working

Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona calls Catholics to be martyrs of unity #Catholic BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV dedicated Tuesday morning to thanking the thousands of volunteers who helped organize his apostolic journey to Spain before heading to Barcelona to touch the ancient traces of the country’s deeply rooted Christian faith.At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, whose construction began at the end of the 13th century on the site of early Christian and Romanesque churches and which became, a century later, one of the most important jewels of European Gothic architecture, the pope prayed Midday Prayer with about 500 faithful.Hundreds more waited outside the cathedral to show their affection, many waving Vatican flags.The crowd erupted with excitement at his arrival. The pontiff was accompanied by Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, who gestured with his hands to indicate to the people waiting outside that the pope had to leave. The plane carrying Leo XIV had landed in the Catalan capital 40 minutes late.During the ceremony, the pope sat in the oldest chair — the cathedra, or bishop’s seat — in the city that is still in use, dating at least to the cathedral’s consecration in 1058, according to recent research.In his homily, Leo XIV called Catholics to be builders of communion.“Dear brothers and sisters: it is in this spirit that we too, in a world torn apart by wars and divisions, in a society that is increasingly fragmented and individualistic, wish to be ‘martyrs’ — that is, witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation,” the pope said.It was the first time during the trip that Leo XIV pronounced several phrases in Catalan, the language proper to Catalonia, co-official with Spanish and the main language of the regional administration.A symbol of Catalan cultural identity, the language to be used by the pontiff during the events scheduled in Barcelona had become the subject of public debate in Catalonia in recent days.The controversy intensified after it emerged that the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia — one of the central moments of the visit — would be conducted mainly in Spanish.In the Congress of Deputies, where the pope delivered an unprecedented address Monday, Junts per Catalunya lawmaker Miriam Nogueras asked him to speak Catalan.“It is important for each of us not to allow anything to destroy the unity in which God has established us and toward whose fullness he leads us day by day,” the pontiff said, alternating Catalan and Spanish in the homily.Leo XIV cited two addresses by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never visited Spain but often expressed affection for the country.On the occasion of the inauguration of the Tower of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on Dec. 8, 2021, Francis sent a message recalling that the Church “is the fruit of an act of love that precedes her and comes from God. Above all, she grows by allowing herself to be loved by him, united, with a humble and grateful heart, because only those who allow themselves to be loved by God can build, together with others, the works of love.”One year later, the Argentine pope told seminarians of the Archdiocese of Barcelona during a pilgrimage to Rome: “Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection which pours and will pour itself abundantly into your heart.”Leo XIV structured his homily around the image of the Catholic Church as both beloved bride and body, with all believers as members of a single organism.The Spirit, he said, “impels us, as parts of a single living structure, not only to give ourselves unreservedly wherever Providence calls us, but to do so according to God’s designs, in obedience and trust.”Just as in a body, he continued, “so too among us there are members who are stronger and others who are weaker; some are visible, performing functions that are evident to the outside world, while others are hidden, working from within — in some cases without ceasing and carrying out vital functions without anyone taking notice.”The pope said there are many possible images to “illustrate the variety and importance of the roles and missions we find among ourselves,” but the message is always the same.“In the richness of the gifts we have received, we are strong because we are united, and we are united because we are animated by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who is the Spirit of communion for the salvation of all,” he said.Upon arriving, Leo XIV was received by Omella. After the greeting, the cardinal led him to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for a brief moment of personal prayer.On his way to the altar, the pope passed by the baptismal font, built in 1433. It was in that baptistery that the first six Indigenous people brought from the Americas by Christopher Columbus received the sacrament of entrance into the Church, as a plaque in the chapel recalls.All of this forms part of the cathedral’s history, which inherits a tradition of worship in this part of Barcelona dating back to the fourth century.Leo XIV’s final act inside the cathedral was to descend to the crypt, where the tomb of the Roman martyr St. Eulalia, co-patroness of Barcelona, is located.Before her martyrdom, the young saint was said to have tended geese. For this reason, 13 geese are kept today in the cathedral cloister in her honor, recalling both her 13 tortures and the age at which she died for the Lord.The pontiff also spoke of “so many other martyrs” and called the faithful to respond with “our ‘yes,’ ready if necessary to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce the superfluous in order to build upon what is essential and lasts forever.”