Leo prays for Jordan attack victims, appeals for peace in Yemen

Leo prays for Jordan attack victims, appeals for peace in Yemen

After the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV prayed for those killed and injured in Friday’s attack on a funeral at St. George’s Orthodox Church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, and appealed for hostilities in Yemen to cease. “I am close to that community and to the entire country, which stands out for its peaceful coexistence and respect among different religions,” he said of Jordan, where Vatican News reports nine people were killed and about 40 wounded. He drew attention to the Yemeni city of Taiz, “where the population is suffering from a lack of food, water and medical care,” and invited the faithful to join in prayer with religious leaders gathering in Assisi on Tuesday, 40 years after St. John Paul II’s 1986 meeting. In his reflection on the Gospel of the greatest commandment, he said, “We cannot truly love God unless this love overflows into love for our brothers and sisters.” — Vatican News (appeals) · Vatican News (Angelus reflection)

Cardinal Paolo Romeo, archbishop emeritus of Palermo, dies at 88

[IT] Cardinal Paolo Romeo, archbishop emeritus of Palermo, died the morning of Oct. 25 after a long illness, at age 88. A longtime Vatican diplomat, he served as apostolic nuncio to Haiti, Colombia, Canada, and Italy before leading the Archdiocese of Palermo from 2006; Pope Benedict XVI created him a cardinal in 2010. His funeral will be celebrated Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the cathedral of his native Acireale, and Palermo Archbishop Corrado Lorefice has invited the faithful to pray for him. — Vatican News [IT]

New York archdiocese agrees to $800 million settlement with abuse survivors

The Archdiocese of New York and attorneys for about 1,300 people who said they were sexually abused by clergy have agreed to an $800 million settlement, the second-largest involving a U.S. Catholic archdiocese. Archbishop Ronald Hicks confirmed the agreement in an email to clergy Saturday, saying it will not be final until the parties sign it, which is scheduled for the week of Nov. 6. The settlement would end more than seven years of lawsuits; only the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’s $880 million agreement in 2024 is larger. — National Catholic Reporter (John Hanna, AP)

Also today

• Brazilian bishops release letter opposing Trump-backed candidate Flávio Bolsonaro — Eduardo Campos Lima, National Catholic Reporter. Forty-seven bishops have backed the letter ahead of today’s presidential runoff between Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
• [IT] Archbishop Jean Nicolas Rakotojaona succeeds Archbishop Fulgence Rabemahafaly in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar — Holy See Press Office. He had been coadjutor archbishop since October 2025.
• Bishop Nykiel: Confession is not a place of judgement but a home of celebration — Vatican News. The regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary closes a Rome seminar on contrition.

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Compiled from publicly available reporting as of about 7:45 a.m., Oct. 25, 2026 (ET). Quotations are as published by the linked outlets. Headlines from non-English sources are our translations.

This weekend edition was compiled with the help of AI tools and published automatically without editor review. Summaries reflect the reporting of the outlets linked, not the views of Where Peter Is. Please report any errors to the editors.

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Leo Before the Midterms: Democracy Needs Moral Law

 

Written by Morning Keys

Americans vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, nine days from now. Several U.S. bishops have spoken up this fall about voting rights, and on October 14 USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley called voting “both a right and a responsibility.” But Pope Leo XIV had already asked the harder question back in April, in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, whose plenary theme was “The Uses of Power: Legitimacy, Democracy and the Rewriting of the International Order.” Democracy, he wrote, is not just a matter of counting votes. Cut loose from the moral law, it can turn into something else entirely.

This understanding of legitimate power finds one of its highest expressions in authentic democracy. Far from being a mere procedure, this type of democracy recognizes the dignity of every person and calls each citizen to participate responsibly in the pursuit of the common good. Reflecting this conviction, Saint John Paul II affirmed that the Church values democracy because it ensures participation in political choices and “the possibility both of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate” (Centesimus Annus, 46). Democracy remains healthy, however, only when rooted in the moral law and a true vision of the human person. Lacking this foundation, it risks becoming either a majoritarian tyranny or a mask for the dominance of economic and technological elites.

— Pope Leo XIV, Message to Participants in the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, April 9, 2026

How to face tragedy and still affirm God is your friend?

How to face tragedy and still affirm God is your friend? The answer of a Venezuelan mother

Maria Elena Rocha recounts how despite the tragedy of losing her husband and two sons in last summer’s earthquake in Venezuela, her faith and trust in God still sustains her.

