NEW YORK CITY — The New York Jets have begun wondering if perhaps they should try some other sport besides football.
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TORONTO — Scandal has rocked the baseball world as shortly after their 11-4 World Series victory, several members of the Toronto Blue Jays tested positive for performance-enhancing maple syrup.
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Swing ride “Wellenflug” at the Herbstsend in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
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Almighty and everlasting God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you prepared the body of the Virgin Mary to be a worthy dwelling place of your divine son. You sanctified St. John the Baptist, while still in his mother’s womb. Listen now to my prayer. Through the intercession of St. Gerard, watch over my child and me; protect us at the time of delivery. May my child receive the saving graces of Baptism, lead a Christian life, and, together with all the members of our family, attain …
Read MoreFisrt reading from the Book of Sirach
35:12-14, 16-18
The LORD is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.
Though not unduly partial toward the weak,
yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.
The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan,
nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint.
The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,
nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
judges justly and affirms the right,
and the Lord will not delay.
Second reading from the Letter to Timothy
4:6-8, 16-18
Beloved:
I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
From the Gospel according to Luke
18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
The Gospel of today’s Liturgy presents us a parable with two protagonists, a pharisee and a publican (cf. Lk 18:9-14), that is, a religious man and an avowed sinner. Both of them go up into the Temple to pray, but only the publican truly lifts himself up to God, because he humbly descends within his true self and presents himself as he is, without a mask, with his own poverty. (…)
Indeed, in humility, we become capable of bringing what we really are to God without pretence: the limitations, the wounds, the sins and the miseries that weigh down our hearts, and [capable] of invoking his mercy so that he may restore us, heal us, and raise us up. (…)
Brothers, sisters, the Pharisee and the publican concern us closely. When we think of them, let us look at ourselves: let us confirm whether, in us, as in the Pharisee, there is the intimate presumption of being righteous (cf. v. 9) that leads us to despise others. (…)
Where there is too much “I”, there is too little God. (…)
Let us ask the intercession of Mary Most Holy, the humble servant of the Lord, the living image of what the Lord loves to accomplish, overthrowing the powerful from their thrones and raising the humble (cf. Lk 1:52). (Pope Francis, Angelus, 23 October 2022)
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Pilgrims participate in a Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, celebrated by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke at the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter, the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Vatican City, Oct 25, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated a special Traditional Latin Mass for hundreds of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 25 — a return to a prior custom, suspended since 2022, of an annual pilgrimage of Catholics devoted to the ancient liturgy
Burke celebrated the Solemn Pontifical Mass, a high Latin Mass said by a bishop, at the Altar of the Chair on the second day of the Oct. 24–26 Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage. The cardinal also celebrated a Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair for the pilgrimage in 2014.
The Mass was preceded by a half-mile procession from the Basilica of Sts. Celso and Giuliano to St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, in its 14th year, brings people “ad Petri Sedem” (“to the See of Peter”) to give “testimony of the attachment that binds numerous faithful throughout the whole world to the traditional liturgy,” according to the pilgrimage website.
The pilgrimage began on the evening of Oct. 24 with vespers in Rome’s Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, presided over by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna. A solemn closing Mass of Christ the King will be celebrated at the Church of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini on the final day of the pilgrimage, Oct. 26.
In 2023 and 2024, the pilgrimage was not able to receive authorization to celebrate the Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica from the basilica’s liturgy office, according to organizer Christian Marquant.
The Office of Liturgical Ceremonies of St. Peter’s Basilica and the director of the Holy See Press Office did not respond to CNA’s request in September for comment on this assertion.
Burke — a champion of the Traditional Latin Mass and one of the most prominent critics in the hierarchy of the late Pope Francis, under whom he fell conspicuously out of favor — met Pope Leo in a private audience on Aug. 22.
Leo sent a letter of congratulations for Burke’s 50th anniversary of priestly ministry in July.
Rorate Caeli, a prominent website for devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass, called the celebration of a Solemn Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica again an “important sign” of increased tolerance for the traditional liturgy. Pope Francis severely restricted the use of the Latin Mass in 2021 and with subsequent legislation.
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Pope Leo XIV claps with pilgrims during an audience for the Jubilee of Hope in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 25, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Oct 25, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said the key to living in a difficult time, when the Church’s teachings are often challenged, is to embrace the hope that is “not knowing.”
“As pilgrims of hope, we must view our troubled times in the light of the resurrection,” the pope said in an audience with jubilee pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 25.
