PRAY FOR YOUR LEADERS

 

The depths of God's wisdom have been revealed in Christ's words and deeds

 

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

New wesite: https://www.stpatrickschurchsd.org/ 

Saint Patrick Catholic Parish

The Catholic Church Explained

We, the church of Saint Patrick, in the community of North Park,

of the Roman Catholic Diocese and City of San Diego,

declare this to be our primary mission:

to come together to celebrate the Eucharist,

hear God’s word proclaimed,

give praise and thanksgiving to God,

and develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We believe that by freely sharing our faith, talents, and treasures,

we discover Christ’s presence among us and bring Him to others.

We have a strong desire to give and receive love, service, peace, support,

and fellowship, within our families, our parish, our community, and the world.

Open to the power of the Holy Spirit, we pursue this mission faithfully and lovingly.

Virtuous kindness is a way of seeing others through the eyes of God

 

“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour”

 

Leo leaves tomorrow for his Latin America journey

Leo leaves tomorrow for his Latin America journey

In Uruguay, the trip’s first stop, Leo will visit a small but busy Montevideo parish that bucks the country’s secular trend. Only 33% of Uruguayans call themselves Catholic, NCR reports, but Our Lady of Guadalupe parish draws more than 50 people to daily Mass. In Montevideo, workers are building a stage at the Estadio Centenario for a prayer vigil, and choirs are rehearsing for Vespers. — National Catholic Reporter (Lucien Chauvin) · Vatican News · Where Peter Is (Claudio Iván Remeseira, “Leo in the Land of Francis”)

Leo marks a century since the first Chinese bishops

In a video message, Leo recalled the six Chinese bishops Pius XI ordained in St. Peter’s on Oct. 28, 1926, calling it “an event of great significance” for the Church in China and the universal Church. Speaking to a Rome conference held by the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Pontifical Urbaniana University, he said the Gospel grows “through the grace of God, not through human strategies,” and urged unity in diversity rather than uniformity. — Vatican News · Full text [IT]

After the midterm rout, a new political reality for the US bishops

With Democrats now controlling both houses of Congress, analysts tell NCR’s Brian Fraga that the bishops will have to learn to work with a new generation of Democrats when they meet in Baltimore Nov. 16–19. Exit polls cited by America found Catholics split 50% Democratic and 49% Republican, which could be a significant swing to the left since the last presidential election. — National Catholic Reporter (Brian Fraga) · America (Will Martino)

Pope and Holy See

• At a Mass for the cardinals and bishops who died this year, Leo says praying for the dead “is to celebrate life.” Remembering seven cardinals and 136 bishops, he built his homily around St. Monica’s request to Augustine, “Remember me at the altar of the Lord,” and reflected on hope in the resurrection and the communion of saints. — Vatican News · Holy See Press Office
• Leo receives Bob Dylan. The brief meeting came before Dylan’s Rome concert. Leo gave him a rosary and Dylan gave Leo his memoir, “Chronicles: Volume One.” Leo had quoted an unpublished 1963 Dylan lyric against nuclear weapons in a book on disarmament. — National Catholic Reporter (Nicole Winfield, AP) · Vatican News · America (James T. Keane)
• The Vatican communications revolution gets underway. Justin McLellan looks at how Montse Alvarado, the 39-year-old Mexican American former EWTN News president who became prefect of the Dicastery for Communication on Nov. 1, may change the way the Holy See presents the pope to the media. — National Catholic Reporter (Justin McLellan)
• Leo on AI: “Some decisions must never be delegated.” Where Peter Is highlights Leo’s Oct. 30 call for states meeting in Geneva Nov. 16–20 to take concrete steps toward banning lethal autonomous weapons, and his insistence that AI systems are “tools, not persons.” — Where Peter Is

United States

• Catholic immigrant advocates see a turning point after the midterms. For advocates from Texas to Iowa, the Democratic victories brought hope but not relief: “This is no time for the church to exhale.” — National Catholic Reporter (Camillo Barone)
• Meet the Catholics who shaped the 2026 midterms. Catholic identity stayed visible among winners on both sides of the political divide. — National Catholic Reporter (Camillo Barone)
• On election night, the religious left is back. Jack Jenkins writes that Democratic wins marked a striking moment for a religious left that has long struggled to match the visibility of conservative Christians. — America (Jack Jenkins, RNS)

