As postwar order frays, Pope Leo articulates a vision for peace through human dignity #Catholic – 
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As wars multiply and the post-World War II international order comes under increasing strain, Pope Leo XIV has spent the opening months of his pontificate articulating a Catholic vision for international relations rooted in human dignity, international law and multilateral cooperation.
Through his speeches, diplomatic addresses and first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” the U.S. pope has consistently argued — like his predecessors — that lasting peace depends less on military strength than on politics grounded in the dignity of every person.
This clear message comes as nationalism, unilateralism and open conflict challenge the existing international order created post-World War II, during which many of the world’s superpowers focused efforts on fostering free trade, collaboration and the development of global institutions like the World Bank and United Nations.
But what has changed, scholars told Catholic News Service, is the landscape itself, as the international postwar order enters a period of profound transition. The 2026 Global Peace Index found 61 active state-based conflicts last year, the highest number since World War II ended, and concluded that global peace has deteriorated for the 12th consecutive year.
In his first encyclical, Pope Leo was clear that the global institutions that encourage partnership through multilateralism are eroding.
“The institutions that were established to safeguard the concept of a common future for all peoples and a global common good appear to have been weakened,” Pope Leo wrote, arguing that the weakening of multilateral institutions has coincided with renewed conflict, distrust and what he calls a “culture of power.”
Fabio Petito, professor of religion and international affairs at the University of Sussex, told CNS July 13 that the existing system after World War II, built on U.S. leadership, multilateral institutions and international law, is fragmenting as global power shifts toward a more multipolar world.
“We are living in this moment in which this system of regulated international relations for many decades is really in trouble,” Petito said. The result, he said, has been “a return to some form of power politics,” reflected in proliferating wars, nationalism, rearmament and militarization.
Rather than proposing a detailed blueprint for a new global order, Petito said the pope is advancing Catholic principles that should guide one. Central among them are the defense of multilateralism, international law and the belief that every person possesses an inherent dignity that transcends nationality, ideology or political interest.
That vision has already become key in Vatican diplomacy. Ahead of Pope Leo’s visit to Monaco in March, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, told Vatican News that “international law appears weakened and at times overshadowed by the ‘logic of power,’” warning against a return to doctrines that justify preventive war and calling small nations “natural guardians of multilateralism.”
The same ideas also run throughout Pope Leo’s own writings.
Scott Appleby, founding dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, told CNS July 21 that the pope’s international vision is rooted in St. Augustine’s distinction between the City of God and the City of Man. Throughout “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo invokes St. Augustine’s contrast between societies ordered toward power and those ordered toward the common good, which becomes a choice between a “culture of power” and a “civilization of love.”
That framework, Appleby argued, serves as the organizing principle of “Magnifica Humanitas,” explaining the pope’s criticism of nationalism, militarization, economic exploitation and the erosion of international law.
“The project for a civilization of love, therefore, must undertake the task of transforming this imposed interdependence into a willed and chosen solidarity,” Pope Leo wrote in his encyclical.
The pope’s repeated references to a “civilization of love” – a concept first expressed by Pope Paul VI – are not simply spiritual language but the organizing principle of his international thought, Appleby said. He said Pope Leo’s writings suggest that he rejects the assumption that nations are destined to pursue power at one another’s expense. Instead, the pope argues that political communities can be ordered toward the common good when they recognize the inherent dignity of every person and place dialogue, justice and solidarity above coercion.
“Those are the hooks to hang everything on,” Appleby said.
Appleby said the pope’s vision is also deeply rooted in the Second Vatican Council, which reoriented the Catholic Church’s relationship with the modern world by emphasizing the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of their religion.
“For him, it’s a period of great flourishing of religious freedom, pluralism, the Church itself becoming more global,” Appleby said of the U.S. pope.
Petito and Appleby said the pope does not seek a return to the post-Cold War world but believes it squandered an opportunity to build political institutions capable of sustaining solidarity. In “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo criticizes the “almost blind faith” placed in markets after 1989, writing that the world is now “regressing from the significant turning point of the twentieth century.”
“What the world failed to do is create political structures capable of supporting a civilization of love,” Appleby said. “Instead, markets became the end-all and be-all of the new world order,” contributing to today’s crises of nationalism, weakened international institutions and renewed conflict.
The pope also repeatedly rejects unilateralism. Whether speaking about migration, war or governance, he argues that modern crises cannot be solved by individual states acting alone.
