Pope Francis – United Yam

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.

unitedyam May 28, 2026May 28, 2026

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

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.

unitedyam May 28, 2026May 28, 2026

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

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.

unitedyam May 27, 2026May 27, 2026

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.

In Italy’s ‘Land of Fires,’ Pope Leo XIV laments ‘the cry of creation and the poor’ #Catholic Pope Leo XIV arrived in Italyʼs “Terra dei Fuochi,” or “Land of Fires,” for a one-day visit on May 23, the first pope in history to meet with this population amid a yearslong battle against illegal waste disposal.The pope arrived in Acerra around 8:45 a.m., landing at the Arcoleo sports field, where he was immediately welcomed by Acerra Bishop Antonio Di Donna.Numerous dignitaries were also present, including Tito d’Errico, the mayor of Acerra.Pope Leo XIVʼs visit to the region also marks the 11th anniversary of the publication of the late Pope Francis’ landmark environmental encyclical Laudato Si'.Pope Francis himself was originally scheduled to visit the area for the encyclical’s fifth anniversary, though the visit was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the sports field, Pope Leo XIV traveled immediately by car to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Acerra, where he met with bishops, clergy, members of religious orders, and the families of victims of environmental pollution. Approximately 12,000 faithful were present for the occasion.

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Acerra, Italy, May 23, 2026. The pope was visiting the so-called “Land of Fires” near Naples where illegal waste dumping has created a yearslong health crisis. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

"Today we wish to fulfill Pope Francis’ desire, recognizing the great gift that the encyclical Laudato Si’ has represented for the Church’s mission in this land," the Holy Father said."Indeed, the cry of creation and of the poor among you has been felt most dramatically due to a deadly concentration of shadowy interests and indifference toward the common good — forces that have poisoned both the natural and social environments," he said, adding: "It is a cry that calls for conversion!” Di Donna himself recounted the history of the region at the cathedral, stating that the “environmental tragedy” began in the 1980s, “when certain industrialists in the north needed to dispose of vast quantities of toxic waste.”“Over the span of roughly 30 years, hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic waste arrived from numerous industries across northern Italy, only to be dumped in a specific part of this territory,” the bishop said. The environmental crisis triggered “a collapse of the agricultural industry,” the bishop said, describing the “Terra dei Fuochi” label as “a mark of infamy for our region.” Pope Leo XIV told the assembly he had come to listen to those in the region who have lost loved ones to the environmental devastation. The pope said he also wished to “thank those who have responded to evil with good.”

Pope Leo XIV greets crowds in Acerra, Italy, May 23, 2026. The pope was visiting the so-called “Land of Fires” near Naples where illegal waste dumping has created a yearslong health crisis. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

“We suffer because of the devastation that has compromised a marvelous ecosystem — places, histories, and memories,” the pope said. “Faced with this reality, there are two possible attitudes: indifference or responsibility,” he continued. “You have chosen responsibility, and — with God’s help — you have embarked upon a path of commitment and the pursuit of justice.”“Can these lands come back to life?” the pope continued. “Be the answer yourselves: a united community, in faith and in commitment. Then life will multiply.”The pope was scheduled to return to Rome after his visit to Acerra, located a little over 130 miles southeast of Rome. The Holy Father also met with civic leaders and local residents of Acerra. 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.

unitedyam May 23, 2026May 24, 2026

The Holy Father said Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ is a framework for addressing the social and environmental crises of the region.

EWTN News explains: What is a papal encylical? #Catholic With the announcement of Pope Leo XIVʼs first papal encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: “On the Protection of Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," there is much anticipation as to what guidance the pope will provide on the digital revolution and emerging technologies such as AI.But what are papal encyclicals, and what can they reveal about the popeʼs priorities on the world stage and for the Church?The pope’s pastoral letterA papal encyclical is a pastoral letter written by the pope, primarily addressed to bishops but also to Catholics and all people, typically reflecting on Church teachings and suggesting ways to apply them to modern issues.According to the 1917 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia, encyclicals were “letters sent to all the bishops of Christendom, or at least to all those in one particular country, and intended to guide them in their relations with their flocks.”Encyclicals are part of the pope’s everyday teaching authority, known as his “ordinary magisterium.” They are among the most common ways he presents Church doctrine and serve as authoritative and valuable sources of Catholic teaching and guidance on contemporary topics, including sexuality, Catholic social teaching, and stewardship of the earth.Since Pope Leo XIII, encyclicals have become one of the most common means by which popes are heard across the globe on the most pressing issues of our time.Are Catholics required to believe them?A pope does not normally use an encyclical to make an "ex cathedra" declaration — a solemn, and rare, statement on faith or morals, normally promulgated in an apostolic constitution. Modern examples of "ex cathedra" proclamations include the popes' definitions of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and the Assumption (1950).Encyclicals, however, are not merely letters or expressions of the popeʼs opinion. They carry significant doctrinal weight and are frequently cited as important sources of Catholic teaching.According to canon law, Catholics are required to give “a religious submission of the intellect and will” to these letters and to “take care to avoid those things which do not agree with it.”Simply put, Catholics are to presume that the pope teaches the truth in these letters and to sincerely respect the teachings they contain.Recent encyclical trendsInitially addressed exclusively to bishops, papal encyclicals began reaching broader audiences in the modern period, beginning with Pope Leo XIII’s groundbreaking 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. It marked the first time in many years that the bishop of Rome had written a pastoral letter on matters other than doctrine or internal affairs of the Church, instead addressing workers’ rights, the right to private property, and the dangers of socialism.With St. John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris in 1963, pontiffs increasingly addressed their letters to “all men of goodwill,” shifting from a mainly Catholic audience to the global stage.