Around the World

• Spain’s Daughters of Charity answer a migrant crisis in Ceuta. When tens of thousands of migrants arrived in the North African city, five sisters provided food and care in a humanitarian crisis that continues months later. — Global Sisters Report (Isaura Maolen Rodríguez Pérez)
• Handmaid Sisters save lives on a dangerous Zambian highway. Nangoma Mission Hospital faces a growing surge in road accidents, worsened by illegal gold mining. — Global Sisters Report (Derrick Silimina)

Video and Podcasts

• Pedro Gabriel: “A Church That Doesn’t Seek Converts?” Pedro Gabriel looks at Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco’s statement that the Church in Algeria is not there to convert people, and Bishop Robert Barron’s pushback citing Christ’s command to make disciples. — YouTube (Pedro Gabriel)
• Cardinal Czerny on migrants, martyrs, and working for justice. On “The Spiritual Life,” Fr. James Martin talks with Cardinal Michael Czerny about standing with people on the margins and facing hard realities without losing hope. — America Media (YouTube)
• Jesuitical: Pope Leo just voted in the U.S. midterms. Should he have done that? Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis talk with Georgetown’s Chris White about Leo’s absentee ballot, the bishops who prayed over President Trump, Montse Alvarado’s start at Vatican communications, and what to watch for on the Latin America trip. — Jesuitical (America Media) · Video (YouTube) (Mike Lewis on Pope Leo voting in the midterms)

Commentary

• Opinion: The Democratic wave turned into a tsunami. Michael Sean Winters writes that Catholic voters were part of the reason Democrats took control of both houses of Congress. — National Catholic Reporter (Michael Sean Winters)
• Opinion: Treatment of El-Sayed’s faith and language during the midterms was deeply un-Catholic. Karen E. Park argues that Abdul El-Sayed’s Arabic name, Muslim identity, and religious vocabulary were too often treated as if they did not belong in American public life. — National Catholic Reporter (Karen E. Park)

Also today

• How worshipping at Mass prepares us for heaven — Terrance Klein, America
• How the first Pope Leo answered Jesus’ question to Peter — Zac Davis, America. A reflection on St. Leo the Great, whose Tome settled the debate over Christ’s two natures at Chalcedon.
• Pope Leo warns economic inequality threatens peace, urges politicians to serve common good — Josephine Peterson, America (CNS). On Wednesday’s General Audience.
• Spanish bishop will preside over the funeral for soccer player killed after on-field collision — Fionn Shiner, Crux

Pope Leo meets with renowned singer Bob Dylan

Vatican publishes digital atlas honoring Pope Francis’ ecological vision

The Laudato Si’ Platform launched the map during a press conference at the Holy See Press Office on Wednesday.

Bishops, pro-life movement react to abortion referendums, election results

Catholic bishops reacted to three pro-life losses in referendum battles, and pro-life groups have weighed in on the referendum results and the impact of the decisive Democratic congressional wins.

Pope Leo meets with renowned singer Bob Dylan

During the meeting, the Holy Father presented Dylan with a rosary.

Texas Democrats sweep statewide offices; Catholics, pro-lifers respond

Pro-life activists note that Republicans, many of whom are pro-life, retain control of the state Senate, which will be “a backstop to kill legislation that would move the pro-life movement backwards.”

Evangelization: More Than Words and Numbers

 

Written by Lavoisier Fernandes

In Mother Teresa: The Authorized Biography, Navin Chawla recalls asking St. Teresa of Kolkata (Calcutta) about the criticism that she converted people. She replied with a laugh, “I do convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu, a better Catholic, a better Muslim, or Jain or Buddhist. I would like to help you to find God. When you find Him, it is up to you to do what you want with Him.”

Whether or not we take these words as a complete account of her understanding of evangelization, they raise an important question: what does it really mean to share our faith?