“No nation can face a challenge of this magnitude on its own,” Pope Leo told the Spanish Parliament at the Congress of the Deputies in Madrid June 8. “Therefore, a coordinated, supportive, and effective response is indispensable.”
Throughout his speeches, he argues that diplomacy, international law and multilateral cooperation depend on recognizing the dignity of every person.
“Peace is not something we must invent: it is something we must embrace by accepting our neighbor as our brother and as our sister,” the pope told community members in Bamenda, Cameroon, April 16, 2026.
Speaking at a June 22 seminar at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, Massimo Faggioli, professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University, said the Vatican’s diplomatic importance has increased precisely because traditional alliances are becoming less stable, calling the Vatican “one of the last visible guardians of multilateralism.”
Faggioli argued in his talk that growing tensions between Europe and the United States have elevated the Vatican’s diplomatic importance. Describing the U.S.-European alliance as once “a turbulent marriage,” he said it is now unclear whether that relationship still exists.
He said that it is in this context that the Vatican is “one of those voices that advocate or help neutral bridges for reconciliation,” leading to a period he believes could be “Pax Vaticana.”
Jodok Troy is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He told CNS July 20 that the Holy See has always promoted multilateralism and this idea of an international world order through diplomacy. But in an increasingly conflicted world, he said, the papacy has gotten louder.
“The argument of the popes always has been: we need to make sure of this multilateral order, because it’s not something that is self-sustaining,” Troy said. “It’s not something that runs by itself. It requires consistent work.”
The scholars also agreed Pope Leo is building on his predecessors’ appeals and Pope Francis’ unique legacy rather than departing from them.
“Pope Francis broke new ground,” Faggioli said. “I don’t see Pope Leo retreating from that ground.”
Petito added that while Pope Francis often led through symbolic gestures, Pope Leo has shown greater interest in strengthening institutions.
As Pope Leo continues to appoint more leaders from the Global South to senior Vatican positions, he is also strengthening ties to the regions where the Church’s presence is growing fastest.
In many of those countries, the Catholic Church serves not only as a religious institution but also as a trusted civic actor, with bishops frequently mediating conflicts, monitoring elections and advocating for democratic processes. That combination of demographic growth and public credibility could give the Holy See an increasingly important role in international affairs at a time when many state institutions are under strain.
Troy said the pope’s emphasis on the Global South reflects more than a changing demographic makeup of the Church. Many of tomorrow’s geopolitical challenges, he said, will emerge in regions where state institutions are weak but where the Catholic Church remains one of the few enduring social institutions, providing education, humanitarian assistance and moral authority.
“As political institutions become weaker,” Troy said, “the Church will have an increasingly important role to play.”
– VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As wars multiply and the post-World War II international order comes under increasing strain, Pope Leo XIV has spent the opening months of his pontificate articulating a Catholic vision for international relations rooted in human dignity, international law and multilateral cooperation. Through his speeches, diplomatic addresses and first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” the U.S. pope has consistently argued — like his predecessors — that lasting peace depends less on military strength than on politics grounded in the dignity of every person. This clear message comes as nationalism, unilateralism and open conflict challenge the existing international order created
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![Deadly school shooting sparks alarm in the Philippines #Catholic – (OSV News) — A shooting in a Jesuit-run school in the Philippines, which saw a student kill a fellow student before killing himself, sparked shock and reignited alarm over juvenile delinquency and campus security.
The incident inside a classroom at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Junior School in Mindanao, southern Philippines, occurred on the morning of Aug. 18, according to police.
The student not only shot a fellow student and killed himself but also livestreamed the incident on Facebook. The attacker was reportedly armed with a pistol and rifle.
Several other students were injured in the attack and rushed to local hospitals for treatment, the authorities said.
Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said preliminary information indicated the shooter wore a body camera. The video has since gone viral on various social media platforms.
Olaso raised strong concerns over the influence of ultra-violent online sandbox games like GoreBox and fringe extremist networks like the “764” group, urging national authorities to heavily restrict violent online games accessible to minors.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Local media reported that a customs police officer assigned to the Port of Zamboanga, allegedly the shooter’s father, has been dismissed from his post following the incident.
Jesuit Father Guillrey Anthony Andal, school president, confirmed the shooting incident and affirmed that the institution is prioritizing the community’s welfare.