Pope Leo XIII in 1898. | Credit: Francesco De Federicis/Wikimedia Commons

Since the Second Vatican Council, papal encyclicals have increasingly focused on threats to the dignity of the human person and authentic human development. St. Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae in 1968, reiterating and applying Church teaching to the question of artificial birth control. St. John Paul II dedicated four encyclicals to promoting Catholic social teaching, building on Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. Pope Francis’ four encyclicals largely addressed the preservation of ecology and universal fraternity.Despite the importance given to these letters in the modern period, the average number of encyclicals per pope is relatively small. Francis wrote only four, while Benedict XVI, his immediate predecessor, wrote just three. John Paul II wrote 14, but the average number of encyclicals per pope since the Second Vatican Council has been just seven.Leo XIII has the most encyclicals of any pope, with 88, 11 of which are dedicated to the rosary.Pope Leo XIVʼs first encyclical builds on othersPope Leo XIV indicated at the beginning of his pontificate that he intended to follow in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII, his predecessor, by responding to todayʼs industrial revolution: “developments in the field of artificial intelligence.” May 15 marked the 135th anniversary of the publication of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical on capital and labor, Rerum Novarum: “Of New Things” — the first in a long line of social encyclicals produced in the modern era of the Catholic Church.Addressing the College of Cardinals on May 10, 2025, Leo said: “In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”Magnifica Humanitas is expected to be released on May 25 at 11:30 a.m. Rome time in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall.

unitedyam May 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Papal encyclicals are a powerful way the pope shapes global debates and articulates Church doctrine, but how should Catholics understand them?

From Budapest to Princeton, Catholic scholars mobilize to reconnect faith and political life #Catholic Catholic political and social thought, one of the foundational intellectual traditions of Western civilization, is poised for renewal as a new international initiative seeks to bring it back into conversation with new generations and decision-makers of tomorrow.CatholicPOST, the Association for the Renewal of Catholic Political and Social Thought, was born from the conviction — shared by a group of European scholars during the COVID-19 lockdowns — that the health crisis had exposed not only the fragility of modern Western societies but also a deeper anthropological confusion threatening their social foundations.That vision took concrete form at the inaugural conference of the association, titled “The Renaissance of Catholic Social Teaching,” held March 9–10 at the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest and attended by international academics and Vatican and Hungarian Catholic Church officials.“COVID was a tragic moment in contemporary history, and it required thinking back again on the basics of social life,” Professor Ferenc Hörcher — a Hungarian professor of political philosophy, historian of ideas, and the association’s president — told EWTN News. “And that is something you can do best on the grounds of the Catholic tradition, pointing back to Aristotle and forward to the social teaching of the Church.”For Hörcher — also director of the Research Institute for Politics and Government at Ludovika — the timing has only gained relevance with the election of Pope Leo XIV, whose choice of name evokes Pope Leo XIII, author of the landmark 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, widely regarded as the founding text of modern Catholic social teaching.Neglected intellectual inheritanceOne of CatholicPOST’s most urgent tasks is to restore Catholic social doctrine to its rightful place in intellectual life and academic discussion — a place it has progressively lost over the past century.Secularization, according to the association’s founders, has pushed Catholic intellectual traditions to the margins of public discourse. Even conservative academic circles, in their view, have often drawn more from Anglo-Saxon traditions with Protestant roots than from Catholic social thought.“Catholicism finds itself in the second row,” Hörcher said, “despite the fact that our modern and postmodern civilization is essentially built on it.”The association presents itself as a scholarly, nonpartisan platform, open not only to Catholics but also to thinkers willing to engage seriously with the tradition.“The Church cannot enter directly into political debate — that is not its mission,” Hörcher said. “But we, as Catholic intellectuals and practitioners in our own professions, can take that on.”Deeper stakesThe initiative of the group, consisting of, among others, American, Swedish, Maltese, and Hungarian scholars, emerges at a moment of mounting polarization across Western societies, as clashes over gender identity, family, bioethics, and the very understanding of the human person grow increasingly confrontational — and, at times, violent.For Hörcher, this is precisely why a recovery of serious Catholic political and social thought matters. CatholicPOST, he said, aims to reconnect contemporary debates with an intellectual tradition capable of addressing questions of philosophical anthropology that go far beyond basic politics.That ambition also helps explain the caliber of thinkers already orbiting the initiative, from French political philosopher Pierre Manent, a leading contemporary thinker on natural law and the moral foundations of political life, to scholars at the University of Notre Dame, home to the natural law tradition developed by John Finnis, and Princeton’s James Madison Program, led by natural law theorist Robert George — a circle Hörcher is set to join for a year as a visiting scholar to Princeton’s Department of Politics.The initiative has also attracted attention in Rome. In his keynote speech at the Budapest conference, Father Avelino Chico, head of office at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presented Catholic social teaching as a living intellectual tradition still evolving in response to the “new things” of each age — from industrial modernity in the time of Rerum Novarum to contemporary social challenges such as artificial intelligence, migration, ecological crisis, and widening inequality.Chico portrayed Pope Leo XIV as continuing that trajectory, seeking to integrate the legacy of Leo XIII and Pope Francis through the lens of integral human development — an approach that takes seriously not only economic realities but also the spiritual, cultural, and political dimensions of human life.Supporting new generationsThe association is already planning a second conference in Kraków, a deliberate choice honoring Poland’s enduring Catholic intellectual tradition and the legacy of St. John Paul II.Registration in the U.S. is also underway, as CatholicPOST has roots in American educational institutions like Christendom College, as a result of its aim to strengthen its international footprint and deepen transatlantic academic ties.For Hörcher, however, the deeper hope is not merely institutional growth but helping provide intellectual substance to what he sees as a broader spiritual movement among younger Westerners rediscovering Christianity. “We hope to give munition,” he said, “intellectual support for those young people.”He sees CatholicPOST as part of a recurring pattern in Catholic history. “Each century brought a revival of Catholic political thought,” he said, citing the neo-scholastic revival of 16th- to 17th-century Spain, the Holy Alliance of the post-Napoleonic Age, the social teaching inaugurated by Leo XIII, and the contribution of Catholic thinkers such as Jacques Maritain to the postwar rise of the human rights framework.“These historical precedents help us envision what a new renaissance might look like — and why it is needed now."

