Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 1, 2025 / 14:14 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa has officially begun his new role as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). 

The CBCP elected Garcera during its 130th plenary assembly on July 5 in a break from the conference’s tradition of electing the previous vice president, in this case Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig, to serve in the role. The last time the conference opted not to elect its vice president was in 2011. 

Garcera, who has advocated for synodality within the Filipino Church, comes to the leadership position amid national instability due to government corruption and natural disasters. Garcera’s predecessor, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, served two four-year terms. 

Archbishop Julius Tonel of Zamboanga will act as Garcera’s vice president, and their terms will run until Nov. 30, 2027.

“I hope you will pray for me, because the cross that was placed on me is very heavy,” Garcera said in a video message on Facebook after his election. 

Garcera published a 271-page document encouraging synodality titled “Enlarging the Space of Our Tent” in January 2024. In his epilogue for the document, Garcera wrote that he hoped it would help people “embrace a more inclusive perspective.”

“They will be reminded of the richness and diversity of human experience,” he added.

Garcera also has advocated for “pastoral sensitivity” toward individuals with same-sex attractions, encouraging priests, religious, and lay leaders to walk with and guide them “toward deeper union with Christ, supporting them in living out their vocation to holiness, and [ensuring] that our parishes remain true communities of welcome, healing, and love.” 

While affirming Church teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman, Garcera insisted that “truth must never become a reason for exclusion or hostility.” Rather, he said, “it calls us to a deeper commitment to love.” 

The Lipa archbishop will oversee the conference’s work, act as its main spokesperson, and represent the Church in the Philippines on a national and international level, including meetings at the Vatican and with other bishops’ conferences, according to a press release from the conference announcing the transition. 

Prior to his appointment as bishop of Daet in 2007, Garcera served as assistant secretary-general for the CBCP, and as executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Mission. He later chaired the same commission, as well as the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, as a bishop. He has served as archbishop of Lipa since 2017.

Vatican City, Dec 1, 2025 / 13:44 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday appointed Bishop Mario Avilés as the new bishop of Corpus Christi, selecting the Mexican-born Oratorian to lead the south Texas diocese. 

Avilés, 56, who has served as auxiliary bishop of Brownsville, Texas, since February 2018, will succeed Bishop Michael Mulvey, 76. Mulvey has led the Diocese of Corpus Christi since 2010.  

“We welcome Bishop-designate Avilés with open hearts and deep prayer,” Mulvey said in a statement after the Vatican announcement on Dec. 1. 

As the ninth bishop of Corpus Christi, Avilés will take responsibility for the spiritual leadership of more than 200,000 Catholics across a 12-county region in south Texas. 

“The Diocese of Brownsville will greatly miss Bishop Mario’s wise counsel and good judgment, his joyful presence in our parish communities, and his administrative skills in the service of our diocesan offices and Catholic schools. Yet at the same time we share in the special joy of the Diocese of Corpus Christi at the news of Bishop Mario’s appointment,” Brownsville Bishop Daniel Flores said in a statement. 

Avilés was born on Sept. 16, 1969, in Mexico City. In 1986, he joined the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, a pontifical society of apostolic life composed of priests and lay brothers founded in 1575, which now has more than 70 oratories worldwide.

He studied for the priesthood in Mexico City before continuing his education in Rome, earning bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and sacred theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. He also holds a master’s degree in education administration and supervision and is a certified teacher in the state of Texas.

At the age of 28, Avilés was ordained a priest in the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle National Shrine in San Juan, Texas. He became parochial vicar at St. Jude Thaddeus Church in Pharr and worked in the Pharr Oratory Schools as a governance board member, teacher, principal, and rector. He also served as vicar, secretary, treasurer, and novice master for the Oratorian congregation. 

From 2000 to 2012, he served on the Permanent Deputation of the Confederation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri for Latin America. At the congregation’s 2012 General Congress, he was elected procurator general of the confederation, a Rome-based role representing Oratorian communities to the Holy See. He speaks Spanish, English, and Italian.

Avilés’ episcopal motto is “Caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris,” meaning “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts,” a reference to Romans 5:5 and the introit of the Mass for the feast of St. Philip Neri. His crest includes red roses honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe and his Mexican heritage as well as three gold stars drawn from the Neri family crest, symbolizing his long affiliation with the oratory.

“I ask all the faithful of the Diocese of Brownsville to pray for Bishop Mario as he prepares to take up his new mission of service in Corpus Christi,” Flores said. “May God bless Bishop Mario Avilés and may the maternal care of the blessed and ever-immaculate Virgin Mary accompany him always.”

