Going Low and Slow in Testing – NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, during testing focused on lower-speed and altitude flight conditions in support of NASA’s Quesst mission. NASA continues to include two-flight days in its envelope expansion as teams work to better understand how the aircraft responds throughout its operating range.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, during testing focused on lower-speed and altitude flight conditions in support of NASA’s Quesst mission. NASA continues to include two-flight days in its envelope expansion as teams work to better understand how the aircraft responds throughout its operating range.

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James Talarico Taking ‘Not Acting Gay’ Lessons from Tim Walz #BabylonBee – AUSTIN, TX — James Talarico drew attention in recent months with his candidacy for Texas senator, but he reportedly had a bit of trouble appealing to the average Texan. To help with that, the Democratic Party sent in Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to give him "not acting gay" lessons.

AUSTIN, TX — James Talarico drew attention in recent months with his candidacy for Texas senator, but he reportedly had a bit of trouble appealing to the average Texan. To help with that, the Democratic Party sent in Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to give him "not acting gay" lessons.

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Former Russian Orthodox ‘foreign minister’ freed after Czech drug probe #Catholic Czech police arrested Metropolitan Hilarion, a prominent clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, on suspicion of drug possession during a vehicle stop on May 24. Officers acted “on anonymous information” about the alleged “transportation of narcotics and psychotropic substances.”A few grams of an unidentified substance were found in the vehicle, though the discovery “does not answer the central question: how the items ended up in the vehicle,” Hilarion said, denying “any involvement in the illegal possession or transportation of prohibited substances.”He was released May 26 after protests from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called the detention a “deliberate, orchestrated provocation” and summoned a Czech diplomat in Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church likewise defended him, saying the incident “looks like a classic farce” since drug smuggling is often used by “unscrupulous police officers around the world.”No charges have been brought, and Hilarion is free without restrictions while the investigation continues, according to a statement on his Telegram account. His team also called the arrest “a provocation,” claiming he had received anonymous death threats demanding he leave the country.Who is Hilarion?Metropolitan Hilarion, whose secular name is Grigory Alfeyev, headed the Moscow Patriarchateʼs Department for External Church Relations from 2009 to 2022, a role often described as the Russian Orthodox Churchʼs “foreign minister.” He was widely regarded as a close ally of Patriarch Kirill and a possible successor.In June 2022, he was removed from the post and appointed to the Budapest diocese, a move widely interpreted as a demotion. During Pope Francis' apostolic trip to Budapest in April 2023, the two held a private meeting at the apostolic nunciature.In July 2024, Hilarion was accused of sexual harassment by George Suzuki, a former personal attendant. Hilarion denied the allegations. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church subsequently declared “the inconsistency of the nature of his relations with his immediate environment and his life with the image of a monk and clergyman” and removed him from the Budapest diocese on Dec. 27, 2024. He has since been serving at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary, a spa town in western Czech Republic.Rising tensions over the Russian Orthodox Church in Czech RepublicSergei Chapnin, a Russian church affairs scholar at Fordham University and former employee of the Moscow Patriarchate, offered two possible explanations for the incident. First, Hilarion may serve “as a high-level courier” who “moves sensitive documents and other items around Western Europe” since “Russian diplomats are closely monitored and constrained in their movements.” Second, Hilarion was operating “inside a very rough political and ecclesiastical game … over assets and influence” involving local Orthodox communities.The Church of Sts. Peter and Paul was recently registered under the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary to prevent Czech authorities from freezing Russian assets. Patriarch Kirill, the churchʼs head, is personally listed on the Czech national sanctions list for his support of Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine.Concerns about the churchʼs role in Czech Republic have been escalating. The Czech security agencyʼs annual report said the Russian Orthodox Churchʼs local representatives are loyal to the Moscow leadership and their “support for the Russian official line is evident.”A study titled “Security Risks of the Orthodox Church,” published by the Czech Academy of Sciences in 2025, called for systematic monitoring of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country. The authors recommended investigating “activities with regard to the danger of money laundering, purposeful export of funds and property, smuggling of goods and people, passing information to the enemy, for example the Russian side, [and] influencing the opinions of Czech society through social networks.”The study also noted that the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary allegedly hosted meetings involving Russian military intelligence (GRU) officials.In a related case, a Prague court recently convicted former Orthodox abbess Taťána Hanhur for the unauthorized transfer of a monastery and property worth 73 million Czech crowns (approximately $3.2 million). The property had belonged to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.

Former Russian Orthodox ‘foreign minister’ freed after Czech drug probe #Catholic Czech police arrested Metropolitan Hilarion, a prominent clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, on suspicion of drug possession during a vehicle stop on May 24. Officers acted “on anonymous information” about the alleged “transportation of narcotics and psychotropic substances.”A few grams of an unidentified substance were found in the vehicle, though the discovery “does not answer the central question: how the items ended up in the vehicle,” Hilarion said, denying “any involvement in the illegal possession or transportation of prohibited substances.”He was released May 26 after protests from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called the detention a “deliberate, orchestrated provocation” and summoned a Czech diplomat in Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church likewise defended him, saying the incident “looks like a classic farce” since drug smuggling is often used by “unscrupulous police officers around the world.”No charges have been brought, and Hilarion is free without restrictions while the investigation continues, according to a statement on his Telegram account. His team also called the arrest “a provocation,” claiming he had received anonymous death threats demanding he leave the country.Who is Hilarion?Metropolitan Hilarion, whose secular name is Grigory Alfeyev, headed the Moscow Patriarchateʼs Department for External Church Relations from 2009 to 2022, a role often described as the Russian Orthodox Churchʼs “foreign minister.” He was widely regarded as a close ally of Patriarch Kirill and a possible successor.In June 2022, he was removed from the post and appointed to the Budapest diocese, a move widely interpreted as a demotion. During Pope Francis' apostolic trip to Budapest in April 2023, the two held a private meeting at the apostolic nunciature.In July 2024, Hilarion was accused of sexual harassment by George Suzuki, a former personal attendant. Hilarion denied the allegations. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church subsequently declared “the inconsistency of the nature of his relations with his immediate environment and his life with the image of a monk and clergyman” and removed him from the Budapest diocese on Dec. 27, 2024. He has since been serving at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary, a spa town in western Czech Republic.Rising tensions over the Russian Orthodox Church in Czech RepublicSergei Chapnin, a Russian church affairs scholar at Fordham University and former employee of the Moscow Patriarchate, offered two possible explanations for the incident. First, Hilarion may serve “as a high-level courier” who “moves sensitive documents and other items around Western Europe” since “Russian diplomats are closely monitored and constrained in their movements.” Second, Hilarion was operating “inside a very rough political and ecclesiastical game … over assets and influence” involving local Orthodox communities.The Church of Sts. Peter and Paul was recently registered under the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary to prevent Czech authorities from freezing Russian assets. Patriarch Kirill, the churchʼs head, is personally listed on the Czech national sanctions list for his support of Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine.Concerns about the churchʼs role in Czech Republic have been escalating. The Czech security agencyʼs annual report said the Russian Orthodox Churchʼs local representatives are loyal to the Moscow leadership and their “support for the Russian official line is evident.”A study titled “Security Risks of the Orthodox Church,” published by the Czech Academy of Sciences in 2025, called for systematic monitoring of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country. The authors recommended investigating “activities with regard to the danger of money laundering, purposeful export of funds and property, smuggling of goods and people, passing information to the enemy, for example the Russian side, [and] influencing the opinions of Czech society through social networks.”The study also noted that the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary allegedly hosted meetings involving Russian military intelligence (GRU) officials.In a related case, a Prague court recently convicted former Orthodox abbess Taťána Hanhur for the unauthorized transfer of a monastery and property worth 73 million Czech crowns (approximately $3.2 million). The property had belonged to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.

Metropolitan Hilarion, once tipped as successor to Patriarch Kirill, was released without charges after Czech police found an unidentified substance in his vehicle.

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Leo XIV: Don’t water down Christianity #Catholic Pope Leo XIV warned Thursday against the temptation to make Christianity more attractive by diluting its content or softening its demands, telling Vatican evangelization officials that the faith is transmitted above all through credible Christian witness.“It is certainly not by watering down the content or softening the demands that Christianity can be made attractive but by bearing witness with humility and courage to ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ that has converted and sanctified so many people,” the pope said May 28.The pope made the remarks during a meeting in the Consistory Hall with members of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s Section for Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World at the conclusion of its plenary assembly.According to the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, the section is responsible for studying fundamental questions of evangelization and promoting an effective proclamation of the Gospel, identifying appropriate forms, tools, and language.Leo said the crisis of faith, especially in the West, has contributed to “widespread religious indifference.”“To many, faith no longer appears relevant to their lives,” he said. “The underlying danger, the gravity of which is not always perceived, is that the very essence of what is most human — namely, the search for meaning — may be lost. The great existential questions remain unanswered, whilst a technological culture that is supposed to meet every need is spreading.”The pope said that even in such a context, “the encounter with Christ is able to restore full meaning and value to people’s lives,” adding that the Church’s missionary mandate remains urgent.“No one can take her place in this mission, which is as urgent as it is necessary to ensure a reliable foundation for the future of humanity, so that it may be a future of peace, justice, freedom, and fraternity,” he said.Leo also pointed to the continuing relevance of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which he said “continues to be a significant point of reference.”He invited the dicastery to revisit the document in its work “to promote a mission that is ‘Christ-centered and kerygmatic … born of an encounter with Christ that is capable of transforming lives.’”The pope said the Church should pay close attention to a growing demand for spirituality, especially among young people, something he said was “clearly evident during the Youth Jubilee.”“The new generation is not closed to the Gospel; on the contrary, many, when they rediscover it, wish to know it better, because they sense that within it lies the secret to being truly happy,” he said.At the same time, Leo said evangelization must confront changed conditions in the transmission of the faith from one generation to the next.“In some parts of the world, this transmission has all but ceased, and this requires the ability to take on new challenges,” he said.The result, he continued, is “a spiritual ‘poverty’ among the younger generations, a lack of motivation and of the means to develop, in full freedom, that commitment to the faith which gives meaning to life.”The pope said the cultural climate of “media-saturated and consumerist societies” weakens the ability to pursue truth with patience, perseverance, and critical judgment.“Every message risks being perceived as just one opinion among many,” he said.In response, he stressed that transmitting the faith “necessarily involves encountering people and communities who express the joy of the Christian faith and the coherence of a Gospel-inspired way of life.”Quoting Benedict XVI, Leo said: “What we need at this moment in history are men who, through an enlightened and lived faith, make God credible in this world.”“We need people who keep their gaze fixed on God, learning true humanity from him,” the pope continued, quoting Benedict. “We need people whose intellect is enlightened by the light of God and whose hearts God opens, so that their intellect may speak to the intellect of others and their hearts may open the hearts of others. Only through men who are touched by God can God return to men.”Leo also thanked the dicastery for its work during last year’s jubilee, which he said brought more than 33 million pilgrims to Rome.“The world thirsts for hope more than ever,” he said. “It longs to live in peace and in the certainty that the commitment to building a city worthy of God’s children is not only possible but real, because it is imbued with a hope that offers true, not illusory, objectives.”The pope said evangelization must remain “the fundamental motivation behind every action of the universal Church and of local communities.”“The proclamation of the Gospel, which instils hope, is not a utopian proposal: It is a witness that draws people in because it reveals the call to love and truth,” he said.Leo concluded by emphasizing the importance of catechesis, which he said “plays a decisive role in the life of the Church through its commitment to formation and the transmission of the faith.”He called for special attention to catechumens, “who are requesting baptism in ever-increasing numbers,” and said Christian communities must accompany them beyond the celebration of the sacrament.“Similar care must be accorded to the boys and girls who receive the sacrament of confirmation,” he said. “I encourage the many initiatives that accompany them as they continue on their journey of faith for their human and Christian growth.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Leo XIV: Don’t water down Christianity #Catholic Pope Leo XIV warned Thursday against the temptation to make Christianity more attractive by diluting its content or softening its demands, telling Vatican evangelization officials that the faith is transmitted above all through credible Christian witness.“It is certainly not by watering down the content or softening the demands that Christianity can be made attractive but by bearing witness with humility and courage to ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ that has converted and sanctified so many people,” the pope said May 28.The pope made the remarks during a meeting in the Consistory Hall with members of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s Section for Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World at the conclusion of its plenary assembly.According to the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, the section is responsible for studying fundamental questions of evangelization and promoting an effective proclamation of the Gospel, identifying appropriate forms, tools, and language.Leo said the crisis of faith, especially in the West, has contributed to “widespread religious indifference.”“To many, faith no longer appears relevant to their lives,” he said. “The underlying danger, the gravity of which is not always perceived, is that the very essence of what is most human — namely, the search for meaning — may be lost. The great existential questions remain unanswered, whilst a technological culture that is supposed to meet every need is spreading.”The pope said that even in such a context, “the encounter with Christ is able to restore full meaning and value to people’s lives,” adding that the Church’s missionary mandate remains urgent.“No one can take her place in this mission, which is as urgent as it is necessary to ensure a reliable foundation for the future of humanity, so that it may be a future of peace, justice, freedom, and fraternity,” he said.Leo also pointed to the continuing relevance of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which he said “continues to be a significant point of reference.”He invited the dicastery to revisit the document in its work “to promote a mission that is ‘Christ-centered and kerygmatic … born of an encounter with Christ that is capable of transforming lives.’”The pope said the Church should pay close attention to a growing demand for spirituality, especially among young people, something he said was “clearly evident during the Youth Jubilee.”“The new generation is not closed to the Gospel; on the contrary, many, when they rediscover it, wish to know it better, because they sense that within it lies the secret to being truly happy,” he said.At the same time, Leo said evangelization must confront changed conditions in the transmission of the faith from one generation to the next.“In some parts of the world, this transmission has all but ceased, and this requires the ability to take on new challenges,” he said.The result, he continued, is “a spiritual ‘poverty’ among the younger generations, a lack of motivation and of the means to develop, in full freedom, that commitment to the faith which gives meaning to life.”The pope said the cultural climate of “media-saturated and consumerist societies” weakens the ability to pursue truth with patience, perseverance, and critical judgment.“Every message risks being perceived as just one opinion among many,” he said.In response, he stressed that transmitting the faith “necessarily involves encountering people and communities who express the joy of the Christian faith and the coherence of a Gospel-inspired way of life.”Quoting Benedict XVI, Leo said: “What we need at this moment in history are men who, through an enlightened and lived faith, make God credible in this world.”“We need people who keep their gaze fixed on God, learning true humanity from him,” the pope continued, quoting Benedict. “We need people whose intellect is enlightened by the light of God and whose hearts God opens, so that their intellect may speak to the intellect of others and their hearts may open the hearts of others. Only through men who are touched by God can God return to men.”Leo also thanked the dicastery for its work during last year’s jubilee, which he said brought more than 33 million pilgrims to Rome.“The world thirsts for hope more than ever,” he said. “It longs to live in peace and in the certainty that the commitment to building a city worthy of God’s children is not only possible but real, because it is imbued with a hope that offers true, not illusory, objectives.”The pope said evangelization must remain “the fundamental motivation behind every action of the universal Church and of local communities.”“The proclamation of the Gospel, which instils hope, is not a utopian proposal: It is a witness that draws people in because it reveals the call to love and truth,” he said.Leo concluded by emphasizing the importance of catechesis, which he said “plays a decisive role in the life of the Church through its commitment to formation and the transmission of the faith.”He called for special attention to catechumens, “who are requesting baptism in ever-increasing numbers,” and said Christian communities must accompany them beyond the celebration of the sacrament.“Similar care must be accorded to the boys and girls who receive the sacrament of confirmation,” he said. “I encourage the many initiatives that accompany them as they continue on their journey of faith for their human and Christian growth.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The pontiff said the Church must respond to religious indifference not by softening the Gospel’s demands but by offering credible witness to Christ.

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5 killed, several abducted in fresh attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria – #Catholic – KADUNA, Nigeria — The Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna in Nigeria has condemned a fresh wave of terrorist attacks on Christian communities under the pastoral care of Sts. Peter and Paul Kurmin Parish located in Dangana District of Kaduna state, following deadly raids that left at least five people dead, several others injured, and many abducted.In a letter published May 24 addressed to the secretary-general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, the chancellor of the Nigerian metropolitan see detailed “incessant terrorist attacks” targeting parish outstations in Kagarko Local Government Area.According to Father Christian Okewu Emmanuel, the latest attack occurred on May 21 in the outstation of Kurmin Bongo.“The terrorist struck between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., during heavy rainfall. In spite of the efforts of the vigilante group, five persons were killed, while 10 others were abducted, out of which two were rescued through the efforts of the vigilante group,” the priest said in the letter dated May 22.He explained that the attack on the Kurmin Bongo outstation was the latest in a series of assaults on Catholic communities in the area.“Earlier, two other attacks had taken place in the outstations of Kasaru-B on March 2 and Sabon Gari on May 1. During the attack on Kasaru-B, one person was shot dead, another sustained several gunshot injuries, while eight others, including the Mai Wa’azi, were abducted. Although they later regained their freedom, two of them were killed in the terrorists’ den,” Emmanuel recounted.The attack on Sabon Gari came barely two weeks after the release of the Kasaru-B victims.According to the chancellor, “two persons sustained gunshot injuries, while 10 others were abducted,” with one of the abductees later killed while still being held captive.He condemned what he described as “incessant attacks” on the affected communities and appealed to government authorities and security agencies to strengthen protection for vulnerable populations.“The archdiocese condemns these incessant attacks in the strongest terms and calls on government and the security agencies to intensify efforts towards the protection of lives and properties of such besieged areas,” Emmanuel said.He went on to note that repeated violence has deepened fear and instability among residents.“Needless to say, these repeated attacks have displaced affected persons and thrown the communities into untold sorrows, fears, and uncertainty,” the chancellor added.Nigeria has continued to experience widespread insecurity marked by kidnappings, armed attacks, and killings carried out by criminal gangs and insurgent groups.Since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has remained a major security challenge in the West African nation. In several parts of the country, violence has also been linked to armed Fulani herdsmen, also referred to as the Fulani Militia.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

5 killed, several abducted in fresh attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria – #Catholic – KADUNA, Nigeria — The Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna in Nigeria has condemned a fresh wave of terrorist attacks on Christian communities under the pastoral care of Sts. Peter and Paul Kurmin Parish located in Dangana District of Kaduna state, following deadly raids that left at least five people dead, several others injured, and many abducted.In a letter published May 24 addressed to the secretary-general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, the chancellor of the Nigerian metropolitan see detailed “incessant terrorist attacks” targeting parish outstations in Kagarko Local Government Area.According to Father Christian Okewu Emmanuel, the latest attack occurred on May 21 in the outstation of Kurmin Bongo.“The terrorist struck between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., during heavy rainfall. In spite of the efforts of the vigilante group, five persons were killed, while 10 others were abducted, out of which two were rescued through the efforts of the vigilante group,” the priest said in the letter dated May 22.He explained that the attack on the Kurmin Bongo outstation was the latest in a series of assaults on Catholic communities in the area.“Earlier, two other attacks had taken place in the outstations of Kasaru-B on March 2 and Sabon Gari on May 1. During the attack on Kasaru-B, one person was shot dead, another sustained several gunshot injuries, while eight others, including the Mai Wa’azi, were abducted. Although they later regained their freedom, two of them were killed in the terrorists’ den,” Emmanuel recounted.The attack on Sabon Gari came barely two weeks after the release of the Kasaru-B victims.According to the chancellor, “two persons sustained gunshot injuries, while 10 others were abducted,” with one of the abductees later killed while still being held captive.He condemned what he described as “incessant attacks” on the affected communities and appealed to government authorities and security agencies to strengthen protection for vulnerable populations.“The archdiocese condemns these incessant attacks in the strongest terms and calls on government and the security agencies to intensify efforts towards the protection of lives and properties of such besieged areas,” Emmanuel said.He went on to note that repeated violence has deepened fear and instability among residents.“Needless to say, these repeated attacks have displaced affected persons and thrown the communities into untold sorrows, fears, and uncertainty,” the chancellor added.Nigeria has continued to experience widespread insecurity marked by kidnappings, armed attacks, and killings carried out by criminal gangs and insurgent groups.Since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has remained a major security challenge in the West African nation. In several parts of the country, violence has also been linked to armed Fulani herdsmen, also referred to as the Fulani Militia.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

The latest attack occurred on May 21 in the outstation of Kurmin Bongo, in the Dangana District of Kaduna State,.

