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Crux

There are now more Catholics in Africa than Europe

By Crux Now Staff, October 21, 2026

A report published by a Vatican news agency has found that Africa now has more Catholics than Europe, with Europe now falling behind both the Americas and Africa in terms of the number of Catholics. Agenzia Fides, the news agency for the Vatican's Pontifical Mission Societies, released the comprehensive report ahead of the 100th World Mission Sunday that just passed. The report, compiled by Luca Mainoldi from the latest Statistical Yearbook of the Church, found that in 2024 the Catholic Church counted 1.422 billion members, 17.8% of the world’s population. Between 2023 and 2024, Africa saw an increase of 7.58 million Catholics, bringing the continent’s total to 288.312 million, ahead of Europe’s 287.24 million. Africa’s Catholic population accounts for 19.9% of the continent’s approximately 1.4billion inhabitants. Africa is also the only continent where the number of women religious and major seminarians increased during the reporting period.

Zeale News

Foreign-born judges rule against immigration enforcement

By Zeale News Team, October 22, 2026

Foreign-born Article III federal judges are significantly more likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to rule against President Donald Trump’s agenda on border security and immigration enforcement, a new study has found. Bench Receipts — an organization that tracks judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, and their decisions or actions on key issues — published an audit Oct. 19 analyzing decisions by all 128 foreign-born judges in the U.S. and comparing them to the federal judiciary’s average baseline. They serve lifetime appointments, unless they retire or are impeached, and rule on matters related to the U.S. Constitution. Of the 128 foreign-born judges in the U.S., 58 are Article III federal judges, while the other 70 are federal magistrate, state and county trial, or state supreme and appellate court judges.

OSV News

Botched execution, proposed livestream reveal ‘inhumanity’

By Kate Scanlon, October 22, 2026

A proposed and later canceled livestream of a military execution and the botched execution of Tennessee inmate Christa Pike should prompt “renewed courage and determination” to end capital punishment, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said Oct. 21. The archbishop, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made the remarks in an address to death penalty opponents gathered at the apostolic nunciature, the Vatican’s diplomatic mission to the United States in Washington, for the biennial Justice Reimagined Awards and Celebration. The Catholic Mobilizing Network hosted the event, a group that advocates abolishing capital punishment in line with Catholic teaching. Archbishop Coakley recently issued a strong rebuke of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad in December at the U.S. Army base in Texas.

Aleteia

Pope won’t fly to Assisi due to doctors’ recommendation

By Kathleen N. Hattrup, October 23, 2025

On Friday morning, the Pope’s doctor, Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who operated on the Holy Father on October 13, Stefano Margaritora, reported that Leo XIV had undergone a follow-up chest X-ray “as scheduled.” Now 10 days after the removal of the lower lobe of his right lung, this examination showed the 71-year-old patient's "postoperative recovery is progressing very well." However, "given the short time that has elapsed since the surgery, his doctors advised against the planned helicopter journey on October 27 as a precaution." The Holy Father has returned to his engagements, and on October 21, his medical team announced that he needs no further treatment after the successful surgery to remove a cancerous nodule. However, flying after lung surgery requires sufficient time for the wound to heal and lung function to return adequately.

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National Catholic Register

Priest on a mission to transform the Church and the world

By Zelda Caldwell, October 23, 2026

Father John Riccardo may not be a household name, but when a bishop really wants to fire up his flock with a barnstorming, revival-style worship rally, he’s the man for the job. Several times a year, he crisscrosses the country to headline diocesan events aimed at kicking their evangelization efforts into high gear. What makes this Michigan priest such a popular speaker? Simply put, he has a knack for retelling the story of Christianity and getting people to seriously consider it true, and therefore life-changing. “I want them to encounter again, and perhaps for the first time, what God’s really done for us and why it is explosive news,” Father Riccardo told the Register. “I also pray that we would get awakened to the Father’s heart and his desire in creating the human race to be his family,” he said. That’s the subject of his new book, The Resistance: God’s Plan for Renewing the Human Family, published by Penguin Random House

EWTN News

Catholic bishops pray with President Trump

By Tyler Arnold, October 22, 2026

Denver Archbishop James Golka and over half a dozen fellow U.S. Catholic bishops met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Oct. 22. White House Faith Director Jenny Korn told EWTN News the meeting was organized by the White House Faith Office “as part of our ongoing engagement with faith leaders of all denominations from across the country.” In addition to praying with Trump, Korn said several topics were discussed during the meeting, including “religious freedom, the role of the White House Faith Office, school choice, religious visas, and life policy.” Participants included Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles; Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas; Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines, Iowa; Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee; and Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, of Oakland, California. Before concluding the meeting, Golka and his brother bishops gathered around Trump at the Oval Office’s iconic Resolute desk to pray.