Munshigonj, Bangladesh, Dec 1, 2025 / 13:34 pm (CNA).

Father Robert Terence McCahill, a Maryknoll missionary who works in health care for poor, disabled people in Bangladesh, marks 50 years of service in the country in this first week of December.

Over his five decades in Bangladesh, McCahill has visited 13 administrative districts in the Muslim-majority nation, spending three years in each one serving the people there. He left Srinagar in Munshiganj district near Dhaka in late November after completing three years there, though he does not yet know where he will go next.

“I think that just as Jesus was not tied to one place and asked to spread the word of God, I travel around and reach people of all religions with love and work,” McCahill told CNA on Nov. 18.

Born in Iowa in 1937, McCahill later moved to Indiana due to his father’s work. In 1964, he was ordained a priest and came to the Philippines that same year.

In 1975, he and four other priests came to Bangladesh at the invitation of Archbishop T.A. Ganguly of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. After learning Bengali for a year, his first place of work was in the northern district of Tangail, where he worked for nine years.

In Bangladesh, he is known as “Bob Bhai” — Brother Bob. McCahill was given this name by a Muslim friend who thought Bangladeshi Muslims would have difficulty pronouncing his full name, and he is still known by this name in the villages where he serves.

“My only son has been disabled since birth; he cannot walk or speak. I have seen many doctors but to no avail,” said Abdul Mannan Khan, 45, a Muslim resident of Munshigonj district.

“Bob Bhai often comes to my house, laughs and jokes with my son. Now I am getting treatment in the hospital through him. I don’t need any money,” Khan told CNA.

His 15-year-old son Abu Mosa Khan is the only child in the family, and his parents care for him devotedly. But the family says that no one around them gets along with this disabled boy the way McCahill does.

“Not everything is possible with money alone; many great things are possible with love, like Bob Bhai is doing,” Khan said.

McCahill rents a small room wherever he goes or stays there if someone gives him a free one. The authorities have given him a 5-by-8-foot space in a schoolroom in Srinagar, separated by tin walls. The dimly-lit room contains a mess of clothes, a simple wooden bed, a dirty mosquito net, a basic electric light, and a fan. There is also a kerosene stove for cooking, a few small utensils, and a bicycle.

He rides a bicycle at least 12-15 miles every day to visit rural villages, see disabled children, and take them to different hospitals for treatment as needed.

“Bob Bhai comes to our house early in the morning on his bicycle,” said a man named Farman, 83.

Farman’s grandson Rakibul, 8, became disabled a year after his birth and cannot walk or speak. His mother has married elsewhere and his father no longer cares for him, so Rakibul lives with his grandfather.

“After undergoing treatment in many places, Rakibul is now getting treatment in Dhaka free of cost on Bob Bhai’s advice, and now he is on the path to some improvement,” Farman said.

McCahill, who lost his mother at an early age, moved to Indiana with his father. As a young man, he worked as a newspaper delivery boy on a bicycle. Later, while studying in high school, he worked as a house cleaner and then as a truck driver.

While driving a truck as a young man — before entering the priesthood — he was saved from a serious accident through prayer to God. The truck’s brakes failed, and he initially thought he would have to jump from the vehicle, but somehow he survived.

“After surviving that accident, I decided without any hesitation that I would become a priest and a missionary,” McCahill said.

He has had a great passion for bicycles since his youth. When he came to Bangladesh, the roads were not well developed, and he could go everywhere by bicycle. So he chose a bicycle as his vehicle.

“Among other reasons, the main reason is simplicity, and bicycles are the vehicle of poor people. At the same time, cycling also keeps the body healthy, so I ride bicycles. I believe lov[ing] one another is the key to happiness,” McCahill said.

“Also, when I ride a bicycle, many people ask me various questions. I can easily answer them while standing,” this cycling missionary said.

McCahill finds peace in his life by serving people. He will continue to serve as long as he can walk, he said. He enjoys discovering one new area after another and meeting new people. He has not faced any major difficulty in the country despite the fact that around 90% of the population is Muslim and less than 1% is Christian.

“First, there’s suspicion — expecting and getting it. By the second year, there are many people who trust you, and that builds during the year, a year of trust-building. By the third year, there is affection for me. And so I knew at that time, at the end of the third year, I could leave and do the same thing in another town,” he said.

He believes that a priest should not only celebrate Mass inside a church but also preach the word of Christ everywhere.

