Catholic News
- Pope Leo writes message for 1st anniversary of death of Pope Francis (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
In a message to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, for the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, Pope Leo XIV said that his predecessor “remained a disciple of the Lord, faithful to his Baptism and consecration in the episcopal ministry, until the end. He was also a missionary, proclaiming the Gospel of mercy ‘to all, to all, to all,’ as he said several times.” “In harmony with his predecessors, he took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council and spurred the Church to be open to mission,” Pope Leo continued. “We still hear his exhortations, expressed in eloquent words, to make the good news more understandable: mercy, peace, brotherhood, the smell of the sheep, the field hospital and many others. Each of these expressions brings us back to the Gospel he lived with a new language that proclaims the same Gospel as always.” Pope Leo also highlighted his predecessor’s Marian devotion. “Pope Francis nurtured a deep devotion to Mary throughout his life,” he said, citing his visits to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major and Marian shrines around the world. “May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, help us to be tireless apostles of her divine Son and prophets of his merciful love in every circumstance.” - Only 3 Christian villages in southern Lebanon remain inhabited (Vatican News (Italian))
Only three Christian villages in southern Lebanon—Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel—have not been abandoned or destroyed by the Israeli army. Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported: Among the 55 villages in southern Lebanon where the Israeli army is currently using excavators and bulldozers to demolish the last remaining public buildings, schools, and private homes—structures that had somehow survived the fierce bombardments of recent weeks—and which military commanders just yesterday declared off-limits to the residents who had fled to save their lives, there remain three villages that are still almost intact and inhabited. Father Tony Elias, a Maronite priest who ministers in Rmeish, told Vatican News that “there is no way in or out. All the roads are blocked. We are struggling immensely to get water, baby formula, and diesel fuel delivered.” - More than 1.12 million abortions in US in 2025; actual figures likely higher (OSV News)
The number of abortions in the United States rose slightly from 1,124,000 in 2024 to 1,126,000 in 2025, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The institute—named after Alan Guttmacher (1898-1974), a president of Planned Parenthood and vice president of the American Eugenics Society—reported that abortions have increased 21% in the United States since 2020. “States with total bans [on abortion] saw a spike in telehealth-provided abortions, with the figure totaling 91,000, up from the previous 74,000,” OSV News reported. The figures do not include abortions “involving drugs sourced from community networks or acquired from outside of the U.S.” - In Christian civilization, the sick are loved, Pope says at psychiatric hospital (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV visited a psychiatric hospital in Equatorial Guinea (video) and said that loving care for the sick is a hallmark of Christian civilization. - Vatican newspaper publishes reflection on Virgil's Aeneid by the future Pope Francis (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
On April 21—the anniversary of Pope Francis’s death and the founding of the city of Rome—the Vatican newspaper printed a previously unpublished reflection by the future Pope Francis on Virgil’s Aeneid. Andrea Monda, the newspaper’s director, recalled that “he handed me this text—typewritten—dedicated to Virgil. I did not immediately realize it was a gift; I asked him if he wished for me to publish it in L’Osservatore Romano, but he demurred, saying, ‘It is merely a youthful trifle, something I wrote a long time ago.’” “He went on to explain that, in his youth, he had been deeply intrigued by the widely held thesis of Virgil as a ‘pre-Christian’ poet and prophet; this text was born of that curiosity and passion,” Monda continued, adding: Once his explanation was complete, he let me understand that he wanted me to keep it for myself. That gesture moved me—and still does, every time I think of it—but some time ago, as the date of the first anniversary of his death approached, I realized that April 21st is also the birthday of Rome, the city “founded” by Aeneas. This coincidence prompted me to disobey him; yet I am convinced he would be pleased—as, too, will be the readers of this “party newspaper,” who will thus come to know another facet of the man who was Pope Francis. The newspaper also published a commentary on the future Pope’s text by Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., an undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. - Mass at Casa Santa Marta on anniversary of Pope Francis's death (Vatican News)
Archbishop Luigi Travaglino, a retired nuncio, celebrated Mass in Casa Santa Marta on the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death. Casa Santa Marta, or Domus Sanctae Marthae, is the Vatican guest house in which Pope Francis lived during his twelve-year pontificate. Reading aloud a homily prepared by Cardinal Angelo Acerbi, a 100-year-old retired nuncio, Archbishop Travaglino recalled “the apostolic courage with which he faced the years of his pontificate, even when, despite his physical limitations, he wanted to carry out his apostolic mission to the farthest ends of the earth.” - Italian president hails Pope Francis as moral leader of immense wisdom (Vatican News (Italian))
“One year has passed since the passing of the beloved Pope Francis, and the Italian people cherish the memory of his figure and his teachings with affection and gratitude,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella wrote in a tribute published on the front page of the Vatican newspaper. “Francis possessed an acute ability to identify problems, breaking points, and the risks of division; he held the gift of looking far ahead—a hallmark of the Pontifical Magisterium—beyond the limited horizon of the immediate and contingent,” President Mattarella continued, as he hailed the late Pontiff as “a spiritual and moral leader of immense and admirable wisdom.” The Italian president concluded, “One year after his passing, we renew our gratitude for the teachings of Francis, which stand as a beacon of hope for all people of peace.” - 17 bishops have attended dialogues organized by New Ways Ministry (National Catholic Reporter)
Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, wrote that 17 bishops have attended dialogues organized by the group since 2023. The organization “has been sponsoring a series of two-day meetings, in which bishops interact with theologians, scientific professionals, other scholars, pastoral ministers and, most importantly, LGBTQ+ people themselves,” said DeBernardo. “At the conclusion of one meeting, one bishop was in tears when he expressed how little he had known about the realities of transgender people, and regretted how he may have unintentionally added to their pain.” New Ways Ministry was the subject of a notification by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1999) and a statement by the US bishops (2011) because of its dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality. Pope Francis, however, praised Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, in a handwritten letter. He later met with Sister Gramick and other leaders of the group for 50 minutes. - Vatican spokesman sees African papal trip as 'the journey that reveals the pontificate' (Vatican News)
Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said in an editorial that he sees Pope Leo’s apostolic journey to four African nations as “the journey that reveals the pontificate.” “The emphasis on peace, on returning to negotiation, and on respect for international law—interventions that have drawn reactions in recent days—fits within this context,” Tornielli wrote. “It helps to clarify once more the nature of the Church’s service, and particularly that of the Successor of Peter, who does not act as a politician but as a pastor.” “Yet it is inherent in being a pastor—far from any reduction to a purely spiritual or abstract dimension—to care about peace, justice, dialogue, encounter, the building of more just societies, closeness to those who are persecuted or discriminated against, solidarity with innocent victims of war, and the prophetic concern for the fate of humanity in this “dramatic hour of history,” Tornielli concluded. - Late Colombian cardinal accused of abuse (El País (Spanish))
A 57-year-old man has accused Colombian Cardinal Pedro Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz (1932-2024) of abuse. The man, who alleged that the abuse began in 1983 and continued for several years, said that he has spoken with the current archbishop of Bogota and the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors about his allegations. - Pope departs from Angola, heads to Equatorial Guinea (CWN)
Following a private Mass at the apostolic nunciature and a farewell ceremony (video), Pope Leo XIV departed this morning from Luanda, Angola’s capital and largest city, for Equatorial Guinea. - In Christ, the harmony between truth, reason, and freedom is manifest, Pope tells university community (CWN)
In Christ, “the profound harmony between truth, reason and freedom is manifested,” Pope Leo XIV said this afternoon at the inauguration of a new university campus in Equatorial Guinea. - Addressing journalists, Pope Leo recalls Pope Francis, says no date set to name new cardinals (CWN)
As he spoke to journalists on his flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea today, Pope Leo paid tribute to Pope Francis on the anniversary of his passing and addressed a question about new cardinals. - Central Asian bishops express 'firm support' for Pope, elect Cardinal Marengo as president (Fides)
At a meeting in Uzbekistan, the bishops of the Central Asian Bishops’ Conference expressed “fervent support” for Pope Leo’s “peacemaking efforts and pastoral ministry” following President Donald Trump’s social media post blasting the Pontiff. The bishops and other ordinaries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, and Azerbaijan elected Cardinal Giorgio Marengo (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) as the conference’s president; Bishop José Luis Mumbiela Sierra (Almaty, Kazakhstan) as vice president; and Auxiliary Bishop Yevgeniy Zinkovskiy (Karaganda, Kazakhstan) as secretary general. - Serve the city of God and not love of self, Pope exhorts Equatorial Guinea's leaders (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV addressed Equatorial Guinea’s political and civil leaders today (video) and encouraged them to serve the City of God, rather than the “lust for power and worldly glory that leads to destruction.” - Iran war could worsen hunger worldwide, Vatican diplomat warns (Vatican News)
Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies in Rome, said at a conference that “the rising costs of energy and fertilizers, coupled with uncertainty in supply chains, are driving up production costs and exacerbating food price volatility, particularly in vulnerable countries that depend on imports.” “The escalation of the current conflict in the Middle East will have consequences beyond borders and further worsen hunger worldwide, especially among the most vulnerable populations,” the diplomat warned at the 38th session of the Regional Conference for the Middle East. In its report, Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, inaccurately described the Vatican diplomat as an archbishop. The Annuario Pontificio notes that Father Arellano was named a monsignor in 2016, but has not been named a bishop. - Supreme Court agrees to hear Colorado religious freedom case (Religion Clause)
The United States Supreme Court agreed to rule on whether religious schools may be excluded from state programs for adhering to traditional Christian teaching on sexuality. The Becket Fund, which is representing Catholic parents in the case, explained: In 2022, Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood created a universal preschool program to provide all kids with 15 hours per week of free education at a private or public school of their parents’ choice in the year before kindergarten ... When implementing this program, however, the Department chose to deny this benefit to parents who send their kids to Catholic schools. Rather than work with all licensed preschools in Colorado, the Department imposed restrictions that categorically barred the Archdiocese of Denver’s Catholic preschools from participating—excluding over 1,500 kids attending over 30 different preschools simply because their parents chose a Catholic education. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed a brief in the case. - Israel investigates soldier who destroyed crucifix in Catholic village in Lebanon (CNA)
Using a sledgehammer, an Israeli soldier defaced a crucifix in Debel, a largely Catholic village in southern Lebanon. The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land expressed “profound indignation and unreserved condemnation of the desecration of a representation of Jesus crucified by an Israeli soldier in a Lebanese village.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he condemned “the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender.” - Synod announces date of meeting of presidents of world's episcopal conferences (General Secretariat of the Synod)
The General Secretariat of the Synod announced that the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences will meet in Rome from October 7-14. Pope Leo convoked the meeting “to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches.” The General Secretariat also announced a June 23-25 preparatory meeting to prepare for the continental evaluation assemblies of the implementation phase of the synod on synodality. - Pope Leo departs from Cameroon, says his remarks there did not refer to President Trump (CWN)
Following a farewell ceremony at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (video), Pope Leo departed from Cameroon for Angola this afternoon. - More...