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13 things to know about Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI #Catholic – (OSV News) — What does it mean to safeguard our humanity? That question is at the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s much anticipated first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” released May 25. The following are some key things to know about this weighty papal letter.
1. Latin for “Magnificent Humanity,” the title is drawn from the opening words of the text as rendered in Latin, as is customary for papal encyclicals. Those words state, in its English translation, “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo points to “the grandeur of humanity,” with men and women created by God for relationship with him and each other, cooperating in God’s creative work and guided by the Holy Spirit.
2. The document is about 42,000 words long, including footnotes, making it roughly the size of a novella. It spans five chapters sandwiched between a robust introduction and conclusion. The first chapter traces the development of Catholic social doctrine, or social teaching, especially since “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII’s seminal 1891 encyclical on the dignity of labor. The second chapter dives into the substance of Catholic social teaching. The third chapter explores the challenges artificial intelligence presents to humanity; the fourth chapter hones in on safeguarding truth, work and freedom; and the fifth chapter focuses on the implications of AI in warfare.
3. From education and jobs to private tech companies and families, “Magnifica Humanitas” is wide-ranging. It touches on the prospect of massive unemployment, the future of education, the protection of human freedom, excessive screen time for young people and technology addiction, data ownership, cryptocurrencies, economic disparities, environmental impacts, transhumanism and posthumanism, and cyberattacks and other forms of warfare. Pope Leo addresses the idea of “moral AI,” and argues that the basis for “alignment of AI with human values” requires “openly discussing the ethical frameworks involved and subjecting them to shared standards of social justice” in a conversation inclusive to all communities.
4. The document includes references to an array of influential thinkers. Beyond Pope Leo’s papal predecessors, the letter points to or quotes Dorothy Day, Maria Montessori, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., J.R.R. Tolkien, Plato, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the American humanist thinker Hannah Arendt, among others. And, of course, Pope Leo weaves in St. Augustine, the patron of Pope Leo’s Augustinian religious order and Pope Leo’s ever-present guide, particularly through the African bishop’s important fifth-century book, “The City of God.”

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5. It uses biblical imagery, imploring people to examine what humanity is building in “the construction site of our time.” The Tower of Babel and the City of God are contrasted throughout the encyclical to illustrate the two possible directions that the era of AI could take: a path of arrogance, artificial sense of self-sufficiency and chaos, or a path towards communion, relationship and God. Pope Leo underlines the critical need for developing a process for discernment to guide the development of AI. “The task of building today must place our relationship with God at its center,” Pope Leo writes.
6. Despite its challenges, AI is not to be inherently feared. “Technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he writes. “Over the centuries, technological development has significantly improved the living conditions of humanity. At the same time, each phase of progress has also revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good.” He speaks directly to AI developers, telling them that “technological innovation can represent human participation in the divine act of creation,” and therefore they “bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility, for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity.”
7. Taking time for discernment is critical in our path forward. The encyclical invites people of goodwill into “a shared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations” as they relate to AI. “We are living through a rapid phase of transition, a ‘change of era,’ in which … most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best,” Pope Leo writes. “For this very reason, crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as people and as a human community?”
8. It explains the principles of Catholic social teaching and why they are important in building a future where humanity flourishes. Pope Leo explains central tenets of Catholic social teaching — the dignity of the person, the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity and justice — as he makes the case for their use as guiding principles for AI. “The Social Doctrine of the Church is a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action,” Pope Leo writes. “Founded on Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and in engagement with the sciences, it helps us clearly interpret the challenges of the present and identify appropriate ways for living out a clear Christian witness, with joy and in service to the world. It is not an inert set of concepts, but a living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity’s vocation to a full and just life.” As AI has exponentially advanced and become part of daily life, people of goodwill must “face the challenges of our time with clarity of thought and responsibility,” he writes.
9. People cannot be reduced to machines, measured for their efficiency and valued for their “optimization.” Artificial intelligence “threatens to normalize an anti-human vision,” Pope Leo writes. “In that vision, the fullness of life is equated with having more, reducing weakness, eliminating uncertainty and exerting total control. When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion.” Instead, “the quality of a civilization,” he writes, “is measured not by the power of its means, but by the care it is able to offer, by its ability to recognize the other as a face not merely as a function.”
10. Robust ethical consideration should be given to AI’s impact on war. Pope Leo is particularly concerned that AI, “detached from ethics and responsibility, will render decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, and will present the use of force as an immediate and viable option.” In calling for the principles of Catholic social teaching to serve as decision-making guidelines, he condemns “the spread of a culture of power characterized by polarization and violence.” Instead, he calls humanity to “the civilization of love,” which is “no naïve utopia, but a demanding project, which consists in translating charity into structures of justice, giving institutional form to fraternity, and regarding others — whether individuals or peoples — as allies necessary for building the common good.” He also gives criteria for using AI in war.
11. “Magnifica Humanitas” is actually all about relationship. Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo points to humanity’s relationship to God and relationship to each other. In this area, he underscores action over passivity, and urges people to work toward “a willed and chosen solidarity.” He writes, “This is the guiding principle for technological processes: it is not enough for artificial intelligence to make us more efficient or connected; it must also serve to build a universal human family, with shared rights and duties, where digital proximity becomes a real opportunity for encounter and mutual care.”
12. Whatever the future holds, humanity’s meaning is rooted in Jesus Christ. The document’s conclusion includes a compelling reflection on the Incarnation through the “face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI.” “No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history,” Pope Leo writes. “This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving.”
13. The encyclical calls for personal conversion. The pope proposes for the Christian “a sober yet demanding program of Christian life with which we can navigate this epochal change in the light of the Gospel” centered on “contemplating God’s plan,” receiving the Eucharist, “building a world centered on the common good,” and praying in union with Mary. He encourages people to cultivate community and in-person relationships, educate young people to love wisdom, spend time with the poor and lonely, be a voice for justice, defend objective truth, and treat the digital world as “a new continent to be evangelized.” His final reflection centers on the “Magnificat,” Mary’s famous canticle glorifying God, recounted in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Pope Leo writes: “In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives.”
Maria Wiering is managing editor of OSV News. Contributing to this story were OSV News’ Vatican Editor Courtney Mares and Digital Editor Megan Marley.
 

13 things to know about Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI #Catholic – (OSV News) — What does it mean to safeguard our humanity? That question is at the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s much anticipated first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” released May 25. The following are some key things to know about this weighty papal letter. 1. Latin for “Magnificent Humanity,” the title is drawn from the opening words of the text as rendered in Latin, as is customary for papal encyclicals. Those words state, in its English translation, “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo points to “the grandeur of humanity,” with men and women created by God for relationship with him and each other, cooperating in God’s creative work and guided by the Holy Spirit. 2. The document is about 42,000 words long, including footnotes, making it roughly the size of a novella. It spans five chapters sandwiched between a robust introduction and conclusion. The first chapter traces the development of Catholic social doctrine, or social teaching, especially since “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII’s seminal 1891 encyclical on the dignity of labor. The second chapter dives into the substance of Catholic social teaching. The third chapter explores the challenges artificial intelligence presents to humanity; the fourth chapter hones in on safeguarding truth, work and freedom; and the fifth chapter focuses on the implications of AI in warfare. 3. From education and jobs to private tech companies and families, “Magnifica Humanitas” is wide-ranging. It touches on the prospect of massive unemployment, the future of education, the protection of human freedom, excessive screen time for young people and technology addiction, data ownership, cryptocurrencies, economic disparities, environmental impacts, transhumanism and posthumanism, and cyberattacks and other forms of warfare. Pope Leo addresses the idea of “moral AI,” and argues that the basis for “alignment of AI with human values” requires “openly discussing the ethical frameworks involved and subjecting them to shared standards of social justice” in a conversation inclusive to all communities. 4. The document includes references to an array of influential thinkers. Beyond Pope Leo’s papal predecessors, the letter points to or quotes Dorothy Day, Maria Montessori, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., J.R.R. Tolkien, Plato, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the American humanist thinker Hannah Arendt, among others. And, of course, Pope Leo weaves in St. Augustine, the patron of Pope Leo’s Augustinian religious order and Pope Leo’s ever-present guide, particularly through the African bishop’s important fifth-century book, “The City of God.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. 5. It uses biblical imagery, imploring people to examine what humanity is building in “the construction site of our time.” The Tower of Babel and the City of God are contrasted throughout the encyclical to illustrate the two possible directions that the era of AI could take: a path of arrogance, artificial sense of self-sufficiency and chaos, or a path towards communion, relationship and God. Pope Leo underlines the critical need for developing a process for discernment to guide the development of AI. “The task of building today must place our relationship with God at its center,” Pope Leo writes. 6. Despite its challenges, AI is not to be inherently feared. “Technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he writes. “Over the centuries, technological development has significantly improved the living conditions of humanity. At the same time, each phase of progress has also revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good.” He speaks directly to AI developers, telling them that “technological innovation can represent human participation in the divine act of creation,” and therefore they “bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility, for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity.” 7. Taking time for discernment is critical in our path forward. The encyclical invites people of goodwill into “a shared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations” as they relate to AI. “We are living through a rapid phase of transition, a ‘change of era,’ in which … most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best,” Pope Leo writes. “For this very reason, crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as people and as a human community?” 8. It explains the principles of Catholic social teaching and why they are important in building a future where humanity flourishes. Pope Leo explains central tenets of Catholic social teaching — the dignity of the person, the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity and justice — as he makes the case for their use as guiding principles for AI. “The Social Doctrine of the Church is a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action,” Pope Leo writes. “Founded on Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and in engagement with the sciences, it helps us clearly interpret the challenges of the present and identify appropriate ways for living out a clear Christian witness, with joy and in service to the world. It is not an inert set of concepts, but a living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity’s vocation to a full and just life.” As AI has exponentially advanced and become part of daily life, people of goodwill must “face the challenges of our time with clarity of thought and responsibility,” he writes. 9. People cannot be reduced to machines, measured for their efficiency and valued for their “optimization.” Artificial intelligence “threatens to normalize an anti-human vision,” Pope Leo writes. “In that vision, the fullness of life is equated with having more, reducing weakness, eliminating uncertainty and exerting total control. When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion.” Instead, “the quality of a civilization,” he writes, “is measured not by the power of its means, but by the care it is able to offer, by its ability to recognize the other as a face not merely as a function.” 10. Robust ethical consideration should be given to AI’s impact on war. Pope Leo is particularly concerned that AI, “detached from ethics and responsibility, will render decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, and will present the use of force as an immediate and viable option.” In calling for the principles of Catholic social teaching to serve as decision-making guidelines, he condemns “the spread of a culture of power characterized by polarization and violence.” Instead, he calls humanity to “the civilization of love,” which is “no naïve utopia, but a demanding project, which consists in translating charity into structures of justice, giving institutional form to fraternity, and regarding others — whether individuals or peoples — as allies necessary for building the common good.” He also gives criteria for using AI in war. 11. “Magnifica Humanitas” is actually all about relationship. Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo points to humanity’s relationship to God and relationship to each other. In this area, he underscores action over passivity, and urges people to work toward “a willed and chosen solidarity.” He writes, “This is the guiding principle for technological processes: it is not enough for artificial intelligence to make us more efficient or connected; it must also serve to build a universal human family, with shared rights and duties, where digital proximity becomes a real opportunity for encounter and mutual care.” 12. Whatever the future holds, humanity’s meaning is rooted in Jesus Christ. The document’s conclusion includes a compelling reflection on the Incarnation through the “face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI.” “No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history,” Pope Leo writes. “This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving.” 13. The encyclical calls for personal conversion. The pope proposes for the Christian “a sober yet demanding program of Christian life with which we can navigate this epochal change in the light of the Gospel” centered on “contemplating God’s plan,” receiving the Eucharist, “building a world centered on the common good,” and praying in union with Mary. He encourages people to cultivate community and in-person relationships, educate young people to love wisdom, spend time with the poor and lonely, be a voice for justice, defend objective truth, and treat the digital world as “a new continent to be evangelized.” His final reflection centers on the “Magnificat,” Mary’s famous canticle glorifying God, recounted in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Pope Leo writes: “In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives.” Maria Wiering is managing editor of OSV News. Contributing to this story were OSV News’ Vatican Editor Courtney Mares and Digital Editor Megan Marley.  

13 things to know about Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI #Catholic –

(OSV News) — What does it mean to safeguard our humanity? That question is at the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s much anticipated first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” released May 25. The following are some key things to know about this weighty papal letter.

1. Latin for “Magnificent Humanity,” the title is drawn from the opening words of the text as rendered in Latin, as is customary for papal encyclicals. Those words state, in its English translation, “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo points to “the grandeur of humanity,” with men and women created by God for relationship with him and each other, cooperating in God’s creative work and guided by the Holy Spirit.

2. The document is about 42,000 words long, including footnotes, making it roughly the size of a novella. It spans five chapters sandwiched between a robust introduction and conclusion. The first chapter traces the development of Catholic social doctrine, or social teaching, especially since “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII’s seminal 1891 encyclical on the dignity of labor. The second chapter dives into the substance of Catholic social teaching. The third chapter explores the challenges artificial intelligence presents to humanity; the fourth chapter hones in on safeguarding truth, work and freedom; and the fifth chapter focuses on the implications of AI in warfare.

3. From education and jobs to private tech companies and families, “Magnifica Humanitas” is wide-ranging. It touches on the prospect of massive unemployment, the future of education, the protection of human freedom, excessive screen time for young people and technology addiction, data ownership, cryptocurrencies, economic disparities, environmental impacts, transhumanism and posthumanism, and cyberattacks and other forms of warfare. Pope Leo addresses the idea of “moral AI,” and argues that the basis for “alignment of AI with human values” requires “openly discussing the ethical frameworks involved and subjecting them to shared standards of social justice” in a conversation inclusive to all communities.

4. The document includes references to an array of influential thinkers. Beyond Pope Leo’s papal predecessors, the letter points to or quotes Dorothy Day, Maria Montessori, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., J.R.R. Tolkien, Plato, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the American humanist thinker Hannah Arendt, among others. And, of course, Pope Leo weaves in St. Augustine, the patron of Pope Leo’s Augustinian religious order and Pope Leo’s ever-present guide, particularly through the African bishop’s important fifth-century book, “The City of God.”


Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

5. It uses biblical imagery, imploring people to examine what humanity is building in “the construction site of our time.” The Tower of Babel and the City of God are contrasted throughout the encyclical to illustrate the two possible directions that the era of AI could take: a path of arrogance, artificial sense of self-sufficiency and chaos, or a path towards communion, relationship and God. Pope Leo underlines the critical need for developing a process for discernment to guide the development of AI. “The task of building today must place our relationship with God at its center,” Pope Leo writes.

6. Despite its challenges, AI is not to be inherently feared. “Technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he writes. “Over the centuries, technological development has significantly improved the living conditions of humanity. At the same time, each phase of progress has also revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good.” He speaks directly to AI developers, telling them that “technological innovation can represent human participation in the divine act of creation,” and therefore they “bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility, for every design choice reflects a vision of humanity.”

7. Taking time for discernment is critical in our path forward. The encyclical invites people of goodwill into “a shared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations” as they relate to AI. “We are living through a rapid phase of transition, a ‘change of era,’ in which … most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best,” Pope Leo writes. “For this very reason, crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as people and as a human community?”

8. It explains the principles of Catholic social teaching and why they are important in building a future where humanity flourishes. Pope Leo explains central tenets of Catholic social teaching — the dignity of the person, the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity and justice — as he makes the case for their use as guiding principles for AI. “The Social Doctrine of the Church is a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action,” Pope Leo writes. “Founded on Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and in engagement with the sciences, it helps us clearly interpret the challenges of the present and identify appropriate ways for living out a clear Christian witness, with joy and in service to the world. It is not an inert set of concepts, but a living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity’s vocation to a full and just life.” As AI has exponentially advanced and become part of daily life, people of goodwill must “face the challenges of our time with clarity of thought and responsibility,” he writes.

9. People cannot be reduced to machines, measured for their efficiency and valued for their “optimization.” Artificial intelligence “threatens to normalize an anti-human vision,” Pope Leo writes. “In that vision, the fullness of life is equated with having more, reducing weakness, eliminating uncertainty and exerting total control. When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion.” Instead, “the quality of a civilization,” he writes, “is measured not by the power of its means, but by the care it is able to offer, by its ability to recognize the other as a face not merely as a function.”

10. Robust ethical consideration should be given to AI’s impact on war. Pope Leo is particularly concerned that AI, “detached from ethics and responsibility, will render decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, and will present the use of force as an immediate and viable option.” In calling for the principles of Catholic social teaching to serve as decision-making guidelines, he condemns “the spread of a culture of power characterized by polarization and violence.” Instead, he calls humanity to “the civilization of love,” which is “no naïve utopia, but a demanding project, which consists in translating charity into structures of justice, giving institutional form to fraternity, and regarding others — whether individuals or peoples — as allies necessary for building the common good.” He also gives criteria for using AI in war.

11. “Magnifica Humanitas” is actually all about relationship. Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo points to humanity’s relationship to God and relationship to each other. In this area, he underscores action over passivity, and urges people to work toward “a willed and chosen solidarity.” He writes, “This is the guiding principle for technological processes: it is not enough for artificial intelligence to make us more efficient or connected; it must also serve to build a universal human family, with shared rights and duties, where digital proximity becomes a real opportunity for encounter and mutual care.”

12. Whatever the future holds, humanity’s meaning is rooted in Jesus Christ. The document’s conclusion includes a compelling reflection on the Incarnation through the “face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI.” “No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history,” Pope Leo writes. “This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving.”

13. The encyclical calls for personal conversion. The pope proposes for the Christian “a sober yet demanding program of Christian life with which we can navigate this epochal change in the light of the Gospel” centered on “contemplating God’s plan,” receiving the Eucharist, “building a world centered on the common good,” and praying in union with Mary. He encourages people to cultivate community and in-person relationships, educate young people to love wisdom, spend time with the poor and lonely, be a voice for justice, defend objective truth, and treat the digital world as “a new continent to be evangelized.” His final reflection centers on the “Magnificat,” Mary’s famous canticle glorifying God, recounted in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Pope Leo writes: “In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives.”

Maria Wiering is managing editor of OSV News. Contributing to this story were OSV News’ Vatican Editor Courtney Mares and Digital Editor Megan Marley.

 

(OSV News) — What does it mean to safeguard our humanity? That question is at the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s much anticipated first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” released May 25. The following are some key things to know about this weighty papal letter. 1. Latin for “Magnificent Humanity,” the title is drawn from the opening words of the text as rendered in Latin, as is customary for papal encyclicals. Those words state, in its English translation, “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal

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Trece cosas que hay que saber sobre la encíclica del Papa León sobre la IA #Catholic – (OSV News) — ¿Qué significa custodiar nuestra humanidad? Esa pregunta está en el centro de la tan esperada primera encíclica del Papa León XIV, “Magnifica Humanitas: Sobre la custodia de la persona humana en el tiempo de la inteligencia artificial”, publicada el 25 de mayo. A continuación, se presentan algunos aspectos clave sobre esta importante misiva papal.
1. Significa “Magnífica humanidad” en latín; el título proviene de las primeras palabras del texto tal y como están traducidas al latín, como habitualmente ocurre con las encíclicas papales. Esas palabras dicen, según su traducción al español: “La magnífica humanidad que Dios ha creado se encuentra hoy ante una elección decisiva: levantar una nueva torre de Babel o edificar la ciudad donde Dios y la humanidad habiten juntos”. A lo largo de la encíclica, el Papa León destaca “la grandeza de la persona humana”, con hombres y mujeres creados por Dios para la relación con él y para con los demás, cooperando con la labor creativa de Dios y guiados por el Espíritu Santo.
2. El documento –en su versión en español– cuenta con más de 44.000 palabras. Contiene cinco capítulos enmarcados entre una introducción y una conclusión sólidas. El primer capítulo traza la evolución de la doctrina social de la Iglesia, o enseñanza social, especialmente desde la “Rerum Novarum”, la influyente encíclica de 1891 del Papa León XIII sobre la dignidad del trabajo. El segundo capítulo ahonda en la substancia de la doctrina social católica. El tercer capítulo explora los desafíos que la inteligencia artificial presenta a la humanidad, el cuarto capítulo se centra en la defensa de la verdad, el trabajo, y la libertad; y el quinto capítulo se enfoca en lo que implica usar IA en situaciones bélicas.