“This is what the crucified One teaches us,” the pope said. “This is what the Apostle Paul and the examples of the saints invite us to do.”The pope ended his homily by invoking Mary in Catalan: “Santa Maria de la Mercè, pregueu per nosaltres” — “Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona calls Catholics to be martyrs of unity #Catholic BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV dedicated Tuesday morning to thanking the thousands of volunteers who helped organize his apostolic journey to Spain before heading to Barcelona to touch the ancient traces of the country’s deeply rooted Christian faith.At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, whose construction began at the end of the 13th century on the site of early Christian and Romanesque churches and which became, a century later, one of the most important jewels of European Gothic architecture, the pope prayed Midday Prayer with about 500 faithful.Hundreds more waited outside the cathedral to show their affection, many waving Vatican flags.The crowd erupted with excitement at his arrival. The pontiff was accompanied by Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, who gestured with his hands to indicate to the people waiting outside that the pope had to leave. The plane carrying Leo XIV had landed in the Catalan capital 40 minutes late.During the ceremony, the pope sat in the oldest chair — the cathedra, or bishop’s seat — in the city that is still in use, dating at least to the cathedral’s consecration in 1058, according to recent research.In his homily, Leo XIV called Catholics to be builders of communion.“Dear brothers and sisters: it is in this spirit that we too, in a world torn apart by wars and divisions, in a society that is increasingly fragmented and individualistic, wish to be ‘martyrs’ — that is, witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation,” the pope said.It was the first time during the trip that Leo XIV pronounced several phrases in Catalan, the language proper to Catalonia, co-official with Spanish and the main language of the regional administration.A symbol of Catalan cultural identity, the language to be used by the pontiff during the events scheduled in Barcelona had become the subject of public debate in Catalonia in recent days.The controversy intensified after it emerged that the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia — one of the central moments of the visit — would be conducted mainly in Spanish.In the Congress of Deputies, where the pope delivered an unprecedented address Monday, Junts per Catalunya lawmaker Miriam Nogueras asked him to speak Catalan.“It is important for each of us not to allow anything to destroy the unity in which God has established us and toward whose fullness he leads us day by day,” the pontiff said, alternating Catalan and Spanish in the homily.Leo XIV cited two addresses by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never visited Spain but often expressed affection for the country.On the occasion of the inauguration of the Tower of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on Dec. 8, 2021, Francis sent a message recalling that the Church “is the fruit of an act of love that precedes her and comes from God. Above all, she grows by allowing herself to be loved by him, united, with a humble and grateful heart, because only those who allow themselves to be loved by God can build, together with others, the works of love.”One year later, the Argentine pope told seminarians of the Archdiocese of Barcelona during a pilgrimage to Rome: “Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection which pours and will pour itself abundantly into your heart.”Leo XIV structured his homily around the image of the Catholic Church as both beloved bride and body, with all believers as members of a single organism.The Spirit, he said, “impels us, as parts of a single living structure, not only to give ourselves unreservedly wherever Providence calls us, but to do so according to God’s designs, in obedience and trust.”Just as in a body, he continued, “so too among us there are members who are stronger and others who are weaker; some are visible, performing functions that are evident to the outside world, while others are hidden, working from within — in some cases without ceasing and carrying out vital functions without anyone taking notice.”The pope said there are many possible images to “illustrate the variety and importance of the roles and missions we find among ourselves,” but the message is always the same.“In the richness of the gifts we have received, we are strong because we are united, and we are united because we are animated by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who is the Spirit of communion for the salvation of all,” he said.Upon arriving, Leo XIV was received by Omella. After the greeting, the cardinal led him to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for a brief moment of personal prayer.On his way to the altar, the pope passed by the baptismal font, built in 1433. It was in that baptistery that the first six Indigenous people brought from the Americas by Christopher Columbus received the sacrament of entrance into the Church, as a plaque in the chapel recalls.All of this forms part of the cathedral’s history, which inherits a tradition of worship in this part of Barcelona dating back to the fourth century.Leo XIV’s final act inside the cathedral was to descend to the crypt, where the tomb of the Roman martyr St. Eulalia, co-patroness of Barcelona, is located.Before her martyrdom, the young saint was said to have tended geese. For this reason, 13 geese are kept today in the cathedral cloister in her honor, recalling both her 13 tortures and the age at which she died for the Lord.The pontiff also spoke of “so many other martyrs” and called the faithful to respond with “our ‘yes,’ ready if necessary to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce the superfluous in order to build upon what is essential and lasts forever.”“This is what the crucified One teaches us,” the pope said. “This is what the Apostle Paul and the examples of the saints invite us to do.”The pope ended his homily by invoking Mary in Catalan: “Santa Maria de la Mercè, pregueu per nosaltres” — “Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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After an exuberant welcome in the Catalan capital, the pope prayed Midday Prayer in Barcelona’s cathedral and urged the faithful to be “witnesses and prophets of unity.”