“We do not want any of these things to happen. We wish to prioritize the safety of all our students,” he said in a statement.
The university issued a separate statement to express shock over the shooting.
“The Ateneo de Zamboanga University is saddened by the incident that happened today on our JHS campus. As of now, we confirm that there are two [2] fatalities… We ask everyone to respect the privacy of all affected individuals. We pray for the quick resolution of the situation and for the safety of all,” the statement said.
Zamboanga City Police Director Col. Fidel Fortaleza stated the campus was contained by mid-morning, confirming no ongoing threat as Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) processed the area. Classes were immediately suspended, and students were evacuated to designated safe zones to be reunited with their families.
This is the second fatal shooting at a Jesuit-run Ateneo university network, following a targeted political assassination in July 2022 at Ateneo de Manila University that left three people dead.
It also marks the second deadly school shooting in the Philippines in less than two months, following a June attack at a public high school in Tacloban City where two students killed at least three schoolmates and injured about 20 others.
Police investigations remain underway to establish the motive and determine how the firearms breached campus security.
The school shooting is the second such incident in a Southeast Asian country in little over a week.
On Aug. 7, a 14-year-old boy in Thailand killed his grandparents before shooting dead five more people at a school and then killing himself.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/deadly-school-shooting-sparks-alarm-in-the-philippines-catholic-osv-news-a-shooting-in-a-jesuit-run-school-in-the-philippines-which-saw-a-student-kill-a-fellow-student-before-killing-him.jpg "Deadly school shooting sparks alarm in the Philippines #Catholic – (OSV News) — A shooting in a Jesuit-run school in the Philippines, which saw a student kill a fellow student before killing himself, sparked shock and reignited alarm over juvenile delinquency and campus security.
The incident inside a classroom at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Junior School in Mindanao, southern Philippines, occurred on the morning of Aug. 18, according to police.
The student not only shot a fellow student and killed himself but also livestreamed the incident on Facebook. The attacker was reportedly armed with a pistol and rifle.
Several other students were injured in the attack and rushed to local hospitals for treatment, the authorities said.
Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said preliminary information indicated the shooter wore a body camera. The video has since gone viral on various social media platforms.
Olaso raised strong concerns over the influence of ultra-violent online sandbox games like GoreBox and fringe extremist networks like the “764” group, urging national authorities to heavily restrict violent online games accessible to minors.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Local media reported that a customs police officer assigned to the Port of Zamboanga, allegedly the shooter’s father, has been dismissed from his post following the incident.
Jesuit Father Guillrey Anthony Andal, school president, confirmed the shooting incident and affirmed that the institution is prioritizing the community’s welfare.
“We do not want any of these things to happen. We wish to prioritize the safety of all our students,” he said in a statement.
The university issued a separate statement to express shock over the shooting.
“The Ateneo de Zamboanga University is saddened by the incident that happened today on our JHS campus. As of now, we confirm that there are two [2] fatalities… We ask everyone to respect the privacy of all affected individuals. We pray for the quick resolution of the situation and for the safety of all,” the statement said.
Zamboanga City Police Director Col. Fidel Fortaleza stated the campus was contained by mid-morning, confirming no ongoing threat as Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) processed the area. Classes were immediately suspended, and students were evacuated to designated safe zones to be reunited with their families.
This is the second fatal shooting at a Jesuit-run Ateneo university network, following a targeted political assassination in July 2022 at Ateneo de Manila University that left three people dead.
It also marks the second deadly school shooting in the Philippines in less than two months, following a June attack at a public high school in Tacloban City where two students killed at least three schoolmates and injured about 20 others.
Police investigations remain underway to establish the motive and determine how the firearms breached campus security.
The school shooting is the second such incident in a Southeast Asian country in little over a week.
On Aug. 7, a 14-year-old boy in Thailand killed his grandparents before shooting dead five more people at a school and then killing himself.")
