Catholic News Digest – October 24, 2026

Pope Leo XIV told canon lawyers that justice in the Church must remain joined to truth and mercy, speaking Friday, Oct. 23, to participants in a congress marking the 150th anniversary of the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Faculty of Canon Law. According to EWTN News, Leo said canon law cannot fully express the Church’s nature, yet is called to give it form. The address drew on his own training in canon law and addressed the relationship between legal order and the Church’s spiritual life. He also met a delegation of U.S. Jewish leaders at the Vatican, urging friendship between the two communities and rejecting ethnic and religious discrimination, NCR reported.

The Vatican announced Friday that Leo will cancel a planned visit to Assisi next week on doctors’ advice as he recovers from lung cancer surgery. NCR reported that physicians advised against the helicopter journey. The cancellation follows the pope’s recent health-related limits on travel and public appearances. The Vatican has not said the decision changes his other scheduled commitments. The news came as the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, met Leo in Rome, bringing prayers from Ukraine and a list of prisoners. Vatican News said Shevchuk thanked the pope for his appeals for peace and the Holy See’s humanitarian work for prisoners and children.

A local ceasefire has been agreed for Oleshky, a Ukrainian city facing a severe food crisis, according to Vatican News. Ukraine and Russia confirmed the arrangement, with U.S. mediation playing a part; the outlet said First Lady Melania Trump was instrumental in securing it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed plans for trilateral talks with the United States and Russia in Abu Dhabi in November. The agreement comes amid the wider war, and its immediate scope is limited to the city. Vatican News reported that Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, is due to travel to Ukraine from Oct. 27 to 30, with the involvement of both the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Latin-rite Church.

Gunmen opened fire Friday during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Hamoud, in Jordan’s southern Karak province. EWTN News reported that at least six people were killed and 28 wounded, some seriously. Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said security forces were pursuing those responsible; its initial statement did not give a casualty count or identify the shooters. Vatican News, citing local media, reported 10 injuries as authorities investigated. The reports differed on the number of wounded, and further information was not available in the summaries. The attack struck a Christian place of worship during a funeral, a setting in which mourners had gathered to grieve.

In Liechtenstein, Hereditary Prince Alois has refused to approve a bill that would have allowed abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The parliament passed the measure Sept. 2 by a 13–12 vote, but the country’s constitution requires the reigning prince’s approval for a law to take effect. The Princely House announced Oct. 20 that Alois would withhold it, EWTN News reported. The small principality, between Switzerland and Austria, has about 40,000 residents. The veto leaves the bill without legal force after a closely divided parliamentary vote.

Catholic ethicists debated embryo adoption at the John Paul II Shrine in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22, the feast of St. John Paul II. EWTN News reported that John Haas, president emeritus of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, argued the practice is morally illicit. The Church has not issued a definitive judgment that embryo adoption is licit. The 2008 Vatican instruction Dignitas Personae affirmed the dignity and rights of frozen embryos and expressed reservations about proposals for prenatal adoption. The discussion turns on how to protect embryos while assessing the moral means by which they might be brought to birth. The debate remains open among Catholic theologians.

A Vatican document cautions against treating increased baptisms as proof of lasting religious commitment, NCR reported. The warning comes as countries including the United States and France report more young people entering the Church. The document argues that baptism does not necessarily lead to continued practice, urging attention to the formation and support that follow initiation. The point is pastoral as well as statistical: growth in sacramental numbers can be welcomed while recognizing the work of helping new Catholics build a durable life of faith. The report did not provide further details about the document’s publication or its authors.

The search for Catholic friendship beyond Sunday Mass has led young adults in Nashville to Vesper Club, according to the National Catholic Register. Its “Americana Under the Stars” gathering on Oct. 22 offered a social setting where participants could build friendships while remaining connected to their faith. The initiative addresses a familiar concern for young Catholics: finding community in ordinary life as well as at worship. Elsewhere, a conference of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists met Oct. 23–24 at John Carroll University in Ohio, bringing scholars together to consider Catholic teaching alongside fields including history, political science, artificial intelligence, immigration and euthanasia, EWTN News reported.

For Catholics welcoming new members, accompanying families in hardship, or mourning those killed in Jordan, the Church’s work begins with attention to real people and their needs. May those facing grief, war and uncertainty receive practical help, and may communities of faith make room for friendship, careful moral discussion and prayer.