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Pope Leo XIV meets with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson #Catholic Pope Leo met with the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, at the Vatican on May 28.Johnson, who has served as mayor since 2023, met with the pontiff for the first time since his election. He also used the occasion to formally invite the pontiff to visit his native city, Chicago.In a press briefing to journalists after the audience, Johnson explained that the two discussed the policies of the United States government under President Donald Trump, including immigration and the Iran conflict.Johnson: Trumpʼs actions in Iran are tyrannicalThe Democratic mayor sharply criticized Trump in remarks to journalists, calling him a “tyrant” as well as a “disgrace” for involving the U.S. in the Israel-Iran conflict. He also said he discussed his concerns about the administration with Pope Leo and described his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, as a “call to action” to work to avoid wars. “I think the popeʼs encyclical is a call to action for the entire planet,” Johnson told journalists at the briefing. “Illegal wars do not leave just a trail of tears and trauma, but it also harms and brutalize our humanity. The economic drive with which [Trump] is moving is selfish.”Leo XIV has regularly criticized the U.S.-Israel war in Iran as unjust. Johnson, reflecting on his discussions with the pope, stated that “his position around Trump was more about disagreement with his approach.”“In the midst of a brutal, horrific, and ignorant tyrant that is currently occupying the White House, it is imperative that we really walk in the true essence of our faith. The impact of his failures on our global economy is quite severe. It is a disgrace to the sensibility of our humanity,” Johnson said. Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson holds a press briefing at The American University of Rome on May 28, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News The Chicago mayor also said the two spoke about the Trump administrationʼs immigration enforcement, specifically raids by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “We did discuss ICE. The pope wanted to know how ICE impacted our city and whether there were still examples of ICE raids happening in our city. I talked about how our rapid response team came together to support families. And then I talked about my executive orders, for which he was very gracious and encouraging, especially those I signed to protect the people of Chicago.”Praise for Leoʼs apology for slaveryLeo XIV presented his first encyclical on May 25 at the Vatican, offering moral guidance amid widespread concern about the dangers posed by artificial intelligence.In the text, Leo issued an apology for the Churchʼs role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Johnson praised the pope for his courage and explained that he had discussed the legacy of slavery with him.“We talked about the conditions that the long legacy of slavery and disinvestment has had on Black Americans and Black people around the world,” Johnson said. “I engaged in a conversation with him around reparations and why it is important to work to repair the harm caused by the brutal legacy of slavery.”Yusef Jackson, the son of renowned civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., was also part of the mayorʼs delegation that visited the pope. He praised Leo for his apology on behalf of the Church for slavery.“The pope is a powerful man. The color of his title commands respect around the world. For him to use the color of that title, coming from Chicago, a very segregated and class-divided city, with the bona fides to be a freedom fighter, meant a lot to me. He is a pope that I agree with,” Jackson said.An invitation to come to ChicagoJohnson also presented the pope with an official letter inviting him to visit Chicago and offer Mass at Grant Park. He wrote the letter after being advised by the Catholic archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich.Speaking about the possibility of a future visit by Leo, he described his feelings and those of the city as hopeful. Official invitation by the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, to Pope Leo XIV, at the American University of Rome on May 28, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News “We are going to remain hopeful. We have an open invitation for the pope to come to the city of Chicago. Ultimately, it will be his decision whether his schedule allows him to come. Some of the greatest voices for justice come from the city of Chicago. And that beloved city, of course, birthed Pope Leo XIV.”Along with the official invitation letter, the pontiff was presented with a ceremonial key to the city of Chicago.Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the first name of Cardinal Blase Cupich. (Published May 29, 2026)

Chicago priest removed after ‘inappropriate conversations’ with children, women #Catholic A priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago has been barred from ministry there after allegations he engaged in “inappropriate conversations” with both children and adults. Father Jose Molina, a priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, was accused of engaging in “improper and inappropriate conversations and communications with minors and adult women,” Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a May 9 letter. Cupich, in the letter addressed to parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Chicagoʼs Near West Side, said he had sent Molina back to the provincial house of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and had removed Molinaʼs faculties to minister in the archdiocese. The letter also said the archdiocese has “reported the allegations to civil authorities,” while Molinaʼs accusers were “offered the services of the archdiocese’s Office of Assistance Ministry.”The archbishopʼs letter did not offer any further details about the allegations against Molina and indicated the investigation was ongoing.Priest in New Mexico also removed from ministryA priest in New Mexico was also recently removed from ministry amid allegations of the theft of diocesan records. In a May 8 letter to parishioners at the Basilica of San Albino, Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchino said Father Chris Williams had been “relieved of all his duties” in the diocese and suspended as pastor of the basilica amid a controversy involving the reported theft of tens of thousands of diocesan files. The bishop said a civil discovery process revealed that Williams and “certain employees” of the basilica allegedly conspired to steal “over 60,000 private diocesan records,” specifically financial records. The diocese has referred the theft to law enforcement, he said. The alleged robbery “exposed the diocese and all parishes to a significant risk of misappropriation and theft,” the bishop said. Williams' brother, Father Michael Williams, would serve as the temporary pastor of the basilica, Baldacchino said, noting he was unable to share further details due to the ongoing investigation.