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Monsignor Vaccari cites rising humanitarian strain as Middle East violence intensifies #Catholic Monsignor Peter Vaccari reported rising humanitarian needs during a recent Middle East visit, describing disrupted daily life as conflicts intensified.Vaccari, president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that delivers humanitarian aid, described the realities facing those living amid ongoing regional tensions in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo, an excerpt of which was broadcast on June 8. Vaccari said about a visit to Jerusalem: “The day began with the sound of large sirens. Loud sirens going off, letting us know that rockets, drones, and missiles were on their way.” The situation, he said, dramatically altered the day’s plans for residents and aid workers alike.Despite the challenges, Vaccari continued his journey throughout the region, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a visible Church presence among suffering communities.CNEWA maintains offices throughout the Middle East, including in Jerusalem, Amman, and Beirut. According to Vaccari, the organization’s local presence enables it to respond quickly to changing circumstances and coordinate assistance directly with Church leaders on the ground.“The work that we do is on the ground,” Vaccari said, noting that local staff and Church partners remain deeply connected to the communities they serve.Much of CNEWA’s work focuses on humanitarian relief in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, and Lebanon. The organization provides assistance ranging from food and clean water to medicine, medical equipment, and emergency relief for families displaced by conflict.Beyond material aid, CNEWA has increasingly emphasized psychosocial and emotional support programs. Vaccari said such healing initiatives have become especially important as communities continue to endure the trauma associated with war and displacement.“To whatever extent we can work to try to provide clean water, medicine, food, medical relief, medical equipment, weʼre trying to do that,” he said. “Psychosocial healing, which as you can well imagine under the circumstances right now, is [also] a very needed entity.”Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA works on behalf of the Holy See to support Eastern Catholic Churches and provide humanitarian assistance throughout the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. The organization partners closely with local bishops, religious communities, and lay leaders to deliver aid where it is most needed.“We work with the local Church,” Vaccari said. “We’re working with local bishops, lay leadership, consecrated religious, and the nuncios.”The organization’s work is funded largely through donations from Catholics and other benefactors around the world.“Never, in a typical mission, do we work alone,” Vaccari said. He expressed gratitude for local partners and donors whose support makes the organization’s humanitarian and pastoral outreach possible.
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Monsignor Vaccari cites rising humanitarian strain as Middle East violence intensifies #Catholic Monsignor Peter Vaccari reported rising humanitarian needs during a recent Middle East visit, describing disrupted daily life as conflicts intensified.Vaccari, president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that delivers humanitarian aid, described the realities facing those living amid ongoing regional tensions in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo, an excerpt of which was broadcast on June 8. Vaccari said about a visit to Jerusalem: “The day began with the sound of large sirens. Loud sirens going off, letting us know that rockets, drones, and missiles were on their way.” The situation, he said, dramatically altered the day’s plans for residents and aid workers alike.Despite the challenges, Vaccari continued his journey throughout the region, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a visible Church presence among suffering communities.CNEWA maintains offices throughout the Middle East, including in Jerusalem, Amman, and Beirut. According to Vaccari, the organization’s local presence enables it to respond quickly to changing circumstances and coordinate assistance directly with Church leaders on the ground.“The work that we do is on the ground,” Vaccari said, noting that local staff and Church partners remain deeply connected to the communities they serve.Much of CNEWA’s work focuses on humanitarian relief in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, and Lebanon. The organization provides assistance ranging from food and clean water to medicine, medical equipment, and emergency relief for families displaced by conflict.Beyond material aid, CNEWA has increasingly emphasized psychosocial and emotional support programs. Vaccari said such healing initiatives have become especially important as communities continue to endure the trauma associated with war and displacement.“To whatever extent we can work to try to provide clean water, medicine, food, medical relief, medical equipment, weʼre trying to do that,” he said. “Psychosocial healing, which as you can well imagine under the circumstances right now, is [also] a very needed entity.”Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA works on behalf of the Holy See to support Eastern Catholic Churches and provide humanitarian assistance throughout the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. The organization partners closely with local bishops, religious communities, and lay leaders to deliver aid where it is most needed.“We work with the local Church,” Vaccari said. “We’re working with local bishops, lay leadership, consecrated religious, and the nuncios.”The organization’s work is funded largely through donations from Catholics and other benefactors around the world.“Never, in a typical mission, do we work alone,” Vaccari said. He expressed gratitude for local partners and donors whose support makes the organization’s humanitarian and pastoral outreach possible.

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Monsignor Peter Vaccari, president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that delivers humanitarian aid, described situation in Jerusalem.