Leo brought attention to Nicholas of Cusa — a Catholic cardinal and theologian from Germany, who lived in the 15th century — as a model for how to live one’s faith “during a turbulent era that involved serious spiritual divisions.”
The pope described Nicholas of Cusa as “a great thinker and servant of unity” who “can teach us that hoping is also ‘not knowing.’”
“As St. Paul writes, ‘How can one hope for what one already sees?’” Leo said. “Nicholas of Cusa could not see the unity of the Church, shaken by opposing currents and divided between East and West. He could not see peace in the world and among religions, at a time when Christianity felt threatened from outside.”
But instead of living in fear like many of his contemporaries, Nicholas chose to associate with those who had hope, the pontiff explained.
Nicholas, Leo said, “understood that there are opposites to be held together, that God is a mystery in which what is in tension finds unity. Nicholas knew that he did not know, and so he understood reality better and better. What a great gift for the Church! What a call to renewal of the heart! Here are his teachings: make space, hold opposites together, hope for what is not yet seen.”
Pope Leo said the Church is experiencing the same thing today: questions challenging the Church’s teaching, from young people, from the poor, from women, from those without a voice or who are different from the majority.
“We are in a blessed time: so many questions!” he said. “The Church becomes an expert in humanity if it walks with humanity and has the echo of its questions in its heart.”
“To hope is not to know,” Leo underlined. “We do not already have the answers to all the questions. But we have Jesus. We follow Jesus. And so we hope for what we do not yet see.”
Read More![Pope Leo XIV: There’s no template for synodality across all countries - #Catholic -
Pope Leo XIV sits next to Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the Vatican's synod office, during the jubilee of synod teams and participatory bodies in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Oct. 24, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 25, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
There is no single model for what synodality should look like in all countries and cultures, Pope Leo XIV said in a discussion with synod leaders from around the globe, held at the Vatican on Friday.“We have to be very clear, we’re not looking for a uniform model. And synodality will not come with a template where everybody and every country will say this is how you do it,” the pope said in the Paul VI Hall Oct. 24. “It is, rather, a conversion to a spirit of being Church, and being missionary, and building up, in that sense, the family of God.”Leo spoke about synodality in unscripted remarks in English, Spanish, and Italian during the opening session of a meeting for the jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies, taking place in Rome Oct. 24-26, part of the Church’s wider 2025 Jubilee of Hope.Around 2,000 people are attending the synod-focused jubilee, which includes a two-day meeting “aimed at translating the orientations of the [Synod on Synodality’s] Final Document into pastoral and structural choices consistent with the synodal nature of the Church,” according to the Vatican’s synod office.Pope Leo XIV listens to reports from seven representatives around the world about the implementation of synodality on their continents during the jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies at the Vatican on Oct. 24, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media.The pope joined part of the program on Friday evening to listen to representatives from different regions give reports on the implementation of synodality in their parts of the world, and to answer their questions about the synodal process. Synodality, Leo said, “is to help the Church fulfill its primary role in the world, which is to be missionary, to announce the Gospel.”He added that synodality “is not a campaign. It’s a way of being and a way of being Church. It’s a way of promoting an attitude, which begins with learning to listen to one another.”The pope recalled the value of listening, “beginning with listening to the Word of God, listening to one another, listening to the wisdom we find in men and in women, in members of the Church, and those who are searching who might not yet be members of the Church.”He also addressed resistance to the synodal process, such as worry by some that it is an attempt to weaken the authority of the bishop.“I would like to invite all of you … to reflect upon what synodality is about and to invite the priests particularly, even more than the bishops, to somehow open their hearts and take part in these processes,” Leo said. “Often the resistance comes out of fear and lack of knowledge.”He emphasized the need to prioritize formation and preparation at every educational level.“Sometimes ready answers are given without the proper, necessary preparation to arrive at the conclusion that maybe some of us have already drawn, but others are not ready for or capable to understand,” he said.“We have to understand that we do not all run at the same speed. And sometimes we have to be patient with one another,” Leo said. “And rather than a few people running ahead and leaving a lot behind, which could cause even a break in an ecclesial experience, we need to look for ways, very concrete ways at times, of understanding what’s happening in each place, where the resistances are or where they come from, and what we can do to encourage more and more the experience of communion in this Church which is synodal.”Asked if groupings of churches, such as regional bishops’ conferences, will continue to grow in the life of the Church, Leo said, “the brief answer is yes, I do expect that, and I hope that the different groupings of churches can continue to grow as expressions of communion in the Church using the gifts we are all receiving through this exercise if you will, this life, this expression of synodality.”The pontiff also weighed in on the topic of women and their participation in the Church, though he set aside the most controversial questions, which he said are being examined in a separate study group.“So leaving aside the most difficult themes,” he said, “there are cultural obstacles, there are opportunities, but there are cultural obstacles. And this has to be recognized, because women could play a key role in the Church, but in some cultures women are considered second-class citizens and in some realities they do not enjoy the same rights as men.”“In these cases, there is a challenge for the Church, for all of us, because we need to understand how we can promote the respect for the rights of everyone, men and women,” he encouraged.The Church can promote a culture in which there is co-participation of every member of society, each according to their vocation, Leo continued. “We have to understand how the Church can be a strength to transform cultures according to the values of the Gospel.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/pope-leo-xiv-theres-no-template-for-synodality-across-all-countries-catholic-pope-leo-xiv-sits-next-to-cardinal-mario-grech-general-secretary-of-the-vaticans-synod-office-du.webp)
Pope Leo XIV sits next to Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the Vatican's synod office, during the jubilee of synod teams and participatory bodies in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Oct. 24, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 25, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
There is no single model for what synodality should look like in all countries and cultures, Pope Leo XIV said in a discussion with synod leaders from around the globe, held at the Vatican on Friday.