unitedyam May 18, 2026May 18, 2026

CatholicPOST seeks to restore Catholic social doctrine to its rightful place in intellectual life and academic discussion.

Pope Leo XIV: AI communication must preserve ‘human voices and faces’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged Catholics and communicators to promote forms of communication that respect the truth of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, while also calling for renewed care for creation and peace as Laudato Si’ Week begins.Speaking after praying the Regina Caeli May 17 from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the pope noted that many countries were marking World Communications Day, whose theme this year, he said, is “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.”“In this era of artificial intelligence, I encourage everyone to commit themselves to promoting forms of communication that always respect the truth of the human person, on which every technological innovation should be focused,” Pope Leo XIV said.The appeal comes as the Vatican is preparing for the pope’s first encyclical, expected to treat extensively the ethical and social questions raised by artificial intelligence through the lens of Catholic social teaching.The pope also marked the start of Laudato Si’ Week, which runs through next Sunday and is dedicated to the care of creation, inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical.“In this jubilee year of Saint Francis of Assisi, we recall his message of peace with God, with our brothers and sisters, and with all creatures,” he said. “Sadly, in recent years, due to wars, progress in this direction has been greatly impeded.”Pope Leo encouraged the members of the Laudato Si’ Movement and all those who promote an “integral ecology” to renew their commitment, adding: “Indeed, caring for peace is caring for life!”In his catechesis before the Marian prayer, the pope reflected on the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, celebrated Sunday in many countries.The image of Jesus “lifted up from the earth and ascending toward heaven,” he said, may make the mystery seem like “a distant event from long ago.”“Yet this is not so, for we are united to Jesus as the members of one body united to the head,” Pope Leo said. “By ascending into heaven, then, he draws us with him toward full communion with the Father.”Quoting St. Augustine, the pope said that “the head’s advance is the hope of the members.”Christ’s whole life, he continued, is “a movement of ascent,” through which he embraces the world, redeems humanity from sin, and brings “light, forgiveness and hope where previously there was darkness, injustice and desperation.”“The Ascension, therefore, does not speak to us of a distant promise, but of a living bond, which draws us also toward heavenly glory, already elevating and expanding our horizon in this life and directing our way of thinking, feeling and acting more closely to the measure of God’s heart,” he said.The pope said this path of ascent is found in Christ’s life, example, and teaching, and is also marked out by the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.He also recalled Pope Francis’ teaching on the saints “next door” — ordinary fathers, mothers, grandparents, and people of every age and condition who “with joy and commitment, make the effort to live sincerely according to the Gospel.”“With them, with their support and thanks to their prayer, we too can learn to ascend day by day toward heaven,” Pope Leo said.The pope urged Christians, with God’s help, to put into practice all that they have “heard and seen,” so that the divine life received in baptism may grow and “spread the precious fruits of communion and peace in the world.”“May Mary, the Queen of Heaven, who illuminates and guides us in every moment, support us on our path,” he said.At the end of the Regina Caeli, the pope greeted pilgrims from Rome and abroad, including marching bands from Germany, the “Sant’Antonu di u Monti” Confraternity from Ajaccio, students from the University of Montana, young people from Oppido Mamertina, youth leaders from Lorenzaga in the Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone, and confirmation candidates from the Archdiocese of Genoa.This story was first published in two parts by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam May 17, 2026May 17, 2026

The pontiff marked World Communications Day by urging technology to remain centered on human dignity.

