Vatican & World News

-   Pope Leo XIV lunches with some 200 poor and socially vulnerable people in Castel Gandolfo and reaffirms the Church’s wish to express God’s love to every person -   At a UN High Level Meeting on HIV/Aids the Holy See calls for renewed global commitment to end Aids and appeals that no one be left behind -   We remember the more than 8,000 victims of Srebrenica on the 31st anniversary of the massacre

-   Pope Leo XIV will have lunch with 200 vulnerable people on Saturday -   The Catholic Church continues to help those affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela -   A month after the murder of a Mozambican prelate, the country’s bishops call for hope to prevail  

- AI experts gathered in Geneva receive encouragement and words of wisdom from the Pope and from Holy See representatives - 1,600 people are killed, and one and a half million are displaced in Haiti over the past 3 months - In the aftermath of Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes, the Little Sisters of the Poor establish a field hospital for the injured in La Guaira  

-   An Archbishop in Cameroon sounds the alarm on forced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and inhumane prison conditions in the country. -   The Panamanian bishops issue a wide-ranging appeal calling for national reconciliation, respect for human dignity, and reforms to the country's justice system. -   Two First Nation students from the Dharug people in Australia describe their time in Rome during a week dedicated to Aboriginal cultures.

-   The Pope released his monthly “Pray with the Pope” video for July dedicated "for respect for human life." -   The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues a decree excommunicating members of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X after the illicit episcopal ordinations on July 1. -   The Director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean welcomes Pope Leo’s visit on Saturday, reiterating the Pope’s voice is an important moral force in an increasingly polarised debate on migration.

-   The Holy See describes UNRWA as an essential lifeline for Palestinian refugees -   The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem decries the situation in Gaza and launches an appeal not to abandon the Holy Land -   The Archbishop of New York, who has just received his pallium in Rome, reflects on the challenges and strengths of his diocese

-   Pope Leo XIV welcomes representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and reiterates that all Christians are called to be credible witnesses in this time of war and polarisation -   In a letter, he issues a final appeal to the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X not to undertake a schismatic act and consecrate four bishops without pontifical mandate -   Venezuelans continue to face hardship and uncertainty as the search continues for tens of thousands still buried beneath the rubble caused by twin earthquakes

-   Archbishop Moth of Westminster shares his experience of receiving the pallium from Pope Leo -   An Italian Red Cross worker explains how they support migrants as soon as they land in Lampedusa -   The search continues in Venezuela for 50 thousand missing people after last week’s earthquakes

-   The third session of the Extraordinary Consistory has the Cardinals reflecting on the Church’s mission to foster goodness and build up society. -   The President of Caritas in Venezuela urges the international community not to lose sight of the consequences of last Wednesday's devastating earthquakes. -   One priest from Florida recalls his experience on a retreat in Rome, ending with Pope Leo’s General Audience.

-   Pope Leo XIV opens the Extraordinary Consistory with an address to his brother Cardinals -   A Ukrainian Cardinal speaks about giving the Pope a cross and a flag that belonged to a soldier -   Death toll in Venezuela rises to almost 600, as search operations continue

-   The Pope meets with writers from around the world to mark the 100th anniversary of the Vatican Publishing House. -   Cardinal Michael Czerny writes a message for Sea Sunday on July 12, refocusing attention on the people behind the scenes of maritime commerce. -   The Catholic bishops of Kenya call for a renewed commitment to the dignity of human life, justice, and national dialogue.

- Pope Leo XIV makes a pilgrimage to northern Italy to pray at the tomb of St Augustine and to pay tribute to St Frances Cabrini - The bishops of Macau and Hong Kong, on their ad limina visit to the Vatican, share their experience of synodality - In a video message to young people participating in a summer camp in the U.S., the Pope says believers are called to be instruments of His peace  

-   Pope Leo XIV condemns the instability caused by war which forces Christians to flee their native lands -   European bishops express concern for tough new EU migration policy -   The UN Children’s Fund in Lebanon appeals for a real cessation of hostilities as families and children bear the brunt of continued Israeli attacks

-   Pope Leo sends a video message for the Tenth Austrian World Summit - an annual climate conference held in Vienna. -   The 'Borgo Dialogues', a new international forum for dialogue on environmental topics, are set to be inaugurated in the papal gardens of Castel Gandolfo. -   A joint declaration signed in Geneva is calling for an end to the use of artificial intelligence in military targeting operations.