“We have to be very clear, we’re not looking for a uniform model. And synodality will not come with a template where everybody and every country will say this is how you do it,” the pope said in the Paul VI Hall Oct. 24.
“It is, rather, a conversion to a spirit of being Church, and being missionary, and building up, in that sense, the family of God.”
Leo spoke about synodality in unscripted remarks in English, Spanish, and Italian during the opening session of a meeting for the jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies, taking place in Rome Oct. 24-26, part of the Church’s wider 2025 Jubilee of Hope.
Around 2,000 people are attending the synod-focused jubilee, which includes a two-day meeting “aimed at translating the orientations of the [Synod on Synodality’s] Final Document into pastoral and structural choices consistent with the synodal nature of the Church,” according to the Vatican’s synod office.
The pope joined part of the program on Friday evening to listen to representatives from different regions give reports on the implementation of synodality in their parts of the world, and to answer their questions about the synodal process.
Synodality, Leo said, “is to help the Church fulfill its primary role in the world, which is to be missionary, to announce the Gospel.”
He added that synodality “is not a campaign. It’s a way of being and a way of being Church. It’s a way of promoting an attitude, which begins with learning to listen to one another.”
The pope recalled the value of listening, “beginning with listening to the Word of God, listening to one another, listening to the wisdom we find in men and in women, in members of the Church, and those who are searching who might not yet be members of the Church.”
He also addressed resistance to the synodal process, such as worry by some that it is an attempt to weaken the authority of the bishop.
“I would like to invite all of you … to reflect upon what synodality is about and to invite the priests particularly, even more than the bishops, to somehow open their hearts and take part in these processes,” Leo said. “Often the resistance comes out of fear and lack of knowledge.”
He emphasized the need to prioritize formation and preparation at every educational level.
“Sometimes ready answers are given without the proper, necessary preparation to arrive at the conclusion that maybe some of us have already drawn, but others are not ready for or capable to understand,” he said.
“We have to understand that we do not all run at the same speed. And sometimes we have to be patient with one another,” Leo said. “And rather than a few people running ahead and leaving a lot behind, which could cause even a break in an ecclesial experience, we need to look for ways, very concrete ways at times, of understanding what’s happening in each place, where the resistances are or where they come from, and what we can do to encourage more and more the experience of communion in this Church which is synodal.”
Asked if groupings of churches, such as regional bishops’ conferences, will continue to grow in the life of the Church, Leo said, “the brief answer is yes, I do expect that, and I hope that the different groupings of churches can continue to grow as expressions of communion in the Church using the gifts we are all receiving through this exercise if you will, this life, this expression of synodality.”
The pontiff also weighed in on the topic of women and their participation in the Church, though he set aside the most controversial questions, which he said are being examined in a separate study group.
“So leaving aside the most difficult themes,” he said, “there are cultural obstacles, there are opportunities, but there are cultural obstacles. And this has to be recognized, because women could play a key role in the Church, but in some cultures women are considered second-class citizens and in some realities they do not enjoy the same rights as men.”
“In these cases, there is a challenge for the Church, for all of us, because we need to understand how we can promote the respect for the rights of everyone, men and women,” he encouraged.