Bransfield, ex-Wheeling-Charleston bishop accused of misconduct, dies at 82 #Catholic Bishop Michael Bransfield, who was accused of a pattern of sexual harassment and financial impropriety while leading the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, died on May 7 at 82 years old. The Wheeling-Charleston Diocese said in a statement that Bransfield “passed away peacefully.” It urged the faithful to pray for his family and friends. “As it is the tradition in our Church to pray for the dead as well as for the living, we pray for the repose of his soul, asking God’s mercy upon him,” the diocese said. A native of Philadelphia, Bransfield was ordained in that archdiocese in 1971. He served as the first rector at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., after it was named a basilica in 1990. Pope John Paul II appointed him to lead Wheeling-Charleston in 2004. He served there until 2018 when he reached the customary retirement age of 75.After Bransfield retired, Pope Francis ordered Baltimore Archbishop William Lori to investigate claims that Bransfield had engaged in sexual harassment of adults. The investigation ultimately uncovered a wide-ranging series of scandals, including a “consistent pattern” of inappropriate sexual behavior. Bransfield bestowed financial gifts on several bishops, Lori said, adding he received $7,500 worth of gifts from Bransfield and subsequently returned the funds.The inquiry also found instances of financial mismanagement and impropriety, including what were reportedly huge amounts of money spent on alcohol and millions of dollars spent on a home renovation. The bishop “adopted an extravagant and lavish lifestyle that was in stark contrast to the faithful he served and was for his own personal benefit,” the report found. Pope Francis subsequently banned Bransfield from participating in public celebration of the Mass, while Bransfieldʼs successor, Bishop Mark Brennan, ordered him to pay nearly $800,000 in restitution to the diocese.Brennan also barred Bransfield from being buried in the diocesan cemetery. The diocese said on May 7 that his funeral and burial would “not take place in West Virginia.”

Vatican prepares Pope Leo XIV summit on marriage crisis #Catholic Pope Leo XIV is aware that among the vocations to which men and women are called by God, marriage is one of the “noblest and highest.”He said as much last October, on the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Now, the pope has set in motion a process to address both marital crises and the growing fear among young people of getting married and forming a family.Leo XIV has called the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome this October to seek a response to an issue he considers crucial not only for the Church but also for society.In preparation for the high-level meeting, the Vatican organized a study day Tuesday titled “The Sacrament of Marriage, Faith, and Munus Docendi” at the Casina Pio IV.The initiative, hosted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, brought together about 75 participants by invitation, including representatives of various dicasteries of the Roman Curia as well as rectors, lecturers, and others involved in the formation of future pastors.According to the dicastery, the study day was devoted to the formation of priests in accompanying “young people, engaged couples, and married couples in faith.”How can the Church form pastors capable of accompanying young people, engaged couples, and spouses so that they live Christian marriage as an authentic experience of faith in a cultural context marked by secularization? Several speakers addressed that question, including Father Andrea Bozzolo, rector of the Pontifical Salesian University.Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the Italian priest — who has taught theology of marriage at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family — emphasized the urgent need to form priests who are prepared to accompany young people and help them live Christian marriage as a true event of faith rather than as a mere “formality or social rite.”According to Bozzolo, in large sectors of contemporary society, marriage is no longer perceived as a decisive moment in the formation of a family.“For many couples, marriage today seems to be a less decisive step in the emergence of the family covenant,” he said.In that context, he added, cohabitation before marriage has become widespread as a kind of trial stage. For many young people, the strength of that relationship, tested in daily life, “has become the condition for eventually considering access to marriage,” he said.Bozzolo explained that this mentality fuels the now widespread phenomenon of couples living together before going to the altar.Unlike in past decades, when de facto unions were presented as an ideological alternative to marriage, today “they are often understood as a preparatory path,” he said.In what he described as a “liquid society,” cohabitation frequently functions as a first family experience, open to being consolidated over time into a more stable relationship.“Cohabitation in most cases does not seek to exclude the marriage covenant but rather to verify its viability,” he said, noting that the increase in separations also reflects this way of understanding the bond.Not blaming, but not trivializingIn response to this reality, Bozzolo said the Church should “not blame” young people who ask to marry after living together, but it also should not “trivialize” premarital cohabitation, because “it is not the correct way” to arrive at the altar.He also called on the Church to break with stereotypes that present love as if it were “a simple feeling.”“Love has ontological value — and not merely psychological value — and that is why marriage is a privileged vehicle for the biblical revelation of the face of God,” he said.Bozzolo insisted on the need for priestly formation that helps future priests rediscover the decisive value of marriage as a public and sacramental act.“The public and religious expression of consent,” he said, is no longer usually perceived today as something that substantially affects the stability of the bond — a reality he described as “a pastoral challenge of the first order.”Marriage is not a simple social procedureFor that reason, he said, it is essential for the Church to prepare priests who can accompany young people along a journey of faith that presents Christian marriage not as a “simple social procedure.”The goal, Bozzolo explained, is to help priests accompany married couples so that they learn to “recognize the presence and action of God in the concrete history of their bond.”Such accompaniment, he said, requires a “formative approach” capable of bringing together biblical wisdom, theological understanding, an awareness of contemporary cultural trends, and attentive listening to the real experiences of families.One current problem among couples, he said, is the tendency to absolutize the relationship and place expectations on the spousal bond that the other person cannot sustain alone.“We cannot place the entire responsibility for our happiness on our spouse, because he or she will disappoint us. For that, we have Jesus, the true messiah,” Bozzolo said.Only from a well-grounded faith, he emphasized, is it possible to live marriage in a healthy, realistic way that is open to gratuitousness, without making the other person the ultimate source of meaning.For that reason, and in direct relation to the formation of future priests, Bozzolo highlighted the need to create formation paths in seminaries that integrate these dimensions and prepare pastors for authentic marriage ministry, rooted in life and not reduced to theoretical frameworks.The last time a pope called together all the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences was in February 2019, when Pope Francis gathered them to address the wound of sexual abuse in the Church. That meeting marked a shift in the global perception of the problem and made it possible to outline a long-term strategy.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.

unitedyam April 30, 2026

The October meeting in Rome will bring together presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world to seek a response to what the pope considers a crucial issue for the Church and society.