The Church is called to proclaim Jesus Christ, but evangelization cannot be reduced to delivering sermons, winning arguments, or persuading others to accept our beliefs. Nor is it a task reserved for people outside the Church. Those of us who have been baptized and practice our faith also need to encounter Christ anew. This is also particularly important in a world of religious diversity, competing claims, and divisions among Christians themselves.

So how do we proclaim Christ with conviction without turning evangelization into a contest of religious superiority or numbers?

The Kerygma: The Heart of the Message

The Greek word kerygma means proclamation or announcement. In Christian usage, it refers to the heart of the Good News: Jesus Christ loves us, gave his life for us, rose from the dead, and offers us salvation. It is more than information about Jesus or a collection of doctrines to be memorized. It is an invitation to encounter the living Christ and respond to his love with faith.

In Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis describes the kerygma as the first and principal proclamation, which must remain at the heart of all evangelizing activity. It is not simply a message for those discovering Christianity for the first time. It is the foundation of the Christian life, something we need to hear and rediscover throughout our journey of faith.

Knowing about Jesus, however, is not the same as allowing him to shape our lives. We can attend Mass, know our prayers, and understand church teaching, yet still struggle to show patience, forgive someone who has hurt us, or care about those on the margins. The Good News has to reach beyond our words and find expression in the way we live.

Before We Evangelize, We Must Be Evangelized

We often think of evangelization as something we do for other people, especially those who do not share our faith. But before we speak to others about Christ, we need to ask whether we are allowing him to change us.

Being baptized or practicing our faith does not mean that our conversion is complete. We have our own prejudices to confront, relationships to repair, and attitudes that need changing. It is easy to speak about Christian values; living them consistently is another matter.

Pope Francis repeatedly reminded the Church that evangelizers must themselves be evangelized. We are not people who stand outside the message, dispensing answers to everyone else. We are disciples who need God’s mercy just as much as those to whom we proclaim the Gospel. That awareness should make us more humble, not less confident in the faith we share.

Abortion measures pass in Virginia and Nevada, fail in Missouri and Idaho

Leo: politics that tends the wounds of peoples offers hope

Continuing his catechesis on Vatican II, Leo told General Audience pilgrims that engaging in economics and politics by the criteria of Gaudium et Spes “is a way of building peace.” Calls to end discrimination “against the most vulnerable social groups and migrants” are “more relevant than ever,” he said, and “unemployment, exploitation and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable.” Quoting Francis, he called war “a failure of politics and of humanity.” — Vatican News (Isabella H. de Carvalho) · Full text

Two days before his Latin America trip, Leo asks for prayers

“The day after tomorrow, I will begin my Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru,” Leo said at the audience, asking pilgrims to accompany him with prayer. At Tuesday’s briefing, Vatican officials said he is “enthusiastic” and “clinically fit” for the Nov. 6–17 trip, with nine Masses and dozens of speeches planned. In a [ES] La Nación interview, his biographer Elise Ann Allen says he may need to change “some things” once on the road, possibly including the high-altitude stop in Cusco. — America (OSV News) · Vatican News (Deborah Castellano Lubov) · [ES] La Nación (Elisabetta Piqué) · Where Peter Is (Claudio Iván Remeseira, “Leo in the Land of Francis”)

Abortion measures pass in Virginia and Nevada, fail in Missouri and Idaho

Voters in Virginia and Nevada wrote abortion rights into their state constitutions, while Missouri rejected a measure to repeal its abortion-rights amendment and Idaho rejected one to loosen its near-total ban. Catholic bishops in all four states had campaigned for pro-life votes. The results came on a night when Democrats won control of both houses of Congress. — AP · Boise State Public Radio (Austen Erblat) · Also: EWTN News (Tyler Arnold)

