Catholic News Digest – October 4, 2026

Two Christian women, Maysaa Khader Ibrahim Abu Dawood and her daughter, Mary Hafez Michel al-Najjar, were killed in a strike on a residential apartment in western Gaza City early Oct. 3, according to Palestinian and Church sources cited by EWTN News. The women had spent a prolonged period sheltering at the Holy Family Catholic Church before moving to the apartment. Mourners gathered for their funeral at the Church of St. Porphyrius on Oct. 3. The Latin Patriarchate mourned the two women as Christian members of Gaza’s community, amid the continuing war and danger to civilians.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, a Conventual Franciscan, as archbishop of Chieti-Vasto in central Italy, the Vatican announced Oct. 3. Gambetti, 60, will leave his posts as archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, vicar general for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter. He has held the basilica role since 2021. Pope Leo accepted the resignation of Archbishop Bruno Forte, 77, who had led the archdiocese since 2004. Before his Vatican appointments, Gambetti served from 2013 to 2020 as custodian of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis in Assisi.

At the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Leo received Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović in the Apostolic Palace. The audience took place alongside the pope’s other engagements, including his meeting with the community of the Pontifical Teutonic College of Santa Maria in Campo Santo. Marking the college’s 150th anniversary, Leo called on its community to remain close to the Successor of Peter and to bear credible witness to the faith.

Christopher Graney, an adjunct scholar at the Vatican Observatory, said modern astronomy gives reason to view Earth as less ordinary than once assumed. Speaking to EWTN News Nightly on Oct. 2, he said the universe appears to contain diverse worlds rather than countless planets suited to life like Earth. “The universe is certainly not full of worlds like Earth,” he said, while cautioning that this does not establish that life exists nowhere else. The Vatican Observatory, supported by the Holy See, conducts astronomical research and education. Graney’s comments concern scientific understanding of planetary conditions, rather than a Church judgment about life beyond Earth.

A new film, “Adore Him: He Is Here,” presents Eucharistic adoration through firsthand accounts, scenes from salvation history and reflections from Catholic figures, EWTN News reported. Among those appearing are Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles and Father Chris Alar. The docudrama focuses on people’s reported encounters with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and the place of adoration in Catholic life.

In the Diocese of San Jose, California, dozens of couples have taken part in a convalidation initiative for Catholics whose marriages were celebrated civilly, EWTN News reported. The program, led by Bishop Oscar Cantú, is part of the California bishops’ “Radiate Love” campaign. It began as a small pilot project and responds to couples seeking to have their marriages celebrated sacramentally and to participate fully in the life of the Church. The initiative has brought couples together for the sacrament of matrimony over recent months, according to the report.

Bishop Vicente Carlos Kiaziku of Mbanza Congo, Angola, has raised concern over reports that children have been abducted in Zaire province. In a homily at Our Lady of the Conception Cathedral on Sept. 27, he warned that children taken from their families could face exploitation, including trafficking, prostitution and modern slavery. Kiaziku spoke of the vulnerability of minors in situations of abandonment.

The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference has announced an investigation into crimes against minors and vulnerable adults within the Church since Lithuania regained independence on March 11, 1990. The bishops said the inquiry must establish how many such crimes occurred and that victims should take priority over institutional reputation, according to a statement cited by the Lithuanian outlet Delfi. The bishops’ stated aim is to determine the scale of the crimes over the period under review.

For those mourning in Gaza and for families confronting danger or loss, Catholics can offer prayer alongside practical care for people in immediate need. The Church’s work of mercy begins by seeing each person’s dignity and responding with compassion.