Pope Leo XIV has issued his first major papal document, his Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”).

The document is a pastoral reflection on the Christian duty to love and serve the poor. Signed on 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, and released by the Vatican on 9 October, it represents both a continuation and completion of work begun by Pope Francis shortly before his death.

Pope Leo XIV has met Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, who presented him with letters and a video from undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

During their audience in the Vatican, the Pope expressed his deep concern over the impact of U.S. immigration policies under President Donald Trump, stating that “the Church cannot remain silent” in its response to injustice.

I was brought up a Catholic. I remember praying each night with my grandfather, J. R. R. Tolkien, when I would go to stay with him and my grandmother in Bournemouth, and sensing the certainty of his faith. I still have two circular prayer cards, the size of coins, on which he inscribed the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria in minuscule writing, geometrically following the curve of a diminishing circle: a work of art.

His Eminence Cardinal Blase Cupich was received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this morning, 9 October.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed that the meeting took place together with a delegation of labour leaders from Chicago, who were in Rome on pilgrimage for the Jubilee Year of Hope.

Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick contains multitudes. It’s an epic sea adventure, a philosophical treatise, and a profound exploration of humanity’s spiritual struggles. At its heart is a universal question: what does it mean to live in the shadow of divine justice? By looking at the novel’s engagement with Catholic themes of sin, grace and redemption, we can expand our understanding of this American epic, adding an enriching layer to its exploration of the human condition.

The Vatican has announced that Pope Leo XIV will make his first journey outside Italy as pontiff with an apostolic visit to Turkey and Lebanon at the end of November.

In a statement released by the Holy See Press Office on 7 October, director Matteo Bruni confirmed that the Holy Father will travel to Turkey from 27 to 30 November 2025, accepting invitations from both the country’s head of state and its ecclesiastical authorities.

The Diocese of Charlotte in North Carolina has removed the portable kneelers used by the faithful to receive Holy Communion at the Cathedral of St Patrick.

The announcement was made on 6 October by the cathedral’s rector, Fr Peter Ascik, according to the Charlotte Latin Mass Community, a lay group which shared news of the change online.

One of the richest and most powerful men in the world has just completed a series of four off-the-record lectures on the Antichrist at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. The talks set an eerie tone for political and technological developments in the 21st century.

Organised by the Acts 17 Collective – which describes itself as "a community of thinkers, builders, artists and leaders who are wrestling with what it means to live with purpose and conviction" – the talks occurred on 16 September, 23 September, 30 September and culminated on 6 October. They were given by Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, a self-described Christian influenced by Catholic philosopher René Girard, as well as openly homosexual and libertarian in his political outlook.

Pope Leo XIV has issued a motu proprio entitled Coniuncta Cura, which introduces new regulations governing the financial investment activities of the Holy See.  

Signed on 29 September, the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, it is the first motu proprio of Leo's pontificate and takes immediate effect. The new regulations appear to shift the direction of the more centralising financial measures that were introduced as part of Pope Francis's efforts to reform the Vatican's finances.

In a veneration first for US-based Catholics, they will have the opportunity to visit and prayer before the friar's habit worn by St. Pio of Pietrelcina, more commonly known as Padre Pio.

The rare opportunity will take place from 11-14 October at the National Center for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania, located in the Diocese of Allentown, reports the Catholic News Agency (CNA).

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has responded to Pope Leo’s criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The Pope told journalists outside Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday, 30 September: “Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States—I don't know if that's pro-life.” The comment was made in response to a question about the recent controversy over Cardinal Capuch’s decision to present a lifetime achievement award to the pro-abortion senator Dick Durbin.

The Diocese of Buffalo in New York has filed a reorganisation plan that would bring to an end nearly five years in bankruptcy court following one of the largest settlements of clergy abuse cases in the United States.

The plan, submitted to a federal judge this week, outlines how the diocese intends to meet the costs of a compensation package worth almost $274 million to be distributed among more than 900 survivors of sexual abuse. A trust will be created to assess claims and determine how much each individual will receive.

The Trump administration has ruled that the state of Minnesota and its high school athletics governing body are in violation of federal law by permitting transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.

The announcement, made on Tuesday, came from the civil rights offices of the US Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, which concluded that such policies breach Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in education.

Pope Leo XIV has declined to take a position in the growing controversy over a decision by the Archdiocese of Chicago to present a lifetime achievement award to a pro-abortion US senator.

Speaking to journalists outside the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo, where the pontiff has been spending Tuesdays before returning to the Vatican, His Holiness said he was aware of the matter but admitted he was “not terribly familiar with the particular case” involving Senator Richard Durbin.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has restored its long-standing partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA after a year-long rupture over the latter’s approach to sexuality and gender.

Archbishop Robert Casey announced at a press conference that Catholic parishes may once again host Girl Scout troops, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.

The agreement was reached after months of dialogue aimed at finding a way forward that respected the Catholic Church’s moral teaching and preserving the traditions of scouting.

Illinois Senator Richard Durbin has declined a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese of Chicago after an outcry among senior Catholic leaders in the United States.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, who leads the Chicago archdiocese, announced on 30 September that Senator Durbin had informed him he would not accept the award, which had been due to be presented at the archdiocese's “Keep Hope Alive” celebration due to occur in November.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to protect women’s sports from participation by biological males who identify as female.

The US Supreme Court is set to hear two cases that could determine if US states may legally reserve girls’ and women’s sports for biological females.

The cases, State of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, will test the constitutionality of laws in West Virginia and Idaho designed to exclude male competitors from female leagues. Both laws have been blocked by federal courts, prompting appeals to the nation’s highest court in the land.

Bethlehem’s mayor has met Pope Leo XIV to deliver a stark account of the plight of Christians in the Holy Land and to appeal for urgent intervention to stop the war in Gaza.

Maher Nicola Canawati, appointed mayor in May, greeted the Holy Father at the end of the Wednesday General Audience in St Peter’s Square, where he invited the Pope to visit Gaza and described the hardships endured by his people. He said the Pope assured him of his closeness and told him, “My heart is in Gaza, my heart is with you.”

Texas has tightened its restrictions on abortion with the signing into law of a measure that bans the manufacture, distribution, and mailing of abortion drugs in the state.

Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 7 on 17 September. The 20-page statute makes it illegal for anyone to manufacture or distribute abortion-inducing drugs in Texas, or to mail, transport, deliver, prescribe, or provide them to or from any location in the state. The law applies to the two medications most commonly used to end pregnancies—mifepristone and misoprostol.

Walking down the hallway of your office building, how many men do you suspect would have an active prayer life? Lest this column be trite, I will promptly bypass any comparison to the amount of time men in the office spend watching sports, working on cars, or more contemporarily, and dare I say egregiously, playing video games. 

Instead, I’ll ask you to consider the same task, but this time do so of the men occupying the pews of your parish.