Oct. 22, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of government of Andorra

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 10:09 am (CNA).

A delegation from the Andorran government met on Oct. 22 with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to continue discussions on the decriminalization of abortion in Andorra, a country whose co-heads of state are the bishop of the Diocese of Urgell in Spain, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The boundaries of the diocese also encompass Andorra, which is a small principality situated in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, roughly halfway between Toulouse and Barcelona.

The prime minister of Andorra who heads the executive branch, Xavier Espot, and the minister of institutional relations, Ladislau Baró, traveled to the Vatican, accompanied by the country’s ambassador to the Holy See, Carlos Álvarez.

The meeting, according to the Andorran government, took place “within the framework of the institutional dialogue between the two parties to address the process of decriminalizing abortion in Andorra.”

According to the executive branch of the small country, “both delegations reaffirmed their shared commitment to continue working constructively with the aim of having a draft legislative text in the coming months.”

At the same time, it was acknowledged that “this is a matter of great legal, institutional, and social complexity, requiring careful technical development,” and therefore both parties “maintain their desire to find a solution.”

This complexity relates to the Andorran Constitution, under which the bishop of Urgell and the president of France serve as co‑princes who sanction and enact the laws approved by the General Council (Parliament) with the required countersignature and within eight to 15 days of approval. The Constitution also allows the co‑princes to request a prior ruling on constitutionality before sanctioning a law.

“Decrimnalization” typically means that abortion remains a crime but only after a specific number of weeks of pregnancy. Prior to that time frame it is unpunishable. 

Abortion in the Andorran penal code

Title II of the Andorran penal code deals with “crimes against prenatal human life,” distinguishing between “nonconsensual,” “consensual,” and “negligent” abortion.

Article 107 on nonconsensual abortion establishes “a prison sentence of four to 10 years and disqualification from practicing any health care profession for up to 10 years.”

The same penalties apply if consent has been obtained “through violence, intimidation, or abuse of the victim’s vulnerability” due to age, disability, or similar circumstances. Furthermore, the article establishes that even attempted (unsuccessful) abortion is punishable.

Article 108, referring to consensual abortion, provides for whoever perpetrates the crime “a prison sentence of three months to three years and disqualification to exercise any health profession for a period of up to five years.” 

In addition, the code states that “the woman who causes her abortion or allows another person to cause it will be punished with a light sentence,” typically less than three months. 

With regard to abortion caused by negligence, Article 109 establishes a brief sentence or a fine of up to 30,000 euros ($34,760) and disqualification for a period of three years if the abortion is the result of “professional negligence.”

In this section it is also specified that “the pregnant woman will not be punished for this offense.”

Parolin’s visit to Andorra

In September 2023, Parolin visited Andorra, where he went before the media along with Espot and stated that this legal amendment “is a very delicate and complex matter that we must address with great discretion and wisdom.”

“For the Holy See, the principle of defending life at all its stages is fundamental. And this principle is accompanied by the desire to be close to, and to help, all those who are in difficulty,” the cardinal explained.

Parolin added that this affirmation of principles “also entails concrete actions; in this case, for example, toward pregnant women who encounter difficulties in having a child, in giving life to their child.”

The Vatican secretary of state pointed out that amending the penal status of abortion in Andorra also involves “the problem of the constitutional system” under which the bishop of Urgell is the co-prince.

“It’s not easy to reconcile these two aspects,” the cardinal acknowledged, adding: “We are working, we are reflecting; we are further studying [the matter]. These are things that cannot be resolved overnight; they require a great deal of participation, a great deal of commitment, and a great deal of effort.”

“We hope to find a solution that is satisfactory for everyone,” the Vatican secretary of state concluded.

The role of the bishop of Urgell in sanctioning Andorran laws

The constitution of Andorra establishes in Article 45 subsection 1g  that the co-princes of Andorra “with the countersignature of the head of government (prime minister) or, where appropriate, the president of the General Council, who assume political responsibility,” are the ones who “sanction and promulgate the laws” within a period of between eight and 15 days after their approval by the General Council of Andorra.

The reform also establishes the possibility that the co-princes, as an “act freely at their disposal,” may require a “prior ruling on the constitutionality of laws” (Article 46, subsection 1e). 

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, contacted the government of Andorra for more information on the reform and its potential implications for the bishop of Urgell but received no response. The Diocese of Urgell declined to comment.

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

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presides over a press conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, on the Vatican’s new document on Marian apparitions. / Credit: Rudolf Gehrig/EWTN News

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2025 / 09:14 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s doctrine office announced Thursday it will release a document on Nov. 4 about titles of Mary that refer to her “cooperation in the work of salvation.”