Related: Trump meeting with bishops organized by Heritage Foundation official, The Pillar, October 22, 2026

Religion News Service

AI campaign ads use religion to stir emotions and attack candidates

By Fiona André, October 22, 2026

In a recent campaign ad for Ken Paxton, the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, his Democratic opponent James Talarico appears to sit at a desk while he scribbles on a Bible page. “I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity,” says the ad’s Talarico before adding that God was a “radical feminist” who “never asked people to worship him,” a reference to Talarico’s liberal Christian views, which have drawn criticism from political opponents. The scene seems realistic and pulls quotes from Talarico’s speeches and his sermons at his Presbyterian church. Yet, it is not an actual clip of Talarico. It was created with artificial intelligence. The 30-second clip, which has 2.6 million views on X since its September release, is part of a flurry of AI-generated political ads airing on cable, streaming, and digital platforms across the country ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

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Catholic News of Australia

Passing on the faith in a time of ‘epochal change’

By Kate Scanlon, OSV News, October 9, 2026

The Vatican’s doctrine office has published a new document on passing on the Christian faith in a time of “epochal change,” marked by a “crisis in the intergenerational transmission of the Christian faith.” (Source: OSV News.) The document, released yesterday and titled Venite ad Me (Come to Me), was issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. Venite ad Me was written in response to a request the late Pope Francis made toward the end of his life and was approved for publication by Pope Leo XIV during an August 21 audience with Cardinal Fernández and Msgr Armando Matteo, the secretary of the dicastery’s doctrinal section. The more than 25,000-word document is divided into eight chapters. It discusses “the crisis in the transmission of faith” amid cultural changes, the breakdown of the family, and new digital technologies, underlining the need to communicate the kerygma, or the essential proclamation of salvation offered by Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection.

Keep informed - 10/23/26 news for Catholics

Snippets from Big Pulpit, EWTN, & the Loop

Big Pulpit

Tito Edwards Catholic site: October 23, 2026

The Big Pulpit website aggregates quality insights and analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide.

Feast of St. Peter of Alcantara, Spiritual Director of Teresa of Avila, October 19 – Mary O’Regan
French Riots & the European Doldrums – John at Bensozia
Cardinal Parolin Faces Scrutiny for Remarks on Pope Leo XIV’s Pontificate – Diane Montagna
Those Dreaded Post-Mass Prayers. . . – Fr. Allan J. McDonald at Southern Orders

EWTN News

EWTN’s top headlines — October 23, 2026

EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the Holy Father's words and the Holy See.

More than 100 churches in Panama affected by October earthquake - By Diego López Colín - The 7.5-magnitude earthquake impacted various sectors throughout the country, including in the nation’s capital city. According to an Oct. 19 statement from the National Civil Protection System, the earthquake injured 27 people and immediately killed one person. More than 9,000 homes sustained some form of damage.
Conference in Rome addresses welcoming missionaries amid migration tensions - By Ishmael Adibuah - The conference “The Church of the Sheaves: An International Gathering in Rome on Mission as an Exchange of Gifts” began at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Oct. 22 and will continue through Oct. 24. It was organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Vice President Vance to EWTN: ‘We are God’s ambassadors on Earth’ - By Daniel Payne - Vice President JD Vance on Oct. 22 told Raymond Arroyo on EWTN News’ “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” that God calls Christians to be “humble in the face [of] uncertainty” and that Christians walking in faith often “take two steps toward Jesus and one step back” before arriving at Christ.

The Loop

Zeale is CatholicVote, hosting the LOOP

Over half a million people receive the LOOP news rundown six days a week. Zeale is the LOOP's new home. Zeale is a project of CatholicVote, America’s top Catholic advocacy organization leading the fight for faith, family, and freedom.