Pope and Holy See

• Leo to Eastern Christians’ advocates: be servants of “a peace that is unarmed and disarming.” Meeting L’Œuvre d’Orient and the Institut Chrétiens d’Orient, which are holding a conference on Eastern Christians and peacebuilding, he praised their plan for an international network of scholars researching peace, “especially in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.” — Vatican News (Devin Watkins)
• [IT] Vatican presents the fifth Laudato Si’ Action Platform report. Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said Laudato Si’ was not written “only to be read or cited” but as an invitation to conversion, and noted Leo’s approval of a Mass for the care of creation in the Roman Missal. — Holy See Press Office [IT]
• Also at the audience: two beatifications Saturday and St. Charles Borromeo. Leo noted that Franciscan Fr. Augusto Rafael Ramírez Monasterio, killed in 1983, will be beatified in Antigua, Guatemala, and Fr. Francisco González de Córdova and 79 companions, martyrs of the Spanish persecution, in Santander, Spain. — Vatican News · Holy See Press Office [IT]
• Leo’s November prayer intention: “For the proper use of wealth.” “Forgive us for storing up instead of sharing,” he prays in the monthly video, “and for using goods as power rather than as service.” — Vatican News (Deborah Castellano Lubov)
• Leo thanks France’s bishops for an “unforgettable” visit. In a letter read at the opening of their plenary assembly in Lourdes, he urged them to support young people and victims of abuse. — Vatican News (Olivier Bonnel)
• Also from the Holy See Press Office: appointments in Brazil and Mexico, and Chile’s president at the Vatican. Leo transferred Bishop Carlos José de Oliveira from Apucarana to the diocese of Limeira, Brazil, and named Fr. Ramón Duarte Miranda (titular see of Sereddeli) and Fr. Héctor Michel Figueroa (titular see of Taparura), both of the clergy of Guadalajara, as auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese of Guadalajara, Mexico. He also received Chilean President José Antonio Kast Rist, who then met Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations; talks touched on migration and demographic decline. — Holy See Press Office · Holy See Press Office

United States

• Cardinal Tobin is home and recovering after kidney surgery. The Archdiocese of Newark says the Oct. 29 procedure to remove a mass from his kidney went without complications; he is now recovering at home and asks for continued prayers. — Archdiocese of Newark · News 12 New Jersey (Toniann Antonelli)
• Supreme Court hears the Denver archdiocese’s challenge to its exclusion from Colorado’s preschool program. The Trump administration joined the archdiocese, whose parish preschools were excluded over their admissions policy for LGBTQ+ families. A win could further narrow a 1990 precedent on religious exemptions from generally applicable laws. — National Catholic Reporter (Lindsay Whitehurst and Michael Kunzelman, AP) · Crux
• From ICE’s locked doors to Pope Leo: a year of Chicago Catholics’ “holy rebellion.” A year after clergy and sisters were turned away from the Broadview immigration facility on All Saints’ Day, a Chicago coalition brought detainees’ letters and prayers to Leo in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 28. — National Catholic Reporter (Camillo Barone)
• Detroit’s archbishop joins a vigil after an ICE surge. “I don’t really believe in a polite religion that maintains the status quo for people in power,” Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said at the Oct. 30 vigil in southwest Detroit. — Detroit Free Press (Beki San Martin)
• New York’s archbishop and archdiocese join a lawsuit against the state’s assisted-suicide law. Archbishop Ronald Hicks and the ArchCare health ministry joined four orders of sisters and other ministries Oct. 29 in a federal suit against the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which took effect Aug. 5. — OSV News

Around the World

• Bishop Bätzing challenges Leo’s comments on systemic abuse. Leo said on his flight home from France that abuse is “first and foremost a human problem.” The bishop of Limburg says that if the Church downplayed systemic causes, “that would be a serious setback” for victims. — Crux (Fionn Shiner)
• Bread under fire: Leo’s almoner witnesses hunger in Ukraine. In Zaporizhzhia on Oct. 29, about 2,000 people lined up for bread at the cathedral as Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín prepared to help distribute it. The next morning a Russian drone struck a bus near where the papal delegation stayed. — National Catholic Reporter (Katarzyna Szalajko, OSV News)
• Catholic nuns’ visit to a Buddhist temple sparks debate in Vietnam. About 100 sisters learned about meditation at a Ho Chi Minh City monastery Oct. 26; photos on social media divided Catholics over the limits of interreligious dialogue. — Global Sisters Report (UCA News)

