An Ecumenical Ministry in the Parish of St Patrick's Catholic Church In San Diego USA

Established in 1921 & Served by Augustinians

米国サンディエゴの聖パトリックカトリック教会教区におけるエキュメニカル宣教

1921年創立、アウグスティノ会が運営

Jesus was political and so are we ~ how christians vote matters

Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

What Do We Owe the Pope?

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Today’s news of Pope Leo XIV’s cancer diagnosis and successful surgery has prompted Catholics around the world to pray for the Holy Father. I join them in praying for his recovery.

But beyond our prayers, what do we owe the pope?

The question is particularly relevant to the subject of my first authored book, To His Face: Indefectibility & the Problem of Dissent, which was published yesterday and is now available in paperback, on Kindle, and as an audiobook.

When may a Catholic withhold assent from the teaching of the Church? What distinguishes legitimate theological inquiry from dissent? And what does the Church’s indefectibility actually guarantee about the teaching authority of Peter and his successors?

These questions have divided Catholics for decades, particularly in the years since the Second Vatican Council, the publication of Humanae Vitae on artificial birth control, and the revision to Catholic teaching on the death penalty. They are pressed from opposite directions by progressives who appeal to conscience and traditionalists who appeal to Tradition. Yet both, I argue, can commit the same fundamental error by placing their private judgment above the living Magisterium.

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What is the role of the Virgin Mary and sacred music in exorcisms?

The Vatican and Microsoft Launch a New Font for the Microsoft 365 Office Suite: Michelangelus

ZENIT Staff

Commissioned by the Fabbrica di San Pietro and created by studiogusto®, it has been developed for the Microsoft 365 Office. Over 500 glyphs and four styles transform the artist’s handwriting into a system that is accessible and free to use worldwide, creating a dialogue between historical heritage, design and technology.

The canonization process for Father Ignacio Larrañaga, founder of the Prayer and Life Workshops, begins in Mexico

Enrique Villegas

At the opening ceremony in Guadalajara, the ecclesiastical authorities announced that the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints had granted its required authorization, known as a nihil obstat

Jewish settlers attack the olive trees belonging to Christians in the only entirely Christian village in the Holy Land. Leo XIV writes to the parish priest of Gaza

ZENIT Staff

The consequences extend well beyond a single season. Taybeh has more than 16,000 dunams of land planted with olive trees, equivalent to over 1,600 hectares. Olive oil has sustained household economies for generations, supplied local families and reached markets beyond Palestine

US Bishops Warn That Broadcasting an Execution Would Turn Justice Into a Public Spectacle

Tim Daniels

The archbishop made clear that condemning the planned broadcast does not diminish the gravity of Hasan’s crimes

Holy Land: In Taybeh, Christian olive farmers are being driven away from their trees while Jewish settlers steal their olive trees

ZENIT Staff

Among the settlers seen on farmland south of Taybeh was Neriya Ben Pazi, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2024. At the time, the U.S. State Department said he had been involved in violence against Palestinians and had expelled Palestinian shepherds from hundreds of acres of land. The U.S. Treasury Department also designated entities linked to him.

3 Brief Reflections on the Art of Louis XIV for the Directors of the World’s Most Prestigious Museums

ZENIT Staff

Address by Pope Leo XIV to the participants in the Meeting of Museum Directors from Around the World (Bizot Group)

Do not give in to the temptation to elevate yourself above others: the words of Leo XIV to the Greek-Melkite Catholic bishops (which apply to any member of the clergy)

ZENIT Staff

Address by Pope Leo XIV to the participants in the Synod of Bishops of the Greek-Melkite Church

Questions about liturgy: Candles for Communion to the Sick

Fr. Edward McNamara

Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.

The Vatican clarifies its position on “chivalric orders”: it does not recognize the value of their diplomas and insignia, nor does it consider it appropriate to use churches for investiture ceremonies

ZENIT Staff

All other equestrian orders, whether newly established or claiming descent from medieval orders, are not recognized by the Holy See, since the Holy See cannot vouch for their historical and juridical legitimacy, their purposes or their organizational structures.