SSPX responds to Vatican warning about excommunication with ‘declaration of Catholic faith’ #Catholic The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) addressed Pope Leo XIV this week with a statement of faith it called “the minimum necessary to be in communion with the Church.”In an introduction to the “Declaration of Catholic Faith” — published May 14 on the society’s website — the SSPX said that for more than 50 years it has raised the issue of what it believes are “errors that are destroying Catholic faith and morals” but that the group has never received “any truly satisfactory response” from the Holy See.The statement, signed by SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani, said it "places this simple Declaration of Faith” into the hands of Pope Leo: “It seems to us to correspond to the minimum necessary to be in communion with the Church, to call ourselves truly Catholic and, consequently, Your children.”The Vatican’s prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, issued a brief statement on May 13, warning that if the SSPX carried out the “schismatic act” of consecrating new bishops without papal mandate — as the group has announced it plans to do on July 1 — it will result in excommunications as established by canon law.Fernández also said Pope Leo XIV is praying that the leaders of the SSPX “may reconsider the very grave decision they have made.”In the society’s declaration following Fernández’s statement, it reiterates the teachings of the Catholic faith about the existence of only one faith and one Church, and that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men.The declaration appears to reject a document issued by the DDF last year stating that “Co-Redemptrix” is not an appropriate way to describe the Virgin Mary’s participation in salvation because “it carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ.”The SSPX said, “By divine decree, the Most Holy Virgin Mary has been directly and intimately associated with the entire work of Redemption; to deny this association — in the terms received from Tradition — is therefore to alter the very notion of Redemption as willed by divine Providence.”The “declaration of Catholic faith” also appears to make oblique references to some of the theological questions contested by the SSPX, which are mostly tied to the interpretation of post–Second Vatican Council teaching, including God’s will regarding the plurality of religions; and the differing levels of assent required by various Vatican II texts and their interpretation.For example, the society’s statement says the necessity to be a part of the Catholic Church to save one’s soul “concerns the whole of humanity without exception and embraces without distinction Christians, Jews, Muslims, pagans, and atheists” and that the mandate “to convert every man to the Catholic Faith, remains binding until the end of time and responds to the most absolute and most pressing necessity in the world.”The declaration also says a couple living a “lifestyle” that includes “sins of impurity” should be helped to free themselves from sin and that the couple “can in no way be blessed — formally or informally — by ministers of the Church” — an apparent reference to Pope Francis’ 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which allows priests to offer private, nonliturgical blessings to same-sex couples.

unitedyam May 15, 2026May 15, 2026

The Vatican said on May 13 that the Society of St. Pius X’s plan to consecrate new bishops without papal mandate will be a schismatic act resulting in excommunication.

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 ,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 0,000 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.”

unitedyam May 8, 2026May 8, 2026

An archdiocesan investigation in 2018 claimed Bishop Michael Bransfield engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and financial malfeasance of diocesan funds.

$Researchers name moth species after Pope Leo XIV #Catholic Researchers have named a moth species “Pyralis papaleonei,” or “Pope Leo moth," in honor of the Holy Father.“The new species is dedicated to the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV,” authors Peter Huemer, Lauri Kaila, and Andreas H. Segerer wrote in a research article on the species. “The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity.”In the journal, Nota Lepidopterologica, the entomologists said the species was discovered on the Mediterranean island of Crete. It is a medium-sized species with a 2-centimeter wingspan, gold spots, and prominent white bands.“Furthermore, due to its distinctive coloration and overall appearance, the new species belongs to a group of Pyralidae whose species names refer to high secular or ecclesiastical offices including Pyralis regalis, Pyralis imperialis, Pyralis princeps, and Pyralis cardinalis,” they wrote.Butterflies are often named after external characteristics, geographical locations, or in honor of distinguished individuals, according to a press release from Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, or the Tyrolean State Museum, located in Innsbruck, Austria. Pyralis papaleonei species. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tyrolean State Museum Within the Pyralis genus, a different tradition has emerged. As early as 1775, Austrian naturalists and Jesuits Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller described the first species of the group as Pyralis regalis, or "royal,” due to its coloration.This prompted similar names including Pyralis princeps and Pyralis cardinalis, which belong to the superfamily Pyraloidea comprised of 16,000 described species worldwide.In the Old Testament (Genesis 2), Adam is instructed to name all animals. According to the museum, this led to the action of taxonomy — the science of classifying, naming, and categorizing organisms — to often be considered, “in the biblical sense, the oldest task of humankind.” According to Huemer, head of studies at the Tyrolean State Museum, the naming process is more than a scientific act but a symbolic gesture. For the Pope Leo moth, it is an appeal to the head of the Catholic Church and to draw attention to humanityʼs central responsibility for the preservation of creation.“We are facing a global biodiversity crisis, yet only a fraction of the world’s species has been scientifically documented,” Huemer said in a statement. “Effective conservation of biodiversity requires that species are first recognized, described, and named.”Huemer’s call echoes the pope’s "call for conversion” at a 2025 international conference on climate justice, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si’.“It is only by returning to the heart that a true ecological conversion can take place,” the Holy Father said. “We must shift from collecting data to caring, and from environmental discourse to an ecological conversion that transforms both personal and communal lifestyles."$

unitedyam May 6, 2026May 6, 2026

“The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity,” researchers wrote.