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3. Desde la educación y los trabajos a las compañías tecnológicas privadas y las familias, los temas cubiertos por “Magnifica Humanitas” son muy amplios. La encíclica aborda temas como el prospecto del desempleo, el futuro de la educación, la protección de las libertades humanas, el tiempo excesivo frente a las pantallas, la adición a la tecnología, la propiedad de los datos, criptomonedas, disparidades económicas, el impacto medioambiental, transhumanismo y posthumanismo, además de ciberataques y otros tipos de conflictos bélicos. El Papa León habló de la idea de una “IA más moral” y argumenta que las bases de “la denominada ‘alineación’ de la IA con los valores humanos” requiere “la posibilidad de discutir el código ético que debe ser usado, sometiéndolo a criterios de justicia social compartida” en conversaciones que incluyan a todas las comunidades.
4. Este documento incluye referencias a una variedad de pensadores influyentes. Más allá de los predecesores del Papa León, la encíclica apunta, o cita a Dorothy Day, Maria Montessori, Martin Luther King Jr., J.R.R. Tolkien, Platón, la conferencia episcopal estadounidense, y la pensadora Hannah Arendt, entre otros. Y, por supuesto, el Papa León entreteje referencias a San Agustín, el santo patrón de la orden religiosa del pontífice agustino y un guía siempre presente, especialmente por medio del libro del obispo africano del siglo V, “La ciudad de Dios”. 5. 5. Recurre a imágenes bíblicas para instar a la gente a reflexionar sobre lo que la humanidad está construyendo en “la obra de nuestro tiempo”. La Torre de Babel y la Ciudad de Dios son contrastadas a lo largo de la encíclica para ilustrar las dos direcciones posibles que podría tomar la era de la IA: un camino de arrogancia, hacia un sentido artificial de autosuficiencia y caos, o un camino hacia la comunión, la relación y Dios. El Papa León subraya la necesidad crítica para desarrollar un proceso de discernimiento para guiar el desarrollo de la IA. “Hoy nuestra edificación debe tener como fundamento la relación con Dios”, escribió el Papa León.
6. A pesar de sus desafíos, la IA no debe ser temida. La tecnología “no debe considerarse, en sí misma, como una fuerza antagónica respecto a la persona”, escribió. “A lo largo de los siglos, el desarrollo tecnológico ha contribuido a una mejora significativa de las condiciones de vida de la humanidad; al mismo tiempo, cada etapa del progreso también ha puesto de manifiesto el lado ambiguo de instrumentos capaces de causar daño cuando no se orientan hacia el bien”. Se dirige directamente a quienes desarrollan sistemas de IA, diciéndoles que “la innovación tecnológica puede ser, en cierto modo, una forma humana de participación en el acto divino de la creación” y, por tanto, los desarrolladores llevan “un importante peso ético y espiritual, ya que cada elección de proyecto expresa una visión de la humanidad”.
7. Dedicar tiempo al discernimiento es fundamental en nuestro camino hacia el futuro. La encíclica invita a la gente de buena voluntad a iniciar “un discernimiento compartido capaz de profundizar en las raíces espirituales y culturales de las transformaciones que se están produciendo” con lo que respecta a la IA. “Estamos viviendo una rápida fase de transición, un ‘cambio de época’ en el que … la mayoría de las personas permanece a la espera, observa desde lejos y simplemente aguarda a que todo salga bien”, escribió el Papa León. “Precisamente por eso se imponen en nuestra conciencia preguntas decisivas, que ya no pueden eludirse: ¿Hacia dónde vamos? ¿Hacia qué meta deseamos orientarnos? ¿Qué dirección elegir como comunidad humana y como pueblos?”
8. Explica los principios de la doctrina social de la Iglesia y por qué son importantes para construir un futuro en el que la humanidad prospere. El Papa León explica los principios fundamentales de la doctrina social católica –la dignidad de la persona, el bien común, el destino universal de los bienes, la subsidiariedad, la solidaridad y la justicia– al tiempo que defiende su aplicación como principios rectores de la IA. “La Doctrina social de la Iglesia es un patrimonio de sabiduría, en el que encontramos principios para pensar, criterios para discernir y juzgar, y orientaciones concretas para actuar”, escribió. “Se fundamenta en la Sagrada Escritura y en la Tradición y, en diálogo con las ciencias, nos ayuda a leer con lucidez los desafíos del presente, identificando caminos adecuados para vivir un testimonio cristiano límpido, con alegría y al servicio del mundo. No es un conjunto estático de conceptos, sino un corpus vivo de verdades, que custodia e interpreta la vocación de la humanidad a una vida plena y justa”. Mientras la inteligencia artificial ha avanzado exponencialmente y se ha convertido en parte de la vida cotidiana, las personas de bien deben “asumir con lucidez y responsabilidad los retos de nuestro tiempo”, dijo.
9. Las personas no pueden ser reducidas a máquinas, medirse por su eficiencia ni valorarse por su “optimización”. La inteligencia artificial amenaza con hacer “parecer justa y normal una visión antihumana”, escribió el Papa León, “según la cual la plenitud de la vida consistiría en tener más, reducir la fragilidad, eliminar lo imprevisto y controlarlo todo. Cuando la eficiencia se vuelve medida de valor, el ser humano es tentado a considerarse como un proyecto que debe optimizarse más que como una criatura llamada a la relación y a la comunión”. Por el contrario, escribió “la calidad de una civilización se mide no por el poder de sus medios, sino por el cuidado que sabe ofrecer, por la capacidad de reconocer un rostro en el otro y no una función”.
10. Se debe considerar seriamente el impacto de la IA en situaciones de guerra. El Papa León se preocupa de manera particular que la inteligencia artificial “separada de la ética y de la responsabilidad, haga más rápida e impersonal la decisión sobre la vida y la muerte, y presente el uso de la fuerza como una opción inmediata y viable”. Al llamar a la humanidad a una “civilización del amor”, ésta “no es una utopía ingenua, sino un proyecto exigente. Consiste en traducir la caridad en estructuras de justicia, en dar cuerpo institucional a la fraternidad y en considerar al otro –ya sea persona o pueblo– como un aliado necesario para la construcción del bien común”. También da pautas para el uso de AI en conflictos bélicos.
11. “Magnifica Humanitas” trata fundamentalmente sobre las relaciones. A lo largo de su encíclica, el Papa León destaca la relación de la humanidad con Dios, la relación de las personas entre sí. En este aspecto, él enfatiza la acción sobre la pasividad e insta a las personas a trabajar para lograr “una solidaridad deseada y elegida”. Escribió que “es el criterio para orientar los procesos tecnológicos: no basta con que la IA nos haga más eficientes o conectados, debe servir para edificar esa familia humana universal, con derechos y deberes compartidos, donde la proximidad digital se convierta en una ocasión real de encuentro y de cuidado recíproco”.
12. Independientemente de lo que depare el futuro, el sentido de la humanidad está arraigado en Jesucristo. Las conclusiones del documento incluyen una reflexión cautivadora sobre la Encarnación por medio del “rostro del Hijo una magnífica humanidad que también ilumina la época de la IA”. “Ningún sistema de cálculo, por sofisticado que sea, genera un corazón que se entrega, ni una conciencia capaz de discernir el bien. Incluso cuando las máquinas sobresalen en eficiencia, el centro de la historia sigue siendo un rostro humano que exige ser contemplado”, escribió. “Este rostro humano es la plenitud hacia la que camina la historia”.
13. La encíclica nos llama a una conversión personal. El Papa propone para los cristianos un itinerario “sobrio y exigente con el cual vivir este cambio de época a la luz del Evangelio” centrados en “la contemplación del designio de Dios”, nutriéndose de la Palabra y de la Eucaristía, construyendo “el bien en el mundo” y orando junto con la Virgen María. Él motivó a la gente a cultivar comunidad y relaciones en persona, educar a los jóvenes para que amen la verdad, pasar tiempo con los pobres y solitarios, ser una voz a favor de la justicia, defender la verdad objetiva y tratar el mundo digital “como un nuevo continente por evangelizar”. En su reflexión final, se centró en el “Magníficat”, el cántico en el que la Virgen María glorifica a Dios, y que es mencionado en el primer capítulo del Evangelio de Lucas. El Papa León escribió: “En la fidelidad humilde de cada día, también el tiempo de la IA puede ser un paso en el que el Espíritu haga madurar la civilización del amor en nuestras vidas”.
Maria Wiering es editora de OSV News. Contribuyeron a este reportaje la editora del Vaticano de OSV News, Courtney Mares, y la editora digital, Megan Marley.

Trece cosas que hay que saber sobre la encíclica del Papa León sobre la IA #Catholic – (OSV News) — ¿Qué significa custodiar nuestra humanidad? Esa pregunta está en el centro de la tan esperada primera encíclica del Papa León XIV, “Magnifica Humanitas: Sobre la custodia de la persona humana en el tiempo de la inteligencia artificial”, publicada el 25 de mayo. A continuación, se presentan algunos aspectos clave sobre esta importante misiva papal. 1. Significa “Magnífica humanidad” en latín; el título proviene de las primeras palabras del texto tal y como están traducidas al latín, como habitualmente ocurre con las encíclicas papales. Esas palabras dicen, según su traducción al español: “La magnífica humanidad que Dios ha creado se encuentra hoy ante una elección decisiva: levantar una nueva torre de Babel o edificar la ciudad donde Dios y la humanidad habiten juntos”. A lo largo de la encíclica, el Papa León destaca “la grandeza de la persona humana”, con hombres y mujeres creados por Dios para la relación con él y para con los demás, cooperando con la labor creativa de Dios y guiados por el Espíritu Santo. 2. El documento –en su versión en español– cuenta con más de 44.000 palabras. Contiene cinco capítulos enmarcados entre una introducción y una conclusión sólidas. El primer capítulo traza la evolución de la doctrina social de la Iglesia, o enseñanza social, especialmente desde la “Rerum Novarum”, la influyente encíclica de 1891 del Papa León XIII sobre la dignidad del trabajo. El segundo capítulo ahonda en la substancia de la doctrina social católica. El tercer capítulo explora los desafíos que la inteligencia artificial presenta a la humanidad, el cuarto capítulo se centra en la defensa de la verdad, el trabajo, y la libertad; y el quinto capítulo se enfoca en lo que implica usar IA en situaciones bélicas. Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. 3. Desde la educación y los trabajos a las compañías tecnológicas privadas y las familias, los temas cubiertos por “Magnifica Humanitas” son muy amplios. La encíclica aborda temas como el prospecto del desempleo, el futuro de la educación, la protección de las libertades humanas, el tiempo excesivo frente a las pantallas, la adición a la tecnología, la propiedad de los datos, criptomonedas, disparidades económicas, el impacto medioambiental, transhumanismo y posthumanismo, además de ciberataques y otros tipos de conflictos bélicos. El Papa León habló de la idea de una “IA más moral” y argumenta que las bases de “la denominada ‘alineación’ de la IA con los valores humanos” requiere “la posibilidad de discutir el código ético que debe ser usado, sometiéndolo a criterios de justicia social compartida” en conversaciones que incluyan a todas las comunidades. 4. Este documento incluye referencias a una variedad de pensadores influyentes. Más allá de los predecesores del Papa León, la encíclica apunta, o cita a Dorothy Day, Maria Montessori, Martin Luther King Jr., J.R.R. Tolkien, Platón, la conferencia episcopal estadounidense, y la pensadora Hannah Arendt, entre otros. Y, por supuesto, el Papa León entreteje referencias a San Agustín, el santo patrón de la orden religiosa del pontífice agustino y un guía siempre presente, especialmente por medio del libro del obispo africano del siglo V, “La ciudad de Dios”. 5. 5. Recurre a imágenes bíblicas para instar a la gente a reflexionar sobre lo que la humanidad está construyendo en “la obra de nuestro tiempo”. La Torre de Babel y la Ciudad de Dios son contrastadas a lo largo de la encíclica para ilustrar las dos direcciones posibles que podría tomar la era de la IA: un camino de arrogancia, hacia un sentido artificial de autosuficiencia y caos, o un camino hacia la comunión, la relación y Dios. El Papa León subraya la necesidad crítica para desarrollar un proceso de discernimiento para guiar el desarrollo de la IA. “Hoy nuestra edificación debe tener como fundamento la relación con Dios”, escribió el Papa León. 6. A pesar de sus desafíos, la IA no debe ser temida. La tecnología “no debe considerarse, en sí misma, como una fuerza antagónica respecto a la persona”, escribió. “A lo largo de los siglos, el desarrollo tecnológico ha contribuido a una mejora significativa de las condiciones de vida de la humanidad; al mismo tiempo, cada etapa del progreso también ha puesto de manifiesto el lado ambiguo de instrumentos capaces de causar daño cuando no se orientan hacia el bien”. Se dirige directamente a quienes desarrollan sistemas de IA, diciéndoles que “la innovación tecnológica puede ser, en cierto modo, una forma humana de participación en el acto divino de la creación” y, por tanto, los desarrolladores llevan “un importante peso ético y espiritual, ya que cada elección de proyecto expresa una visión de la humanidad”. 7. Dedicar tiempo al discernimiento es fundamental en nuestro camino hacia el futuro. La encíclica invita a la gente de buena voluntad a iniciar “un discernimiento compartido capaz de profundizar en las raíces espirituales y culturales de las transformaciones que se están produciendo” con lo que respecta a la IA. “Estamos viviendo una rápida fase de transición, un ‘cambio de época’ en el que … la mayoría de las personas permanece a la espera, observa desde lejos y simplemente aguarda a que todo salga bien”, escribió el Papa León. “Precisamente por eso se imponen en nuestra conciencia preguntas decisivas, que ya no pueden eludirse: ¿Hacia dónde vamos? ¿Hacia qué meta deseamos orientarnos? ¿Qué dirección elegir como comunidad humana y como pueblos?” 8. Explica los principios de la doctrina social de la Iglesia y por qué son importantes para construir un futuro en el que la humanidad prospere. El Papa León explica los principios fundamentales de la doctrina social católica –la dignidad de la persona, el bien común, el destino universal de los bienes, la subsidiariedad, la solidaridad y la justicia– al tiempo que defiende su aplicación como principios rectores de la IA. “La Doctrina social de la Iglesia es un patrimonio de sabiduría, en el que encontramos principios para pensar, criterios para discernir y juzgar, y orientaciones concretas para actuar”, escribió. “Se fundamenta en la Sagrada Escritura y en la Tradición y, en diálogo con las ciencias, nos ayuda a leer con lucidez los desafíos del presente, identificando caminos adecuados para vivir un testimonio cristiano límpido, con alegría y al servicio del mundo. No es un conjunto estático de conceptos, sino un corpus vivo de verdades, que custodia e interpreta la vocación de la humanidad a una vida plena y justa”. Mientras la inteligencia artificial ha avanzado exponencialmente y se ha convertido en parte de la vida cotidiana, las personas de bien deben “asumir con lucidez y responsabilidad los retos de nuestro tiempo”, dijo. 9. Las personas no pueden ser reducidas a máquinas, medirse por su eficiencia ni valorarse por su “optimización”. La inteligencia artificial amenaza con hacer “parecer justa y normal una visión antihumana”, escribió el Papa León, “según la cual la plenitud de la vida consistiría en tener más, reducir la fragilidad, eliminar lo imprevisto y controlarlo todo. Cuando la eficiencia se vuelve medida de valor, el ser humano es tentado a considerarse como un proyecto que debe optimizarse más que como una criatura llamada a la relación y a la comunión”. Por el contrario, escribió “la calidad de una civilización se mide no por el poder de sus medios, sino por el cuidado que sabe ofrecer, por la capacidad de reconocer un rostro en el otro y no una función”. 10. Se debe considerar seriamente el impacto de la IA en situaciones de guerra. El Papa León se preocupa de manera particular que la inteligencia artificial “separada de la ética y de la responsabilidad, haga más rápida e impersonal la decisión sobre la vida y la muerte, y presente el uso de la fuerza como una opción inmediata y viable”. Al llamar a la humanidad a una “civilización del amor”, ésta “no es una utopía ingenua, sino un proyecto exigente. Consiste en traducir la caridad en estructuras de justicia, en dar cuerpo institucional a la fraternidad y en considerar al otro –ya sea persona o pueblo– como un aliado necesario para la construcción del bien común”. También da pautas para el uso de AI en conflictos bélicos. 11. “Magnifica Humanitas” trata fundamentalmente sobre las relaciones. A lo largo de su encíclica, el Papa León destaca la relación de la humanidad con Dios, la relación de las personas entre sí. En este aspecto, él enfatiza la acción sobre la pasividad e insta a las personas a trabajar para lograr “una solidaridad deseada y elegida”. Escribió que “es el criterio para orientar los procesos tecnológicos: no basta con que la IA nos haga más eficientes o conectados, debe servir para edificar esa familia humana universal, con derechos y deberes compartidos, donde la proximidad digital se convierta en una ocasión real de encuentro y de cuidado recíproco”. 12. Independientemente de lo que depare el futuro, el sentido de la humanidad está arraigado en Jesucristo. Las conclusiones del documento incluyen una reflexión cautivadora sobre la Encarnación por medio del “rostro del Hijo una magnífica humanidad que también ilumina la época de la IA”. “Ningún sistema de cálculo, por sofisticado que sea, genera un corazón que se entrega, ni una conciencia capaz de discernir el bien. Incluso cuando las máquinas sobresalen en eficiencia, el centro de la historia sigue siendo un rostro humano que exige ser contemplado”, escribió. “Este rostro humano es la plenitud hacia la que camina la historia”. 13. La encíclica nos llama a una conversión personal. El Papa propone para los cristianos un itinerario “sobrio y exigente con el cual vivir este cambio de época a la luz del Evangelio” centrados en “la contemplación del designio de Dios”, nutriéndose de la Palabra y de la Eucaristía, construyendo “el bien en el mundo” y orando junto con la Virgen María. Él motivó a la gente a cultivar comunidad y relaciones en persona, educar a los jóvenes para que amen la verdad, pasar tiempo con los pobres y solitarios, ser una voz a favor de la justicia, defender la verdad objetiva y tratar el mundo digital “como un nuevo continente por evangelizar”. En su reflexión final, se centró en el “Magníficat”, el cántico en el que la Virgen María glorifica a Dios, y que es mencionado en el primer capítulo del Evangelio de Lucas. El Papa León escribió: “En la fidelidad humilde de cada día, también el tiempo de la IA puede ser un paso en el que el Espíritu haga madurar la civilización del amor en nuestras vidas”. Maria Wiering es editora de OSV News. Contribuyeron a este reportaje la editora del Vaticano de OSV News, Courtney Mares, y la editora digital, Megan Marley.

Trece cosas que hay que saber sobre la encíclica del Papa León sobre la IA #Catholic –

(OSV News) — ¿Qué significa custodiar nuestra humanidad? Esa pregunta está en el centro de la tan esperada primera encíclica del Papa León XIV, “Magnifica Humanitas: Sobre la custodia de la persona humana en el tiempo de la inteligencia artificial”, publicada el 25 de mayo. A continuación, se presentan algunos aspectos clave sobre esta importante misiva papal.