The Church can promote a culture in which there is co-participation of every member of society, each according to their vocation, Leo continued. “We have to understand how the Church can be a strength to transform cultures according to the values of the Gospel.”
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![Jubilee for Catechists: initiation model can renew parish religious education #Catholic - Religious education leaders and teachers from around the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey gathered on Oct. 18 at the Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., for the diocesan Jubilee of Catechists, more commonly known as the diocese’s annual Catechetical Convocation.
The convocation was guided by the theme “Anchored in the Catechumenate: A Vision for Forming Disciples.” Participants learned how the Church’s foundational model for initiation can renew every form of catechesis in their parishes. The keynote speaker was Father Tim Donovan, founder, president, and chaplain of Faith and Family Catholic Ministries in Yorba Linda, Calif., which seeks to rebuild the Church one family at a time.
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At 12:30 p.m., participants in the Jubilee of Catechists joined those in the diocesan Hispanic Ministry Convocation, held on the same day at Delbarton, for a shared Mass in the church. The catechetical convention also featured sessions in both English and Spanish, as well as a catechetical resource showcase.
The Jubilee of Catechists was among the many events the diocese has been hosting for the Universal Church’s Jubilee of Hope 2025. The diocesan Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation coordinated the event.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/jubilee-for-catechists-initiation-model-can-renew-parish-religious-education-catholic-religious-education-leaders-and-teachers-from-around-the-paterson-diocese-in-new-jersey-gathered-on-oct-18-at.jpg)
Jubilee for Catechists: initiation model can renew parish religious education #Catholic – 
Religious education leaders and teachers from around the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey gathered on Oct. 18 at the Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., for the diocesan Jubilee of Catechists, more commonly known as the diocese’s annual Catechetical Convocation.
The convocation was guided by the theme “Anchored in the Catechumenate: A Vision for Forming Disciples.” Participants learned how the Church’s foundational model for initiation can renew every form of catechesis in their parishes. The keynote speaker was Father Tim Donovan, founder, president, and chaplain of Faith and Family Catholic Ministries in Yorba Linda, Calif., which seeks to rebuild the Church one family at a time.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
At 12:30 p.m., participants in the Jubilee of Catechists joined those in the diocesan Hispanic Ministry Convocation, held on the same day at Delbarton, for a shared Mass in the church. The catechetical convention also featured sessions in both English and Spanish, as well as a catechetical resource showcase.
The Jubilee of Catechists was among the many events the diocese has been hosting for the Universal Church’s Jubilee of Hope 2025. The diocesan Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation coordinated the event.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– Religious education leaders and teachers from around the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey gathered on Oct. 18 at the Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., for the diocesan Jubilee of Catechists, more commonly known as the diocese’s annual Catechetical Convocation. The convocation was guided by the theme “Anchored in the Catechumenate: A Vision for Forming Disciples.” Participants learned how the Church’s foundational model for initiation can renew every form of catechesis in their parishes. The keynote speaker was Father Tim Donovan, founder, president, and chaplain of Faith and Family Catholic Ministries in Yorba Linda, Calif., which seeks to rebuild the Church
New York and California are pouring taxpayer dollars into Planned Parenthood, joining several other states in counteracting the federal defunding of the abortion giant. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 25, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).
New York and California are pouring taxpayer dollars into Planned Parenthood, joining several other states in counteracting the federal defunding of the abortion giant.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged $140 million to Planned Parenthood locations in California on Oct. 24. On the same day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul committed $35 million in funding to Planned Parenthood locations in New York.
Both states are known for their abortion shield laws, which protect abortionists who mail abortion pills into states where they are illegal. Several women are suing California and New York abortionists after being poisoned by or coerced into taking the abortion pill by the fathers of their children.
New York and California join several other states that have made similar moves in light of the yearlong federal defunding of Planned Parenthood. Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington have all taken similar steps to replace lost federal funding for Planned Parenthood over the past few months.
Newsom said on Thursday that California is “protecting access to essential health care” by providing funding for more than 100 locations across the state.
“Trump’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood put all our communities at risk as people seek basic health care from these community providers,” Newsom said in a statement.
Hochul in a similar vein said she is putting funding toward the 47 Planned Parenthood clinics in New York, alleging that pro-life politicians will “stop at nothing to undermine women’s health care.”
“In the face of congressional Republicans voting to defund Planned Parenthood, I’ve directed the state to fund these vital services, protecting access to health care that thousands of New Yorkers rely on,” Hochul said in a Friday statement.