Answering call to serve the poor: Papal Foundation announces more than million in grants #Catholic The Papal Foundation this week announced a record-setting million in grants for its annual distribution of humanitarian aid to support more than 144 projects across 75 countries.Since its founding, the Papal Foundation has served the Catholic Church with collaboration of laity, clergy, and hierarchy. The United States-based organization is dedicated to fulfilling the requests of the Holy Father for the needs of the Church in developing countries.The foundation has distributed more than 0 million in grants, scholarships, and humanitarian aid to more than 2,700 projects selected by Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and St. John Paul II.During his recent papal trip to Africa April 13–23, Pope Leo prayed at the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba, Algeria, and he visited the restored Church of Notre Dame dʼAfrique. Both sites were restored through the generosity of The Papal Foundation, with investments of ,000 each from the foundation in 2008.This year, The Papal Foundation’s board of trustees approved million, including ,502,765 in current grants and an additional million to be distributed in 2026 to further new projects. The grants will fund initiatives across the globe including the construction and renovation of Catholic schools, classrooms, monasteries, orphanages, and medical clinics in numerous countries including Tanzania, the Central African Republic, and the Philippines.“This year’s grants are a powerful testament to what can be accomplished through faithful stewardship and shared mission,” said Ward Fitzgerald, president of The Papal Foundation board of trustees, in a press release announcing the grants.“Each project represents hope, meeting urgent needs and strengthening the resolve of the Catholic Church community in developing nations,” he said.In Tanzania, the grant will aid the creation of a dormitory to rescue girls from early marriage, trafficking, and sexual abuse, and boys from school dropout. In India, a safe school for marginalized tribal children will be built.The grants will fund the creation of a library and technology center in the Central African Republic and professional IT training for vulnerable women in the Philippines. Also, in the Republic of Guinea, a well and water tower will be built for the community.“Supporting these life-changing grants is the core of the mission of The Papal Foundation,” Fitzgerald said. “The impact we have on the poor and most vulnerable is the organization’s gift to the Church and the Catholic Church’s gift to its people around the world.”Requests for the grants come in from developing nations after local bishops identify the most urgent needs. They are then advanced by apostolic nuncios to the foundation’s grants committee. The requests are then reviewed through the assessor’s office at the Vatican, led by its current assessor for general affairs of the secretariat Monsignor Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo. Members of the foundation’s grants committee met with Ekpo this week to review proposals and begin building a working relationship.“It was encouraging to meet Monsignor Ekpo at the start of his tenure and to hear his focus on expanding impact while strengthening efficiency and accountability,” Fitzgerald told EWTN News.“Those are principles we take seriously. Our goal is to be the most highly disciplined and transparent steward of funds, and the most effective means to get resources to the most in need.”Fitzgerald noted Ekpo’s work in Nigeria and in Australia, which he said has proven to be strength allowing him to bring "a clear understanding of the realities facing developing countries, along with firsthand experience in more advanced economies.” “That perspective allows us to evaluate requests more effectively and align our resources with the priorities identified by the Holy Father,” Fitzgerald said.Growing engagementThe Holy Father met with members of the Papal Foundation in an audience at the Vatican on May 2, where he said he was “deeply grateful” for the work of the foundation “to assist the Successor of Peter in his mission to care for the needs of the universal Church.”

Pope Leo XIV poses with members of the Papal Foundation in the Sala Clementina at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Saturday, May 2, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

“Your generosity has allowed countless people to experience in a concrete fashion the goodness and kindness of God in their own communities,” the pope said. He pointed out that the charity workers “will probably never meet everyone who has benefitted from your kindness, so in their name I express heartfelt appreciation.”The 2026 grants are the result of an evaluation process led by the foundation’s grants committee, chaired by Dr. Tammy Tenaglia of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, with assistance from the foundation’s mission fund committee.The work of The Papal Foundation has been accomplished with the help of the foundation’s Stewards of Saint Peter, which is made up of North American Catholic philanthropists committed to bringing the love of Christ to those most in need.Since Pope Leo’s election, the community of Stewards of Saint Peter has welcomed 25 new families committed to supporting the Holy Father’s mission to serve the poor. “The growth we’re seeing is incredibly encouraging, as it reflects a shared commitment to serve, to give, and to bring the Church’s mission to life in meaningful ways across the globe,” said David Savage, executive director of The Papal Foundation.The foundation’s annual pilgrimage to Rome the week of April 27 brought together 56 of the Steward families. Led by The Papal Foundation’s chairman, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the trip included a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica and an audience with Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, May 2.

unitedyam May 2, 2026May 2, 2026

The grants will fund initiatives across the globe including the construction and renovation of Catholic schools, monasteries, orphanages, and medical clinics in numerous countries.

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.

New York City street renamed for religious sister’s decades of service #Catholic A New York City street acquired a new name this past weekend honoring a Catholic sister’s decades of dedication to the East Harlem community.On Saturday, April 25, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the newly named street — Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way — named for the life and legacy of Lachapelle and her contributions as a registered nurse, advocate, and Little Sister of the Assumption (LSA).“With a heart rooted in justice, she dedicated herself to serving the vulnerable through home visits, healthcare, and tireless advocacy, both locally and globally,” Rosario Jimenez, director for LSA Family in Mission, told EWTN News.The event and street naming flowed from Lachapelleʼs work with Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service, a community-based nonprofit based in East Harlem. Founded by the Little Sisters, the organization offers numerous programs to help vulnerable families and children meet their basic needs.

