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Hope is knowing that God is near and that love will win, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian hope is not about avoiding pain and suffering but about knowing that God gives people the strength to persevere and to love even when things go wrong, Pope Leo XIV said.

When Jesus allowed himself to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he showed that "Christian hope is not evasion, but decision," the pope told thousands of people gathered in the Vatican audience hall Aug. 27 for his weekly general audience.

"The way that Jesus exercised his freedom in the face of death teaches us not to fear suffering, but to persevere in confident trust in God's providential care," the pope said in his address to English speakers.

"If we surrender to God's will and freely give our lives in love for others, the Father's grace will sustain us in every trial and enable us to bear abundant fruit for the salvation of our brothers and sisters," he said. 

Pope Leo XIV holds a baby at his general audience
Pope Leo XIV holds a baby as he greets visitors at the conclusion of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Aug. 27, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

A person of faith, the pope said, does not ask God "to spare us from suffering, but rather to give us the strength to persevere in love, aware that life offered freely for love cannot be taken away by anyone."

Jesus lived every day of his life as preparation for the "dramatic and sublime hour" of his arrest, his suffering and his death, the pope said. "For this reason, when it arrives, he has the strength not to seek a way of escape. His heart knows well that to lose life for love is not a failure, but rather possesses a mysterious fruitfulness, like a grain of wheat that, falling to the ground, does not remain alone, but dies and becomes fruitful."

Naturally, Pope Leo said, Jesus "is troubled when faced with a path that seems to lead only to death and to the end. But he is equally persuaded that only a life lost for love, at the end, is ultimately found."

"This is what true hope consists of: not in trying to avoid pain, but in believing that even in the heart of the most unjust suffering, the seed of new life is hidden," he said. 

Pope Leo XIV embraces a newlywed couple
Pope Leo XIV embraces a newly married couple at the conclusion of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Aug. 27, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

After spending more than 90 minutes greeting people in the audience hall, including dozens of newlywed couples, Pope Leo went into St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of people who did not get a place in the hall had been watching the audience and waiting for their turn to see the pope.

The pope thanked them for their patience, which, he said, "is a sign of the presence of the Spirit of God, who is with us. So often in life, we want to receive a response immediately, an immediate solution, and for some reason God makes us wait."

"But as Jesus himself taught us, we must have that trust that comes from knowing that we are sons and daughters of God and that God always gives us grace," the pope said. "He doesn't always take away our pain or suffering, but he tells us that he is close to us."
 

Pope Leo: Trust in God amid suffering

Pope Leo: Trust in God amid suffering

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Aug. 27.

5 powerful quotes from St. Augustine’s most famous work, the ‘Confessions’

St. Augustine of Hippo. / Credit: Cathopic

CNA Staff, Aug 28, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church honors St. Augustine of Hippo, an early Church Father, doctor of the Church, and foundational theologian, on Aug. 28.

Augustine was brought up as a Christian in his early childhood but drifted from the Church, fathering a child out of wedlock and falling into the heresy of Manichaeism. His mother, Monica, a woman of deep faith who was later canonized herself, never stopped praying for his return to the Church.

Of the more than 5 million words that St. Augustine wrote during his lifetime (A.D. 354–430), his “Confessions” have had a particularly lasting influence as a philosophical, theological, mystical, and literary work. Written in about A.D. 400, “Confessions” details how God worked in Augustine’s life and reads not just as a story but as a prayer.

Here are five powerful quotes from St. Augustine’s “Confessions”:  

  1. “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee” (Book I).

  2. “To Carthage I came, where there sang all around me in my ears a cauldron of unholy loves. I loved not yet, yet I loved to love, and out of a deep-seated want, I hated myself for wanting not … For within me was a famine of that inward food, Thyself, My God” (Book III).

  3. “But what am I to myself without Thee, but a guide to mine own downfall?” (Book IV).

  4. “I cast myself down I know not how, under a certain fig-tree, giving full vent to my tears; and the floods of mine eyes gushed out an acceptable sacrifice to thee” (Book VIII).

  5.  “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” (Book X).

This story was first published on Aug. 28, 2024, and has been updated.

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Minneapolis Catholic Church shooter mocked Christ in video before attack

Law enforcement vehicles sit parked outside a reported residence of a suspect following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on Aug. 27, 2025 in Richfield, Minnesota. / Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 27, 2025 / 20:15 pm (CNA).

The man who killed two children and injured 17 other people in the Minneapolis Catholic church shooting posted a YouTube video before the attack, which showed an anti-Christian motivation for the murders and an affinity for mass shooters, Satanism, antisemitism, and racism.

Robin Westman — who was born “Robert” and identified as a transgender woman — died by suicide on Wednesday, Aug. 27, after shooting through the windows of Annunciation Catholic Church during a weekday Mass. Most of the worshippers were children who attend the parish elementary school next to the church.

Mocking Christ and giving nod to Satanism

In a video posted ahead of the attack, which YouTube has since removed from its website, the shooter showed a written apology to his friends and family but clarified “that’s the only people I’m sorry to” and then disparaged the children he planned to shoot.

Westman wrote that he has “wanted this for so long” and acknowledged: “I’m not well. I’m not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

During the video, Westman zooms in on an image of Jesus Christ wearing the crown of thorns that he attached to the head of a human-shaped shooting target. The photo of Christ displayed the text “He came to pay a debt he didn’t owe because we owe a debt we cannot repay” below the image.