Hundreds of alternative clinics exist in both states
A spokeswoman for Heartbeat International, a network that supports life-affirming pregnancy centers, told CNA there are many low-cost and even free alternatives to Planned Parenthood across the country — including hundreds of clinics and pregnancy centers in both New York and California.
Andrea Trudden said that “women in California and New York already have access to a vast network of life-affirming care.”
“California has more than 300 pregnancy help organizations and New York nearly 200,” Trudden said, citing Heartbeat International’s Worldwide Directory of Pregnancy Help.
“These centers offer practical support, compassionate care, and resources to women facing unplanned pregnancies, empowering them to choose life for their children and themselves,” she continued.
For women who need health care not related to pregnancy, Trudden noted that both states are “well served” by Federally Qualified Health Centers, which are centers that provide “comprehensive, low-cost medical care for women and families.”
As of 2024, California had more than 170 of these clinics, while New York had more than 60, Trudden said, citing a report by KFF, a health policy institute.
“If leaders truly cared about women’s health, they would invest in these community-based organizations that meet the needs of women before, during, and after pregnancy — not in the nation’s largest abortion provider,” Trudden added.
Kelsey Pritchard, a spokeswoman at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told CNA that in California, Planned Parenthood “is choosing to shutter primary care rather than give up profiting from abortions.”
In Orange and San Bernardino counties, Planned Parenthood will continue to offer abortions while closing primary care facilities.
“In California, New York, and across the country, Planned Parenthoods are outnumbered by far better options and the pro-life movement is happy to help women locate the care they need,” Pritchard said, citing reports by the Charlotte Lozier Institute on community care centers and pregnancy centers for women.
Jennie Bradley Lichter, the president of the March for Life, criticized politicians for prioritizing abortion funding instead of care for women and children.
“Political leaders who prioritize funding for Planned Parenthood leave no doubt where their priorities lie: and it is not with women and children,” Bradley Lichter told CNA.
“It’s a shame that the leaders of states like California and New York aren’t choosing to pour their resources into institutions that truly support moms, like the huge number of pregnancy resource centers located in each of those states,” she said.
Women deserve better than the “tragedy” of abortion, Bradley Lichter said.
“We at March for Life want women to know that when their state leaders fall short and leave them in the hands of Big Abortion, pro-life Americans will stand in the gap and help them find the love and care they need,” she continued.
Defunding Planned Parenthood: a ‘life-saving’ act
A spokesman for Live Action called the defunding of Planned Parenthood “one of the most lifesaving acts Congress has taken in decades,” noting that the federal government stopped funding the organization that “kills over 400,000 children every year.”
“That victory must be made permanent when the one-year cutoff expires next July,” Noah Brandt told CNA. “Yet pro-abortion states like California and New York are working to undo that progress, using taxpayer money to expand abortion through all nine months and to ship abortion pills nationwide.”
“Federal funding for Planned Parenthood must never return, and states that promote abortion should be held accountable for enabling the mass killing and sterilization of American children,” Brandt said.
Pritchard added that although Planned Parenthood is “constantly scheming to grow their grip on taxpayer money,” the pro-life movement has seen wins around the nation — most especially, the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood.
“Make no mistake, they are losing big in Congress, in courts, and increasingly in the hearts and minds of Americans,” Pritchard said.
Read MoreIn 1669, French-Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini arrived at the still-under-construction Paris Observatory as its new director. He quickly talked Louis XIV’s minister of finance into buying a 34-foot Campani refractor for the observatory, and on Oct. 25, 1671, used that refractor to discover Saturn’s moon Iapetus. The second saturnian moon discovered, after Christaan Huygens’ 1655Continue reading “Oct. 25, 1671: Iapetus is discovered”
The post Oct. 25, 1671: Iapetus is discovered appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Father Burke Masters speaks to Veronica Dudo on "EWTN News Nightly" on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 / Credit: EWTN News
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 25, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Father Burke Masters’ first dream was to be a major league baseball player, but after feeling a call from God to the priesthood he now uses the sport “to speak about Jesus and the Church.”
“I played college baseball at Mississippi State University, and then played briefly in the minor leagues,” Masters said. “That was my dream to be a major league baseball player, but that didn’t work out.”
“God eventually called me to be a priest,” Masters said in an Oct. 24 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.” He added: “It really wasn’t what I wanted, but it was this persistent and gentle call from the Lord.”
“I went to seminary fully thinking I would go … not like it, and then go back to my plans,” Masters said. “Yet when I got to seminary I just felt this overwhelming peace, and that’s one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.”