Crowd celebrates the unveiling of the Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way street sign in East Harlem, New York, on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Alysa Jette and Grace Ayres-Doyle

The group has been in the city for almost 70 years and Lachapelle “really helped to set the trajectory for the organization,” Ray Lopez, chief program officer of LSA Family Health Service, told EWTN News.She was “a foundational visionary staff person and a leader who really, to this day, has a very profound impact on many of us who are on the staff and worked shoulder to shoulder with her, learning from her,” he said.“Since her passing, weʼve all … redoubled our efforts to find a way to keep LSAʼs original mission and vision going in this current environment,” Lopez said. “We really wanted to find ways to keep her name out there and the legacy going.”The street is on the southeast corner of East 115th Street and First Avenue. "Itʼs almost the exact midpoint of where Sister Susanne Lachapelle lived in the Little Sisters of the Assumption brownstone and where the LSA Family Health Service … center is located,” Lopez said.“She walked there every day for at least two decades,” he said. “We thought it was the appropriate place.”Sister Susanne and the Little Sisters: ‘Unsung heroes’Lachapelle entered the LSA order in 1962 and took the religious name Sister Susanne Mary of the Sacred Heart. She made her final vows in 1971.

Sister Susanne Lachapelle. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission

In her 60 years of religious life, she served in numerous areas and worked with many ministries. But for 45 years she made the community of East Harlem her home, helping to spearhead the LSA Family Health Service’s programs.As a nurse, Lachapelle conducted home visits, which “was a foundational program of LSA Family Health Service,” Lopez said. “All of the programs grew out of those interactions, those early interactions of nurses going into the homes to treat the sick and poor and really seeing conditions firsthand, sitting with families at their kitchen table, hearing their stories.”“Sister Susanne and the rest of the leadership created other programs to really provide wraparound services for families,” he said. "The Little Sisters set up a food pantry and a thrift store just to make sure that people had the very basics.”“From there, the services were about connecting people with public benefits, providing support around education, education enrichment, education navigation. A lot of … programs focused on maternal child health and early childhood development.”Along with her support for health and families, Lachapelle also had a passion for protecting the environment through her commitment to Pope Francis' Laudato Si', a call to protect our common home.

Sister Susanne Lachapelle. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission

Lachapelle decided to initiate “an environmental health component to the work that the Little Sisters were doing,” Lynn Tiede, a volunteer for LSA Health Service who worked with Lachapelle, told EWTN News.“She worked with the families and saw problems like asthma and other debilitating health things, she realized that … itʼs mold, itʼs the air quality, itʼs these other things that are really at the root of these health problems.”“Everybody was just so inspired … to see her traipsing into rough, rough buildings and just without any hesitation,” Tiede said. “If you went into a home and people were dealing with asthma, you … send in the environmental health team and then they try to work to get the building management to actually address those things.”With the success of her work, she even collaborated with the human rights group and nongovernmental organization Vivat International, where she helped bring voices and environmental issues to the United Nations, but she always remained “very, very humble,” Tiede said.Due to her humility “there were a few people who were against [the street-naming] when we proposed it, because they thought she would hate it — because she was so humble,” Tiede said.

Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way in East Harlem, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission

Ultimately they chose to honor Lachapelle and the Little Sisters because they are “unsung heroes — these quiet heroes,” Tiede said.The process to get the street renamed began in 2024 and it was found to be an easier process than expected, as the city council was eager to acknowledge Lachapelle and the Little Sisters.Sister Susanne’s lasting impactAt the street naming celebration organizers “were expecting around 80 participants, but I think it was maybe 150 or a little bit more,” Jimenez said. “There were community members, families that she served, youth that she served, … volunteers, and of course, our board members and benefactors.”It honored her “simplicity and the way that she used to be a leader,” which was “was grounded in integrity, purpose, love,” Jimenez said. “Having a street named after her will honor all of that.”Reflecting on the event, Lopez said: “[It] feels like a dream because so many people came that worked with her in the past.”Despite having to move the event inside to avoid the cold and rain, the crowd of people stayed to celebrate. It “was crowded with people, and our center lobby was filled completely,” Lopez said. “It was just a very festive atmosphere.”He added: “It was really moving to have so many people there from so long ago that still feel it in their hearts, [how] the work here in East Harlem impacted their careers, impacted their lives, and that itʼs still a very significant thing for them,” he said.

unitedyam April 30, 2026

For 45 years, Sister Susanne Lachapelle made the community of East Harlem her home, helping to spearhead the LSA Family Health Service’s programs to help the most vulnerable.