![Catholic bishops urge prayers against abortion by mail that ‘leaves women vulnerable’ #Catholic With an increasing number of abortions done via sending pills through the U.S. mail, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholics across the nation to pray to St. Joseph to “stop the spread” of abortion pills.The bishops are calling for sustained and dedicated prayer from Aug. 18 to Oct. 31, with the campaign launching ahead of Respect Month Life in October.USCCB President Archbishop Paul Coakley and Bishop Daniel Thomas, who heads the bishops’ committee on pro-life activities, urged Catholics to “join a focused effort of prayer and action to stop the spread of abortion pills.” Activists have criticized the mailing of abortion pills as a largely unregulated and dangerous practice. Pro-life advocates were dealt a blow in May when the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allowed for the continued mailing of abortion pills throughout the U.S. amid a legal dispute over the practice. “Every abortion involves the death of a child and harm to the mother,” the two bishops wrote in an Aug. 18 letter. “Now with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks.”“The Food and Drug Administration has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry by allowing abortion pills to be prescribed in telehealth appointments and sold both at neighborhood pharmacies and online, circumventing state laws that protect life in the womb,” the bishops wrote.They said the federal government’s lack of regulation makes women “vulnerable to suffering an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision” and “sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”The bishops urged Catholics to visit the USCCB’s Respect Life campaign website, where visitors can “learn about the danger of abortion pills [and] send messages to pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies that are involved.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/catholic-bishops-urge-prayers-against-abortion-by-mail-that-leaves-women-vulnerable-catholic-with-an-increasing-number-of-abortions-done-via-sending-pills-through-the-u-s-mail-the.jpg "Catholic bishops urge prayers against abortion by mail that ‘leaves women vulnerable’ #Catholic With an increasing number of abortions done via sending pills through the U.S. mail, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholics across the nation to pray to St. Joseph to “stop the spread” of abortion pills.The bishops are calling for sustained and dedicated prayer from Aug. 18 to Oct. 31, with the campaign launching ahead of Respect Month Life in October.USCCB President Archbishop Paul Coakley and Bishop Daniel Thomas, who heads the bishops’ committee on pro-life activities, urged Catholics to “join a focused effort of prayer and action to stop the spread of abortion pills.” Activists have criticized the mailing of abortion pills as a largely unregulated and dangerous practice. Pro-life advocates were dealt a blow in May when the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allowed for the continued mailing of abortion pills throughout the U.S. amid a legal dispute over the practice. “Every abortion involves the death of a child and harm to the mother,” the two bishops wrote in an Aug. 18 letter. “Now with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks.”“The Food and Drug Administration has enabled a nationwide mail-order abortion industry by allowing abortion pills to be prescribed in telehealth appointments and sold both at neighborhood pharmacies and online, circumventing state laws that protect life in the womb,” the bishops wrote.They said the federal government’s lack of regulation makes women “vulnerable to suffering an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision” and “sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”The bishops urged Catholics to visit the USCCB’s Respect Life campaign website, where visitors can “learn about the danger of abortion pills [and] send messages to pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies that are involved.”")
![People ‘thirsting for Christ’ at procession in Brazil, bishop says #Catholic About 50,000 faithful took part in the closing procession for the novena to Our Lady of Glory in Brazil on Aug. 15. The local bishop, Flávio Giovenale, said the large turnout reflects the faith of the people, who are “thirsting for Christ.”“This multitude is saying: We want spirituality, we want Jesus, and we love Our Lady because she leads us to Jesus,” the bishop told the website Juruá 24 Horas.“Our Lady is like a mother who takes us to school; the teacher — the master — is Jesus, and Our Lady leads us to him,” he said.The devotees walked about two miles in a procession lasting nearly two hours. Holding candles, they followed the image of Our Lady, praying and giving thanks.“We came to give thanks for the harvest and for our family’s health. Being here among so many people sharing the same purpose is something indescribable,” farmer Renilson Fox said to news website G1.“We spend the whole year waiting for this moment,” veterinarian Douglas Vasconcelos told G1. He said that for him, this “is a day to renew our faith and give thanks for so many graces received.”Mary is our ‘prototype’“Today, we celebrate Our Lady of Glory, who is already there [in glory], a gift from God,” Giovenale said during the Mass at the Cruzeiro do Sul cathedral prior to the procession. The bishop recalled Jesus’s words: “I am going to the Father’s glory, and after I prepare a place, I will return and take you with me.”