Students for Life, Turning Point debate abortion in ‘Feminists Lied’ campus tour

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Denver archbishop responds to criticism over Trump prayer meeting: ‘I was being a Catholic priest’

Archbishop James Golka led a prayer during an Oct. 22 meeting at the Oval Office between Trump and over half a dozen of his fellow U.S. bishops.

Jordan church attack death toll rises to 9 as Christian leaders call for unity

The attack took place during a funeral Friday, and security authorities are continuing their investigation and search for the perpetrators.

Inside the worlds most bizarre Catholic Cathedral

  

Micah gets an inside look at the worlds most unique Catholic Church-- Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. Shoutout to the Catholic Diocese of Orange and Anthony Vultaggio for making this video happen.

Rock Church Swahili 10.25.2026

  

Karibu! Welcome to Rock Church Swahili Sunday Worship Service LIVE from Hoover High School in San Diego, California! Join us today as we come together in the presence of God for powerful worship, prayer, the Word of God, and fellowship. Whether you are joining us in person or watching online, we pray that you will encounter Jesus and that your life will be transformed. 

Beginning November 8th Rock Church Swahili will be meeting at a new location.

 

San Diego Japanese Christian Church 10.25.2026

 

 We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

San Diego Japanese Christian Church

OMS Holiness Church of North America

San Diego Japanese Christian Church (SDJCC) is here to share the good news that a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the key to abundant living in today’s world. Our church was founded as an outreach to Japanese speaking farmers in San Diego County over 80 years ago. SDJCC now has English and Japanese speaking ministries. It’s easy to miss, tucked away at the elbow of 19th and E streets just above Interstate 5: the Japanese American Christian Church in Golden Hill. You’d most likely drive past this humble place of worship on the way up Broadway without noticing it, but if you happened to be on a stroll down E Street looking at the nice old houses, you’d stumble upon it after the bigger homes give way to a series of California bungalows. It’s there before E turns right into 19th. Across the street from the church, a chain-link fence lines the sidewalk above the 5 where the homeless set up camp on a regular basis before they are swept out and relocated only to return again when the police shift their attention elsewhere. Historically, the church itself is a product of a relocation of a different sort. As my City College colleague, historian Susan Hasegawa informed me, it was originally founded as the Japanese Holiness Church by Christian Nikkei (immigrants and their descendents) in 1930 and located on Newton Avenue. Sponsored by the Oriental Mission Society, the church focused its efforts on outreach to Issei (first generation immigrant) farmers.

Christ United Presbyterian San Diego 10.25.2026

 

We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Christ United Presbyterian Church of San Diego

What Is The Presbyterian Church (USA)

Christ United Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rev. Dr. Kerry Allison is the pastor of this parish church in South Park. We were established in 1981 when an invitation was extended to two churches—Brooklyn Heights Presbyterian, established in 1921 and the Golden Hill Presbyterian, established in 1956—to merge and each church accepted. The late Reverend Doctor George Walker Smith founded Golden Hill Presbyterian Church in 1956 with support from the Presbyterian Women organization. The church, located at 22nd and Market in South Park, became a human rights leader in San Diego as the congregation grew. Reverend Smith was the first black school board member in San Diego. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Christ United continues its ministry in power and presence to the present day. All are welcome to join us in worship and togetherness. 

Trinity North Park 10.25.2026

 

 We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Trinity United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church

Trinity United Methodist Church has been part of the North Park community since 1915, bringing warmth and connection to our neighbors for over 100 years. We seek to KNOW, LOVE, and SERVE God and our neighbors through study, worship, community events, outreach and service projects, and having fun together! We'd love to have you join us as we grow in faith and love here in North Park.

Makers Church 10.25.2026

 

 We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Makers Church

Southern Baptists Explained in 2 Minutes

Makers church was founded in 2010 as MOSAIC San Diego. In 2017 we became Makers Church. Two years later, in another act of faith, Makers Church and North Park Baptist, a dynamic community with almost 100 years of legacy and ministry, chose to merge into something beautiful and new.

Renew San Diego 10.25.2026

 

 We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Renew San Diego

What is the Reformed Church in America?

Since Easter of 2018 we’ve met weekly on Sundays and developed our capacity to serve our neighbors, especially those in great need spiritually, physically or emotionally. At Renew, you’ll find a community that reflects the diversity of center-city San Diego. We welcome and include people of every ethnicity and culture, believing and unbelieving (most of us a mixture of these), wealthy and poor, inclusive of sexual orientation and marital status.