1. Significa “Magnífica humanidad” en latín; el título proviene de las primeras palabras del texto tal y como están traducidas al latín, como habitualmente ocurre con las encíclicas papales. Esas palabras dicen, según su traducción al español: “La magnífica humanidad que Dios ha creado se encuentra hoy ante una elección decisiva: levantar una nueva torre de Babel o edificar la ciudad donde Dios y la humanidad habiten juntos”. A lo largo de la encíclica, el Papa León destaca “la grandeza de la persona humana”, con hombres y mujeres creados por Dios para la relación con él y para con los demás, cooperando con la labor creativa de Dios y guiados por el Espíritu Santo.

2. El documento –en su versión en español– cuenta con más de 44.000 palabras. Contiene cinco capítulos enmarcados entre una introducción y una conclusión sólidas. El primer capítulo traza la evolución de la doctrina social de la Iglesia, o enseñanza social, especialmente desde la “Rerum Novarum”, la influyente encíclica de 1891 del Papa León XIII sobre la dignidad del trabajo. El segundo capítulo ahonda en la substancia de la doctrina social católica. El tercer capítulo explora los desafíos que la inteligencia artificial presenta a la humanidad, el cuarto capítulo se centra en la defensa de la verdad, el trabajo, y la libertad; y el quinto capítulo se enfoca en lo que implica usar IA en situaciones bélicas.


Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí.

3. Desde la educación y los trabajos a las compañías tecnológicas privadas y las familias, los temas cubiertos por “Magnifica Humanitas” son muy amplios. La encíclica aborda temas como el prospecto del desempleo, el futuro de la educación, la protección de las libertades humanas, el tiempo excesivo frente a las pantallas, la adición a la tecnología, la propiedad de los datos, criptomonedas, disparidades económicas, el impacto medioambiental, transhumanismo y posthumanismo, además de ciberataques y otros tipos de conflictos bélicos. El Papa León habló de la idea de una “IA más moral” y argumenta que las bases de “la denominada ‘alineación’ de la IA con los valores humanos” requiere “la posibilidad de discutir el código ético que debe ser usado, sometiéndolo a criterios de justicia social compartida” en conversaciones que incluyan a todas las comunidades.

4. Este documento incluye referencias a una variedad de pensadores influyentes. Más allá de los predecesores del Papa León, la encíclica apunta, o cita a Dorothy Day, Maria Montessori, Martin Luther King Jr., J.R.R. Tolkien, Platón, la conferencia episcopal estadounidense, y la pensadora Hannah Arendt, entre otros. Y, por supuesto, el Papa León entreteje referencias a San Agustín, el santo patrón de la orden religiosa del pontífice agustino y un guía siempre presente, especialmente por medio del libro del obispo africano del siglo V, “La ciudad de Dios”. 5. 5. Recurre a imágenes bíblicas para instar a la gente a reflexionar sobre lo que la humanidad está construyendo en “la obra de nuestro tiempo”. La Torre de Babel y la Ciudad de Dios son contrastadas a lo largo de la encíclica para ilustrar las dos direcciones posibles que podría tomar la era de la IA: un camino de arrogancia, hacia un sentido artificial de autosuficiencia y caos, o un camino hacia la comunión, la relación y Dios. El Papa León subraya la necesidad crítica para desarrollar un proceso de discernimiento para guiar el desarrollo de la IA. “Hoy nuestra edificación debe tener como fundamento la relación con Dios”, escribió el Papa León.

6. A pesar de sus desafíos, la IA no debe ser temida. La tecnología “no debe considerarse, en sí misma, como una fuerza antagónica respecto a la persona”, escribió. “A lo largo de los siglos, el desarrollo tecnológico ha contribuido a una mejora significativa de las condiciones de vida de la humanidad; al mismo tiempo, cada etapa del progreso también ha puesto de manifiesto el lado ambiguo de instrumentos capaces de causar daño cuando no se orientan hacia el bien”. Se dirige directamente a quienes desarrollan sistemas de IA, diciéndoles que “la innovación tecnológica puede ser, en cierto modo, una forma humana de participación en el acto divino de la creación” y, por tanto, los desarrolladores llevan “un importante peso ético y espiritual, ya que cada elección de proyecto expresa una visión de la humanidad”.

7. Dedicar tiempo al discernimiento es fundamental en nuestro camino hacia el futuro. La encíclica invita a la gente de buena voluntad a iniciar “un discernimiento compartido capaz de profundizar en las raíces espirituales y culturales de las transformaciones que se están produciendo” con lo que respecta a la IA. “Estamos viviendo una rápida fase de transición, un ‘cambio de época’ en el que … la mayoría de las personas permanece a la espera, observa desde lejos y simplemente aguarda a que todo salga bien”, escribió el Papa León. “Precisamente por eso se imponen en nuestra conciencia preguntas decisivas, que ya no pueden eludirse: ¿Hacia dónde vamos? ¿Hacia qué meta deseamos orientarnos? ¿Qué dirección elegir como comunidad humana y como pueblos?”

8. Explica los principios de la doctrina social de la Iglesia y por qué son importantes para construir un futuro en el que la humanidad prospere. El Papa León explica los principios fundamentales de la doctrina social católica –la dignidad de la persona, el bien común, el destino universal de los bienes, la subsidiariedad, la solidaridad y la justicia– al tiempo que defiende su aplicación como principios rectores de la IA. “La Doctrina social de la Iglesia es un patrimonio de sabiduría, en el que encontramos principios para pensar, criterios para discernir y juzgar, y orientaciones concretas para actuar”, escribió. “Se fundamenta en la Sagrada Escritura y en la Tradición y, en diálogo con las ciencias, nos ayuda a leer con lucidez los desafíos del presente, identificando caminos adecuados para vivir un testimonio cristiano límpido, con alegría y al servicio del mundo. No es un conjunto estático de conceptos, sino un corpus vivo de verdades, que custodia e interpreta la vocación de la humanidad a una vida plena y justa”. Mientras la inteligencia artificial ha avanzado exponencialmente y se ha convertido en parte de la vida cotidiana, las personas de bien deben “asumir con lucidez y responsabilidad los retos de nuestro tiempo”, dijo.

9. Las personas no pueden ser reducidas a máquinas, medirse por su eficiencia ni valorarse por su “optimización”. La inteligencia artificial amenaza con hacer “parecer justa y normal una visión antihumana”, escribió el Papa León, “según la cual la plenitud de la vida consistiría en tener más, reducir la fragilidad, eliminar lo imprevisto y controlarlo todo. Cuando la eficiencia se vuelve medida de valor, el ser humano es tentado a considerarse como un proyecto que debe optimizarse más que como una criatura llamada a la relación y a la comunión”. Por el contrario, escribió “la calidad de una civilización se mide no por el poder de sus medios, sino por el cuidado que sabe ofrecer, por la capacidad de reconocer un rostro en el otro y no una función”.

10. Se debe considerar seriamente el impacto de la IA en situaciones de guerra. El Papa León se preocupa de manera particular que la inteligencia artificial “separada de la ética y de la responsabilidad, haga más rápida e impersonal la decisión sobre la vida y la muerte, y presente el uso de la fuerza como una opción inmediata y viable”. Al llamar a la humanidad a una “civilización del amor”, ésta “no es una utopía ingenua, sino un proyecto exigente. Consiste en traducir la caridad en estructuras de justicia, en dar cuerpo institucional a la fraternidad y en considerar al otro –ya sea persona o pueblo– como un aliado necesario para la construcción del bien común”. También da pautas para el uso de AI en conflictos bélicos.

11. “Magnifica Humanitas” trata fundamentalmente sobre las relaciones. A lo largo de su encíclica, el Papa León destaca la relación de la humanidad con Dios, la relación de las personas entre sí. En este aspecto, él enfatiza la acción sobre la pasividad e insta a las personas a trabajar para lograr “una solidaridad deseada y elegida”. Escribió que “es el criterio para orientar los procesos tecnológicos: no basta con que la IA nos haga más eficientes o conectados, debe servir para edificar esa familia humana universal, con derechos y deberes compartidos, donde la proximidad digital se convierta en una ocasión real de encuentro y de cuidado recíproco”.

12. Independientemente de lo que depare el futuro, el sentido de la humanidad está arraigado en Jesucristo. Las conclusiones del documento incluyen una reflexión cautivadora sobre la Encarnación por medio del “rostro del Hijo una magnífica humanidad que también ilumina la época de la IA”. “Ningún sistema de cálculo, por sofisticado que sea, genera un corazón que se entrega, ni una conciencia capaz de discernir el bien. Incluso cuando las máquinas sobresalen en eficiencia, el centro de la historia sigue siendo un rostro humano que exige ser contemplado”, escribió. “Este rostro humano es la plenitud hacia la que camina la historia”.

13. La encíclica nos llama a una conversión personal. El Papa propone para los cristianos un itinerario “sobrio y exigente con el cual vivir este cambio de época a la luz del Evangelio” centrados en “la contemplación del designio de Dios”, nutriéndose de la Palabra y de la Eucaristía, construyendo “el bien en el mundo” y orando junto con la Virgen María. Él motivó a la gente a cultivar comunidad y relaciones en persona, educar a los jóvenes para que amen la verdad, pasar tiempo con los pobres y solitarios, ser una voz a favor de la justicia, defender la verdad objetiva y tratar el mundo digital “como un nuevo continente por evangelizar”. En su reflexión final, se centró en el “Magníficat”, el cántico en el que la Virgen María glorifica a Dios, y que es mencionado en el primer capítulo del Evangelio de Lucas. El Papa León escribió: “En la fidelidad humilde de cada día, también el tiempo de la IA puede ser un paso en el que el Espíritu haga madurar la civilización del amor en nuestras vidas”.

Maria Wiering es editora de OSV News. Contribuyeron a este reportaje la editora del Vaticano de OSV News, Courtney Mares, y la editora digital, Megan Marley.

(OSV News) — ¿Qué significa custodiar nuestra humanidad? Esa pregunta está en el centro de la tan esperada primera encíclica del Papa León XIV, “Magnifica Humanitas: Sobre la custodia de la persona humana en el tiempo de la inteligencia artificial”, publicada el 25 de mayo. A continuación, se presentan algunos aspectos clave sobre esta importante misiva papal. 1. Significa “Magnífica humanidad” en latín; el título proviene de las primeras palabras del texto tal y como están traducidas al latín, como habitualmente ocurre con las encíclicas papales. Esas palabras dicen, según su traducción al español: “La magnífica humanidad que Dios ha

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Antoni Gaudí: A model of holiness and dialogue for Spain – #Catholic – On June 9, as part of his apostolic journey to Spain, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Barcelona. There, he will inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basílica de la Sagrada Família and celebrate a Mass commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of its first architect and designer, Antoni Gaudí.Interest in Gaudí, whom Pope Francis proclaimed venerable in 2025, has grown recently alongside rumors of an imminent beatification. Ahead of Leo’s visit to Barcelona, two experts commented on Gaudíʼs legacy, which is not widely recognized beyond his architecture.Gaudí’s Sagrada Família: Representative of his vision?One hundred forty-four years after construction began, Sagrada Família continues to spark debate. Gaudí saw only about 10% of the original project completed. This raises a key question for architecture, heritage conservation, and contemporary art history: To what extent does what is being built today remain faithful to the original project envisioned by “Godʼs Architect”?“Our obligation is to continue with the construction of Sagrada Família, faithfully following Gaudíʼs project,” affirmed Jordi Faulí, the seventh architect of the church after Gaudí, in an interview with EWTN News.While other buildings were completed after their creators' deaths, such as Le Corbusierʼs Saint-Pierre de Firminy church in France, Gaudí’s situation is unique: he knew he would not live to see the work finished. For this reason, he devoted enormous effort to leaving a comprehensive roadmap for the future. Jordi Faulí, the seventh architect of the Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain, speaks to EWTN News on April 8, 2026. | Credit: Alessio di Cintio and Anthony Johnson/EWTN News Faulí, who has directed the works since 2012, asserted that Gaudí left a conceptual and technical legacy solid enough to guarantee the basilicaʼs continuity.“Consider that Gaudí spent his last 12 or 14 years working exclusively on Sagrada Família, living poorly, thinking about the future, with hope and faith in the future,” Faulí recounted. To ensure his vision survived him, the architect left behind a comprehensive theological-symbolic plan, detailed drawings, and large-scale models — including a massive 16.4-foot-high projection of the main nave.More than an architectural project, Sagrada Família is, in Faulíʼs words, a catechesis sculpted in stone.“He wanted to move people, to inspire them by seeing the facades, entering the interior, and seeing these treelike structures that rise upward into the space for the Eucharistic celebration, and for all this beauty to reach everyoneʼs heart so they would think about their lives, think about the life of Christ and their own lives, and that this would lead them to feel loved, welcomed, and ready to love others,” he stated.Gaudí: A model of dialogue amid deep divisions in SpainGaudí’s life and example of holiness have been highlighted in the run-up to Leo’s trip to Barcelona. Father Reniel Ramírez Herrera, who has served as postulator of Gaudí’s canonization cause since 2025, told EWTN News that although an imminent beatification for Gaudí is unlikely, it is impossible to understand him without faith.“Surely the figure of Gaudí is incomprehensible without a vision of faith,” Ramírez said to EWTN News. “Gaudí himself, during his architectural studies, did not conceive of architecture or even art in a broad sense without a vision of faith. Therefore, the transcendental element — and undoubtedly the element of holiness — is fundamental. And it is certainly a surprise for anyone who discovers, through small details, that the life of Gaudí is incomprehensible without a vision of faith; his genius cannot be understood except through faith.” Father Reniel Ramírez Herrera of Kaduna, postulator for the cause of canonization of Antoni Gaudí, stands in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on May 19, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News Gaudíʼs example has earned him praise from Catholic leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI. During his 2010 apostolic journey to Spain, when he consecrated Sagrada Família, he described Gaudí as “a brilliant architect and devout Christian, whose faith burned brightly.”Discussing the likely impact of the pope’s trip to Spain, Ramírez expressed hope that the visit would foster dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Spanish state, particularly given Spain’s history of anticlericalism. Gaudí lived through the intense violence against Catholic clergy in 1909, during the so-called Tragic Week, while still overseeing the construction of Sagrada Família. Ramírez expressed hope that renewed interest in Gaudí’s life and the pope’s visit would help heal the deep divisions that persist between Spain and the Church.“Certainly, the context is marked by deep divisions and elements of an ideological nature. And yet the popeʼs visit brings hope,” Ramírez said.“Gaudí was convinced that Sagrada Família was a kind of courtyard of the gentiles (a place of dialogue between Christians and nonbelievers), in which even an unbeliever could not only raise their gaze but also open their heart toward the transcendent. This spirit of dialogue with which Gaudí lived his mission will certainly mark the popeʼs visit and will accompany the moments when the pope will encounter a society and culture in which Gaudí deeply rooted his faith.”

Before Pope Leo’s visit to Barcelona, an architect and a priest discuss Antoni Gaudí’s holiness and skill, which enabled him to envision Sagrada Família Basilica and transcend deep divisions in Spain.

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In ancient times, a total solar eclipse might have ended a war over territory between the Lydians, inhabitants of modern Turkey, and the Medes, who lived in what is now Iran. The two peoples had been fighting for over five years, but that ended on May 28, 585 B.C.E.  Greek historian Herodotus wrote about theContinue reading “May 28, 585 B.C.E.: A war-ending eclipse”

The post May 28, 585 B.C.E.: A war-ending eclipse appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Salesian sisters go viral after attending San Antonio Spurs playoff game – #Catholic – Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco have drawn national attention as “diehard” San Antonio Spurs fans after a group of sisters attended a recent NBA playoff game.The sisters went viral on social media following the Texas teamʼs May 24 home-court matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The superfans wore Spurs jerseys, cheered on the team, and prayed over Catholic Spurs player Luke Kornet before the game. The prayer was seemingly answered as the Spurs scored their biggest victory in the 2026 NBA Western Conference finals so far.TweetSalesian Sister Cherilly Galley said the response the order has received since the game has been “really beautiful.”There has been a “response of people who are interested in Catholicism and people who would like to get involved, cheer on the Spurs, and also see how they can support our sisters here in San Antonio, which is really a huge blessing and a wonderful surprise from the Lord,” Galley said in an interview May 27 with “EWTN News Nightly.”While many first noticed the group of sisters at the recent game, the fans have been attending Spurs games “for over 20 years,” said Sister Bernadette Mota, a Salesian sister who prayed with Kornet at the game. “We have some sisters who were really diehard Spurs fans throughout the years, and theyʼre the ones who made that initial connection with the Spurs,” she said. “They would write to Coach [Gregg] Popovich, and he would actually write back.”Popovich, president of the San Antonio Spurs and former coach, and his wife  “came to visit the sisters a few times,” Mota said.The sisters “would watch the games” and over the years the connection has “just kept up,” Mota said. “But a few years back, it had kind of died down a little bit, and then COVID happened, and we kind of lost that connection.”“But just this past year, and more recently in these past weeks, it really has built up in a very strong way. And so weʼre back praying with the Spurs and being there to support the community and the San Antonio people who love the Spurs,” she said.Itʼs “wonderful” to “have a lot of family and friends come together and watch the games,” Galley said.The sisters host watch parties with “parents and students from our school at St. John Bosco here in San Antonio,” she said. It’s “a lot of fun and a wonderful way to share the joy of faith and family.”Keep God ‘first’Mota and Galley said their favorite Spurs players are Kornet and Victor Wembanyama — widely known as "Wemby.”“Wemby by far is the best player,” but the sisters “really like Luke [Kornet] because of the way he lives his Catholic faith on and off the court,” Mota said.While “sports and things like that are great,” players must remember that “God has to be first in your life,” Mota said.“Keep him first. Play strong, play your best, and work as a team because a team thatʼs united is very hard to pull down. So play together and have faith in God,” Mota said.“Trust one another as your team members — that is very valuable,” Galley added. Also, “have fun, enjoy it. Thatʼs always a wonderful thing: to have fun on the court.”

Salesian sisters go viral after attending San Antonio Spurs playoff game – #Catholic – Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco have drawn national attention as “diehard” San Antonio Spurs fans after a group of sisters attended a recent NBA playoff game.The sisters went viral on social media following the Texas teamʼs May 24 home-court matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The superfans wore Spurs jerseys, cheered on the team, and prayed over Catholic Spurs player Luke Kornet before the game. The prayer was seemingly answered as the Spurs scored their biggest victory in the 2026 NBA Western Conference finals so far.TweetSalesian Sister Cherilly Galley said the response the order has received since the game has been “really beautiful.”There has been a “response of people who are interested in Catholicism and people who would like to get involved, cheer on the Spurs, and also see how they can support our sisters here in San Antonio, which is really a huge blessing and a wonderful surprise from the Lord,” Galley said in an interview May 27 with “EWTN News Nightly.”While many first noticed the group of sisters at the recent game, the fans have been attending Spurs games “for over 20 years,” said Sister Bernadette Mota, a Salesian sister who prayed with Kornet at the game. “We have some sisters who were really diehard Spurs fans throughout the years, and theyʼre the ones who made that initial connection with the Spurs,” she said. “They would write to Coach [Gregg] Popovich, and he would actually write back.”Popovich, president of the San Antonio Spurs and former coach, and his wife  “came to visit the sisters a few times,” Mota said.The sisters “would watch the games” and over the years the connection has “just kept up,” Mota said. “But a few years back, it had kind of died down a little bit, and then COVID happened, and we kind of lost that connection.”“But just this past year, and more recently in these past weeks, it really has built up in a very strong way. And so weʼre back praying with the Spurs and being there to support the community and the San Antonio people who love the Spurs,” she said.Itʼs “wonderful” to “have a lot of family and friends come together and watch the games,” Galley said.The sisters host watch parties with “parents and students from our school at St. John Bosco here in San Antonio,” she said. It’s “a lot of fun and a wonderful way to share the joy of faith and family.”Keep God ‘first’Mota and Galley said their favorite Spurs players are Kornet and Victor Wembanyama — widely known as "Wemby.”“Wemby by far is the best player,” but the sisters “really like Luke [Kornet] because of the way he lives his Catholic faith on and off the court,” Mota said.While “sports and things like that are great,” players must remember that “God has to be first in your life,” Mota said.“Keep him first. Play strong, play your best, and work as a team because a team thatʼs united is very hard to pull down. So play together and have faith in God,” Mota said.“Trust one another as your team members — that is very valuable,” Galley added. Also, “have fun, enjoy it. Thatʼs always a wonderful thing: to have fun on the court.”