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A quarter of Irish Gen Z will have no children, new report says #Catholic One in 4 members of Ireland’s Gen Z demographic are expected to be childless by age 45, according to a new report from Dublin’s Iona Institute, which promotes marriage, freedom of conscience, and religion in society. Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.Drawing on cohort-level data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), as well as using demographic modeling, the instituteʼs "Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland" report, released in May, charts a huge increase in the number of Irish women who are childless.Among those born in the late 1950s, only 30.9% were childless by age 30, rising to 63.6% for those born in the early 1990s. This trend suggests 25% of women born in the late 1990s will be childless when they reach age 45.Breda OʼBrien of the Iona Institute told EWTN News that “a huge question is whether this will be by choice or circumstance.""Much will be unplanned and forced by circumstance, such as the cost of living," she said. "It’s worrying and weʼre sliding into it without too much discussion. Before the 1930s, we had similar rates of childlessness in Ireland, but that was because of extreme poverty, late marriage, and low marriage rates. Weʼre supposed to be in an era where women have every possible choice.”She continued: “The choice to have children, which is fundamental, is being taken away from young women. Itʼs being painted as a kind of freedom. I donʼt think young women themselves consider it to be a type of freedom, and I think a lot of them are worried about it."According to Central Statistics Office data, the average man’s age at marriage is now nearing 38 and the average womanʼs age is almost 36. A 2022 Amarach Research poll for Iona showed that 85% of people want to have at least two children and only 2% expressed a wish for no children. Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18% in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office.With clear indications that the longer a person delays having children, the less likely he or she will have any, O’Brien said “itʼs part of the whole growth of individualism and this idea for kids, from the time theyʼre tiny, [that] you get your education, you travel, you have your career in order, you have fun, you donʼt tie yourself down, and then sometimes in your 30s, you think about settling down. But a lot of women in their mid-30s realize that it is increasingly difficult to conceive.”She added: “The fertility industry is booming, which does show us that people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to have children, but the life script theyʼve been presented with is actually working against their best interests. Nature has no knowledge of this life script that young people are being presented with.”“The longer you leave it, the more chances there are of miscarriage, of complications in labor, and of medical intervention during birth, if you get that far. So itʼs not consequence-free,” she said.O’Brien told EWTN News that there needs to be debate about why this is happening as a society. "It is a phenomenon we should discuss far more widely if our aim is to help people achieve their eventual life goals. I think among people of faith, they are still prioritizing children and family, and marriage. The Catholic Church needs to support those young families in every way possible.”She pointed out that having fewer children “has very significant social and economic consequences because of the effects of an aging population and growing loneliness.”The report highlights a series of demographic issues related to childlessness and to Ireland’s already-aging population. Lower fertility rates, combined with rising childlessness, mean that the ratio of working-age adults to elderly dependents is set to worsen. Fewer births today mean fewer workers in 20 to 30 years.O’Brien said: “In Ireland, thereʼs still a degree of respect for older people, but one of the awful possible consequences is that younger people will start to resent older people.” The Iona report highlights the situation where a smaller working-age population will be asked to support a larger elderly population, putting pension sustainability, healthcare, and long-term care provision under growing financial pressure.The instituteʼs findings also highlight the effect on housing and household-formation patterns. A rise in the proportion of adults who never have children increases demand for smaller dwellings and single-person households. Additionally, in recent decades, inward migration to Ireland has been an effective and economically rational response in periods of strong demand. However, it is not a response to childlessness.O’Brien pointed to other countries and the demographic shifts they are facing with an increasing aging population. “Other countries are further along the road than we are. South Korea, or even Japan, where theyʼre repurposing childcare facilities for eldercare facilities, moving from baby formula to fortified drinks from the elderly, and from producing diapers for children, to producing incontinence products for the elderly — this is not a good road that weʼre on,” she said.
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A quarter of Irish Gen Z will have no children, new report says #Catholic One in 4 members of Ireland’s Gen Z demographic are expected to be childless by age 45, according to a new report from Dublin’s Iona Institute, which promotes marriage, freedom of conscience, and religion in society. Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.Drawing on cohort-level data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), as well as using demographic modeling, the instituteʼs "Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland" report, released in May, charts a huge increase in the number of Irish women who are childless.Among those born in the late 1950s, only 30.9% were childless by age 30, rising to 63.6% for those born in the early 1990s. This trend suggests 25% of women born in the late 1990s will be childless when they reach age 45.Breda OʼBrien of the Iona Institute told EWTN News that “a huge question is whether this will be by choice or circumstance.""Much will be unplanned and forced by circumstance, such as the cost of living," she said. "It’s worrying and weʼre sliding into it without too much discussion. Before the 1930s, we had similar rates of childlessness in Ireland, but that was because of extreme poverty, late marriage, and low marriage rates. Weʼre supposed to be in an era where women have every possible choice.”She continued: “The choice to have children, which is fundamental, is being taken away from young women. Itʼs being painted as a kind of freedom. I donʼt think young women themselves consider it to be a type of freedom, and I think a lot of them are worried about it."According to Central Statistics Office data, the average man’s age at marriage is now nearing 38 and the average womanʼs age is almost 36. A 2022 Amarach Research poll for Iona showed that 85% of people want to have at least two children and only 2% expressed a wish for no children. Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18% in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office.With clear indications that the longer a person delays having children, the less likely he or she will have any, O’Brien said “itʼs part of the whole growth of individualism and this idea for kids, from the time theyʼre tiny, [that] you get your education, you travel, you have your career in order, you have fun, you donʼt tie yourself down, and then sometimes in your 30s, you think about settling down. But a lot of women in their mid-30s realize that it is increasingly difficult to conceive.”She added: “The fertility industry is booming, which does show us that people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to have children, but the life script theyʼve been presented with is actually working against their best interests. Nature has no knowledge of this life script that young people are being presented with.”“The longer you leave it, the more chances there are of miscarriage, of complications in labor, and of medical intervention during birth, if you get that far. So itʼs not consequence-free,” she said.O’Brien told EWTN News that there needs to be debate about why this is happening as a society. "It is a phenomenon we should discuss far more widely if our aim is to help people achieve their eventual life goals. I think among people of faith, they are still prioritizing children and family, and marriage. The Catholic Church needs to support those young families in every way possible.”She pointed out that having fewer children “has very significant social and economic consequences because of the effects of an aging population and growing loneliness.”The report highlights a series of demographic issues related to childlessness and to Ireland’s already-aging population. Lower fertility rates, combined with rising childlessness, mean that the ratio of working-age adults to elderly dependents is set to worsen. Fewer births today mean fewer workers in 20 to 30 years.O’Brien said: “In Ireland, thereʼs still a degree of respect for older people, but one of the awful possible consequences is that younger people will start to resent older people.” The Iona report highlights the situation where a smaller working-age population will be asked to support a larger elderly population, putting pension sustainability, healthcare, and long-term care provision under growing financial pressure.The instituteʼs findings also highlight the effect on housing and household-formation patterns. A rise in the proportion of adults who never have children increases demand for smaller dwellings and single-person households. Additionally, in recent decades, inward migration to Ireland has been an effective and economically rational response in periods of strong demand. However, it is not a response to childlessness.O’Brien pointed to other countries and the demographic shifts they are facing with an increasing aging population. “Other countries are further along the road than we are. South Korea, or even Japan, where theyʼre repurposing childcare facilities for eldercare facilities, moving from baby formula to fortified drinks from the elderly, and from producing diapers for children, to producing incontinence products for the elderly — this is not a good road that weʼre on,” she said.