Pope Leo XIV: Vatican diplomats must be bridges and channels of peace #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Monday outlined the qualities needed in priests who serve as Vatican diplomats, describing their work as a unique ministry that serves not only Catholics but also the entire human family in individual nations and international organizations.The pope made the remarks April 27 during a visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the Holy See’s school for training diplomats, on the occasion of the 325th anniversary of its founding.Leo recalled that a few years earlier, while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he had visited the academy and reflected on “the essential mission carried out by the alma mater of the pontifical diplomats.”“Today, almost a year after the start of my Petrine ministry, accompanied by the diligent commitment of the Secretariat of State and the pontifical representations,” he said, “I therefore look with deep gratitude upon the history of dedication and service that this joyful anniversary celebrates.”That history, the pope said, rooted in the very Catholicity of the Church, has included an unbroken chain of priests from various parts of the world who have contributed “with their humble efforts to the building of that unity in Christ which, amid the diversity of origins, makes communion a fundamental characteristic of the diplomatic service of the Holy See.”Referring to reforms made to the academy by Pope Francis in March 2025, Leo said the most important reform required of those entering the community is “a constant exercise in conversion, aimed at cultivating ‘closeness, attentive listening, witness, a fraternal approach, and dialogue … combined with humility and meekness.’”The pope said the gathering was an opportunity to outline some characteristics of the pontifical diplomatic priest, who participates in the ministry of the successor of Peter and serves peace, truth, and justice.The Vatican diplomat, he said, “must be, first of all, a messenger of the paschal proclamation ‘Peace be with you!’”“Even when the hopes for dialogue and reconciliation seem to vanish and peace ‘as the world gives it’ is trampled upon and put to the test,” Leo said, “you are called to continue to bring the word of the risen Christ to all. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.’”Before trying to build peace “with our own meager strength,” the pope said, the mission of pontifical diplomats calls them to be bridges and channels for it, “so that the grace that comes from heaven may find its way through the vicissitudes of history.”Leo also said the papal diplomat, working in different cultural settings and international organizations, “is specifically assigned to bear witness to the truth that is Christ.”Such a diplomat, he said, must bring Christ’s message to the forum of nations and become “a sign of his love for that portion of humanity entrusted to his mission as a shepherd, even before that of a diplomat.”The pope also stressed the importance of clear language in diplomacy, citing his January address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in which he said it is urgently necessary that “words once again … express distinct and clear realities unequivocally,” because “only in this way can authentic dialogue resume without misunderstandings.”“For this reason, too,” he told the students, “it is important that you bring to the world the Word of Life, who revealed himself not through the affirmation of abstract principles and ideas but by becoming flesh.”Leo reminded the academy’s students that they are preparing for a ministry “which is not limited to safeguarding the good of the Catholic community but extends to the entire human family living in a particular nation or participating in the work of various international organizations.”This, he said, requires them “to be promoters of all forms of justice that help to recognize, rebuild, and protect the image of God imprinted in every person.”“In the defense of human rights — among which the rights to religious freedom and to life are prominent — I therefore urge you to continue to show the way, not toward confrontation and demands but toward the protection of human dignity, the development of peoples and communities, and the promotion of international cooperation,” he said. “These are the only means that allow us to embark on authentic paths of peace.”The pope acknowledged that in a world marked by tensions, where conflict can appear to be the only way to address needs and demands, efforts at dialogue, listening, and reconciliation may seem insufficient, at times even futile.“This must not discourage us!” he said. “Let us continue to invoke with confidence the gift of Christ’s peace, without fear.”He assured the superiors and students that their ministry, at any time and in any place, will be “an instrument for promoting and safeguarding the dignity of every man and woman, created in the image and likeness of God, and for advancing the common good.”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 28, 2026

The pontiff said the Holy See’s diplomatic service is a unique ministry rooted in peace, truth, and justice and directed not only to Catholics but also to the entire human family.

Cardinals in Rome remember Pope Francis as missionary to all 1 year after death #Catholic Rome remembered Pope Francis' legacy one year after his death with a Mass on Tuesday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where the late pontiff is buried.The same day, while en route to Equatorial Guinea to wrap up his trip to Africa, Pope Leo XIV remembered Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, highlighting his predecessorʼs “solidarity with the poorest, the most vulnerable, the sick, children, and the elderly.”

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, sprinkles holy water on the tomb of Pope Francis at the aforementioned basilica in Rome on April 21, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, celebrated the Mass with other cardinals and clergy resident in Rome. He read Leoʼs message at the Mass, in which the pope recalled Francis' missionary zeal.“He was also a missionary, proclaiming the Gospel of mercy ‘to everyone, everyone, everyone,’” Leo wrote. “In harmony with his predecessors, he took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council and urged the Church to be open to mission, a guardian of the world’s hope, passionate about proclaiming that Gospel which is capable of giving every life fulfillment and happiness.”

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, preaches at Mass for the first anniversary of the death of Pope Francis at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on April 21, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News

Re described Leoʼs message as an invitation to preserve the legacy of Pope Francis, rooted in his “exhortation to build bridges and not walls.”“The heart of this message seems to me a vibrant invitation to preserve the spiritual legacy of the late Pope Francis. A legacy summarized, as we have heard, through several of his key phrases: ‘the joy of the Gospel,’ ‘the mercy of God,’ ‘the smell of the sheep,’” Re said.

A special plaque commemorating the visits of Pope Francis to the Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” is displayed at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on April 21, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News

Before the Mass, a special plaque was blessed and unveiled to commemorate Francis' many visits to the Basilica of St. Mary Major. During his life, Francis frequently visited the basilica to venerate the Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” and expressed his wish to be buried in the church near the icon.The Mass was also attended by several ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, including Irish Ambassador Frances Collins and U.S. Ambassador Brian Burch.After the Mass, all the cardinals processed to Francis' tomb for the final prayer, delivered by Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, archpriest of the basilica. Commending the late pontiff to the mercy of God, Makrickas recalled that “hope does not disappoint,” a tribute to the papal bull with which Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year 2025, which drew over 20 million people to St. Mary Major and his tomb.

unitedyam April 22, 2026

Pope Leo XIV, who is traveling in Africa, sent a message to be read at the Mass commemorating the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death.