Westman laughed while pointing the camera at the shooting target, and then moved the camera to show anti-Christian messages and drawings on his guns and loaded magazines.

One message read: “Where’s your God?” and another: “Where’s your [expletive] God now?” A third read: “Do you believe in God?” while another stated “[expletive] everything you stand for.”

Another message on a rifle stated “take this all of you and eat,” which mocks the words Jesus Christ said at the Last Supper and the words said in the Eucharistic prayer during every Mass. 

Westman drew an inverted pentagram on one of the magazines, which is a symbol often used to promote Satanism but is sometimes used in other occult practices. The number “666” was also written on the magazine. He also drew an inverted cross on the barrel of one of the rifles, which is a traditional Christian symbol that has since been co-opted by Satanists.

Affinity for mass shooters, antisemitism, and racism

Westman wrote the names of about a dozen mass murderers on his weapons, including largely writing “Rupnow” on one of his guns, referencing Natalie Rupnow, the Abundant Life Christian School shooter.

One mass murderer that Westman wrote on his magazines and rifles more than once was the Norwegian neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people and injured 319 others in two mass casualty attacks.

Most of the names were written on magazines, while some were written on the rifles. This also included the New Zealand Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza, and the Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes written on a loaded magazine.

Several written messages were antisemitic, such as “6 million wasn’t enough,” in reference to the number of Jewish people killed during the Holocaust. A smoke grenade he showed had “Jew gas” written on it, which is another Holocaust reference. There were also several anti-Israel messages.

Other messages targeted several ethnic and racial groups. One message used a slur for Hispanic people and another said “Nuke India.” One message read “remove kebab,” which is a reference to a meme disparaging Arab and Muslim people. Another written message referenced a meme mocking Black people.

Several messages also disparaged and threatened to kill President Donald Trump. 

One message on a loaded magazine read “for the kids” and another read Mashallah, which is Arabic for “God has willed it.” Others referenced various memes and two of them referenced the movie “Joker.”

Concerning Satanic and racist association in other shootings

In his video, Westman flashed the “OK” hand symbol one time when showing his weapons. This appeared to be a reference to the Abundant Life Christian School shooter, Rupnow, who posted an image of herself displaying the same symbol before her attack.

Although use of the “OK” hand symbol is usually benign, it has also been used by some white supremacists as a sign of their ideology.

Researchers who tracked Rupnow’s social media activity found that the 15-year-old shooter was deeply involved in online networks that espouse neo-Nazi, racist, and Satanic beliefs, according to a joint report from Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica. These communities also promote violence and some have praised mass shootings.

One of the communities noted in the joint Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica report was “764,” which is a Satanic neo-Nazi community associated with the Order of Nine Angles, another Satanic neo-Nazi community. Several people involved in these communities have been arrested for grooming and sexually exploiting children online. In several examples, community members have urged people to harm or kill themselves.

In April of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two “764” leaders were arrested for allegedly running a “global child exploitation enterprise.” The DOJ alleges that they “ordered their victims to commit acts of self-harm and engaged in psychological torment and extreme violence against minors

Although Westman directly referenced Rupnow and used rhetoric promoting both Satanism and neo-Nazi ideology, so far there is no direct evidence that connects Westman to these communities.

Latest Update Regarding Church Renovations

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Archbishop Hebda after Annunciation School shooting: ‘My heart is broken’

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis. / Credit: Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 27, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who leads the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, released a statement following the deadly shooting that took place on Wednesday morning at Annunciation Catholic School in southern Minneapolis.

“My heart is broken as I think about students, teachers, clergy and parishioners and the horror they witnessed in a church, a place where we should feel safe,” Hebda wrote in a statement Wednesday afternoon, hours after police confirmed two children were killed and 17 injured in the shooting.

Hebda expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV, who sent his condolences to Hebda after the attack, and all those around the world who have offered prayers following the shooting that occurred during a Mass for the K–8 school early Wednesday morning.

“I beg for the continued prayers of all of the priests and faithful of this archdiocese, as well for the prayers of all men and women of goodwill,” Hebda continued, “that the healing that only God can bring will be poured out on all those who were present at this morning’s Mass and particularly for the affected families who are only now beginning to comprehend the trauma they sustained.”

The Twin Cities archbishop further pledged the souls of the two children who lost their lives to God through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and called for an end to gun violence, which he described as “far too commonplace.”

He noted the Annunciation School shooting comes just 24 hours after another shooting near Cristo Rey Jesuit High School that reportedly left one dead and six injured on Tuesday.

“Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent,” Hebda wrote. “While we need to commit to working to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies, we also need to remind ourselves that we have a God of peace and of love, and that it is his love that we will need most as we strive to embrace those who are hurting so deeply.”

Hebda revealed that archdiocesan staff are currently working with the parish and school to “make sure they have the support and resources they need at this time and beyond.” 

A prayer service is set to take place at 7 p.m. CT at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota. 

We have to be men and women of hope,” Hebda also said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. While he was speaking, a church bell rang in the background.

“A bell in the Catholic Church is always a call to prayer,” he continued, adding: “And we have to recognize that it’s through prayer … that we can indeed make a difference. That has to be the source of our hope.”

FBI Director Kash Patel announced in a social media post Wednesday afternoon that the FBI is investigating the shooting “as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.” He also confirmed the identity of the shooter as Robin Westman, a trans-identifying male born as Robert Westman.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered American flags at the White House, across the country, and at all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad to be flown at half staff until sunset on Aug. 31 “as a mark of respect for the victims” of the deadly shooting.