Cardinal Re steps down, Cardinal Tagle takes his place: for the first time, a Filipino is the leader of all the world’s cardinals

ZENIT Staff

Tagle, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, was elected on October 8 by the cardinals belonging to the College’s Order of Bishops

The Great Paradox: Catholics, but Without Mass. Findings from a Recent Australian Study, the 14 Reasons Identified, and Possible Solutions

Jorge Enrique Mújica

The figures offer a revealing picture of belief beyond regular church attendance. Some 65% of participants said faith was very important in their lives, while 64% prayed regularly. More than three-quarters expressed belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and 55% affirmed the Catholic teaching that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. By contrast, 24% regarded the Eucharistic elements as symbolic, and 21% were unsure about the doctrine.

What is the role of the Virgin Mary and sacred music in exorcisms? A conference of exorcists in Italy provides the answer

aolvera

Beyond individual cases, the conference examined two elements that participants regard as important in Catholic spiritual life: devotion to Mary and sacred music

Death Threat Against Mexican Bishop Exposes the Risks Facing Church Leaders Who Speak Out on Violence

ZENIT Staff

The controversy escalated after a message attributed to social media personality José Lápiz offered the money in exchange for an assault on Espinoza

Canada Halts Expansion of Assisted Suicide to People With Mental Illness

ZENIT Staff

According to the figures cited in the reports, approximately 100,000 Canadians have died through the program since its introduction. In 2023 alone, assisted deaths accounted for roughly one in every 20 deaths nationwide

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Voter empowerment is an extension of my pastoral platform

By Patrick B. Reyes

Being a good ancestor means living a life that leaves a better world with less suffering and harm, an educator says in a new book.

By April Yamasaki

Reading together as a congregation helps us remember what we believe, a pastor writes.

Q&A with Earle J. Fisher

Souls to the Polls efforts by Black churches have gotten attention, but the work has always been more than that, says a pastor, educator and activist.

Photos by Carol Guzy

Award-winning photographer Carol Guzy has spent months in Ohio documenting the toll that policy changes and deportation have taken on Haitian immigrants and the communities that they are a part of. 

By Audrey Warren and Kenneth H. Carter Jr.

These mainline anchor institutions have been somewhat insulated from financial stress, but that is changing fast. Historic downtown churches need to think differently about stewardship in a new age, write a bishop and pastor.

By Courtney Thomas

After the murder of Botham Jean, Dallas ministers created an organization that brings Black and white congregations together to build relationships and work for justice.

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Catholics on Hasan firing squad must ask to be excused

Pope Leo enters Gemelli Hospital today for lung surgery

Pope Leo XIV is to be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital late this morning, Rome time, for surgery to remove a small, localized lung nodule. A Prefecture of the Papal Household notice says all his audiences are canceled through Tuesday, Oct. 20, and press office director Matteo Bruni said the nodule was found in routine checks and the stay should last about a week. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who spoke with Leo Monday afternoon, said, “We were all struck by his serenity”; Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, who met him Monday, told La Repubblica that Leo chose prompt treatment so as not to cancel planned trips abroad. Cardinal Baldassare Reina will lead a Rosary for the pope at 6 p.m. Rome time (noon ET) in the hospital’s St. John Paul II Chapel, broadcast by Vatican Media, and in Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy has asked every priest of the archdiocese to say a Mass for his recovery. Vatican News says he will be operated on today; Tuesday’s Holy See bulletin carried no medical update; as of 6:35 a.m. ET no time for the operation had been announced. — Vatican News · Holy See Press Office (Papal Household notice) · National Catholic Reporter (Justin McLellan) · America (Gerard O’Connell) · Crux (Nicole Winfield / AP) · Also: What to know (RNS, Claire Giangravè) · Rosary and prayers (Vatican News) · A lung specialist explains the surgery (NCR, Camillo Barone) · Parolin (Vatican News) · Kikuchi (DOMRADIO.DE [DE])