-   Pope Leo XIV meets representatives of  the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York and thanks them for their work to help vulnerable people -   The United States and Iran reach an agreement to end the war -   The Vatican releases the Pope’s Message for the 6th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly  

-   On the 6th and last day of his apostolic visit to Spain, Pope Leo XIV travels to Tenerife and shines the spotlight on the plight of migrants calling for integration and shared responsibility -   We hear from one of the managers of an emergency shelter in Tenerife about the need to protect and promote the dignity of our brothers and sisters on the move    

-   Kicking off the third leg of his apostolic journey to Spain in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pope Leo XIV appeals to the international community to put legislation into place to safeguard the lives and dignity of migrants -   He encourages the church in the Canary Islands to continue to accompany vulnerable communities -   We look back at the inauguration on Wednesday night of the tallest bell tower of Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica  

-   Marking an historic first, a Pope, in the person of Leo XIV, addresses members of Spain’s Parliament -   On the third day of his apostolic journey to Spain, the Pope reminds the country‘s bishops that the Church’s true wealth lies in the holiness of her children -   We link up with our correspondent on the ground in Madrid for a preview of the next papal events

-   On the second day of his apostolic visit to Spain, Pope Leo XIV celebrates Holy Mass in central Madrid in the presence of over 1.2 million people -   We hear from our correspondent in Madrid, who spoke to some Spaniards who attended the event -   At a prayer vigil on Saturday evening, Pope Leo calls on young people to be missionaries of the Gospel to build the future of a better world

-   On the first day of his apostolic visit to Spain, Pope Leo emphasizes that religious freedom and freedom of conscience must be protected -   On the papal plane, the Pope insists on dialogue to end the war in Ukraine and expresses his closeness to Lebanon -   A young Spaniard speaks about the organization of the prayer vigil with the Pope in Madrid  

-   The General Coordinator of Pope Leo’s upcoming journey to Spain says he expects the Pope’s visit to revitalize the church in a rapidly secularising country -   In his last day in Rome before beginning his trip to Spain, the Pope invites German students to live their faith without placing individual preferences before of church tradition -   We look ahead to the consistory at the end of June which will see cardinals from all over the world come to Rome for three days of discussions on global conflicts, the implementation of the Synod, and the Pope’s new encyclical Magnifica humanitas.

-   Israel and Lebanon agree to renew their fragile ceasefire and create some security zones inside Lebanon as Gazan civilians continue to die under Israeli attacks -   Violence erupts in Somalia’s capital amid a constitutional crisis -   The Catholic Bishops of India welcome and praise Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence"

-   US Vice-President Vance says the US and Iran are “very close” to a peace deal -   Romanian authorities say that Russia has struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two -   We speak to the Archbishop of New York about Pope Leo's recent encyclical letter on artificial intelligence

-   Pope Leo XIV upholds evangelisation as a witness that attracts others through the call to love and truth -   Cardinal Cupich reflects on the Pope’s just-released encyclical on AI, noting it offers a new lens for the Church’s Social Doctrine -   A landmark agreement between the Holy See and Italy sees concrete action putting the Vatican on the path to becoming the first state in the world to produce 100% clean energy  

-   A top computer scientist reacts to Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas -   A Silicon Valley parish priest highlights the importance of dialogue between the Church and the tech world -   We look back at the first social doctrine encyclical in the history of the Church

-   Pope Leo XIV presents his first ever encyclical, “Maginifica Humanitas”, at the Synod Hall in Rome. -   A number of experts, professors, and clergy comment on the importance and meaning of this new encyclical on preserving human dignity in the time of artificial intelligence.