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While current trends show that 1 in 4 young women today will remain childless, Iona Institute’s Breda O’Brien said the huge question is “whether this will be by choice or circumstance.”

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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of June #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of June is for the value of sports.“In times of war and extreme polarization, sport is one of the few things that bring us closer together,” the pope said in a video released on X on June 2.He added: “Let us pray this June that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations, and that it may promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.”In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Lord of life,we thank you for the gift of sport,for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies,for the friendships born on the fieldand the joy of playing as a team.You teach us that in life, as in the game,no one is saved alone.We need others to grow,to learn respect, to overcome our limits,and to celebrate together the victories we achieve.We ask that sport may always bea school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry,a space of encounter, not exclusion,a path of peace, not violence.May those who play, train, or cheerdiscover in sport a universal languagethat brings cultures together, unites peoples,and sows respect, solidarity, and personal growth.Lord Jesus,may every sport become a parable of life lived with you,working with joy and effort,living with humility in defeatand with gratitude in the victory you offer in your resurrection.May your Spirit never be lacking in us,making us one team, united with youto build communion and fraternity in history.Amen.“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.
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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of June #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of June is for the value of sports.“In times of war and extreme polarization, sport is one of the few things that bring us closer together,” the pope said in a video released on X on June 2.He added: “Let us pray this June that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations, and that it may promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.”In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Lord of life,we thank you for the gift of sport,for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies,for the friendships born on the fieldand the joy of playing as a team.You teach us that in life, as in the game,no one is saved alone.We need others to grow,to learn respect, to overcome our limits,and to celebrate together the victories we achieve.We ask that sport may always bea school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry,a space of encounter, not exclusion,a path of peace, not violence.May those who play, train, or cheerdiscover in sport a universal languagethat brings cultures together, unites peoples,and sows respect, solidarity, and personal growth.Lord Jesus,may every sport become a parable of life lived with you,working with joy and effort,living with humility in defeatand with gratitude in the victory you offer in your resurrection.May your Spirit never be lacking in us,making us one team, united with youto build communion and fraternity in history.Amen.“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.

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“In times of war and extreme polarization, sport is one of the few things that bring us closer together,” the pope said in a video released on X on June 2.