Leo hands Amoris closing Mass to Tagle, asks to see final report first

Leo hands Wednesday’s Amoris Laetitia closing Mass to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and asks that the meeting’s final report wait until he can respond. Cardinals Kevin Farrell and Mario Grech said the synthesis report will not be published as planned; Leo will review it, the group reports, and the interventions once he has recovered, and Fr. Giacomo Costa said the pope wants to offer his own reflections. The Mass will include prayers for his health, and participants sent Leo a message promising prayers for a speedy recovery. Monday’s sessions on families’ fragilities took up divorced and remarried Catholics, among other issues, and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, attending as Leo’s personal invitee, said the Church has moved since Amoris “in some places; in others, not so much.” In a new video, Where Peter Is writer Pedro Gabriel, author of The Orthodoxy of Amoris Laetitia, examines what Leo has actually said about the exhortation and its eighth chapter, and what the meeting suggests about its future. — America (Colleen Dulle) · Vatican News · Monday’s briefing (Vatican News) · Participants’ message (Vatican News [IT]) · Video: “Leo XIV and Amoris Laetitia: What’s Really Happening?” (Pedro Gabriel; Oct. 12)

Military archbishop: Catholics on Hasan firing squad must ask to be excused

The U.S. military archbishop says Catholics assigned to Nidal Hasan’s firing squad must ask to be excused. “As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio said Monday. Broglio, who preached at the funeral of the only civilian killed in the 2009 Fort Hood attack, joined the Texas bishops’ statement and asked whether broadcasting “the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world” serves any purpose. Cardinal Blase Cupich called the planned broadcast “nothing short of performative barbarism.” Cardinal Parolin said Friday that a Holy See statement on the livestream plan would follow; as of 6:35 a.m. ET Tuesday, none had been released. — Archdiocese for the Military Services · Crux (AP) · Archdiocese of Chicago (Cupich) · Also: Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops · National Catholic Reporter (Jack Jenkins, RNS)

Pope and Holy See

  • The day before entering the hospital, Leo urged Rome’s Circolo San Pietro to let charity be “the source of your prayer, the soul of your action.” Receiving the association, founded in 1869 to serve Rome’s poor through soup kitchens, night shelters, and housing for families, Leo said its motto of prayer, action, and sacrifice comes together in charity, quoted St. Augustine on true sacrifice, and thanked members for their Peter’s Pence offering. — Vatican News · Full text (Holy See Press Office)
  • [ES] Leo opens a Guadalupan jubilee year, urging Mexico’s Catholics to intensify their evangelizing mission. In a message signed by Cardinal Parolin and read Monday at Mass in Mexico City marking 50 years since the consecration of the new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Leo asked that the Word of God, the sacraments, prayer, and fraternal charity reach everyone, especially those most in need. The jubilee, with a plenary indulgence for pilgrims, runs through Oct. 12, 2027; the Mass also included prayers for the pope’s health. — Vatican News · Vatican News ([IT])
  • Cardinal Michael Czerny is the first recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal. Before his hospitalization, Leo was set to present the new biennial award, created by his alma mater, Villanova University, today at Borgo Laudato Si’ in Castel Gandolfo. NCR’s Brian Roewe uses the occasion to look at the environmental record Leo brought to the papacy and the emphases he has added since. — National Catholic Reporter (Brian Roewe)
  • Archbishop Paul Gallagher: displaced children must be welcomed, not merely assisted. Celebrating Mass in Geneva for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the Holy See’s foreign minister said the response to displaced children must recognize their dignity and give them a real sense of belonging. — Vatican News
  • [IT] Leo names bishops in Brazil and Guatemala. Bishop Francisco Cota de Oliveira moves from Sete Lagoas to Itabira-Fabriciano, Brazil, and Bishop Miguel Ángel Martínez Méndez, apostolic vicar of Izabal, becomes coadjutor bishop of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. — Holy See Press Office