Christ is not ‘a guru or a good luck charm,’ pope says at Mass in Angola #Catholic SAURIMO, Angola — Pope Leo XIV warned at Mass in Saurimo, Angola, on Monday of making God into an idol that is sought only when advantageous — “when genuine faith is replaced with superstitious practices.”“There are erroneous motives for seeking Christ, particularly when he is considered to be a guru or a good luck charm,” the pope said on April 20, referring to how the crowds in the Gospel reading reacted after Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes.“They were not seeking a teacher whom they love but a leader to applaud for their own advantage,” he said.Joyful faith in Saurimo

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Saurimo, Angola, on April 20, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

From the start of his arrival in Sub-Saharan Africa — first in Cameroon and then in Angola — Pope Leo has been welcomed by the warmth of the faithful. In Saurimo, a city in northeastern Angola, the atmosphere greeting the pope on Monday was marked by joyful faith. Everyone welcomed the successor of Peter with songs, dances, and applause.Despite the intense heat, upon reaching the esplanade before Mass, Leo XIV greeted the roughly 60,000 faithful of all ages — who had come from across the region and neighboring dioceses — by making a circuit in the popemobile.“This is the first time a pope has gone beyond Angola’s coastal belt and come — using Pope Francis’ language — to the peripheries,“ the director of the communications office of the Archdiocese of Saurimo said. ”This is a region rich in diamonds, but there is also great poverty, and he comes here to show our reality. For us, having the Holy Father in our region is a great joy.”“This is a unique and unforgettable moment in my life and in the lives of the many pilgrims here today,” Filomena Vunda, who works in the pastoral secretariat of the Archdiocese of Malanje, told ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, at the Mass.Vunda encouraged non-Catholics in Angola to “keep in mind our African word ‘Ubuntu’: The happiness of others depends on me; my happiness depends solely on the happiness of others.”Ubuntu is an African philosophy about human interconnectedness. It can be translated as “I am because we are.”‘Disciples of Christ’In his homily at Mass, concelebrated by Angolan bishops, Pope Leo said: “In every part of the world, the Church lives as a people who walk as disciples of Christ, our brother and redeemer.”"He, the Risen One, illumines for us the path to the Father and with the strength of the Spirit he sanctifies us so that we may transform our way of life in conformity with his love," the pope said. "This is the good news, the Gospel that courses through our veins like blood, sustaining us on the journey. A journey that has brought me here with you today!”

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Saurimo, Angola, on April 20, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

Commenting on the Gospel of the day, Leo reflected: “Indeed, when the Son of God became man, he performed striking miracles in order to manifest the will of the Father: He made light shine in the darkness by giving sight to the blind, he gave a voice to the oppressed by loosening the tongues of the mute, he slaked our thirst for justice by multiplying bread for the poor and weak. Anyone who heard about these works set out in search of Jesus. At the same time, the Lord looks into our heart and asks us whether we seek him out of gratitude or for our own self-interest, with calculation or with love.”“The Lord himself says,” the pope continued, “‘you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves’ (Jn 6:26). His words reveal the designs of those who do not want to encounter a person but want to consume things. The crowd sees Jesus as means to an end, a provider of services. If he had not given them something to eat, his actions and teachings would not have interested them.”“This happens,” Leo XIV explained, “when genuine faith is replaced with superstitious practices, in which God becomes an idol that is sought only when it is advantageous to us and only for as long as it is. Even the most beautiful gifts of the Lord, which are always for the care of his people, become a pretext, a prize or a bargaining chip, and are misinterpreted by those who receive them.”“How different is Jesus’ attitude toward us,” the pontiff continued. “Yet, he does not reject this insincere search, but encourages its conversion ... Christ calls us to freedom: He does not want servants or clients, rather he seeks brothers and sisters to whom he can totally dedicate himself.”“Therefore,” Leo XIV said, “the admonition that the Lord directs to the crowd is transformed into an invitation: ‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life’ (Jn 6:27)."“His gift sheds light on our current situation,” the pope went on. “We can see today how the hope of many people is frustrated by violence, exploited by the powerful, and defrauded by the rich. Consequently, when injustice corrupts hearts, the bread of all becomes the possession of a few."“In the face of these evils, Christ hears the cry of the people and renews our history by lifting us up from every fall, comforting us in every suffering, and encouraging us in our mission," he said.

Crowds of people brave the heat and sun to attend Mass with Pope Leo XIV in Saurimo, Angola, on April 20, 2026. | Credit: Raúl Kangombe Sapiti/ACI Africa

“All this,” the pope exhorted, “means that, in light of our discipleship, the ecclesial journey is a ‘synod of resurrection and hope,’ as St. John Paul II affirmed in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa. Let us proceed in this wise direction! Christ himself guides and strengthens our journey, a journey that we want to learn to live more and more as it should be, that is, in a synodal manner.”The pope concluded by recalling the importance of the martyrs and saints, whose witness “encourages us and pushes us onto a path of hope, reconciliation, and peace, along which the gift of God becomes the responsibility of the head of the household, in the Christian community, in civil society.”"The vitality of the vocations that you experience [in Angola]," he said, "is a sign that you are responding to the Lord’s gift, which is always abundant for those who welcome it with pure hearts.”ACI Africa reporter Raúl Kangombe Sapiti contributed to this report.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.

unitedyam April 20, 2026

After praying at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Saurimo, Pope Leo XIV proceeded to the site of the Mass, attended by an estimated 60,000 people.