Salesian Sisters say their viral appearance at the San Antonio Spurs game has drawn an interest in Catholicism.

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Students Build Moon Robots for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge – Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.

Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 28 May 2026 – A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter 2:2-5, 9-12 Beloved: Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,  a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were no people but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.From the Gospel according to Mark 10:46-52 As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”  And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.What can we do when we find ourselves in a situation that seems to have no way out? Bartimaeus teaches us to appeal to the resources we have within us and which form a part of us. He is a beggar, he knows how to ask, indeed, he can shout! If you truly want something, you do everything in order to be able to reach it, even when others reproach you, humiliate you and tell you to let it be. If you really desire it, you keep on shouting! The cry of Bartimaeus, in the Gospel of Mark – “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” (v. 47) – has become a very well-known prayer in the Eastern tradition, which we too can use: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have pity on me, a sinner”. Bartimaeus is blind, but paradoxically he sees better than the others, and he recognizes who Jesus is! Before his cry, Jesus stops and has him called (cf. 49), because there is no cry that God does not hear, even when we are not aware we are addressing him (…). What saves Bartimaeus, and each one of us, is faith. Jesus heals us so that we can become free. He does not invite Bartimaeus to follow him, but tells him to go, to set out on his way (cf. v.52). However, Mark concludes the story by saying that Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus: he freely chose to follow him, He who is the Way! (Pope Leo XIV, General Audience, 11 June 2025)    

A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter
2:2-5, 9-12

Beloved:
Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk
so that through it you may grow into salvation,
for you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, 
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Once you were no people
but now you are God’s people;
you had not received mercy
but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners
to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul.
Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles,
so that if they speak of you as evildoers,
they may observe your good works
and glorify God on the day of visitation.

From the Gospel according to Mark
10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

What can we do when we find ourselves in a situation that seems to have no way out? Bartimaeus teaches us to appeal to the resources we have within us and which form a part of us. He is a beggar, he knows how to ask, indeed, he can shout! If you truly want something, you do everything in order to be able to reach it, even when others reproach you, humiliate you and tell you to let it be. If you really desire it, you keep on shouting! The cry of Bartimaeus, in the Gospel of Mark – “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” (v. 47) – has become a very well-known prayer in the Eastern tradition, which we too can use: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have pity on me, a sinner”. Bartimaeus is blind, but paradoxically he sees better than the others, and he recognizes who Jesus is! Before his cry, Jesus stops and has him called (cf. 49), because there is no cry that God does not hear, even when we are not aware we are addressing him (…). What saves Bartimaeus, and each one of us, is faith. Jesus heals us so that we can become free. He does not invite Bartimaeus to follow him, but tells him to go, to set out on his way (cf. v.52). However, Mark concludes the story by saying that Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus: he freely chose to follow him, He who is the Way! (Pope Leo XIV, General Audience, 11 June 2025)

 

 

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2 years after Pakistan mob lynching, Christian family still seeks justice #Catholic LAHORE, Pakistan — As Muslims across Pakistan celebrate Eid al-Adha, Sultan Gill is quietly preparing for the death anniversary of his father, who died after a violent mob attack over allegations of blasphemy in 2024.Nearly 2,000 people attacked Gillʼs family in Sargodha, in northern Punjab province, on May 25, 2024, after allegations emerged that his father, Nazir (Lazar) Masih, had desecrated pages of the Quran. EWTN News covered the attack at the time.The mob ransacked the familyʼs home and shoe factory in Mujahid Colony and later set the business on fire after a mosque announcement reportedly amplified the accusations.Police managed to evacuate nine members of the family, but Masih was caught by the crowd and beaten with stones, bricks, and sticks. The 74-year-old succumbed to his injuries on the night of June 2–3, 2024.The killing sparked protests by Christian groups across the country, while politicians and Catholic bishops visited the family and held meetings with police officials.Yet nearly two years later, the family says it is still waiting for justice and compensation for the destruction of their property, which remains abandoned after they fled Sargodha.“Our wounds became fresh during Eid. The cruelty cannot be described in words,” Gill told EWTN News.“The confidence is gone. We cannot move around or talk freely. Two of my children had to discontinue their education and start working to support the family in a new city and help pay house rent,” he said.“The police assured us of 1.2 million rupees [about $4,300] as compensation for damage to the factory, which was actually worth millions. But despite repeated visits to the district administration and Punjabʼs minority affairs minister, we received nothing.”Arrests but no accountabilitySargodha police registered cases against about 450 unidentified suspects under anti-terrorism laws, and 25 people were arrested over the attack on Masih.However, all of the accused were released within weeks, according to Sunil Kaleem, director of the Organization for Legal Aid, which has provided legal support to the family.“We challenged the bails granted to the accused, but without success. The biased judges of lower courts often rely on consistency and benefit-of-doubt principles in such cases,” Kaleem said.“There are no independent eyewitnesses apart from police officials, and there is little interest in pursuing accountability. The chances of punishment in mob attacks linked to blasphemy allegations remain very low.”Church leaders and rights groups have long argued that Pakistanʼs blasphemy laws disproportionately affect religious minorities and often fail to uphold principles of justice, including due process and the presumption of innocence.At least 26 Christians were killed extrajudicially in Pakistan between 1994 and 2024 following blasphemy allegations, according to the Center for Social Justice, a Lahore-based advocacy group.Church responseFather David John, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church in Sargodha, said Masihʼs family received financial assistance and shelter from the National Commission for Justice and Peace, the Catholic bishops' rights body, for 20 months.“Psychological support was crucial for frightened Christians in the area, and it was important to stand with them,” he said.“We did what we could. There was a long struggle to restore normalcy in the city with the support of district peace committees and Muslim friends.”“Religious minorities in Pakistan deserve to live in peace and harmony. People of goodwill stand with us. There is tremendous scope for interfaith dialogue, and efforts toward acceptance must continue.”Catholic activist Ashiknaz Khokhar criticized delays in the justice process and warned of wider consequences.“It weakens public trust and leaves vulnerable communities exposed to further harm. When cases remain unresolved, fear and instability increase,” he said, adding that Masihʼs family now plans to sell its two homes after losing its business in Sargodha.He called for stronger preventive measures, including proactive law enforcement to manage crowds before violence escalates.“The state should use digital monitoring systems to address online hate speech, provide administrative and security safeguards to ensure judicial independence, discourage misuse of laws through consistent accountability, and introduce educational reforms promoting religious tolerance and civic responsibility,” he said.

2 years after Pakistan mob lynching, Christian family still seeks justice #Catholic LAHORE, Pakistan — As Muslims across Pakistan celebrate Eid al-Adha, Sultan Gill is quietly preparing for the death anniversary of his father, who died after a violent mob attack over allegations of blasphemy in 2024.Nearly 2,000 people attacked Gillʼs family in Sargodha, in northern Punjab province, on May 25, 2024, after allegations emerged that his father, Nazir (Lazar) Masih, had desecrated pages of the Quran. EWTN News covered the attack at the time.The mob ransacked the familyʼs home and shoe factory in Mujahid Colony and later set the business on fire after a mosque announcement reportedly amplified the accusations.Police managed to evacuate nine members of the family, but Masih was caught by the crowd and beaten with stones, bricks, and sticks. The 74-year-old succumbed to his injuries on the night of June 2–3, 2024.The killing sparked protests by Christian groups across the country, while politicians and Catholic bishops visited the family and held meetings with police officials.Yet nearly two years later, the family says it is still waiting for justice and compensation for the destruction of their property, which remains abandoned after they fled Sargodha.“Our wounds became fresh during Eid. The cruelty cannot be described in words,” Gill told EWTN News.“The confidence is gone. We cannot move around or talk freely. Two of my children had to discontinue their education and start working to support the family in a new city and help pay house rent,” he said.“The police assured us of 1.2 million rupees [about $4,300] as compensation for damage to the factory, which was actually worth millions. But despite repeated visits to the district administration and Punjabʼs minority affairs minister, we received nothing.”Arrests but no accountabilitySargodha police registered cases against about 450 unidentified suspects under anti-terrorism laws, and 25 people were arrested over the attack on Masih.However, all of the accused were released within weeks, according to Sunil Kaleem, director of the Organization for Legal Aid, which has provided legal support to the family.“We challenged the bails granted to the accused, but without success. The biased judges of lower courts often rely on consistency and benefit-of-doubt principles in such cases,” Kaleem said.“There are no independent eyewitnesses apart from police officials, and there is little interest in pursuing accountability. The chances of punishment in mob attacks linked to blasphemy allegations remain very low.”Church leaders and rights groups have long argued that Pakistanʼs blasphemy laws disproportionately affect religious minorities and often fail to uphold principles of justice, including due process and the presumption of innocence.At least 26 Christians were killed extrajudicially in Pakistan between 1994 and 2024 following blasphemy allegations, according to the Center for Social Justice, a Lahore-based advocacy group.Church responseFather David John, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church in Sargodha, said Masihʼs family received financial assistance and shelter from the National Commission for Justice and Peace, the Catholic bishops' rights body, for 20 months.“Psychological support was crucial for frightened Christians in the area, and it was important to stand with them,” he said.“We did what we could. There was a long struggle to restore normalcy in the city with the support of district peace committees and Muslim friends.”“Religious minorities in Pakistan deserve to live in peace and harmony. People of goodwill stand with us. There is tremendous scope for interfaith dialogue, and efforts toward acceptance must continue.”Catholic activist Ashiknaz Khokhar criticized delays in the justice process and warned of wider consequences.“It weakens public trust and leaves vulnerable communities exposed to further harm. When cases remain unresolved, fear and instability increase,” he said, adding that Masihʼs family now plans to sell its two homes after losing its business in Sargodha.He called for stronger preventive measures, including proactive law enforcement to manage crowds before violence escalates.“The state should use digital monitoring systems to address online hate speech, provide administrative and security safeguards to ensure judicial independence, discourage misuse of laws through consistent accountability, and introduce educational reforms promoting religious tolerance and civic responsibility,” he said.

As Pakistan marks Eid al-Adha, the son of a Christian man killed by a mob over blasphemy allegations says his family has received no compensation and no one has been punished.

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Pope sets up commission to tackle 0 million debt at Padre Pio’s hospital #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday created a commission to identify solutions for long-term sustainability at the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, a major hospital complex founded by St. Pio of Pietrelcina and directly overseen by the Vatican Secretariat of State.The Catholic hospital — which is located in the southern Italian region of Puglia — is facing a debt crisis from which “we will emerge together,” Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said during a May 5 visit to the facility.The hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, where the saint known as Padre Pio lived for most of his life, has debts estimated to run between 250 million to 300 million euros (about 0 million to 0 million).The hospital is currently in a dispute with officials from the Puglia region over reimbursements — the regional authority claims it is owed 32 million euros ( million) — and is also involved in a conflict over new labor contracts.The new commission now aims to resolve what is a highly complex situation.The papal chirograph (a kind of decree) establishing the commission states that the pope’s decision arises from the Apostolic See’s love for works of charity and from the awareness that large institutions, in order to remain faithful to their mission, must be capable of facing the challenges of change.“The evolution of the times, technology, law, and economics places the mission of the Church before the challenge of continuous renewal,” particularly in sectors such as healthcare that require vision, investment, and prudent management, the chirograph says.Among these institutions is Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, founded “with the aim of providing hospitality, assistance, and care to the sick, pilgrims, and their families, inspired by the spirituality and the figure of its saintly founder.”The guidance and oversight commission has the task of analyzing the hospital foundation’s “current situation, identifying the best solutions for ever-greater efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability of its work and mission, and ensuring the concrete implementation of those solutions.”The commission will operate on all fronts — financial, patrimonial, and operational — with full authority to carry out the necessary acts of both ordinary and extraordinary administration. It will report directly to the pope before any decision of particular significance and before adopting measures of special importance or those that would have a decisive and substantial impact on the foundation’s assets or modify its statutes.The commission represents a combined effort by Vatican economic bodies and the Secretariat of State. Maximino Caballero Ledo, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, will serve as president. The coordinator is Fabio Gasperini, secretary-general of the Governorate. Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, is a member together with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, undersecretary for general affairs of the Secretariat of State. The technical committee includes Benjamín Estévez de Cominges, Gino Gumirato, and attorney Alessandro Ela Oyana.Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza was born from Padre Pio’s concrete faith, rooted in the conviction that caring for the body is an integral part of the Christian mission.The decision to establish an ad hoc commission is a sign of Leo’s interest in the hospital but also unusual, given that Pope Francis already established a Vatican commission for Catholic healthcare.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope sets up commission to tackle $290 million debt at Padre Pio’s hospital #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday created a commission to identify solutions for long-term sustainability at the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, a major hospital complex founded by St. Pio of Pietrelcina and directly overseen by the Vatican Secretariat of State.The Catholic hospital — which is located in the southern Italian region of Puglia — is facing a debt crisis from which “we will emerge together,” Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said during a May 5 visit to the facility.The hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, where the saint known as Padre Pio lived for most of his life, has debts estimated to run between 250 million to 300 million euros (about $290 million to $350 million).The hospital is currently in a dispute with officials from the Puglia region over reimbursements — the regional authority claims it is owed 32 million euros ($37 million) — and is also involved in a conflict over new labor contracts.The new commission now aims to resolve what is a highly complex situation.The papal chirograph (a kind of decree) establishing the commission states that the pope’s decision arises from the Apostolic See’s love for works of charity and from the awareness that large institutions, in order to remain faithful to their mission, must be capable of facing the challenges of change.“The evolution of the times, technology, law, and economics places the mission of the Church before the challenge of continuous renewal,” particularly in sectors such as healthcare that require vision, investment, and prudent management, the chirograph says.Among these institutions is Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, founded “with the aim of providing hospitality, assistance, and care to the sick, pilgrims, and their families, inspired by the spirituality and the figure of its saintly founder.”The guidance and oversight commission has the task of analyzing the hospital foundation’s “current situation, identifying the best solutions for ever-greater efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability of its work and mission, and ensuring the concrete implementation of those solutions.”The commission will operate on all fronts — financial, patrimonial, and operational — with full authority to carry out the necessary acts of both ordinary and extraordinary administration. It will report directly to the pope before any decision of particular significance and before adopting measures of special importance or those that would have a decisive and substantial impact on the foundation’s assets or modify its statutes.The commission represents a combined effort by Vatican economic bodies and the Secretariat of State. Maximino Caballero Ledo, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, will serve as president. The coordinator is Fabio Gasperini, secretary-general of the Governorate. Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, is a member together with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, undersecretary for general affairs of the Secretariat of State. The technical committee includes Benjamín Estévez de Cominges, Gino Gumirato, and attorney Alessandro Ela Oyana.Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza was born from Padre Pio’s concrete faith, rooted in the conviction that caring for the body is an integral part of the Christian mission.The decision to establish an ad hoc commission is a sign of Leo’s interest in the hospital but also unusual, given that Pope Francis already established a Vatican commission for Catholic healthcare.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where the saint known as Padre Pio lived for most of his life, has debts estimated to run between about $290 million to $350 million.

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The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back toContinue reading “2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases”

The post 2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Pope urges priests to respect ‘norms of the liturgy’ to avoid confusion at Mass – #Catholic – At the general audience on May 27, Pope Leo XIV urged priests to respect the “norms of the liturgy” and not to make changes to the Mass “on their own initiative,” in order to avoid confusing the faithful.“I encourage all priests to respect the texts and norms of the liturgy with openness, humility, trust in God’s greatness, and with sincere fidelity to ecclesial communion,” the pope said in remarks in St. Peterʼs Square.
 
 Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during the general audience on May 27, 2026. The pope spoke about the Second Vatican Council and the need for priests to follow liturgical norms. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
 
 The Second Vatican Council “affirmed that legitimate progress in the liturgy must also preserve sound tradition and that certain elements of the liturgy can never change because they are divinely instituted,” he said.Vatican II’s reform of the MassLeo’s catechesis on Wednesday continued his reflections on the magisterium of the Second Vatican Council, focusing on the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, promulgated by St. Paul VI on Dec. 4, 1963. It is one of the most important documents to emerge from the council, since it transformed the way Catholics celebrate the Mass.The pope offered a historical overview of the context in which Vatican II was convened, noting: “At that moment in history, there was a strong sense of the need for a renewal of the ritual forms through which, for centuries, the Church had glorified God and sanctified the Christian people.”
 
 Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby in St. Peter’s Square during the general audience on May 27, 2026. The pope spoke about the Second Vatican Council and the need for priests to follow liturgical norms. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
 
 He also underscored that, thanks to the liturgical movement, the conviction had developed — later expressed by St. John Paul II — that “‘a very close and organic bond exists between the renewal of the liturgy and the renewal of the whole life of the Church. The Church not only acts but also expresses herself in the liturgy, lives by the liturgy, and draws from the liturgy the strength for her life’ (Letter Dominicae Cenae, 13).”The pontiff reflected on Sacrosanctum Concilium, which he said sought “to encourage the access of the faithful to the richness of the gifts of grace dispensed by the sacred liturgy.” The pope highlighted the formula adopted by the council fathers: “That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate progress.”To deepen this idea, the pope quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who explained that the council fathers’ “reform program” sought “a balance between the great liturgical tradition of the past and that of the future." 
 
