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THE CATHOLIC THING: Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

LIFENEWS.COM: Pro-Life Groups Will Fight Hard to Stop Democrats’ Abortion Agenda

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

There have not been many reactions from bishops about the congressional results, although the Colorado Catholic Conference — which represents all of the state’s bishops — put out a statement congratulating all winners and urging them to support the common good.

“We call upon our elected leaders to implement policies that defend and uplift the most vulnerable members of our human family,” the statement read, according to the Denver Catholic.

“We also urge you to firmly protect the religious liberty of all individuals and faith-based organizations, safeguarding their right to serve the community according to their convictions,” it added. “May your governance be guided by a steadfast commitment to justice, peace and the flourishing of our entire state.”

Some pro-life organizations have expressed concern about the Democrats’ congressional wins due to the pro-abortion stances of the bulk of the party’s candidates.

Tobias said in a statement that many pro-life politicians were “replaced with rabidly anti-life candidates” but noted “we’ve faced difficult times before — and we’re still here.”

“We will continue to push for laws that protect babies and help their moms, while looking for new and innovative ways to love them both,” she said. “We will work to make sure that every pregnant woman knows she is not alone. And we will continue to promote the value of innocent human life so that, even if abortion is legal, no woman will want one.”

WASHINGTON TIMES: Pope Leo, still recovering, heads to his beloved Peru for a 12-day trip

Three weeks after lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV is embarking on the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate: a 12-day, three-nation tour of Latin America that carries more personal and historic weight than any of his voyages to date.

The U.S.-born Leo is returning home to Peru, where the former Robert Prevost lived for two decades as a missionary priest and learned to be the pastor he is today. Leo holds Peruvian citizenship and is so attached to Peru’s people he gave them a shoutout in Spanish from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of his election.

Leo is also going to Argentina, the home of his predecessor, Pope Francis, to whom Leo owes his pontificate. It will be a homecoming of sorts there, too, since Francis never returned to Argentina after his 2013 election, leaving a complicated legacy that Leo will now have to navigate.

Leo starts his trip Friday in Uruguay, the least Catholic, most secular country in all of Latin America, where not even the big Catholic feast days get their due: Christmas in Uruguay is officially “Family Day” and Holy Week is “Tourism Week.”

Leo is nevertheless expected to draw huge crowds throughout his trip and will likely raise issues of concern to his still-young pontificate: economic injustice, the plight of Indigenous peoples and the Amazon, and the church’s dreadful legacy of clergy sexual abuse.

But many eyes will be on Leo himself for having confirmed this grueling trip at all so soon after surgery Oct. 13 to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung.

EXCERPT VATICAN NEWS: Pope Leo returns to continent full of contradictions but rich in hope

Pope Leo XIV will speak about justice in the light of the Church’s social doctrine, not to set himself against one government or another – the Successor of Peter does not act as a politician – but to call for unity in the face of polarization and to encourage the building of a more just and inclusive society.

Such a society must take into account the needs of the most vulnerable and those living in the most remote peripheries, including the peoples of the Amazon, who feel abandoned but will receive a visit from the Pope during his stop in Pucallpa.

The central message Pope Leo is bringing to Latin America is well summed up in the three mottos chosen for the three stops: “I proclaim to you a great joy” for Uruguay; “Everyone is welcome. Go and proclaim” for Argentina; and “Let us open our hearts” for Peru.

These words are a call to faith and to the Church’s evangelizing mission, aimed at fostering unity and encounter.

In the coming days, particular emphasis will be placed on highlighting the hidden treasures of these countries: the many saints and blesseds who have inculturated Christ’s message in different contexts, and popular piety, which plays a fundamental role in the faith experience of Latin American peoples.

RELATED

• Pope Leo XIV invites the faithful to pray for Apostolic Journey to Latin America
• Cardinal Parolin: Pope’s Latin America visit is ‘witness to unity, reconciliation’
• Pope Leo XIV Itinerary for Latin America Visit
  

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 13- "On despondency"

CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: U.S. midterm elections spark multiple Catholic voting exhortations

NCR: Voting is a sacred right and duty, no matter where you live

YOUTUBE: The Faithful Make a Final Push Before the Midterm Elections | EWTN PLW

X (CATHOLIC VOTE): Voter Resources

High gas prices should not make you want to vote for abortion expansion.

High gas prices should not make you want to vote for child gender mutilation.

High gas prices should not make you want to vote for communism.

Socialist candidates are up in the polls in key battleground states.

Their agenda is clear: unlimited, taxpayer-funded abortion and irreversible medical procedures for minors.

Catholics, this is our moment.

If the last five presidential elections proved anything, it’s that Catholic voters have the power to decide the most critical races in the country.

Life and basic morality are on the ballot this November.

Are high gas prices really worth compromising your values?

Take your faith to the ballot box.

Vote on or before November 3rd.

Midterm elections are federal elections held halfway through a president's four-year term. Every seat in the House of Representatives is on the ballot, since representatives serve two-year terms, while only about a third of the Senate is, because senators serve staggered six-year terms. The president's party almost always loses House seats in a midterm, but the president's popularity matters: a study found that presidents with an approval rating below 50% saw their party lose an average of 37 seats during midterm elections from 1946 to 2018.

Explore how each district has voted in every House election since 1840. (More, w/interactive)

See why the president's party almost always loses seats during the midterm election. (More, w/video)

Midterms historically draw far fewer voters than presidential elections, with turnout typically dropping about 15 percentage points from the previous presidential election. The last two midterms bucked that trend: In 2018, turnout reached levels not seen in more than a century, and in 2022, turnout reached the second-highest level in modern records.

Who votes in the midterm elections? (More)

See which candidates top the list of the more than $2.5B spent this election cycle (More)

After the 1930 midterms, enough House members-elect died before the next session began that control of the chamber flipped. (More)

This year's midterms take place this Tuesday, Nov. 3, with all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats, and 36 governorships on the ballot. Candidates are raising and spending money at record levels. House and Senate candidates have raised more than $2.5B so far this cycle, and ad spending is projected to reach $11.6B, surpassing the record set in the 2024 presidential election.

Research your ballot, find your polling place, and make a plan to vote. (More)

Watch how the same group of Americans has changed their minds from 2020 to the 2026 midterms. (More, w/video)

Discover more:

Who controls America's elections? (More, w/audio)

Today's divisive politics have some of their roots in the 1994 midterm election campaign. (More, w/video)

See how officials test voting machines to ensure the integrity of the election. (More, w/video)

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 13- "On despondency"

CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: The Solemnity of All Saints and the pursuit of holiness

FATHER JEFFREY F. KIRBY: Saints are a ‘Cloud of Witnesses’ guiding us to union with God

EXCERPT HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI (1 November 2006): Holy Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints

• Saints Who Raised the Dead
• Seven Saints Who Confronted the Devil
• The Antidote for Our Times
  

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 12- "On lying"

9. One lies for sheer wantonness, another for amusement; one, to make the bystanders laugh; and another, to trap his brother and do him injury.

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Jubilee 2000: Bringing the World to Jesus

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