Mary’s contribution to human salvation, specifically the title of “Co-Redemptrix” (“Co-Redeemer”) has been a point of theological debate for decades — with proponents calling for Mary’s role in redemption to be declared a dogma but critics saying it exaggerates her importance and could damage efforts for unity with other Christian denominations.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will present the doctrinal note on the topic, titled “Mater Populi Fidelis” (“Faithful Mother of the People”), at the Jesuit Curia in Rome.

Fernández told journalists in July the dicastery was working on a text on “various Marian themes” but did not reveal more about its content.

Theologian Father Matteo Armando, secretary of the dicastery’s doctrine department, will also speak at the presentation Nov. 4, along with an expert consulter of the dicastery, Father Maurizio Gronchi, who teaches Christology — the Church’s teaching on the person, nature, and role of Christ — at Rome’s Pontifical Urban University.

Recent popes have held varying positions on the use of the title “Co-Redemptrix” for Mary.

In 2017, the International Marian Association submitted a request to Pope Francis for public recognition of the title of Mary as “Co-Redemptrix with Jesus the Redeemer,” one of multiple petitions sent to the Vatican in the last century.

But the pope expressed his reservations about the title on more than one occasion during his pontificate.

In his general audience address on March 24, 2021, Francis said that while Christians had always given Mary beautiful titles, it was important to remember that Christ is the only redeemer, and that Mary was entrusted to us “as a mother, not as a goddess, not as co-redeemer.”

As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2000, Pope Benedict XVI said he thought the title “Co-Redemptrix” was too far from Scripture and could cause misunderstandings about Christ’s status as redeemer — though supporters of the Marian formula felt he showed more openness to the devotion in his pontificate, despite never explicitly using the term.

St. John Paul II, instead, publicly used the word “Co-Redemptrix” at least six times during his pontificate, renewing hopes in an imminent declaration of the dogma in the 1990s.

The title can be traced back to the 10th century, when some Marian litanies included the title of Mary as Redemptrix, along with her son. The prefix of “co-” was added by the 15th century, to clarify that Mary was not the Redeemer but rather someone who uniquely cooperated in the work of redemption.

“Co-Redemptrix” received magisterial recognition only centuries later, in 1908, when the Sacred Congregation for Rites used it in a decree elevating the rank of the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Since then, it has been referenced multiple times in Church teaching, including during the Second Vatican Council, which ultimately decided against any formal recognition of the title in the document Lumen Gentium.

Kao Chih Hao, a recent Taiwanese convert to Catholicism, at Holy Rosary Parish in Taipei, Taiwan, in October 2025. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Taipei, Taiwan, Oct 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

St. John Henry Newman has inspired many “Newman converts” to follow his path of conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism, including a 24-year-old Taiwanese man who is an ardent devotee of the 19th-century English saint.

When Kao Chih Hao, a recent convert to Catholicism living in Taipei, heard the news that Pope Leo XIV had decided to name Newman a doctor of the Church, he said the announcement moved him deeply.

“After hearing this news, I almost cried,” Kao said. “It’s the happiest news for me in this year since I admire him so much.”

Kao, who works in sales for a computer hardware manufacturer and goes by the English name “Newman” after his favorite saint, spoke recently after Sunday Mass at Holy Rosary Parish in Taipei about how St. John Henry Newman helped inspire his conversion.

A lover of history since high school, Kao said a line from Newman’s “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” caught his attention: “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.”

Newman, born in 1801, was a respected Oxford academic, Anglican preacher, and public intellectual before his conversion to Catholicism in 1845. His decision to become Catholic was controversial in Victorian England, costing him many friends — including his sister, who never spoke to him again.

He became a Catholic priest in 1847 and founded the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England. Dedicated to education, he established two schools for boys and founded the Catholic University of Ireland.

His work “The Idea of a University” became a foundational text on Catholic higher education. He was a prolific author and letter writer, dying in Birmingham, England, in 1890 at the age of 89.

As Kao was discerning his own conversion, he said he felt inspired by Newman’s courage to give up his position at Oxford University to follow his convictions.

“Even if you are a chaplain of Oxford University, if you experience the real presence of Catholic faith of the Eucharist, you must pursue [it],” Kao said.

Pope Leo XIV will formally declare St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church on Nov. 1. The pope also named Newman a co-patron of Catholic education this week, putting him alongside St. Thomas Aquinas.

Kao was fully received into the Catholic Church, receiving his first Communion and confirmation in October 2023. He said Aquinas’ theology helped him understand the mystery of transubstantiation.

“After reading the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, I started to know that it is the real presence of Jesus Christ,” Kao said. “And the real feeling for me to experience Jesus Christ in Eucharist is also in Eucharist adoration.”

Kao is one of many young “Newman converts” around the world. At Newman’s canonization in 2019, a 24-year-old American convert told CNA how she had decided to become Catholic two years earlier after a friend loaned her a copy of Newman’s “An Essay on the Development of Doctrine.”