 Pilgrims stand in St. Peter’s Square during Pope Leo XIV’s general audience on May 27, 2026. The pope spoke about the Second Vatican Council and the need for priests to follow liturgical norms. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
 
 Benedict XVI said that “tradition and progress are often clumsily opposed,” but the late pope noted that “actually, the two concepts merge: Tradition is a living reality, which therefore includes in itself the principle of development, of progress.”Leo XIV said the progress referred to by Sacrosanctum Concilium “in no way compromises ecclesial communion; rather, it seeks to confirm and foster it.”He emphasized that “changes of this type have taken place constantly over the centuries in order to enable the faithful to participate fruitfully, through ritual actions, in the paschal mystery of Christ, the foundation of the Christian faith.”“For the good of the entire Church, every reform must always be preceded by careful ‘theological, historical, and pastoral’ investigation,” the Holy Father said. “The council magisterium, in this way, thus calls for the avoidance of confusion amongst the faithful, discouraging anyone from adding, removing, or altering anything in liturgical matters on their own initiative.”The Church’s worship, he added, has been “embodied” in the cultural forms of each age and has been able to influence them and even transform them.“The liturgy has thus been, for centuries, a driving force for evangelization. Today, this energy must be renewed in continuity with the authentic and living Catholic tradition, that is, in accordance with a dynamic aimed at introducing believers to the fullness of the truth,” he said.War in UkraineIn an appeal at the end of the audience, Leo expressed his concern over a recent intensification of the war in Ukraine. The Holy Father said he was entrusting everyone affected by war to the protection of Mary, Queen of Peace.“I wish to express my solidarity with all those suffering as a result of the recent attacks, which have also targeted civilians,” he said. “War does not solve problems; it exacerbates them,“ he said. ”It does not build security; it multiplies suffering and hatred. Where missiles and drones fall, hopes are crushed, homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are cut short.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope urges priests to respect ‘norms of the liturgy’ to avoid confusion at Mass – #Catholic – At the general audience on May 27, Pope Leo XIV urged priests to respect the “norms of the liturgy” and not to make changes to the Mass “on their own initiative,” in order to avoid confusing the faithful.“I encourage all priests to respect the texts and norms of the liturgy with openness, humility, trust in God’s greatness, and with sincere fidelity to ecclesial communion,” the pope said in remarks in St. Peterʼs Square. Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during the general audience on May 27, 2026. The pope spoke about the Second Vatican Council and the need for priests to follow liturgical norms. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News The Second Vatican Council “affirmed that legitimate progress in the liturgy must also preserve sound tradition and that certain elements of the liturgy can never change because they are divinely instituted,” he said.Vatican II’s reform of the MassLeo’s catechesis on Wednesday continued his reflections on the magisterium of the Second Vatican Council, focusing on the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, promulgated by St. Paul VI on Dec. 4, 1963. It is one of the most important documents to emerge from the council, since it transformed the way Catholics celebrate the Mass.The pope offered a historical overview of the context in which Vatican II was convened, noting: “At that moment in history, there was a strong sense of the need for a renewal of the ritual forms through which, for centuries, the Church had glorified God and sanctified the Christian people.” Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby in St. Peter’s Square during the general audience on May 27, 2026. The pope spoke about the Second Vatican Council and the need for priests to follow liturgical norms. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News He also underscored that, thanks to the liturgical movement, the conviction had developed — later expressed by St. John Paul II — that “‘a very close and organic bond exists between the renewal of the liturgy and the renewal of the whole life of the Church. The Church not only acts but also expresses herself in the liturgy, lives by the liturgy, and draws from the liturgy the strength for her life’ (Letter Dominicae Cenae, 13).”The pontiff reflected on Sacrosanctum Concilium, which he said sought “to encourage the access of the faithful to the richness of the gifts of grace dispensed by the sacred liturgy.” The pope highlighted the formula adopted by the council fathers: “That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate progress.”To deepen this idea, the pope quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who explained that the council fathers’ “reform program” sought “a balance between the great liturgical tradition of the past and that of the future." Pilgrims stand in St. Peter’s Square during Pope Leo XIV’s general audience on May 27, 2026. The pope spoke about the Second Vatican Council and the need for priests to follow liturgical norms. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Benedict XVI said that “tradition and progress are often clumsily opposed,” but the late pope noted that “actually, the two concepts merge: Tradition is a living reality, which therefore includes in itself the principle of development, of progress.”Leo XIV said the progress referred to by Sacrosanctum Concilium “in no way compromises ecclesial communion; rather, it seeks to confirm and foster it.”He emphasized that “changes of this type have taken place constantly over the centuries in order to enable the faithful to participate fruitfully, through ritual actions, in the paschal mystery of Christ, the foundation of the Christian faith.”“For the good of the entire Church, every reform must always be preceded by careful ‘theological, historical, and pastoral’ investigation,” the Holy Father said. “The council magisterium, in this way, thus calls for the avoidance of confusion amongst the faithful, discouraging anyone from adding, removing, or altering anything in liturgical matters on their own initiative.”The Church’s worship, he added, has been “embodied” in the cultural forms of each age and has been able to influence them and even transform them.“The liturgy has thus been, for centuries, a driving force for evangelization. Today, this energy must be renewed in continuity with the authentic and living Catholic tradition, that is, in accordance with a dynamic aimed at introducing believers to the fullness of the truth,” he said.War in UkraineIn an appeal at the end of the audience, Leo expressed his concern over a recent intensification of the war in Ukraine. The Holy Father said he was entrusting everyone affected by war to the protection of Mary, Queen of Peace.“I wish to express my solidarity with all those suffering as a result of the recent attacks, which have also targeted civilians,” he said. “War does not solve problems; it exacerbates them,“ he said. ”It does not build security; it multiplies suffering and hatred. Where missiles and drones fall, hopes are crushed, homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are cut short.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo’s catechesis focused on the Second Vatican Council’s constitution, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” a document that transformed the way Catholics celebrate Mass.

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Clifton parish ablaze with Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday #Catholic - On May 24, Pentecost Sunday, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Paul Parish in Clifton, N.J., where he celebrated a 1 p.m. Spanish Mass. Earlier that day, during his pastoral visit, the bishop also confirmed 15 parish youth at an 11 a.m. Mass he presided over.
Joining him at 1 p.m. Spanish Mass, Father Leonardo Jaramillo, pastor of St. Paul’s, concelebrated, while Deacon Hector Castellanos, also of the parish, assisted.

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The Solemnity of Pentecost is not simply the end of Easter. It is the day the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the first disciples gathered in Jerusalem. That moment marks when the fearful followers of Jesus were strengthened to proclaim the Gospel boldly to the world. For this reason, Pentecost is often called “the birthday of the Church,” according to Catholic Answers.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
 [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  

Clifton parish ablaze with Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday #Catholic –

On May 24, Pentecost Sunday, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Paul Parish in Clifton, N.J., where he celebrated a 1 p.m. Spanish Mass. Earlier that day, during his pastoral visit, the bishop also confirmed 15 parish youth at an 11 a.m. Mass he presided over.

Joining him at 1 p.m. Spanish Mass, Father Leonardo Jaramillo, pastor of St. Paul’s, concelebrated, while Deacon Hector Castellanos, also of the parish, assisted.


Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

The Solemnity of Pentecost is not simply the end of Easter. It is the day the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the first disciples gathered in Jerusalem. That moment marks when the fearful followers of Jesus were strengthened to proclaim the Gospel boldly to the world. For this reason, Pentecost is often called “the birthday of the Church,” according to Catholic Answers.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI

On May 24, Pentecost Sunday, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Paul Parish in Clifton, N.J., where he celebrated a 1 p.m. Spanish Mass. Earlier that day, during his pastoral visit, the bishop also confirmed 15 parish youth at an 11 a.m. Mass he presided over. Joining him at 1 p.m. Spanish Mass, Father Leonardo Jaramillo, pastor of St. Paul’s, concelebrated, while Deacon Hector Castellanos, also of the parish, assisted. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The Solemnity of Pentecost is not simply the end of Easter. It is the day the Church celebrates the descent of the

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Hawthorne parish celebrates as Bishop installs new pastor #Catholic - On May 23, the faithful of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, N.J., rejoiced as Father Stephen Prisk was officially installed as their 11th pastor by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the Mass in the church.
Ordained on May 23, 2015, by Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli, Father Prisk was appointed St. Anthony’s pastor on July 1, 2025. He succeeds Msgr. Raymond Kupke, the parish’s former pastor. Msgr. Kupke retired from active ministry last year but remains archivist of the Paterson Diocese, N.J. Father Prisk also retains his position as diocesan vice chancellor.
At the event, two members of the Hawthorne Borough Council presented Father Prisk with a congratulatory resolution.

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In addition to Father Prisk and Msgr. Kupke, several priests concelebrated the installation Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Among them were Father Charles Lana, diocesan vocations director, and Msgr. Francis Duffy, a retired diocesan priest. Also concelebrating were Father Pawel Tomczyk, pastoral-formation director and assistant professor of moral theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J.; Father Thomas Rekiel, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J.; and Father Brendon Harfmann, parochial vicar of St. Anthony’s.
Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Worship Office, served as master of ceremonies. Deacon Ronnie Gonzalez of St. Anthony’s and Brian Reilly, a diocesan seminarian assigned to the parish for the summer, assisted with the liturgy.
An only child, Father Prisk was born and raised in Clifton and belonged to Sacred Heart Parish there, where he attended elementary school.
After graduating from Seton Hall Preparatory High School in South Orange, N.J., Father Prisk earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.
Father Prisk discerned the call to the priesthood while in college. He attended Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange for a year before transferring to the North American College in Rome for theology studies.
While in Rome, Father Prisk earned a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Institute of John Paul II for Studies on Marriage and the Family.
Father Prisk’s first priestly assignment, in 2015, was as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Mendham, N.J. In 2019, he was named diocesan vice chancellor and priest-secretary to Bishop Serratelli.
In 2021, he had been appointed pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Pequannock, N.J., while continuing as diocesan vice chancellor. He served at Holy Spirit before being transferred to St. Anthony’s.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
 [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  

Hawthorne parish celebrates as Bishop installs new pastor #Catholic – On May 23, the faithful of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, N.J., rejoiced as Father Stephen Prisk was officially installed as their 11th pastor by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the Mass in the church. Ordained on May 23, 2015, by Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli, Father Prisk was appointed St. Anthony’s pastor on July 1, 2025. He succeeds Msgr. Raymond Kupke, the parish’s former pastor. Msgr. Kupke retired from active ministry last year but remains archivist of the Paterson Diocese, N.J. Father Prisk also retains his position as diocesan vice chancellor. At the event, two members of the Hawthorne Borough Council presented Father Prisk with a congratulatory resolution. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. In addition to Father Prisk and Msgr. Kupke, several priests concelebrated the installation Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Among them were Father Charles Lana, diocesan vocations director, and Msgr. Francis Duffy, a retired diocesan priest. Also concelebrating were Father Pawel Tomczyk, pastoral-formation director and assistant professor of moral theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J.; Father Thomas Rekiel, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J.; and Father Brendon Harfmann, parochial vicar of St. Anthony’s. Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Worship Office, served as master of ceremonies. Deacon Ronnie Gonzalez of St. Anthony’s and Brian Reilly, a diocesan seminarian assigned to the parish for the summer, assisted with the liturgy. An only child, Father Prisk was born and raised in Clifton and belonged to Sacred Heart Parish there, where he attended elementary school. After graduating from Seton Hall Preparatory High School in South Orange, N.J., Father Prisk earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Father Prisk discerned the call to the priesthood while in college. He attended Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange for a year before transferring to the North American College in Rome for theology studies. While in Rome, Father Prisk earned a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Institute of John Paul II for Studies on Marriage and the Family. Father Prisk’s first priestly assignment, in 2015, was as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Mendham, N.J. In 2019, he was named diocesan vice chancellor and priest-secretary to Bishop Serratelli. In 2021, he had been appointed pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Pequannock, N.J., while continuing as diocesan vice chancellor. He served at Holy Spirit before being transferred to St. Anthony’s. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  

Hawthorne parish celebrates as Bishop installs new pastor #Catholic –

On May 23, the faithful of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, N.J., rejoiced as Father Stephen Prisk was officially installed as their 11th pastor by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the Mass in the church.

Ordained on May 23, 2015, by Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli, Father Prisk was appointed St. Anthony’s pastor on July 1, 2025. He succeeds Msgr. Raymond Kupke, the parish’s former pastor. Msgr. Kupke retired from active ministry last year but remains archivist of the Paterson Diocese, N.J. Father Prisk also retains his position as diocesan vice chancellor.

At the event, two members of the Hawthorne Borough Council presented Father Prisk with a congratulatory resolution.


Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

In addition to Father Prisk and Msgr. Kupke, several priests concelebrated the installation Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Among them were Father Charles Lana, diocesan vocations director, and Msgr. Francis Duffy, a retired diocesan priest. Also concelebrating were Father Pawel Tomczyk, pastoral-formation director and assistant professor of moral theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J.; Father Thomas Rekiel, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J.; and Father Brendon Harfmann, parochial vicar of St. Anthony’s.

Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Worship Office, served as master of ceremonies. Deacon Ronnie Gonzalez of St. Anthony’s and Brian Reilly, a diocesan seminarian assigned to the parish for the summer, assisted with the liturgy.

An only child, Father Prisk was born and raised in Clifton and belonged to Sacred Heart Parish there, where he attended elementary school.

After graduating from Seton Hall Preparatory High School in South Orange, N.J., Father Prisk earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

Father Prisk discerned the call to the priesthood while in college. He attended Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange for a year before transferring to the North American College in Rome for theology studies.

While in Rome, Father Prisk earned a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Institute of John Paul II for Studies on Marriage and the Family.

Father Prisk’s first priestly assignment, in 2015, was as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Mendham, N.J. In 2019, he was named diocesan vice chancellor and priest-secretary to Bishop Serratelli.

In 2021, he had been appointed pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Pequannock, N.J., while continuing as diocesan vice chancellor. He served at Holy Spirit before being transferred to St. Anthony’s.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI

On May 23, the faithful of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, N.J., rejoiced as Father Stephen Prisk was officially installed as their 11th pastor by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the Mass in the church. Ordained on May 23, 2015, by Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli, Father Prisk was appointed St. Anthony’s pastor on July 1, 2025. He succeeds Msgr. Raymond Kupke, the parish’s former pastor. Msgr. Kupke retired from active ministry last year but remains archivist of the Paterson Diocese, N.J. Father Prisk also retains his position as diocesan vice chancellor. At the event, two members of the

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Cardinal highlights 10 key points to understand Magnifica Humanitas – #Catholic – Cardinal Fernando Chomali, archbishop of Santiago, Chile, offered a 10-point guide to understanding the central message of Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIVʼs first encyclical, presented May 25.The encyclicalʼs theme is “On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." In it, the pope calls upon both society and those who design artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to be subject to “more rigorous ethical constraints” out of “respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life.”The cardinal shared 10 points on social media to foster a deeper understanding of the Holy Fatherʼs central message in the document:1. The human person lies at the center of all technological progress.2. The great challenge of our time is not technical but human and spiritual.3. Artificial intelligence must be placed at the service of the common good.4. Human dignity does not depend on productivity or capabilities.5. Fragility is not a defect that must be eliminated.6. No artificial intelligence can replace human experience.7. Truth is a common good that must be protected.8. Human work cannot be subjected to the logic of machines.9. Freedom is threatened by new, invisible forms of control.10. Peace and the civilization of love constitute the true alternative to technological power.An illuminating document for Chile’s situationThe president of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop René Rebolledo Salinas, expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for the encyclical while highlighting the document’s “profound resonance” with Chile’s pastoral and social challenges.He specifically noted the pope’s concern regarding the vulnerability of young people to technological addictions and digital manipulation, a challenge currently facing the country. He also observed that one of the Church’s great challenges is transforming the enthusiasm of young people into an enduring missionary witness.“The digital environment is the natural mission territory for the new generations,” said the prelate, warning that “it’s not enough to turn off the screens; we must accompany them so that they may carry the light of the Gospel to this new continent.”He also mentioned the upcoming International Church Communications Seminar, which will take place in Chile July 27–28 with the theme: “The Challenges of Artificial Intelligence.”"The publication of Magnifica Humanitas arrives at a providential moment as all the countryʼs bishops will gather at the end of July for the seminar on communications and AI," he noted, saying the gathering will make the encyclical an "illuminating foundational text."Addressing the popeʼs warning regarding how AI may undermine truth and democratic life, Rebolledo emphasized that, in the current scenario of political and social transformations, the Churchʼs role will continue to be that of enlightening consciences through the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church.“The Holy Father is clear: a technology that seeks only economic gain constructs a new Babel that sacrifices the most vulnerable,” the prelate emphasized, reflecting: “In Chile, this directly challenges us to pay closer attention to the new forms of poverty currently emerging.” At the same time, he urged the protection of truth “in an era where disinformation and artificial intelligence can confuse what is true and what is false.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Cardinal highlights 10 key points to understand Magnifica Humanitas – #Catholic – Cardinal Fernando Chomali, archbishop of Santiago, Chile, offered a 10-point guide to understanding the central message of Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIVʼs first encyclical, presented May 25.The encyclicalʼs theme is “On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." In it, the pope calls upon both society and those who design artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to be subject to “more rigorous ethical constraints” out of “respect for human dignity and the sanctity of life.”The cardinal shared 10 points on social media to foster a deeper understanding of the Holy Fatherʼs central message in the document:1. The human person lies at the center of all technological progress.2. The great challenge of our time is not technical but human and spiritual.3. Artificial intelligence must be placed at the service of the common good.4. Human dignity does not depend on productivity or capabilities.5. Fragility is not a defect that must be eliminated.6. No artificial intelligence can replace human experience.7. Truth is a common good that must be protected.8. Human work cannot be subjected to the logic of machines.9. Freedom is threatened by new, invisible forms of control.10. Peace and the civilization of love constitute the true alternative to technological power.An illuminating document for Chile’s situationThe president of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop René Rebolledo Salinas, expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for the encyclical while highlighting the document’s “profound resonance” with Chile’s pastoral and social challenges.He specifically noted the pope’s concern regarding the vulnerability of young people to technological addictions and digital manipulation, a challenge currently facing the country. He also observed that one of the Church’s great challenges is transforming the enthusiasm of young people into an enduring missionary witness.“The digital environment is the natural mission territory for the new generations,” said the prelate, warning that “it’s not enough to turn off the screens; we must accompany them so that they may carry the light of the Gospel to this new continent.”He also mentioned the upcoming International Church Communications Seminar, which will take place in Chile July 27–28 with the theme: “The Challenges of Artificial Intelligence.”"The publication of Magnifica Humanitas arrives at a providential moment as all the countryʼs bishops will gather at the end of July for the seminar on communications and AI," he noted, saying the gathering will make the encyclical an "illuminating foundational text."Addressing the popeʼs warning regarding how AI may undermine truth and democratic life, Rebolledo emphasized that, in the current scenario of political and social transformations, the Churchʼs role will continue to be that of enlightening consciences through the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church.“The Holy Father is clear: a technology that seeks only economic gain constructs a new Babel that sacrifices the most vulnerable,” the prelate emphasized, reflecting: “In Chile, this directly challenges us to pay closer attention to the new forms of poverty currently emerging.” At the same time, he urged the protection of truth “in an era where disinformation and artificial intelligence can confuse what is true and what is false.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The archbishop of Santiago, Chile, distills 10 important takeaways from the timely document on artificial intelligence.

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Neocatechumenal Way to conclude diocesan phase of co-founder’s cause for canonization – #Catholic – The Neocatechumenal Way will soon celebrate its 60th anniversary and conclude the diocesan phase of the canonization process of Carmen Hernández, who co-founded the apostolate with Kiko Argüello.The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at Our Lady of Almudena Cathedral to mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of the Neocatechumenal Way on May 30.The ceremony, which was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis, will be concelebrated by other Spanish prelates, and more than 100 priests will attend.The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, was founded in 1964 and is a post-baptismal formation program within the Catholic Church designed to help baptized adults rediscover and deepen their faith.“It is a moment of joy that encompasses the entire reality of the Neocatechumenal Way: this itinerary of Christian Initiation lived out in small communities and currently present in over 6,250 parishes across some 1,400 dioceses worldwide, which was born in one of the poorest areas of the Spanish capital,” states a press release from the apostolate.
 
 Interior view of the shack where Kiko Argüello lived during the early days of the Neocatechumenal Way apostolate. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Neocatechumenal Way
 
 The celebration will continue on June 2, when the closing rite for the cause of canonization of Carmen Hernández will take place. As a young woman, she and Argüello founded the Neocatechumenal Way with the encouragement of the archbishop of Madrid-Alcalá, Casimiro Morcillo González.The cause for canonization began on Dec. 4, 2022, after postulator Carlos Metola gathered nearly 30,000 pages of documentation, and will conclude almost 10 years after her death on July 19, 2016.The event will feature addresses by Cobo, Metola, and Argüello himself, who shared his evangelizing mission with Hernández for over 50 years. It will take place at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Madrid, where Hernández is buried. According to the Neocatechumenal Way, over the past decade, more than 118,000 people have visited her tomb, “and favors are continually received through her intercession.”Hernández’s contribution was “fundamental,” the Neocatechumenal Way states, particularly “thanks to her studies regarding the renewal of the Second Vatican Council.”
 