Liturgy and Church Life

• “Magnifica Humanitas”: real worship limits artificial intelligence. Matthew Sherman reads Leo’s encyclical as offering the Eucharist and the Body of Christ as a “countersign” to the dangers of AI, building on the DDF’s Dignitas Infinita and Antiqua et Nova. — Pray Tell (Matthew Sherman)

Commentary

• Opinion: Evangelization: More than words and numbers. Lavoisier Fernandes argues that “before we evangelize, we must be evangelized,” and that proclaiming Christ should never become “a contest of religious superiority or numbers.” — Where Peter Is (Lavoisier Fernandes)
• Opinion: President Trump called the pope weak. Who’s the real tough guy? Recalling that Fr. Robert Prevost refused a bodyguard and stayed in Peru as the Shining Path targeted foreign priests, Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow write that beneath Leo’s “Midwestern reserve” is “a quiet courage.” — New York Times (Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow)
• Opinion: The death penalty: MAGA vs. Catholicism. Jack Hanson writes that the Church’s disavowal of capital punishment has drawn “such a howl of indignation” from many right-wing Catholics that “it’s difficult not to wonder whether their dispute is purely doctrinal.” — Financial Times (Jack Hanson)
• Opinion: It’s not enough that the Pentagon execution won’t be televised. Liam Watson writes that the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, though no longer livestreamed, will still be carried out “in our name.” — U.S. Catholic (Liam Watson)
• Opinion: No one fully understands the role of deacons, and maybe that’s a good thing. Douglas J. Cremer reflects on the still-unsettled place of the diaconate in the Church’s ministry, amid the ongoing discussion of women deacons. — America (Douglas J. Cremer)

Also today

• Midterm election live updates: Hamilton, Talarico notch Senate wins in landmark night for faith-minded Democrats — Religion News Service
• An overview of the Church in Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru — Vatican News. Statistics ahead of the trip.
• Peruvian archbishop on Leo’s visit: For Latin Americans he is “one of them” — Tiziana Campisi, Vatican News. Archbishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera of Cusco.
• In secular Uruguay, Pope Leo will visit a Virgin bound to the nation’s birth — OSV News
• Leo’s Latin America homecoming will also honor Francis’ legacy — Religion News Service
• Opinion: Putnam, the pope, and democracy — Communion and Liberation
• Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, dead at 96, remembered for her faith, defense of human dignity — Gina Christian, OSV News

U.S. Supreme Court leans toward Catholic schools in clash over pre-K funding

Active-duty military service members have new pathway to become chaplains

Previously, service members had to leave the military to pursue theological training and then reapply to become chaplains.

Bishops urge religious liberty language in IRS school discrimination rule

Here is a roundup of the latest news related to Catholic education.

U.S. Supreme Court leans toward Catholic schools in clash over pre-K funding

A Colorado case pits sexual orientation and gender-identity protections against religious standards for school admissions.

Virginia adopts abortion rights referendum, three other states await results

A referendum to establish a constitutional right to abortion in the Virginia constitution was adopted. Abortion-related referendums in three other states are too early to call.

On Election night, the religious left is back

On Election night, the religious left is back
Religion News Service: From Texas to Kansas, Democratic candidates drew on their religious values, securing wins and signaling a shift in the relationship between faith and politics.
NPR: Adam Hamilton becomes the first Democratic senator from Kansas in nearly a century

 

How J.R.R. Tolkien’s strong Catholic faith influenced his writing
Lit Hub: D.J. Taylor writes on the role of religion in the author’s life and work.

 

Former Acts 29 CEO charged with rape in the UK*
Christianity Today: The new allegations against Steve Timmis come after reports of spiritual abuse in 2020 led to his ouster from the major church-planting network and the church he founded.

 

Bonhoeffer’s warning*
The Christian Century: In a 1939 essay, he compares the German and US churches — and asks what Christian freedom looks like when political pressure overwhelms theological clarity.

 

Christian voters in Washington state divided by common religion: ‘I don’t think the US is God’s kingdom on Earth’
The Guardian: Christians seek to vote their values — but a common faith does not mean a common politics.