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

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

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Pope Leo unveils his encyclical: AI has ‘even greater consequences’ than Industrial Revolution #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Monday personally attended the presentation of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, in an uncustomary gesture. Upon his arrival at the event, held in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall, he was greeted with sustained applause from an audience made up of members of the Roman Curia, representatives of academia, and the diplomatic corps.Among the speakers was Canadian Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, one of the leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies. The firm has recently had tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump after prohibiting the U.S. Department of Defense from using its software for military purposes.Some observers had raised concerns about including a representative of a major tech company like Anthropic in an event of this kind. The Holy Father himself dispelled any hesitation by thanking Olah for his presence: “What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences we can listen to one another,” he said in his remarks.“This interchange clearly bespeaks the gravity of the moment, as well as confidence that together we can discern the major questions of our time, and so the future of humanity,” he added.In his remarks prior to the pope’s address, Olah echoed the same idea: "That is why, if we want this technology to go well, it is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives — people who care about things going well and insist on safety, who are paying close attention, who are willing to say hard things, who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful, critics. It is through dialogue and mutual effort, through the push and pull, that humanity will achieve great things. That is what I see in Magnifica Humanitas, and it is why I am grateful to His Holiness and the Church for taking up this work of discernment.” Christopher Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic, says he is grateful to Pope Leo XIV and the Church for “taking up this work of discernment” on artificial intelligence, during his address at the presentation of the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on May 25, 2026, in the Synod Hall of the Vatican. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Olah, who is not a believer, also issued a call to various sectors — religious communities, civil society, academics, and governments — to follow the pope’s example with this document: “to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction. We need informed critics who will tell the labs when we are failing. We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend.”It is no coincidence that Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, the same date on which his predecessor Leo XIII promulgated Rerum Novarum (“On New Things”) in 1891 in response to the dehumanization brought about by the Industrial Revolution. As the pope explained, the world today faces a transformation of perhaps even greater scope.“Today we find ourselves facing a transformation of similar magnitude, with perhaps even greater consequences. Artificial intelligence already touches many areas of our lives and affects decisions that shape human coexistence,” he said.The pope expressed particular concern about the impact of new technologies on the conduct of war, which, he warned, is changing dramatically.“Like the earlier Leo, I feel entrusted to look upon another huge transformation with eyes of faith, with lucidity of reason, with openness to mystery, and with cries of the poor and the earth resounding in my heart,” he said.The Holy Father also described the method behind the drafting of this magisterial document, which began in July 2025 at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. In it, he seeks to reaffirm what makes us human in a society shaped by technology.He emphasized that Magnifica Humanitas was born from listening: “I have listened to scientists and engineers who work with sincere enthusiasm on technologies capable of alleviating immense suffering, to political leaders and public officials who have perseveringly sought just rules, to parents and teachers who are deeply concerned for the future of younger generations,” he said, without naming individuals.At the same time, he acknowledged hearing “Other very troubling voices have also reached me about increasingly autonomous weapons systems practically beyond any human reach to govern them effectively.”“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice. And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice when decisions are made — decisions likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering,” he lamented.In line with the document — which states that artificial intelligence is not morally neutral — the pope called for AI to be “disarmed.”“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he warned.“The Church has long been working for nuclear disarmament, aware that every great technical power can affect peopleʼs lives, and so must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control. Nuclear disarmament remains a service to peace and the dignity of the human family,” he added.Also speaking at the presentation were three cardinals of the Roman Curia: Secretary of State Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.Two theologians also took the floor: Anna Rowlands, a specialist in Catholic social teaching and migration ethics at Durham University, and Leocadie Lushombo, an expert in political theology and Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo unveils his encyclical: AI has ‘even greater consequences’ than Industrial Revolution #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Monday personally attended the presentation of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, in an uncustomary gesture. Upon his arrival at the event, held in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall, he was greeted with sustained applause from an audience made up of members of the Roman Curia, representatives of academia, and the diplomatic corps.Among the speakers was Canadian Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, one of the leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies. The firm has recently had tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump after prohibiting the U.S. Department of Defense from using its software for military purposes.Some observers had raised concerns about including a representative of a major tech company like Anthropic in an event of this kind. The Holy Father himself dispelled any hesitation by thanking Olah for his presence: “What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences we can listen to one another,” he said in his remarks.“This interchange clearly bespeaks the gravity of the moment, as well as confidence that together we can discern the major questions of our time, and so the future of humanity,” he added.In his remarks prior to the pope’s address, Olah echoed the same idea: "That is why, if we want this technology to go well, it is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives — people who care about things going well and insist on safety, who are paying close attention, who are willing to say hard things, who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful, critics. It is through dialogue and mutual effort, through the push and pull, that humanity will achieve great things. That is what I see in Magnifica Humanitas, and it is why I am grateful to His Holiness and the Church for taking up this work of discernment.” Christopher Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic, says he is grateful to Pope Leo XIV and the Church for “taking up this work of discernment” on artificial intelligence, during his address at the presentation of the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on May 25, 2026, in the Synod Hall of the Vatican. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Olah, who is not a believer, also issued a call to various sectors — religious communities, civil society, academics, and governments — to follow the pope’s example with this document: “to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction. We need informed critics who will tell the labs when we are failing. We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend.”It is no coincidence that Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, the same date on which his predecessor Leo XIII promulgated Rerum Novarum (“On New Things”) in 1891 in response to the dehumanization brought about by the Industrial Revolution. As the pope explained, the world today faces a transformation of perhaps even greater scope.“Today we find ourselves facing a transformation of similar magnitude, with perhaps even greater consequences. Artificial intelligence already touches many areas of our lives and affects decisions that shape human coexistence,” he said.The pope expressed particular concern about the impact of new technologies on the conduct of war, which, he warned, is changing dramatically.“Like the earlier Leo, I feel entrusted to look upon another huge transformation with eyes of faith, with lucidity of reason, with openness to mystery, and with cries of the poor and the earth resounding in my heart,” he said.The Holy Father also described the method behind the drafting of this magisterial document, which began in July 2025 at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. In it, he seeks to reaffirm what makes us human in a society shaped by technology.He emphasized that Magnifica Humanitas was born from listening: “I have listened to scientists and engineers who work with sincere enthusiasm on technologies capable of alleviating immense suffering, to political leaders and public officials who have perseveringly sought just rules, to parents and teachers who are deeply concerned for the future of younger generations,” he said, without naming individuals.At the same time, he acknowledged hearing “Other very troubling voices have also reached me about increasingly autonomous weapons systems practically beyond any human reach to govern them effectively.”“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice. And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice when decisions are made — decisions likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering,” he lamented.In line with the document — which states that artificial intelligence is not morally neutral — the pope called for AI to be “disarmed.”“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he warned.“The Church has long been working for nuclear disarmament, aware that every great technical power can affect peopleʼs lives, and so must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control. Nuclear disarmament remains a service to peace and the dignity of the human family,” he added.Also speaking at the presentation were three cardinals of the Roman Curia: Secretary of State Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.Two theologians also took the floor: Anna Rowlands, a specialist in Catholic social teaching and migration ethics at Durham University, and Leocadie Lushombo, an expert in political theology and Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The pope thanked Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah for his presence at the presentation: “What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences we can listen to one another.”