“We say that at the end of time, we will all rise again and be reunited in body and soul to live in heaven, body and soul. But for Our Lady, Jesus chose to make an exception, a gift. In his freedom, he said: ‘Our Lady was the first to say yes to me; she will also be the first to rise again,’” he explained.The bishop recalled that the Dormition of Mary, although not found in the Bible, has been a tradition “since the early years” of Christianity. It says “that Our Lady fell asleep in the Lord and Jesus came and took her, body and soul.”“She is there in heaven, body and soul, as the first Christian, the first to say ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord,’ and the first to rise again, body and soul. She is, as it were, our prototype,” he said.In his homily, Giovenale said that before attaining glory, Mary served, and Christians must follow her example to reach the kingdom of heaven.“We’re going to walk in procession, why? Because Mary — after receiving the angel’s announcement that she would be the Mother of the Savior, and after saying, ‘I am the servant of the Lord’ — what did she do? She went to serve Elizabeth,” he said.“To serve, to be Christians, to be a faithful people, we can’t afford to slack off. Jesus promised us happiness, not ease. It requires effort; it requires saying, ‘I want to serve,’ just as Mary did,” he said.The bishop recalled that it was Jesus who said, “I came into the world not to be served, but to serve.” “Mary was the one who, in so many ways, anticipated this, because she is the first to be faithful to Jesus,” he added.Giovenale cited the theme of this year’s novena to Our Lady of Glory: “Our Lady of Glory, Mother of the Faithful People.” “If we want to be faithful to Jesus, faithful to God, we must imitate Mary — to journey forth and go serve others,” he said.This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/people-thirsting-for-christ-at-procession-in-brazil-bishop-says-catholic-about-50000-faithful-took-part-in-the-closing-procession-for-the-novena-to-our-lady-of-glory-in-brazil-on.webp "People ‘thirsting for Christ’ at procession in Brazil, bishop says #Catholic About 50,000 faithful took part in the closing procession for the novena to Our Lady of Glory in Brazil on Aug. 15. The local bishop, Flávio Giovenale, said the large turnout reflects the faith of the people, who are “thirsting for Christ.”“This multitude is saying: We want spirituality, we want Jesus, and we love Our Lady because she leads us to Jesus,” the bishop told the website Juruá 24 Horas.“Our Lady is like a mother who takes us to school; the teacher — the master — is Jesus, and Our Lady leads us to him,” he said.The devotees walked about two miles in a procession lasting nearly two hours. Holding candles, they followed the image of Our Lady, praying and giving thanks.“We came to give thanks for the harvest and for our family’s health. Being here among so many people sharing the same purpose is something indescribable,” farmer Renilson Fox said to news website G1.“We spend the whole year waiting for this moment,” veterinarian Douglas Vasconcelos told G1. He said that for him, this “is a day to renew our faith and give thanks for so many graces received.”Mary is our ‘prototype’“Today, we celebrate Our Lady of Glory, who is already there [in glory], a gift from God,” Giovenale said during the Mass at the Cruzeiro do Sul cathedral prior to the procession. The bishop recalled Jesus’s words: “I am going to the Father’s glory, and after I prepare a place, I will return and take you with me.”“We say that at the end of time, we will all rise again and be reunited in body and soul to live in heaven, body and soul. But for Our Lady, Jesus chose to make an exception, a gift. In his freedom, he said: ‘Our Lady was the first to say yes to me; she will also be the first to rise again,’” he explained.The bishop recalled that the Dormition of Mary, although not found in the Bible, has been a tradition “since the early years” of Christianity. It says “that Our Lady fell asleep in the Lord and Jesus came and took her, body and soul.”“She is there in heaven, body and soul, as the first Christian, the first to say ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord,’ and the first to rise again, body and soul. She is, as it were, our prototype,” he said.In his homily, Giovenale said that before attaining glory, Mary served, and Christians must follow her example to reach the kingdom of heaven.“We’re going to walk in procession, why? Because Mary — after receiving the angel’s announcement that she would be the Mother of the Savior, and after saying, ‘I am the servant of the Lord’ — what did she do? She went to serve Elizabeth,” he said.“To serve, to be Christians, to be a faithful people, we can’t afford to slack off. Jesus promised us happiness, not ease. It requires effort; it requires saying, ‘I want to serve,’ just as Mary did,” he said.The bishop recalled that it was Jesus who said, “I came into the world not to be served, but to serve.” “Mary was the one who, in so many ways, anticipated this, because she is the first to be faithful to Jesus,” he added.Giovenale cited the theme of this year’s novena to Our Lady of Glory: “Our Lady of Glory, Mother of the Faithful People.” “If we want to be faithful to Jesus, faithful to God, we must imitate Mary — to journey forth and go serve others,” he said.This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
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