Masters was ordained in 2002, serving as priest in Illinois. Eventually though, baseball did become a part of his career when he was named the chaplain of the Chicago Cubs in 2013.
“God brought baseball back into my life in a way that I never expected,” Masters said. “Since then, people have called me the ‘baseball priest,’ because I love to connect faith with sports.”
While Masters’ “full-time job” was as a pastor in the Diocese of Joliet, he attended all the Cubs’ home games. As the “baseball priest,” Masters was chaplain when they won the World Series in 2016.
“One of my big messages to the players then and to the players now would be: ‘Just remember your identity, you’re beloved sons of God. Your identity is not in the sport of baseball.’ And what I find that helps players … relax to say: ‘Yes, this is a big game. Millions of people are watching, but in the end, it’s still just a game. And life goes on,’” he said.
Connecting faith and sports
In 2023, Masters published a book, “A Grand Slam for God: A Journey from Baseball Star to Catholic Priest.” He wrote about his childhood outside of Chicago, his success in baseball, his conversion to Catholicism, and his acceptance of his vocation.
His story discusses his doubts and personal loss, and how he learned to embrace his identity not as an athlete but as a son of God and spiritual leader.
“Baseball taught me a lot of things, among them, discipline, hard work, and how to work with people of a lot of different backgrounds,” Masters said. “I find that to be so helpful in my life as a priest, as a vocation director, as a pastor, that I try to invest a lot of time in my spiritual life.”
“Also, baseball has given me a way to … reach people who are not close to God at the moment by bringing stories about baseball and my sports background,” Masters said. “It gives me an opening to speak about Jesus and the Church. It’s just been a great gift.”
In homilies, Masters said he will “bring up the sport of baseball.” He added: “I can see some of the people who love the sport perk up and then can bring the Gospel message to them more easily.”
Ahead of the 2025 World Series on Oct. 24, Masters shared with EWTN his predictions for the outcome. He said: “If I go off my head, the Dodgers will win, but I love pulling for the underdog. So my heart is going with the Toronto Blue Jays.”
Read More![‘Every execution should be stopped’: How U.S. bishops work to save prisoners on death row #Catholic
null / Credit: txking/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 25, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Bishops in multiple U.S. states are leading efforts to spare the lives of condemned prisoners facing execution — urging clemency in line with the Catholic Church’s relatively recent but unambiguous declaration that the death penalty is not permissible and should be abolished. Executions in the United States have been increasingly less common for years. Following the death penalty’s re-legalization by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, executions peaked in the country around the turn of the century before beginning a gradual decline.Still, more than 1,600 prisoners have been executed since the late 1970s. The largest number of those executions has been carried out in Texas, which has killed 596 prisoners over that time period.As with other states, the Catholic bishops of Texas regularly petition the state government to issue clemency to prisoners facing death. Jennifer Allmon, the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, told CNA that the state’s bishops regularly urge officials to commute death penalty sentences to life in prison. “We refer to it as the Mercy Project,” she said. Though popular perception holds that the governor of a state is the ultimate arbiter of a condemned prisoner’s fate, Allmon said in Texas that’s not the case. “The state Board of Pardons and Paroles has the ultimate authority,” she said. “The governor is only allowed to issue a 30-day stay on an execution one time. He doesn’t actually have the power to grant a permanent clemency.” “We don’t encourage phone calls to the governor because it’s not going to be a meaningful order,” she pointed out. “The board has a lot more authority.”Allmon said the bishops advocate on behalf of every condemned prisoner in the state. “We send a letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and copy the governor for every single execution during the time period when the board is reviewing clemency applications,” she said. “Typically they hold reviews about 21 days before the execution. We time our letters to arrive shortly before that.” “We research every single case,” she said. “We speak to the defendant’s legal counsel for additional information. We personalize each letter to urge prayer for the victims and their families, we mention them by name, and we share any mitigating circumstances or reason in particular that the execution is unjust, while always acknowledging that every execution should be stopped.”Some offenders, Allmon said, want to be executed. “We do a letter anyway. We think it’s important that on principle we speak out for every execution.”In Missouri, meanwhile, the state’s Catholic bishops similarly advocate for every prisoner facing execution by the government. Missouri has been among the most prolific executors of condemned prisoners since 1976. More than half of the 102 people executed there over the last 50 years have been under Democratic governors; then-Gov. Mel Carnahan oversaw 38 state executions from 1993 to 2000 alone. Jamie Morris, the executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, told CNA that the state bishops “send a clemency request for every prisoner set to be executed, either through a letter from the Missouri Catholic Conference or through a joint letter of the bishops.”