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Madrid archbishop says Catholics feel ‘incredible expectation’ at pope’s upcoming trip to Spain #Catholic Madrid Archbishop Cardinal José Cobo Cano said that the imminent visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain has generated “incredible expectations” and that the main challenge will not only be organizational, but pastoral.“The challenge is that it is not an event. We are used to concerts, which are prepared, closed and thatʼs it," he said in an interview with EWTN News about the preparations for the trip of Pope Leo XIV, who will visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands from June 6 to 12. He expressed hope that the visit will be “a moment of experience and … a moment also that will be slow, that it helps us to look up and take a step forward.”Preparations in record timeCardinal Cobo explained that the visit has been organized in “record time,” with just three months of work, and with a much greater social and ecclesial response than expected.“We have had three scarce months to prepare a trip, during which we have also found that there is a great desire and an incredible expectation. I think we thought it was going to be something [for which] we had to motivate [Catholics] a lot, but nothing was needed,” he said.As he highlighted, the popeʼs program in Madrid has been designed as a “pastoral triptych” with three major components: the celebration of the Eucharist on the feast of Corpus Christi, the great meeting with the Church of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, and a space for dialogue with leaders of culture, economy and sport.“The celebration of the Eucharist, [especially on] Corpus Christi — which is a very important holiday for us — and celebrating it with the successor of Peter, is a gift for the whole Church of Madrid and for the whole Church of Spain, because they will come from all places. This is the most celebratory central moment,” said the cardinal.The pope and “politics with capital letters”In Coboʼs opinion, one of the most delicate moments will be the appearance of the Holy Father in the Cortes, or the Spanish parliament, before a joint session of both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.Cobo warned that he is concerned that a message about “politics with capital letters” may be reduced to a partisan reading.“In a society where we are used to talking about political parties, that moment is important,” he said. “Of course the intention is that the pope will come, that he will support politicians, that he will support politics and that he will thus be able to reinforce democracy from the experience and tradition of the Church,” he said.Asked if the recent accusation of alleged corruption of the former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero could have any impact on the visit, Cobo indicated it was unlikely. “We are used to working with many events in political life. Thatʼs already part of life and the headlines are moving,” he said. “I think the good thing about a papal visit is that … it can help us look up and see that despite the political situation that is painful … there is a higher level.”“There is another level, a level that speaks to us of hope, it is a level that speaks to us of responsibility, that speaks to us of ethics,” he said. “I believe that we are not going to contradict one thing with another, but we are going to get used to being also in another space, which is that of non-confrontation and welcoming wounds and difficulties and putting them in front of the space of meaning that life gives and that faith tells us.”The hope of the young, and not so youngThe cardinal also noted that for young people the visit could represent a response to a climate of “disorientation”, “uprooting” and “hopelessness.” He maintained that many are looking for “anchors” and answers about the meaning of life, something that, in his opinion, explains the renewed interest in the figure of the pope among new generations.“I think it is a response to a longing that young people have … and not only young people, I think it is from a very broad generation, I believe that there is an experience of a certain discomfort, a disorientation … a certain de-rooting. People need anchors that they donʼt have.”A meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Bad Bunny?Regarding the coincidence of the popeʼs presence in Madrid occurring at the same time as the rapper Bad Bunnyʼs concerts, Cobo did not close the door to a possible meeting, although he left it in the hands of both parties. “The pope is never closed to talking to anyone who wants to enter into dialogue with him,” he said.“If at some point that can happen, we wouldnʼt rule it out of course, but that depends on the two of them. What is certain is that indeed Madrid is very big and can have different events on the same day,” he said.