“I celebrate Mass here myself every day,” he said. “I want to live like this, and when I die, I want to be buried in this country.”

Bkerke, Lebanon, Dec 1, 2025 / 12:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV told thousands of young people in Lebanon on Monday that love, not retaliation, is the real force capable of transforming their country as it continues to grapple with the wounds of conflict and social instability. “The true opposition to evil is not evil, but love,” he said, calling the nation’s youth to rebuild their homeland through reconciliation, service, and a renewed rooting in faith.

The gathering took place in the square before the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch, in Bkerké, where the pope was welcomed by Patriarch Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï. After greeting the crowd in a brief tour, Pope Leo opened his address with the Arabic words “assalamu alaykum,” meaning “peace be with you,” telling the young people that this greeting of the risen Christ “sustains the joy of our meeting.”

Lebanon’s young generation has endured some of the nation’s hardest years. A devastating financial collapse, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and the 2023–2024 border war between Hezbollah and Israel have left deep physical and social scars, contributing to widespread emigration and a sense of exhaustion among the country’s youth.

The pope spoke directly to their anxieties, acknowledging that many feel they have inherited “a world torn apart by wars and disfigured by social injustice,” yet insisted that hope lives within them. “You have time to dream, to plan, and to do good. You are the present, and the future is already taking shape in your hands.”

Pointing to Lebanon’s national symbol, he said the country “will flourish once again, beautiful and vigorous like the cedar,” explaining that its strength lies in deep roots. In the same way, he told them, the foundation of renewal cannot rest only on ideas or agreements. “The true principle of new life is the hope that comes from above. It is Christ himself. He, the Living One, is the foundation of our trust.”

Peace, he continued, cannot grow out of factional interests. “It is only genuinely sincere when I do to others what I would like them to do to me. Forgiveness leads to justice, which is the foundation of peace.”

Calling them to works of charity, he reminded them that nothing reveals God’s presence more clearly than love. Renewal begins in daily choices, he said, such as welcoming “those near and far” and offering concrete help “to friends and refugees and enemies.”

The pope held up several saints as companions for the journey: Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Rafqa, Blessed Yakub El-Haddad, and St. Charbel, whose hidden life “shines a powerful light.” He urged the youth to pray, to read Scripture, and attend Mass and adoration. “Be contemplatives like St. Charbel,” he told them.

Pope Leo ended with the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” and assured the young people that “the Lord will always be with you, and you can be assured of the support of the whole Church.” He entrusted them to the Mother of God, Our Lady.

Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 1, 2025 / 10:35 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV told Lebanon’s religious leaders on Monday that their country remains a sign to the world that fear and prejudice do not have the final word. At an ecumenical and interreligious meeting in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, the pope said Lebanon shows that unity, reconciliation, and peace can take root even amid profound differences.

In his address, the Holy Father recalled Pope Benedict XVI, who wrote in 2012 that the Church’s mission is to dialogue with followers of other religions, guided not by political interests but by theological truths rooted in faith. Pope Leo said Lebanon proves this kind of dialogue is possible, where minarets and bell towers stand side by side and bear witness to belief in the one God.

The pope said the world often watches the Middle East with trepidation, yet hope emerges when the focus turns to what unites people — their shared humanity and belief in a God of mercy. Lebanon, he said, “remains a sign that unity and peace can be achieved.” He also cited the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate, on the Church’s relation to non-Christian religions, which opened a new horizon for encounter, rejected prejudice, and affirmed the dignity of every person. Leo concluded by calling the Lebanese “builders of peace,” both within their borders and throughout the world.

Before the address, Pope Leo was welcomed at the entrance of the meeting tent by the Syriac Catholic patriarch, the Maronite patriarch, the Grand Sunni imam, and a Shia representative. The program included chanting from the Gospel, a moment of silence, and chanting from the Quran. Leaders from Sunni, Greek Orthodox, Shia, Syriac Orthodox, Druze, Armenian Orthodox, Protestant, and Alawite communities offered brief remarks, interspersed with chants. After Leo spoke, participants planted an olive tree and ended with a final prayer for peace.

Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut is widely regarded as the symbolic heart of the capital. It takes its name from Lebanese and Arab nationalists executed there by Ottoman authorities in 1916 and has long served as the city’s civic center. The square has been the site of major demonstrations that crossed sectarian lines, including the 2005 Cedar Revolution following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the nationwide 2019 protests against corruption and economic collapse, and the public outcry after the 2020 Beirut port explosion. These movements expressed frustration with Lebanon’s entrenched sectarian political system and highlighted the square’s enduring role as a gathering place where citizens of all faiths call for reform. Pope Leo’s meeting with religious leaders reinforced that symbolic role.