“We also highlight every upcoming execution through our MCC publications and encourage our network to contact the governor to ask for clemency,” he said. Individual dioceses, meanwhile, carry out education and outreach to inform the faithful of the Church’s teaching on the death penalty. What does the Church actually teach?The Vatican in 2018 revised its teaching on the death penalty, holding that though capital punishment was “long considered an appropriate response” to some crimes, evolving standards and more effective methods of imprisonment and detention mean the death penalty is now “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”The Church “works with determination for its abolition worldwide,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the revision of which was approved by Pope Francis. The Church’s revision came after years of increasing opposition to the death penalty by popes in the modern era. Then-Pope John Paul II in 1997 revised the catechism to reflect what he acknowledged was a “growing tendency, both in the Church and in civil society, to demand that [the death penalty] be applied in a very limited way or even that it be abolished completely.”The Death Penalty Information Center says that 23 states and the District of Columbia have abolished capital punishment. Morris told CNA that bills to abolish the death penalty are filed “every year” in Missouri, though he said those measures have “not been heard in a legislative committee” during his time at the Catholic conference. Bishops have thus focused their legislative efforts on advocating against a provision in the Missouri code that allows a judge to sentence an individual to death when a jury cannot reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty. Brett Farley, who heads the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said the state’s bishops have been active in opposing capital punishment there after a six-year moratorium on the death penalty lapsed in 2021 and executions resumed. Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley and Tulsa Bishop David Konderla “have been very outspoken both in calling for clemency of death row inmates and, generally, calling for an end to the death penalty,” Farley said. The prelates have called for abolition via Catholic publications and in op-eds, he said.The state’s bishops through the Tulsa Diocese and Oklahoma City Archdiocese have also instituted programs in which clergy and laity both minister to the condemned and their families, Farley said. The state Catholic conference, meanwhile, has led the effort to pass a proposed legislative ban on the death penalty. That measure has moved out of committee in both chambers of the state Legislature, Farley said. “We have also commissioned recent polls that show overwhelming support for moratorium among Oklahoma voters, which demonstrate as many as 78% agreeing that ‘a pause’ on executions is appropriate to ensure we do not execute innocent people,” he said. Catholics across the United States have regularly led efforts to abolish the death penalty. The Washington, D.C.-based group Catholic Mobilizing Network, for instance, arose out of the U.S. bishops’ 2005 Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty. The group urges activists to take part in anti-death penalty campaigns in numerous states, including petitioning the federal government to end the death penalty, using a “three-tiered approach of education, advocacy, and prayer.”Catholics have also worked to end the death penalty at the federal level. Sixteen people have been executed by the federal government since 1976. Executions in the states have increased over the last few years, though they have not come near the highs of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Allmon said Texas is seeing “fewer executions in general” relative to earlier years. The number of executions was very high under Gov. Rick Perry, she said; the Republican governor ultimately witnessed the carrying out of 279 death sentences over his 15 years as governor. Since 2015, current Gov. Greg Abbott has presided over a comparatively smaller 78 executions. “It still shouldn’t happen,” she said, “but it’s a huge reduction.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/every-execution-should-be-stopped-how-u-s-bishops-work-to-save-prisoners-on-death-row-catholic-null-credit-txking-shutterstockcna-staff-oct-25-2025-0600-am-cna-bi.webp)
null / Credit: txking/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 25, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Bishops in multiple U.S. states are leading efforts to spare the lives of condemned prisoners facing execution — urging clemency in line with the Catholic Church’s relatively recent but unambiguous declaration that the death penalty is not permissible and should be abolished.
Executions in the United States have been increasingly less common for years. Following the death penalty’s re-legalization by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, executions peaked in the country around the turn of the century before beginning a gradual decline.
Still, more than 1,600 prisoners have been executed since the late 1970s. The largest number of those executions has been carried out in Texas, which has killed 596 prisoners over that time period.
As with other states, the Catholic bishops of Texas regularly petition the state government to issue clemency to prisoners facing death. Jennifer Allmon, the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, told CNA that the state’s bishops regularly urge officials to commute death penalty sentences to life in prison.
“We refer to it as the Mercy Project,” she said.
Though popular perception holds that the governor of a state is the ultimate arbiter of a condemned prisoner’s fate, Allmon said in Texas that’s not the case.
“The state Board of Pardons and Paroles has the ultimate authority,” she said. “The governor is only allowed to issue a 30-day stay on an execution one time. He doesn’t actually have the power to grant a permanent clemency.”