82-YEAR-OLD DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR CHARGED WITH MARIJUANA SCHEME - A federal indictment unsealed Oct. 22 charges Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and six others with racketeering conspiracy, marijuana distribution, money laundering, bribery-based honest services fraud, and related crimes. She allegedly used her position to legalize marijuana and pave the way for a co-conspirator to receive a retail marijuana license for a store, all while investing in the business.

FBI FOILS ALLEGED ISIS-LINKED ASSASSINATION PLOT AGAINST TEXAS CONGRESSMAN - The FBI arrested a Texas-based teenager accused of plotting an ISIS-linked terrorist attack and targeting Republican Rep. Keith Self for assassination, according to local reporting. Self, an outspoken opponent of Sharia law, thanked law enforcement and vowed not to back down.

FEDS SAY NY FAILED TO ACT ON HUGE MEDICAID FRAUD SCHEME - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Oct. 21 that it had issued New York a compliance warning letter over alleged failures to oversee its Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide daytime social activities to seniors, resulting in millions of dollars in fraud. The state has 30 days to respond and 90 days to comply.

October 23, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings

You can listen HERE — or read HERE:

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s Catholic commentary:

Catholic365

Having an abortion because of wrong gender?

By The Catholic Philadelphian, October 23, 2024

Online, there has been a trend of women sharing news of their pregnancy. While it may bring joyful news, it can also bring out something cold and callous in some expectant mothers. I saw a post from an expectant mother who wanted a boy, but she is having a girl. She is distraught about the gender and told her husband that she intends to abort the child. The sad reality is that she is not the only expectant mother who turns joy into repulsive anger. A life is a life, no matter what. That’s not all. I sometimes wonder why any woman would reject a gift God has given to them. Of course, there are factors that explain why a mother has more boys during pregnancies, and vice versa. However, our society continues to play God when we decide to murder the most vulnerable in our society at the earliest stage of human development. Let God plan parenthood.

The Pillar

Motor City, and the rights of priests

By JD Flynn, October 22, 2026

The Archdiocese of Detroit announced this week a plan to reassign most of its parish priests next summer, amid a restructuring process expected to dramatically shrink the number of parishes in the archdiocese. Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said the plan “asks much of our priests,” but is a “sacrifice they are making as brothers of one, unified presbyterate.” But while the plan's contours leave many questions open for the Archdiocese of Detroit's future, they also raise broader questions about protecting clergy rights, the Church’s canonical praxis of hierarchical intervention, and what could better protect priests' canonically established rights. Careful observers of archdiocesan consultations in the United States might suspect it is meant to convey momentum, remind reluctant priests that their archbishop expects to see his plan come to fruition, and quell anticipated clerical pushback.

The Haeft

We need romantics and evangelists with heart

By Matthew J. Ramage, Ph.D., October 12, 2026

From a marshy hideaway, alone and on the brink of defeat, Alfred the Great faced down the total annihilation of the seedling Christian nation of the Saxons. But he came out swinging to build the greatest nation the world has ever seen. Yet neither France nor England emerged with nationhood as the greatest good. Martel, Charlemagne, Alfred, and Athelstan were all Christian warriors gripped by the wider mission outlined in Acts. King Alfred did not just push back invaders; he believed the nation fell because it lost its literacy and spiritual knowledge. He systematically translated scriptures into the common tongue so people could truly understand the faith. Charles Martel is best known for defeating the Islamic invasion at the Battle of Tours, but his ongoing evangelizing impact came from his political and military protection of Saint Boniface, the apostle to the Germans. Martel secured the infrastructure that allowed missionaries to move forward safely.

Bishop Barron

God works through the world’s ordinary events

By Bishop Robert Barron, October 23, 2026

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus criticizes the crowd, saying they can interpret the earth and the clouds but not the present time. So, how do we know what’s going on in the world? How do we read the signs of the times? We could do so politically, sociologically, culturally, or economically. All these ways are valuable lenses for viewing the world. But note the important difference in the Bible. What was peculiar about ancient Israel was that they read the world through theological lenses. When they wanted to read the signs of the times, they wondered what God was doing and why. The deepest and truest reading is the theological one, which seeks the divine causality and purpose that works under and through all the other lenses. The modern period has largely been conditioned by a deist view of God, in which God is construed as a distant object only vaguely related to the world. But that’s not the biblical reading. For the biblical authors, God acts in and through all the world's ordinary events and dynamics.

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Catholic Nutshell News: Friday 10/23/26