September 29, 2025 // National

News Briefs: September 28, 2025

OSV NEWS

Pope Praises Women’s Religious Orders for Courage, Generosity

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In its religious orders, the Catholic Church has an array of strong, courageous, and generous women who care for the poor, defend peace, and share the Gospel message of salvation in Christ, Pope Leo XIV said on Monday, September 22. Meeting with four communities holding their general chapters in Rome, Pope Leo singled out the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Land. “What you are doing is important: your vigilant and silent presence in places sadly torn by hatred and violence, your witness of trusting abandonment to God, your constant prayer for peace,” the pope told them. “We all accompany you with our prayers and, also through you, we draw close to those who suffer.” The women present for the audience also included members of the Sisters of St. Catherine, the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, and the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.

Bishops Urge Solidarity with Immigrants Ahead of National Migration Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – Ahead of the U.S. Catholic Church’s observance of the annual National Migration Week, which was being held from September 22-28, the U.S. bishops reiterated their longstanding efforts to show solidarity with immigrants amid “fear and anxiety” prompted by current immigration enforcement efforts. Catholic social teaching on immigration seeks to balance three interrelated principles –the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy. In a statement, the officials with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, “The U.S. bishops have consistently expressed solidarity with immigrants amid the fear and anxiety prompted by current immigration enforcement efforts. … The bishops have called for, and continue to press for, ‘a more humane system of immigration, one that protects our communities while safeguarding the dignity of all.’ This includes encouraging bipartisan collaboration among policymakers.” Typically,  National Migration Week culminates in the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on the last Sunday in September, but this year the universal Church will mark that observance on October 4-5 to coincide with the Jubilee of Migrants.

Pope Leo Shares Video Message with Chicago ALS Event

CHICAGO (OSV News) – On Saturday, September 21, Pope Leo XIV told those suffering with ALS and their families, who have been “given a very difficult burden to bear,” that he is praying for them and that he mourns for those who have died. In a video message to ALS Walk for Life in Chicago, he also praised caregivers, researchers, and all involved in fighting the disease. The pontiff’s friend, fellow Augustinian Father Jim Halstead, is living with ALS. The Les Turner ALS Foundation is supporting him, the retired priest told Chicago’s WLS-TV, and he asked the pope via email this past summer to address their event by video. In his remarks, Pope Leo told those living with ALS, “You have a special place in my thoughts and prayers.” He added: “You have been given a very difficult burden to bear. I wish it otherwise. Your sufferings, however, offer you an opportunity to discover and affirm a profound truth: The quality of human life is not dependent on achievement.” He offered comforting words to those mourning the death of loved ones from the disease and said the care and compassion shown to those with ALS by all those who care for them are “an inspiration.” ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive disease that attacks nerve cells controlling muscles throughout the body.

Killings, Kidnappings Prompt Fear for Christians in Nigeria

ENUGU, Nigeria (OSV News) – In Nigeria, the Church is mourning the brutal killing of Father Mathew Eya, shot dead on Friday, September 19, in what appeared to be an execution-style ambush near his parish in Enugu state. Police have arrested 38 suspects, and a $6,700 reward has been offered for information. Just days earlier, Father Wilfred Ezeamba of Kogi state was freed after being kidnapped on Friday, September 12. He and two parishioners were recovering after several days in captivity. These cases highlight the growing crisis of Christian persecution in Nigeria. According to Church and human rights groups, at least 145 Catholic priests have been kidnapped since 2015. A recent report says an average of 32 Christians are killed daily in Nigeria, and 7,000 have been massacred in just the first 220 days of 2025. Kidnappings in Nigeria have become what Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto called “a criminal industrial complex” that generates millions of dollars in revenue. Church leaders are calling for justice – and international attention – amid mounting fears that the kidnapping of clergy and lay Christians is part of a genocidal campaign to wipe out Christianity from Nigeria.

Harrisburg Bishop ‘Deeply Saddened’ by Fatal Shooting

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (OSV News) – Bishop Timothy C. Senior of Harrisburg said he was “deeply saddened” by a shooting in rural Pennsylvania that claimed the lives of three police officers and injured two others. York County law enforcement officials were attempting to serve an arrest warrant to a man at a farm in North Codorus Township on Wednesday, September 17, when the man opened fire before being shot by an officer, officials said. “At this difficult time, I entrust all those impacted to the loving care of our Lord,” Bishop Senior said in a statement. “We recognize and honor the bravery and selflessness of law enforcement officers, who daily put their lives on the line to protect others. Their courage reflects the highest ideals of service and sacrifice.” In a statement, officials with the Northern York County Regional Police Department said, “We ask our community to keep these officers, their families, and their colleagues in your thoughts and prayers during this time of unimaginable grief.”

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Speaks at Jubilee of Justice

ROME (CNS) – In a frescoed hall of a building housing the Catholic Church’s highest courts, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. spoke about faith, mercy, tradition, and hope. The justice, a Catholic, was in Rome for the September 20 celebration of the Jubilee of Justice, which brought together thousands of judges, lawyers, prosecuting attorneys, law professors, and canon lawyers from some 100 nations. The celebration featured an audience with Pope Leo XIV, who holds a doctorate in canon law and spoke about justice as involving respect for the law and for the dignity of the person as well as promoting reconciliation and forgiveness. In the evening, in the Vatican’s Palazzo della Cancelleria, Alito sat down for a public conversation with Monsignor Laurence Spiteri, a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and a judge on the Roman Rota, a Vatican court. The justice quoted Pope Francis, who would often talk about how there are more martyrs today than in the first centuries of Christianity. “Unfortunately, religious liberty is embattled today,” Alito said. And while there are threats to people’s religious freedom in the United States, “the situation in America and Western Europe pales in comparison with what is going on in the rest of the world” with terrorist attacks on Christians, like in parts of Nigeria, or in nations “where Christianity is hardly permitted.”

Firefighters, police officers and a paramedic are depicted in a section of a 25-foot-high, four-panel mural as seen in the narthex of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City Sept. 18, 2025, the date of the artwork’s formal unveiling. The mural depicts the 1879 Marian apparition in Knock, Ireland; people connected to the Catholic heritage and immigration history of the city of New York and the state; and first responders who serve the metropolitan area. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)