“We don’t encourage phone calls to the governor because it’s not going to be a meaningful order,” she pointed out. “The board has a lot more authority.”
Allmon said the bishops advocate on behalf of every condemned prisoner in the state.
“We send a letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and copy the governor for every single execution during the time period when the board is reviewing clemency applications,” she said. “Typically they hold reviews about 21 days before the execution. We time our letters to arrive shortly before that.”
“We research every single case,” she said. “We speak to the defendant’s legal counsel for additional information. We personalize each letter to urge prayer for the victims and their families, we mention them by name, and we share any mitigating circumstances or reason in particular that the execution is unjust, while always acknowledging that every execution should be stopped.”
Some offenders, Allmon said, want to be executed. “We do a letter anyway. We think it’s important that on principle we speak out for every execution.”
In Missouri, meanwhile, the state’s Catholic bishops similarly advocate for every prisoner facing execution by the government.
Missouri has been among the most prolific executors of condemned prisoners since 1976. More than half of the 102 people executed there over the last 50 years have been under Democratic governors; then-Gov. Mel Carnahan oversaw 38 state executions from 1993 to 2000 alone.
Jamie Morris, the executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, told CNA that the state bishops “send a clemency request for every prisoner set to be executed, either through a letter from the Missouri Catholic Conference or through a joint letter of the bishops.”
“We also highlight every upcoming execution through our MCC publications and encourage our network to contact the governor to ask for clemency,” he said. Individual dioceses, meanwhile, carry out education and outreach to inform the faithful of the Church’s teaching on the death penalty.
What does the Church actually teach?
The Vatican in 2018 revised its teaching on the death penalty, holding that though capital punishment was “long considered an appropriate response” to some crimes, evolving standards and more effective methods of imprisonment and detention mean the death penalty is now “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”
The Church “works with determination for its abolition worldwide,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the revision of which was approved by Pope Francis.
The Church’s revision came after years of increasing opposition to the death penalty by popes in the modern era. Then-Pope John Paul II in 1997 revised the catechism to reflect what he acknowledged was a “growing tendency, both in the Church and in civil society, to demand that [the death penalty] be applied in a very limited way or even that it be abolished completely.”
The Death Penalty Information Center says that 23 states and the District of Columbia have abolished capital punishment. Morris told CNA that bills to abolish the death penalty are filed “every year” in Missouri, though he said those measures have “not been heard in a legislative committee” during his time at the Catholic conference.
Bishops have thus focused their legislative efforts on advocating against a provision in the Missouri code that allows a judge to sentence an individual to death when a jury cannot reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty.
Brett Farley, who heads the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said the state’s bishops have been active in opposing capital punishment there after a six-year moratorium on the death penalty lapsed in 2021 and executions resumed.
Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley and Tulsa Bishop David Konderla “have been very outspoken both in calling for clemency of death row inmates and, generally, calling for an end to the death penalty,” Farley said. The prelates have called for abolition via Catholic publications and in op-eds, he said.
The state’s bishops through the Tulsa Diocese and Oklahoma City Archdiocese have also instituted programs in which clergy and laity both minister to the condemned and their families, Farley said.
The state Catholic conference, meanwhile, has led the effort to pass a proposed legislative ban on the death penalty. That measure has moved out of committee in both chambers of the state Legislature, Farley said.
“We have also commissioned recent polls that show overwhelming support for moratorium among Oklahoma voters, which demonstrate as many as 78% agreeing that ‘a pause’ on executions is appropriate to ensure we do not execute innocent people,” he said.
Catholics across the United States have regularly led efforts to abolish the death penalty. The Washington, D.C.-based group Catholic Mobilizing Network, for instance, arose out of the U.S. bishops’ 2005 Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty.
The group urges activists to take part in anti-death penalty campaigns in numerous states, including petitioning the federal government to end the death penalty, using a “three-tiered approach of education, advocacy, and prayer.”
Catholics have also worked to end the death penalty at the federal level. Sixteen people have been executed by the federal government since 1976.
Executions in the states have increased over the last few years, though they have not come near the highs of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Allmon said Texas is seeing “fewer executions in general” relative to earlier years.
The number of executions was very high under Gov. Rick Perry, she said; the Republican governor ultimately witnessed the carrying out of 279 death sentences over his 15 years as governor. Since 2015, current Gov. Greg Abbott has presided over a comparatively smaller 78 executions.
“It still shouldn’t happen,” she said, “but it’s a huge reduction.”
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