As an enthusiastic new Catholic, Kao has set three goals: to make the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, to read St. Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologica,” and to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with the Franciscan friars, who have ministered there since 1217. He recently completed his first three-day Ignatian retreat.

His advice to anyone considering conversion to Catholicism is simple. “If you experience the real presence in the Eucharist, just pursue it. Just pursue Jesus. Just go to Jesus, go to church, find a priest, talk about the Eucharist and Virgin Mary, and do not be afraid,” he said.

Reporting for this article was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.

Faustina Academy, a K–12 private school in Irving, Texas, bans social media use among its students, and parents have been totally supportive. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Faustina Academy

CNA Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As the harmful effects of smartphone use on children become more well known, one school in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is partnering with parents to enforce a no-social-media policy and witnessing students flourish as a result.

Faustina Academy, a K–12 private, independent Catholic school in Irving, Texas, asks parents to formally commit to a school policy of keeping their kids socia-media-free while enrolled. 

In addition to asking families to commit to prohibiting TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and CapCut, Faustina students have never been permitted to have phones with them during school hours. 

Student drivers must leave their phones in their cars during the school day and younger high school students who need phones for after-school activities turn them in to the office in the morning and pick them up after school and can only take them out once they are off campus.

In the school’s early days, years before the smartphone’s launch, Christina Mehaffey, principal since the school’s founding in 2003, told CNA she paid attention to technology trends, researching MySpace and other early social-networking sites available on desktop or laptop computers.

She concluded the sites “opened doors to inappropriate material” such as pornography and violence and “tweaked the tech policy to be more restrictive” over the years by informally asking parents to keep their children off devices at home (they were never allowed to have phones during the school day). She also asked parents to limit their children’s video game time.

In 2017, after seeing the effects of years of smartphone use and social media apps on the children, Mehaffey began asking parents to prohibit social media use among students. 

She held two weeks of mandatory parent meetings for every grade level, discussing the harms of popular smartphone apps that were “drawing kids away from reality” and exposing them to “horrifying” content that was “right at their fingertips.” 

Mehaffey brought in an IT expert to explain to both parents and students that the app and smartphone creators “intentionally” made the devices and apps addictive because “they knew kids don’t have self-control; all for the sake of making money.”

The expert told parents that kids could easily access content so harmful it was “far beyond what anyone could even imagine,” Mehaffey said.  

“Parents were amazed” at what they learned, she said, and 100% were willing to verbally commit to keeping their children off social media. 

Mehaffey said it was necessary that every parent “get on board” in order to address the “collective action problem, the fear of missing out” that would be present among the students if every family did not have the same policy at home.

Speaking of the overwhelming support of the parents, Mehaffey told CNA that many parents even “asked me to just make a school-wide policy prohibiting social media so they would be relieved of the burden of having to enforce the rules. A few parents said: ‘Our lives will be easier if the school makes it a policy.’”

So, in 2022, the school’s official policy became “no social media use by Faustina students.”

“Every single parent signed on,” Mehaffey said. 

Heidi Maher, whose family has been at Faustina since 2020, told CNA her family already had a no-social-media policy, but when Mehaffey took the no-phone policy in school a step further and banned social media, “it was a huge blessing to me as a parent. It took that battle off the table. We have enough battles as parents. If no one else has social media, I don’t have to battle with my children.” 

At previous schools her children attended, Maher said “they weren’t willing to lay down the law on more controversial social issues and they weren’t being direct enough about what being Catholic means.”

“Kids are catechized on the playground,” Maher said. “Their peers, and what their peers’ families are doing, affect them, regardless of what their teachers say.”

“My kids have grown up in one of the most liberal neighborhoods in Dallas. But when it came to education, we wanted an orthodox Catholic school,” she said.

Since the policy change, Maher said she now sees a level of innocence in her children and their friends that she has not seen in a long time.

Jane Petres, who has two daughters at the school, agreed, telling CNA she appreciates raising her family among “mostly like-minded families” and school staff whom she can trust.

“The other parents here seem very ‘with it’ and proactive,” she said of Faustina. “You can ban everything in the world, but unless the parents are enforcing it, kids are still going to be exposed to harmful things.”

She said that at a previous school, an eighth-grade girl became involved with a 45-year-old man (who she thought was a teenage boy) through social media, and rather than recognizing the dangers and changing their policies, the school hushed it up. 

Every year, Faustina hosts parent orientations where Mehaffey tells them that “our purpose on earth is to get people to heaven. It has to be in everything we do; in our choices, friendships, our technology use, everything.”

“We want a school where everyone is on the same page, but we’re open to all,” Mehaffey said. “If someone comes in who isn’t Catholic, they have to commit to doing things the way the school does. Not only the technology policy but also prayers, the Mass, all of it. We’re going to teach the truth.”