United States

  • [DE] Is the U.S. Church splitting along political lines? Where Peter Is editor Mike Lewis tells DOMRADIO.DE the picture is overstated. Arne Conrad tests a Washington Post claim that bishops are moving left under Leo while the pews and young priests move right. Lewis says the bishops’ advocacy for migrants long predates Leo, who has helped them speak with more unity, though most have not moved left; that Catholic voters largely mirror the country; and that younger priests’ conservatism is mostly a generational shift. He sees political conflict, not a formal schism. — DOMRADIO.DE (Arne Conrad; Oct. 5)
  • An Iowa bishop intervenes to try to stop an Ivory Coast woman’s deportation. Bishop Dennis Walsh of Davenport wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin calling the planned deportation of Fatou Traore, 43, to Sierra Leone a “grave violation of her human dignity.” Walsh said it is the only time he has stepped into an individual case. — National Catholic Reporter (Fiona André, RNS)
  • St. Joseph sisters back the St. Louis Archdiocese’s lawsuit over sacraments for ICE detainees. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, are standing with the archdiocese, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, and a pastor who visits the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center in their Oct. 5 suit seeking access to the sacraments for detained Catholics. — Global Sisters Report

Around the World

  • In El Salvador, sisters and laywomen are putting synodality into practice themselves. Through “New Women and Synodality” gatherings organized by the country’s conference of religious, women study biblical women and share their hopes for leadership in the Church. Asked whether the synod has helped the Salvadoran Church walk together with women, Sr. Ivania Blandón Montenegro said, “No, but it’s never too late to start.” — Global Sisters Report (Rhina Guidos)
  • After Panama’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake, the bishops ask parishes to become “true homes with open doors.” At least 13 churches were damaged, and the colonial-era Church of San Atanasio in La Villa de Los Santos, a national heritage site since 1938, collapsed. Officials reported no deaths. — Vatican News · Crux (AP)

Liturgy and Church Life

  • Gareth Thomas Weaver: Forty-nine pilgrims, nine of them donkeys, on the Camino Primitivo. In part two of his Where Peter Is series, Weaver walks with an Andalusian donkey caravan to Santiago de Compostela, finds himself among Chaucer’s Canterbury pilgrims, and reflects with T.S. Eliot on a Catholic journey made in community. — Where Peter Is (Gareth Thomas Weaver; Oct. 12) · Part one
  • A new documentary on St. Peter’s tomb features Pope Leo and Chris Pratt. Pétros ení, directed by Paula Ortiz and written by Andrea Tornielli for the 400th anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica’s consecration, previews Oct. 16 at the Rome Film Festival. — Vatican News

Commentary

  • Opinion: Karen Swallow Prior on why Christianity teaches us not to turn executions into entertainment. Drawing on England’s “Bloody Code,” Wilberforce’s reforms, and Augustine’s account of the gladiator games, she argues that public executions degrade the citizens who watch and that a return to them would mark “a retreat from the rule of law toward the tyranny of spectacle.” — Religion News Service (Karen Swallow Prior)
  • [FR] Opinion: Ten years after Amoris Laetitia, “fragility is not the exception; it is the rule of every family.” Francesco Pesce argues that the Church has moved from speaking of regular and irregular situations to recognizing that every family lives with fragility, a shift built on listening and conscience that Leo’s anniversary message makes explicit. — La Croix (Francesco Pesce)
  • [IT] Opinion: Leo XIV’s illness and our sense of being lost. Riccardo Cristiano reflects on why news of the pope’s surgery unsettled so many, at a moment when Leo has come to seem like an anchor amid the storms of the times. — SettimanaNews (Riccardo Cristiano)

Also today

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Archbishop Hicks recounts pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

Doctors comment on the pontiff’s news about his upcoming lung surgery.
A survey of nearly 2,000 Australian Catholics found many still pray and value their faith, while priorities, faith crises, and problems with clergy keep them from Mass.
Prayers for the pope’s health have been pouring in from all over the world.
Pope Leo XIV will have surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital early this week to remove a small lung nodule found at a very early stage. Follow updates and reactions here.
In his pilgrim’s Mass homily, Hicks recalled that “Our Lady of the Pillar wants only one thing from us. She wants us to know her Son and to find salvation through, in, and with her Son Jesus Christ.”
“Lead Kindly Light: The Story of St. John Henry Newman” has premiered in Rome.
She said that she was “approximately 20, 30 minutes away from being aborted” when her mother changed her mind.
The platform and name are new, but the mission is the same: report the truth and bring the faith to the Spanish-speaking world.
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What does it mean to follow Jesus in a divided America?

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