The Holy Father’s message was directed to leaders of a society shaped by a complex sectarian power-sharing structure, where political figures influenced by regional powers often block national decision-making. Lebanon does not publish official religious statistics, but most estimates hold that roughly 70% of the population is Muslim and about 30% Christian, the highest Christian proportion of any Arab country. Maronite Catholics form the largest Christian community.

Pope Leo XIV marks the second day of his Apostolic Journey to Lebanon with visits to the local Church, a meeting with the nation's religious leaders, and a festive celebration with young people.

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Lebanese young people share their thoughts about the Pope’s meeting with them at the square in front of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerké on December 1, and explain what life is like as a young person in a country that has faced multiple crises in the last decades.

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Meeting with young people in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV urges them not to give into despair, rather to cultivate friendships rooted in genuine love and to keep the enthusiasm that is needed "to change the course of history."

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Harissa, Lebanon, Dec 1, 2025 / 05:32 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV told Lebanon’s bishops, clergy, and pastoral workers on Monday that Christians can remain steadfast in hope “even when surrounded by the sound of weapons,” urging them to look to the Virgin Mary as a model of faith in dark and uncertain times.

Meeting them at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa on the second day of his apostolic visit, the pope said that Mary teaches believers how to persevere when daily life becomes a struggle. “It is in being with Mary at the foot of Jesus’ cross that our prayer, that invisible bridge which unites hearts, gives us the strength to continue to hope and work,” he said.

Leo recalled St. John Paul II’s words to the Lebanese — “In the Lebanon of today, you are the ones responsible for hope” — and urged believers to nurture a climate of fraternity wherever they live and work. He stressed the need to trust one another so that “the regenerative power of forgiveness and mercy may triumph,” adding that the fruits of this message are visible in Lebanon’s resilience.

The pope compared faith to an anchor that holds firm in turbulence. “Our faith is an anchor in heaven,” he said. “Hold fast to the rope.” He reminded those present that peace requires loving without fear and giving without measure. Quoting Pope Benedict XVI, Leo said Christians are called to celebrate “the victory of love over hate… forgiveness over revenge,” a message he said continues to guide the Church’s mission.

During the gathering, Pope Leo was welcomed by clergy and the shrine’s rector before processing to the presbytery, where Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian greeted him. The celebration included prayers, testimonies, Arabic chants, the Gospel reading (John 19:25–27), the Magnificat, the Our Father, a blessing, Marian hymns, and the exchange of gifts.

Pope Leo also presented a Golden Rose to the Virgin Mary, a traditional papal gift to major Marian shrines. The ornament, a gold branch of roses set in a silver vase and mounted on white marble, bears the papal coat of arms and symbolizes the pope’s devotion to the Mother of God. Leo said the rose’s fragrance calls Christians to be “the fragrance of Christ,” drawing a parallel to the richness and diversity of Lebanese family tables and encouraging the faithful to live that spirit of shared love each day.

The pope also highlighted testimonies shared during the meeting. Father Youhanna spoke of Debbabiyé, where Christians, Muslims, and refugees live together in mutual trust. Loren, a migrant worker, appealed to all communities to welcome those forced from their homes, telling them, “Welcome home!” Sister Dima described keeping a school open during violence, teaching children to share “bread, fear, and hope.”

The pope noted that the shrine itself remains “a symbol of unity for the entire Lebanese people.” Rising about 2,130 feet above sea level and roughly 16 miles north of Beirut, the sanctuary offers sweeping views of Jounieh Bay and stands not far from Bkerke, the seat of the Maronite patriarch. Its white-painted bronze statue of Our Lady of Lebanon, 28 feet tall and weighing about 33,000 pounds, was cast in France and placed atop a 66-foot stone pedestal shaped like a tree trunk. The adjacent basilica, designed to evoke both a cedar tree and a Phoenician ship, seats around 3,500 people and opens toward the Marian statue through its glass façade. The site is entrusted to the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries.

Later at the apostolic nunciature, Pope Leo was scheduled to welcome the Council of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs together with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. He was then set to share lunch with them and with the country’s Orthodox patriarchs, joined by Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, in a gesture underscoring the ecumenical dimension of his visit.

At an ecumenical and interreligious encounter in Beirut, Pope Leo XIV upholds the Catholic Church’s desire to foster dialogue inspired by divine love, so as to affirm the dignity of every human being.

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