 The burial site of Carmen Hernández at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Madrid. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Neocatechumenal Way
 
 “This contribution was made in many aspects: the formation of the small Christian community, the liturgy, Easter, the relationship with the word of God, including the Old Testament and patristic and Jewish sources,” the press release notes.Argüello and Hernández met in the mid-1960s in the Palomeras Altas neighborhood of Madrid, where the former, despite a promising career as a painter, abandoned everything to live in a shack and begin proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the poor.This Christian initiation for adults soon spread to the parishes through the impetus of Morcillo, and today it is present in 138 countries across five continents and has 116 diocesan missionary seminaries in which nearly 3,500 priests have been formed.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Neocatechumenal Way to conclude diocesan phase of co-founder’s cause for canonization – #Catholic – The Neocatechumenal Way will soon celebrate its 60th anniversary and conclude the diocesan phase of the canonization process of Carmen Hernández, who co-founded the apostolate with Kiko Argüello.The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at Our Lady of Almudena Cathedral to mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of the Neocatechumenal Way on May 30.The ceremony, which was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis, will be concelebrated by other Spanish prelates, and more than 100 priests will attend.The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, was founded in 1964 and is a post-baptismal formation program within the Catholic Church designed to help baptized adults rediscover and deepen their faith.“It is a moment of joy that encompasses the entire reality of the Neocatechumenal Way: this itinerary of Christian Initiation lived out in small communities and currently present in over 6,250 parishes across some 1,400 dioceses worldwide, which was born in one of the poorest areas of the Spanish capital,” states a press release from the apostolate. Interior view of the shack where Kiko Argüello lived during the early days of the Neocatechumenal Way apostolate. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Neocatechumenal Way The celebration will continue on June 2, when the closing rite for the cause of canonization of Carmen Hernández will take place. As a young woman, she and Argüello founded the Neocatechumenal Way with the encouragement of the archbishop of Madrid-Alcalá, Casimiro Morcillo González.The cause for canonization began on Dec. 4, 2022, after postulator Carlos Metola gathered nearly 30,000 pages of documentation, and will conclude almost 10 years after her death on July 19, 2016.The event will feature addresses by Cobo, Metola, and Argüello himself, who shared his evangelizing mission with Hernández for over 50 years. It will take place at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Madrid, where Hernández is buried. According to the Neocatechumenal Way, over the past decade, more than 118,000 people have visited her tomb, “and favors are continually received through her intercession.”Hernández’s contribution was “fundamental,” the Neocatechumenal Way states, particularly “thanks to her studies regarding the renewal of the Second Vatican Council.” The burial site of Carmen Hernández at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Madrid. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Neocatechumenal Way “This contribution was made in many aspects: the formation of the small Christian community, the liturgy, Easter, the relationship with the word of God, including the Old Testament and patristic and Jewish sources,” the press release notes.Argüello and Hernández met in the mid-1960s in the Palomeras Altas neighborhood of Madrid, where the former, despite a promising career as a painter, abandoned everything to live in a shack and begin proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the poor.This Christian initiation for adults soon spread to the parishes through the impetus of Morcillo, and today it is present in 138 countries across five continents and has 116 diocesan missionary seminaries in which nearly 3,500 priests have been formed.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The cause for canonization began in 2022 with nearly 30,000 pages of documentation. More than 118,000 people have visited her tomb, and favors are continually received through her intercession.

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Chennai, on India’s southern coast along the Bay of Bengal and with a metropolitan population of about 8.7 million, shines with white LED streetlights in this photograph taken at approximately 9:13 p.m. local time on May 2, 2026, from the International Space Station.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 27 May 2026 – A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter 1:18-25 Beloved: Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished Lamb. He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another intensely from a pure heart. You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God, for: "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts; but the word of the Lord remains forever." This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.From the Gospel according to Mark 10:32-45 The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,  and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise." Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."Who is great, who is “first” for God? First of all Jesus looks at behaviour which “those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles” risk assuming: to “lord it over them”. Jesus points out to the disciples a completely different conduct. “But it shall not be so among you”. His community follows another rule, another logic, another model: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all”. The criterion of greatness and primacy according to God is not domination but service; diaconia is the fundamental law of the disciple and of the Christian community, and lets us glimpse something about “the lordship of God”. And Jesus also indicates the reference point: the Son of man who came to serve. In other words he sums up his mission in the category of service, not meant in a generic sense but in the concrete sense of the Cross, of the total gift of life as a “ransom”, as redemption for many, and he points it out as a condition of the “sequela” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily in the Holy Mass on the Ordinary Public Concistory for the creation of new Cardinals, 20 November 2010)

A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter
1:18-25

Beloved:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:

"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

From the Gospel according to Mark
10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, 
and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Who is great, who is “first” for God? First of all Jesus looks at behaviour which “those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles” risk assuming: to “lord it over them”. Jesus points out to the disciples a completely different conduct. “But it shall not be so among you”. His community follows another rule, another logic, another model: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all”. The criterion of greatness and primacy according to God is not domination but service; diaconia is the fundamental law of the disciple and of the Christian community, and lets us glimpse something about “the lordship of God”. And Jesus also indicates the reference point: the Son of man who came to serve. In other words he sums up his mission in the category of service, not meant in a generic sense but in the concrete sense of the Cross, of the total gift of life as a “ransom”, as redemption for many, and he points it out as a condition of the “sequela” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily in the Holy Mass on the Ordinary Public Concistory for the creation of new Cardinals, 20 November 2010)

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Supreme Court declines to intervene in federal lawsuit over Peter’s Pence papal collection #Catholic The U.S. bishops will continue to face a lawsuit over millions of dollars in contested papal donations after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 26 refused to weigh in on the case. The decision represents a blow for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which was seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed on religious liberty grounds. The high court did not explain its reason for rejecting the petition from the U.S. bishops, issuing the decision as part of a larger order list.Rhode Island resident David OʼConnell filed the class action suit against the bishops in January 2020, alleging that the prelates had misled Catholics about the nature of the annual Peterʼs Pence papal collection.OʼConnell claimed he had been led to believe that the offering — which dates back centuries and which is used to help fund the popeʼs charitable initiatives — was strictly for emergency assistance to victims of war and poverty; OʼConnell said he subsequently found out it was used in part to “defray Vatican administrative expenses.”The U.S. bishops argued in court that the suit should be dismissed on the grounds of the “church autonomy doctrine,” a long-standing principle in U.S. case law that bars the government from exercising control over internal church decisions. Both a federal district court and an appeals court ruled against the bishops. The Supreme Courtʼs refusal to consider the case means it will continue to work its way through the lower courts. In a statement on May 26, Daniel Blomberg — a senior attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the bishops — said the decision was “disappointing.” But he said the USCCB is “evaluating all of its options moving forward” and “remains committed to protecting the Church from unconstitutional government entanglement.” Multiple religious advocates have come out in favor of the bishops in the dispute. A coalition of organizations including the Thomas More Society, the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, and several other groups filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in January arguing that their respective religious beliefs involve “matters of internal governance that must be protected from government entwinement.”In their petition to the Supreme Court, meanwhile, the bishops alleged that OʼConnell was "leveraging civil power for religious ends," claiming the plaintiff was “essentially seek[ing] the structural reform of a religious institution."Such disputes “are beyond the ken of civil courts,” the bishops argued, claiming that the suit includes “demands for lists of papal donors, accounting for the pope’s use of Peter’s Pence, and disclosure of the bishops’ internal communications with the Holy See about Peter’s Pence.”The suit threatens to “thrust civil courts into church pulpits and pews … pit millions of parishioners against their Church, and second-guess the meaning of an offering given to the head of a foreign religious sovereign for over 1,000 years,” the bishops said.

Supreme Court declines to intervene in federal lawsuit over Peter’s Pence papal collection #Catholic The U.S. bishops will continue to face a lawsuit over millions of dollars in contested papal donations after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 26 refused to weigh in on the case. The decision represents a blow for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which was seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed on religious liberty grounds. The high court did not explain its reason for rejecting the petition from the U.S. bishops, issuing the decision as part of a larger order list.Rhode Island resident David OʼConnell filed the class action suit against the bishops in January 2020, alleging that the prelates had misled Catholics about the nature of the annual Peterʼs Pence papal collection.OʼConnell claimed he had been led to believe that the offering — which dates back centuries and which is used to help fund the popeʼs charitable initiatives — was strictly for emergency assistance to victims of war and poverty; OʼConnell said he subsequently found out it was used in part to “defray Vatican administrative expenses.”The U.S. bishops argued in court that the suit should be dismissed on the grounds of the “church autonomy doctrine,” a long-standing principle in U.S. case law that bars the government from exercising control over internal church decisions. Both a federal district court and an appeals court ruled against the bishops. The Supreme Courtʼs refusal to consider the case means it will continue to work its way through the lower courts. In a statement on May 26, Daniel Blomberg — a senior attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the bishops — said the decision was “disappointing.” But he said the USCCB is “evaluating all of its options moving forward” and “remains committed to protecting the Church from unconstitutional government entanglement.” Multiple religious advocates have come out in favor of the bishops in the dispute. A coalition of organizations including the Thomas More Society, the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, and several other groups filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in January arguing that their respective religious beliefs involve “matters of internal governance that must be protected from government entwinement.”In their petition to the Supreme Court, meanwhile, the bishops alleged that OʼConnell was "leveraging civil power for religious ends," claiming the plaintiff was “essentially seek[ing] the structural reform of a religious institution."Such disputes “are beyond the ken of civil courts,” the bishops argued, claiming that the suit includes “demands for lists of papal donors, accounting for the pope’s use of Peter’s Pence, and disclosure of the bishops’ internal communications with the Holy See about Peter’s Pence.”The suit threatens to “thrust civil courts into church pulpits and pews … pit millions of parishioners against their Church, and second-guess the meaning of an offering given to the head of a foreign religious sovereign for over 1,000 years,” the bishops said.

The lawsuit will continue in the federal courts after the Supreme Court refused to consider a religious liberty objection by the U.S. bishops.

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Priest charged with theft of $160,000 from Kansas parish #Catholic A priest turned himself in to police after being accused of stealing about $160,000 from a parish, according to officials with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Father Richard Storey “voluntarily surrendered to the Leawood Police Department … on a level 5 felony charge involving theft of funds valued at approximately $160,000,” the archdiocese said in a May 23 statement.The alleged theft occurred at the Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood just outside of Kansas City, Kansas. Storey had resigned from that parish in September 2025 amid “a criminal investigation involving [Storey] concerning another adult,” according to the archdiocese. Kansas City Archbishop Shawn McKnight said on May 23 that the theft allegations were “deeply painful for all of us in the Catholic community, particularly given the nature of the allegations involving resources entrusted to the Church through the sacrifice and generosity of the faithful.”The archdiocese said a recent financial review identified discrepancies in the parishʼs finances that “warranted referral to law enforcement.” The parish will be filing an insurance claim to cover the losses, the archdiocese added. The archbishop urged parishioners at the Leawood parish to "treat one another with greater sensitivity, patience, charity, and respect as we move through this together, trusting that with faith in Christ, our community can emerge stronger and more united.”The prelate further thanked archdiocesan vicar general Father John Riley, the temporary administrator of the Leawood parish, for his “steady leadership and care for this community during this difficult time.”Arrest records show that Storey was booked on May 23 and posted $250,000 bond. The priest could face up to four years in prison on the charges.

Priest charged with theft of $160,000 from Kansas parish #Catholic A priest turned himself in to police after being accused of stealing about $160,000 from a parish, according to officials with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Father Richard Storey “voluntarily surrendered to the Leawood Police Department … on a level 5 felony charge involving theft of funds valued at approximately $160,000,” the archdiocese said in a May 23 statement.The alleged theft occurred at the Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood just outside of Kansas City, Kansas. Storey had resigned from that parish in September 2025 amid “a criminal investigation involving [Storey] concerning another adult,” according to the archdiocese. Kansas City Archbishop Shawn McKnight said on May 23 that the theft allegations were “deeply painful for all of us in the Catholic community, particularly given the nature of the allegations involving resources entrusted to the Church through the sacrifice and generosity of the faithful.”The archdiocese said a recent financial review identified discrepancies in the parishʼs finances that “warranted referral to law enforcement.” The parish will be filing an insurance claim to cover the losses, the archdiocese added. The archbishop urged parishioners at the Leawood parish to "treat one another with greater sensitivity, patience, charity, and respect as we move through this together, trusting that with faith in Christ, our community can emerge stronger and more united.”The prelate further thanked archdiocesan vicar general Father John Riley, the temporary administrator of the Leawood parish, for his “steady leadership and care for this community during this difficult time.”Arrest records show that Storey was booked on May 23 and posted $250,000 bond. The priest could face up to four years in prison on the charges.

Father Richard Storey turned himself in after being charged with theft from a Kansas City, Kansas, parish, according to the Archdiocese of Kansas City.

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Rubio pays homage at Mother Teresa’s tomb, bringing ‘joy’ to her nuns – #Catholic – KOLKATA, India — The unprecedented visit of Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, to the mother house of the Missionaries of Charity (MC), commencing his May 23–26 trip to India, has brought joy to the congregation founded by Mother Teresa, canonized as St. Teresa of Kolkata in 2016.After landing at Kolkata airport in the early hours of May 23, Rubio headed straight to the mother house. Accompanied by his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes, he attended a special Mass at the tomb of the nun, known as the “saint of the gutters,” on the ground floor of the mother house and placed a wreath of flowers on it.
 
 A wreath from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio bears a card from the U.S. Department of State reading “With Respect and Tribute from the People of The United States of America” at the tomb of St. Teresa of Kolkata on May 23, 2026. | Credit: Anto Akkara
 
 “With Respect and Tribute from the People of The United States of America” read the card pinned to the wreath Rubio placed on the tomb of Mother Teresa, which is thronged by hundreds of pilgrims daily.After the nearly hourlong Mass, Rubio spent another half hour with the Missionaries of Charity sisters at the mother house as dozens of excited novices looked on from the upper verandah.“It was beautiful. His respect for the mother is amazing. We thank God for this visit,” Sister Concettina, the congregationʼs secretary-general, told EWTN News after Rubio left, briefing the media, who had waited patiently outside for a couple of hours.From the mother house, Rubio and his entourage moved to Shishu Bhavan (a childrenʼs home), 650 feet away on the same A.J.C. Bose Road, where Rubio handed out teddy bears to destitute children with disabilities.“Mother Teresa left a tremendous legacy of compassion and service. I was honored to visit the Missionaries of Charity today to pay homage to her legacy,” Rubio said on X before flying from Kolkata to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Telegraph, an English-language daily based in Kolkata, also hinted at the significance of Rubioʼs mother house visit, titling its report “U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits mother house in Kolkata on first leg of India trip.”A long-scheduled day of double joyLater that afternoon, it proved a long-scheduled day of double joy for the Missionaries of Charity, with 25 novices of different nationalities taking their final professions at Auxilium Parish Church in a solemn service led by Archbishop Elias Frank of Kolkata in the presence of hundreds of sisters.
 
 Sister Concettina, secretary-general of the Missionaries of Charity, briefs the media at the mother house in Kolkata, India, after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit on May 23, 2026. | Credit: Anto Akkara
 
 “It is a day of double joy for us,” Sister Marie Juan, one of the senior Missionaries of Charity councilors who formally “accepted” the vows during the two-hour service — with Superior General Sister Mary Joseph away in Australia — told EWTN News while coming out of the church.The senior Missionary of Charity official was responding to an EWTN News question on how she felt about the U.S. secretary of state visiting the Mother House at the start of his four-day visit to India.An act of solidarity amid recent strainsThe congregation had previously undergone a stressful period when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Modi canceled its FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) license to receive foreign donations on Christmas Day 2021 — alongside thousands of Indian church and secular advocacy and charity groups, including Bread for the World and Compassion International.Following widespread Indian and international outcry, the Modi government restored the Missionaries of Charityʼs FCRA license within a fortnight, after peers in the U.K. House of Lords slammed the decision in a Jan. 6, 2022, debate.“This unique visit is reassuring for us,” Alexander Anthony, secretary-general of the All India Catholic Union — the official national lay network for Catholics in India — told EWTN News on May 26.The Rubio visit, said Kolkata-based Anthony, “is an act of solidarity with the MCs and Christian community in India. It gives out a clear message to the rulers as the community is distressed.”India has reported steadily increasing incidents of anti-Christian violence, rising from 127 in 2014, when Modi assumed power, to 834 by 2024.The Christian community has been on edge recently after the BJP, for the first time, took power in West Bengal state — of which Kolkata is the capital — in the April elections, amid widespread criticism of the deletion of more than 9 million voters from the rolls, equivalent to 12% of the voter list.Even the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Kolkata had to appeal to get their voting rights restored, The Times of India reported.

Rubio pays homage at Mother Teresa’s tomb, bringing ‘joy’ to her nuns – #Catholic – KOLKATA, India — The unprecedented visit of Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, to the mother house of the Missionaries of Charity (MC), commencing his May 23–26 trip to India, has brought joy to the congregation founded by Mother Teresa, canonized as St. Teresa of Kolkata in 2016.After landing at Kolkata airport in the early hours of May 23, Rubio headed straight to the mother house. Accompanied by his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes, he attended a special Mass at the tomb of the nun, known as the “saint of the gutters,” on the ground floor of the mother house and placed a wreath of flowers on it. A wreath from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio bears a card from the U.S. Department of State reading “With Respect and Tribute from the People of The United States of America” at the tomb of St. Teresa of Kolkata on May 23, 2026. | Credit: Anto Akkara “With Respect and Tribute from the People of The United States of America” read the card pinned to the wreath Rubio placed on the tomb of Mother Teresa, which is thronged by hundreds of pilgrims daily.After the nearly hourlong Mass, Rubio spent another half hour with the Missionaries of Charity sisters at the mother house as dozens of excited novices looked on from the upper verandah.“It was beautiful. His respect for the mother is amazing. We thank God for this visit,” Sister Concettina, the congregationʼs secretary-general, told EWTN News after Rubio left, briefing the media, who had waited patiently outside for a couple of hours.From the mother house, Rubio and his entourage moved to Shishu Bhavan (a childrenʼs home), 650 feet away on the same A.J.C. Bose Road, where Rubio handed out teddy bears to destitute children with disabilities.“Mother Teresa left a tremendous legacy of compassion and service. I was honored to visit the Missionaries of Charity today to pay homage to her legacy,” Rubio said on X before flying from Kolkata to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Telegraph, an English-language daily based in Kolkata, also hinted at the significance of Rubioʼs mother house visit, titling its report “U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits mother house in Kolkata on first leg of India trip.”A long-scheduled day of double joyLater that afternoon, it proved a long-scheduled day of double joy for the Missionaries of Charity, with 25 novices of different nationalities taking their final professions at Auxilium Parish Church in a solemn service led by Archbishop Elias Frank of Kolkata in the presence of hundreds of sisters. Sister Concettina, secretary-general of the Missionaries of Charity, briefs the media at the mother house in Kolkata, India, after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit on May 23, 2026. | Credit: Anto Akkara “It is a day of double joy for us,” Sister Marie Juan, one of the senior Missionaries of Charity councilors who formally “accepted” the vows during the two-hour service — with Superior General Sister Mary Joseph away in Australia — told EWTN News while coming out of the church.The senior Missionary of Charity official was responding to an EWTN News question on how she felt about the U.S. secretary of state visiting the Mother House at the start of his four-day visit to India.An act of solidarity amid recent strainsThe congregation had previously undergone a stressful period when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Modi canceled its FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) license to receive foreign donations on Christmas Day 2021 — alongside thousands of Indian church and secular advocacy and charity groups, including Bread for the World and Compassion International.Following widespread Indian and international outcry, the Modi government restored the Missionaries of Charityʼs FCRA license within a fortnight, after peers in the U.K. House of Lords slammed the decision in a Jan. 6, 2022, debate.“This unique visit is reassuring for us,” Alexander Anthony, secretary-general of the All India Catholic Union — the official national lay network for Catholics in India — told EWTN News on May 26.The Rubio visit, said Kolkata-based Anthony, “is an act of solidarity with the MCs and Christian community in India. It gives out a clear message to the rulers as the community is distressed.”India has reported steadily increasing incidents of anti-Christian violence, rising from 127 in 2014, when Modi assumed power, to 834 by 2024.The Christian community has been on edge recently after the BJP, for the first time, took power in West Bengal state — of which Kolkata is the capital — in the April elections, amid widespread criticism of the deletion of more than 9 million voters from the rolls, equivalent to 12% of the voter list.Even the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Kolkata had to appeal to get their voting rights restored, The Times of India reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began his first India visit at St. Teresa of Kolkata’s tomb, bringing reassurance to her Missionaries of Charity.

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Polish initiative aims to ensure every euro reaches Lebanese families in need – #Catholic – As Lebanon continues to struggle under the weight of overlapping crises, from war and economic collapse to poverty and displacement, humanitarian initiatives aimed at supporting the Lebanese people are intensifying. Within this context, Polish Catholics have launched an international initiative to assist Lebanon’s most vulnerable families. “Lebanon in Need” was launched by the Maronite Missionary Foundation in Poland in partnership with 4fund.com, one of Poland’s largest licensed financial institutions specializing in humanitarian fundraising, as part of the broader international campaign “Europe for Lebanon.” The initiative operates as a voluntary crisis committee that combines pastoral mission with regulated European financial infrastructure, with the aim of ensuring that every euro donated in Europe reaches Lebanon safely, transparently, and in full.Addressing gaps in humanitarian aid to Lebanon“Lebanon in Need” was launched at the beginning of March to address a specific challenge: how to transfer European generosity to Lebanese families without the complications, losses, and regulatory ambiguity that often weaken cross-border Catholic humanitarian campaigns.Having already worked in Lebanon in 2020, the foundation knew that many Catholics in Poland, Italy, Portugal, and other European countries were willing to help. At the same time, it understood that smaller Catholic initiatives often lack the financial and regulatory infrastructure necessary to receive donations on a large scale and transfer them quickly and transparently during times of war.This led to an unusual partnership between the foundation, through its Church networks and ties with Lebanese Christian institutions, and 4fund.com, the international arm of the Polish crowdfunding platform zrzutka.pl. Together, the two entities launched “Lebanon in Need” as the operational arm of the wider “Europe for Lebanon” campaign, creating a model that combines pastoral mission with organized European financial systems.
 
 As Lebanon struggles under the weight of intertwined crises, humanitarian initiatives there are intensifying. | Credit: Photo courtesy of 4fund.com
 
 While Catholic humanitarian initiatives traditionally rely on parish networks and volunteer work, crowdfunding platforms rely on technology and modern financial systems. This initiative brings both worlds together with the goal of ensuring that aid reaches its beneficiaries with greater transparency and credibility.Support reaching the most vulnerable familiesIn Lebanon, field operations rely on a network of trusted institutions that have played a key role throughout the country’s successive crises, including Caritas Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross, as well as a wide network of parishes, dioceses, and local Church institutions, where priests and social workers personally know the families most in need.Aid is directed toward the groups most affected by the crisis, with particular attention given to families displaced by bombardments, elderly people living alone, women and children in vulnerable conditions, sick and disabled persons, as well as families living in extreme poverty and residents of collective shelters, remote villages, and under-resourced host communities.Although the initiative is rooted in Christian values and gives particular attention to Christian families who have lost everything, assistance is provided to all those in need, regardless of religion, background, or political affiliation. This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Polish initiative aims to ensure every euro reaches Lebanese families in need – #Catholic – As Lebanon continues to struggle under the weight of overlapping crises, from war and economic collapse to poverty and displacement, humanitarian initiatives aimed at supporting the Lebanese people are intensifying. Within this context, Polish Catholics have launched an international initiative to assist Lebanon’s most vulnerable families. “Lebanon in Need” was launched by the Maronite Missionary Foundation in Poland in partnership with 4fund.com, one of Poland’s largest licensed financial institutions specializing in humanitarian fundraising, as part of the broader international campaign “Europe for Lebanon.” The initiative operates as a voluntary crisis committee that combines pastoral mission with regulated European financial infrastructure, with the aim of ensuring that every euro donated in Europe reaches Lebanon safely, transparently, and in full.Addressing gaps in humanitarian aid to Lebanon“Lebanon in Need” was launched at the beginning of March to address a specific challenge: how to transfer European generosity to Lebanese families without the complications, losses, and regulatory ambiguity that often weaken cross-border Catholic humanitarian campaigns.Having already worked in Lebanon in 2020, the foundation knew that many Catholics in Poland, Italy, Portugal, and other European countries were willing to help. At the same time, it understood that smaller Catholic initiatives often lack the financial and regulatory infrastructure necessary to receive donations on a large scale and transfer them quickly and transparently during times of war.This led to an unusual partnership between the foundation, through its Church networks and ties with Lebanese Christian institutions, and 4fund.com, the international arm of the Polish crowdfunding platform zrzutka.pl. Together, the two entities launched “Lebanon in Need” as the operational arm of the wider “Europe for Lebanon” campaign, creating a model that combines pastoral mission with organized European financial systems. As Lebanon struggles under the weight of intertwined crises, humanitarian initiatives there are intensifying. | Credit: Photo courtesy of 4fund.com While Catholic humanitarian initiatives traditionally rely on parish networks and volunteer work, crowdfunding platforms rely on technology and modern financial systems. This initiative brings both worlds together with the goal of ensuring that aid reaches its beneficiaries with greater transparency and credibility.Support reaching the most vulnerable familiesIn Lebanon, field operations rely on a network of trusted institutions that have played a key role throughout the country’s successive crises, including Caritas Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross, as well as a wide network of parishes, dioceses, and local Church institutions, where priests and social workers personally know the families most in need.Aid is directed toward the groups most affected by the crisis, with particular attention given to families displaced by bombardments, elderly people living alone, women and children in vulnerable conditions, sick and disabled persons, as well as families living in extreme poverty and residents of collective shelters, remote villages, and under-resourced host communities.Although the initiative is rooted in Christian values and gives particular attention to Christian families who have lost everything, assistance is provided to all those in need, regardless of religion, background, or political affiliation. This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Lebanon in Need combines European financial regulation with Church and humanitarian expertise on the ground, seeking to ensure that aid reaches Lebanese families quickly, transparently, and credibly.

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  May 25: Three planets after sunset Tonight, let’s compare the appearance of the Moon to that of a week ago to see the effects of lunar libration, the “nodding” motion caused by the tilt of the Moon’s orbit around Earth.  High inContinue reading “The Sky Today on Tuesday, May 26: Enter Endymion”

The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, May 26: Enter Endymion appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 26 May 2026 – A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter 1:10-16 Beloved: Concerning the salvation of your souls the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and investigated it investigating the time and circumstances that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you with regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who preached the Good News to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels longed to look. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.From the Gospel according to Mark 10:28-31 Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."

A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter
1:10-16

Beloved:
Concerning the salvation of your souls
the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours
searched and investigated it
investigating the time and circumstances
that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated
when it testified in advance
to the sufferings destined for Christ
and the glories to follow them.
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you
with regard to the things that have now been announced to you
by those who preached the Good News to you
through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,
things into which angels longed to look.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly,
and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Like obedient children,
do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
but, as he who called you is holy,
be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.

From the Gospel according to Mark
10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."

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When to say ‘no’ to AI in the classroom and at home: A key warning of Magnifica Humanitas – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV devotes a substantial portion of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, to the impact of the digital revolution on education and family life.The pontiff acknowledges that “rapid technological transformations reveal just how unprepared we are on the educational level.” He warns that “the pervasiveness of digital media fosters a culture of immediacy and hyper-stimulation, which gives rise to fatigue, boredom, and apathy concerning the effort required for seeking the truth.”In response, he emphasizes that education “is a long journey requiring patience and therefore needs time for development and for engagement with reality beyond appearances,” something he considers “fundamental,” because — as he recalls — every technology “shapes those who use it.”The risk of extinguishing the desire to ask questionsIn the encyclical, Leo XIV does not offer ready-made answers or an easy list of tips. Rather, he issues a broad call to rethink what it means to educate people in the use of artificial intelligence and its implications. Ultimately, as he himself states, it is a matter of educating people “to decide when and for what purpose it ought not to be used.”“The speed and ease with which answers or summaries can be obtained risk extinguishing the desire to ask questions, which is a process that bears fruit only over time,” the pope writes. To illustrate this point, he turns to the Seventh Letter of the Greek philosopher Plato, from 353 B.C., a cornerstone of Western thought.“We must learn, then, how to exercise restraint in the use of AI and to protect our young people from the promise of the perfect machine, from that subtle temptation which renders human thought seemingly superfluous precisely when it is most needed,” he suggests, recalling that, as Plato said, the deepest and most important realities are learned only with great time and effort.‘Early and unsupervised exposure’The pope also warns about the negative impact on sleep, attention, and emotional regulation caused by “early and unsupervised exposure to digital devices and social media.”This is compounded, he continues, “by easy access to violent or degrading content that offends sensibility, to pornographic and hypersexualized material, to messages that trivialize the body and emotions, and to proposals that normalize risky behavior.”“Having a personal mobile device at too early an age and using it without adult supervision can exacerbate young people’s vulnerabilities, foster addiction, and expose them to isolation, bullying, and cyberbullying, as well as to pressures to share intimate images or sensitive information,” he warns.In this regard, the pontiff acknowledges that it is difficult for parents to resist on their own the “influence of business models that monetize attention and time.” Hence his call for “an alliance among policymakers, educational institutions, and families that is capable of concretely supporting adults in this task.”“Farsighted public policies are needed,” he insists, “to oppose the immediate interests of platforms, concentrated in a few hands, when they conflict with the well-being of minors.”Along these lines, without pointing to any specific government, he speaks positively of legislative initiatives promoted in countries such as Australia, France, and Spain, and urges the promotion of “setting age limits, holding service providers accountable rather than shifting the whole burden of control onto families, and for providing specific protections against all forms of online sexual exploitation and violence. Thus can children and adolescents, who are entrusted to our care, be genuinely protected as a precious treasure.”Leo also identifies several pressing challenges within education in the face of the emergence of artificial intelligence.“Many educational systems struggle to keep pace with change and to support the integral development of students,” he notes.The development of information technologies and AI is causing curricula designed for another era to be obsolete, while school organization, spaces, assessment methods, and the very role of the teacher must be rethought “in order to promote an authentically integral education that addresses every dimension of the person.”“It is necessary to support the ongoing formation of teachers throughout their professional lives, so that they can engage positively with new technologies, helping students to use them responsibly, critically, and creatively rather than passively succumbing to their influence,” he says.The Holy Father also identifies a challenge of an intellectual and wisdom-based nature. “Without careful attention, an educational system lacking in a love for truth may emerge, in which an incessant flow of information replaces the essential exercise of research, reflection, and discernment,” he laments.A healthy attitude of attentionIn this context, he warns of the proliferation of a fragmented knowledge, while “it becomes difficult to grasp reality as a whole, to ask profound questions about meaning, or to develop authentic, critical, and creative thought.”“A genuinely healthy attitude is needed, requiring rhythms that incorporate silence, in-depth study, reading, and judicious analysis, for without these elements inner freedom may be compromised,” he proposes.The Church’s social doctrine, the pope says, calls for a renewed educational alliance among families, schools, Christian communities, and public institutions. This takes concrete form when principles are translated into educational goals: educating in sobriety and a sense of limits; in recognizing the right of others and of future generations to enjoy the goods received or created by human ingenuity; in freedom and responsibility; and in a sense of transcendence and the common good.“Schools are not called to follow the pace of the digital world but to offer that which the digital sphere by itself cannot provide, namely a shared time for learning and developing trustworthy relationships,” he concludes.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

When to say ‘no’ to AI in the classroom and at home: A key warning of Magnifica Humanitas – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV devotes a substantial portion of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, to the impact of the digital revolution on education and family life.The pontiff acknowledges that “rapid technological transformations reveal just how unprepared we are on the educational level.” He warns that “the pervasiveness of digital media fosters a culture of immediacy and hyper-stimulation, which gives rise to fatigue, boredom, and apathy concerning the effort required for seeking the truth.”In response, he emphasizes that education “is a long journey requiring patience and therefore needs time for development and for engagement with reality beyond appearances,” something he considers “fundamental,” because — as he recalls — every technology “shapes those who use it.”The risk of extinguishing the desire to ask questionsIn the encyclical, Leo XIV does not offer ready-made answers or an easy list of tips. Rather, he issues a broad call to rethink what it means to educate people in the use of artificial intelligence and its implications. Ultimately, as he himself states, it is a matter of educating people “to decide when and for what purpose it ought not to be used.”“The speed and ease with which answers or summaries can be obtained risk extinguishing the desire to ask questions, which is a process that bears fruit only over time,” the pope writes. To illustrate this point, he turns to the Seventh Letter of the Greek philosopher Plato, from 353 B.C., a cornerstone of Western thought.“We must learn, then, how to exercise restraint in the use of AI and to protect our young people from the promise of the perfect machine, from that subtle temptation which renders human thought seemingly superfluous precisely when it is most needed,” he suggests, recalling that, as Plato said, the deepest and most important realities are learned only with great time and effort.‘Early and unsupervised exposure’The pope also warns about the negative impact on sleep, attention, and emotional regulation caused by “early and unsupervised exposure to digital devices and social media.”This is compounded, he continues, “by easy access to violent or degrading content that offends sensibility, to pornographic and hypersexualized material, to messages that trivialize the body and emotions, and to proposals that normalize risky behavior.”“Having a personal mobile device at too early an age and using it without adult supervision can exacerbate young people’s vulnerabilities, foster addiction, and expose them to isolation, bullying, and cyberbullying, as well as to pressures to share intimate images or sensitive information,” he warns.In this regard, the pontiff acknowledges that it is difficult for parents to resist on their own the “influence of business models that monetize attention and time.” Hence his call for “an alliance among policymakers, educational institutions, and families that is capable of concretely supporting adults in this task.”“Farsighted public policies are needed,” he insists, “to oppose the immediate interests of platforms, concentrated in a few hands, when they conflict with the well-being of minors.”Along these lines, without pointing to any specific government, he speaks positively of legislative initiatives promoted in countries such as Australia, France, and Spain, and urges the promotion of “setting age limits, holding service providers accountable rather than shifting the whole burden of control onto families, and for providing specific protections against all forms of online sexual exploitation and violence. Thus can children and adolescents, who are entrusted to our care, be genuinely protected as a precious treasure.”Leo also identifies several pressing challenges within education in the face of the emergence of artificial intelligence.“Many educational systems struggle to keep pace with change and to support the integral development of students,” he notes.The development of information technologies and AI is causing curricula designed for another era to be obsolete, while school organization, spaces, assessment methods, and the very role of the teacher must be rethought “in order to promote an authentically integral education that addresses every dimension of the person.”“It is necessary to support the ongoing formation of teachers throughout their professional lives, so that they can engage positively with new technologies, helping students to use them responsibly, critically, and creatively rather than passively succumbing to their influence,” he says.The Holy Father also identifies a challenge of an intellectual and wisdom-based nature. “Without careful attention, an educational system lacking in a love for truth may emerge, in which an incessant flow of information replaces the essential exercise of research, reflection, and discernment,” he laments.A healthy attitude of attentionIn this context, he warns of the proliferation of a fragmented knowledge, while “it becomes difficult to grasp reality as a whole, to ask profound questions about meaning, or to develop authentic, critical, and creative thought.”“A genuinely healthy attitude is needed, requiring rhythms that incorporate silence, in-depth study, reading, and judicious analysis, for without these elements inner freedom may be compromised,” he proposes.The Church’s social doctrine, the pope says, calls for a renewed educational alliance among families, schools, Christian communities, and public institutions. This takes concrete form when principles are translated into educational goals: educating in sobriety and a sense of limits; in recognizing the right of others and of future generations to enjoy the goods received or created by human ingenuity; in freedom and responsibility; and in a sense of transcendence and the common good.“Schools are not called to follow the pace of the digital world but to offer that which the digital sphere by itself cannot provide, namely a shared time for learning and developing trustworthy relationships,” he concludes.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV issues a broad call to rethink what it means to educate people in the use of artificial intelligence and its implications, especially for young people.

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Start here: 15 quotes from Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas #Catholic Pope Leo XIV just released his first encyclical — and it may be the most important Church document of our lifetime. Called Magnifica Humanitas, it covers artificial intelligence, human dignity, childrenʼs phones, autonomous weapons, doomscrolling, the mystery of the human soul, and why no machine will ever have the final word on what it means to be a person made in the image of God.The full document is available to download here — and worth a read. But for a quick taste of whatʼs inside, here are 15 powerful quotes from the encyclical:“Never has humanity had such power over itself.” (par. 4)"In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Therefore, the primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence.” (par. 9)“In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace.” (par. 15)“Thus, the ‘rejected stones’ — the poor, the sick, the migrants and the least among us — will become the cornerstone, and a solid, welcoming common home will emerge on the earth, where love and faithfulness will finally meet, and righteousness and peace will embrace (cf. Ps 85:10).” (par.16)“Human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth, or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his unfailing love.” (par. 50)“Among these ideologies, I consider particularly insidious the one that suggests that every person must earn or justify his or her own worth, to the point of attributing greater value to those who are more efficient or effective.” (par. 51)“No sin, failure, humiliation, or exclusion can diminish the profound value of a human life that God has willed and called into being.” (par. 52)“Solidarity demands that decisions regarding data, algorithms, platforms and artificial intelligence take into account not only the immediate benefit for a few, but also the impact on all peoples and on future generations.” (par. 76)“For an algorithm, an error is a flaw to be corrected; for a person, however, an error can be a catalyst for profound change. A person’s future is not calculable, but depends on one’s freedom — elevated by the inexhaustible grace of God — and on the relationships cultivated.” (par. 128)“Having a personal mobile device at too early an age and using it without adult supervision can exacerbate young people’s vulnerabilities, foster addiction, and expose them to isolation, bullying, and cyberbullying, as well as to pressures to share intimate images or sensitive information.” (par. 141)“Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people, and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good.” (par. 211)“The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization.” (par. 213)“‘Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.’ Words have enormous power, something we experience in our daily interactions; for example, spoken words can change our mood for better or for worse." (par. 214)“No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history. This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving.” (par. 233)“Let us remain faithful to the truth! Living amid incessant flows of information, opinions and images, we know how easy it can be to influence decisions and preferences through increasingly sophisticated algorithms. In this context, it is imperative to cultivate hearts that love the truth, prefer what is right despite the most appealing content and pursue wisdom rather than immediate results.” (par. 237)

Start here: 15 quotes from Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas #Catholic Pope Leo XIV just released his first encyclical — and it may be the most important Church document of our lifetime. Called Magnifica Humanitas, it covers artificial intelligence, human dignity, childrenʼs phones, autonomous weapons, doomscrolling, the mystery of the human soul, and why no machine will ever have the final word on what it means to be a person made in the image of God.The full document is available to download here — and worth a read. But for a quick taste of whatʼs inside, here are 15 powerful quotes from the encyclical:“Never has humanity had such power over itself.” (par. 4)"In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Therefore, the primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence.” (par. 9)“In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace.” (par. 15)“Thus, the ‘rejected stones’ — the poor, the sick, the migrants and the least among us — will become the cornerstone, and a solid, welcoming common home will emerge on the earth, where love and faithfulness will finally meet, and righteousness and peace will embrace (cf. Ps 85:10).” (par.16)“Human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth, or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his unfailing love.” (par. 50)“Among these ideologies, I consider particularly insidious the one that suggests that every person must earn or justify his or her own worth, to the point of attributing greater value to those who are more efficient or effective.” (par. 51)“No sin, failure, humiliation, or exclusion can diminish the profound value of a human life that God has willed and called into being.” (par. 52)“Solidarity demands that decisions regarding data, algorithms, platforms and artificial intelligence take into account not only the immediate benefit for a few, but also the impact on all peoples and on future generations.” (par. 76)“For an algorithm, an error is a flaw to be corrected; for a person, however, an error can be a catalyst for profound change. A person’s future is not calculable, but depends on one’s freedom — elevated by the inexhaustible grace of God — and on the relationships cultivated.” (par. 128)“Having a personal mobile device at too early an age and using it without adult supervision can exacerbate young people’s vulnerabilities, foster addiction, and expose them to isolation, bullying, and cyberbullying, as well as to pressures to share intimate images or sensitive information.” (par. 141)“Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people, and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good.” (par. 211)“The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization.” (par. 213)“‘Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.’ Words have enormous power, something we experience in our daily interactions; for example, spoken words can change our mood for better or for worse." (par. 214)“No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history. This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving.” (par. 233)“Let us remain faithful to the truth! Living amid incessant flows of information, opinions and images, we know how easy it can be to influence decisions and preferences through increasingly sophisticated algorithms. In this context, it is imperative to cultivate hearts that love the truth, prefer what is right despite the most appealing content and pursue wisdom rather than immediate results.” (par. 237)

Pope Leo XIV just released his first encyclical — and it may be the most important Church document of our lifetime.

Read More