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Madrid archbishop says Catholics feel ‘incredible expectation’ at pope’s upcoming trip to Spain #Catholic Madrid Archbishop Cardinal José Cobo Cano said that the imminent visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain has generated “incredible expectations” and that the main challenge will not only be organizational, but pastoral.“The challenge is that it is not an event. We are used to concerts, which are prepared, closed and thatʼs it," he said in an interview with EWTN News about the preparations for the trip of Pope Leo XIV, who will visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands from June 6 to 12. He expressed hope that the visit will be “a moment of experience and … a moment also that will be slow, that it helps us to look up and take a step forward.”Preparations in record timeCardinal Cobo explained that the visit has been organized in “record time,” with just three months of work, and with a much greater social and ecclesial response than expected.“We have had three scarce months to prepare a trip, during which we have also found that there is a great desire and an incredible expectation. I think we thought it was going to be something [for which] we had to motivate [Catholics] a lot, but nothing was needed,” he said.As he highlighted, the popeʼs program in Madrid has been designed as a “pastoral triptych” with three major components: the celebration of the Eucharist on the feast of Corpus Christi, the great meeting with the Church of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, and a space for dialogue with leaders of culture, economy and sport.“The celebration of the Eucharist, [especially on] Corpus Christi — which is a very important holiday for us — and celebrating it with the successor of Peter, is a gift for the whole Church of Madrid and for the whole Church of Spain, because they will come from all places. This is the most celebratory central moment,” said the cardinal.The pope and “politics with capital letters”In Coboʼs opinion, one of the most delicate moments will be the appearance of the Holy Father in the Cortes, or the Spanish parliament, before a joint session of both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.Cobo warned that he is concerned that a message about “politics with capital letters” may be reduced to a partisan reading.“In a society where we are used to talking about political parties, that moment is important,” he said. “Of course the intention is that the pope will come, that he will support politicians, that he will support politics and that he will thus be able to reinforce democracy from the experience and tradition of the Church,” he said.Asked if the recent accusation of alleged corruption of the former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero could have any impact on the visit, Cobo indicated it was unlikely. “We are used to working with many events in political life. Thatʼs already part of life and the headlines are moving,” he said. “I think the good thing about a papal visit is that … it can help us look up and see that despite the political situation that is painful … there is a higher level.”“There is another level, a level that speaks to us of hope, it is a level that speaks to us of responsibility, that speaks to us of ethics,” he said. “I believe that we are not going to contradict one thing with another, but we are going to get used to being also in another space, which is that of non-confrontation and welcoming wounds and difficulties and putting them in front of the space of meaning that life gives and that faith tells us.”The hope of the young, and not so youngThe cardinal also noted that for young people the visit could represent a response to a climate of “disorientation”, “uprooting” and “hopelessness.” He maintained that many are looking for “anchors” and answers about the meaning of life, something that, in his opinion, explains the renewed interest in the figure of the pope among new generations.“I think it is a response to a longing that young people have … and not only young people, I think it is from a very broad generation, I believe that there is an experience of a certain discomfort, a disorientation … a certain de-rooting. People need anchors that they donʼt have.”A meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Bad Bunny?Regarding the coincidence of the popeʼs presence in Madrid occurring at the same time as the rapper Bad Bunnyʼs concerts, Cobo did not close the door to a possible meeting, although he left it in the hands of both parties. “The pope is never closed to talking to anyone who wants to enter into dialogue with him,” he said.“If at some point that can happen, we wouldnʼt rule it out of course, but that depends on the two of them. What is certain is that indeed Madrid is very big and can have different events on the same day,” he said.

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Archbishop José Cobo Cano hopes Pope Leo XIV’s visit will help Catholics “look up and take a step forward.”

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German Catholic congress approves bondage group’s booth #Catholic An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual BDSM culture” will again exhibit at Germanyʼs Catholic Congress in Würzburg this week after organizers said its guidelines pose “no contradiction with the Catechism.”BDSM is an acronym that stands for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.”“The Ecumenical Working Group BDSM and Christianity has been represented on the Kirchenmeile at several Catholic Congresses now,” Cosima Jagow-Duda, head of press and marketing at the Catholic Congress, told CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, in response to an inquiry.“All organizations with an explicitly Christian reference have this right in principle, provided they are not unconstitutional or hostile to specific groups.” The groupʼs guidelines, she added, contain “no contradiction with the Catechism.”The working group was founded in 1999, according to its own website. It also exhibited at the previous Catholic Congress in Erfurt in 2024.Organized by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the German Catholic Congress (Katholikentag) is a biennial gathering led by laypeople and representing the countryʼs main umbrella organization for lay Catholic associations. The 104th edition is taking place from May 13 to 17 in Würzburg under the motto “Have Courage, Stand Up!” Around 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which features approximately 900 events across 50 venues.The approved booth is listed in the official program as stand number MW-R-07 on the Kirchenmeile — a German term meaning “Church Mile” — an exhibitor area where approximately 300 organizations present themselves to attendees.‘Out of the taboo corner’On its website, the working group describes itself as “Christians from various denominations who deal with eroticism and sexuality, particularly in the area of sadomasochistic sexual preferences.”Its published guidelines open with a “preamble on the relationship with God,” affirm belief in “the love and salvation through Jesus Christ,” and state that the group “accepts and lives the diverse and consensual BDSM culture.” The group has also said it wants to take the topic “out of the taboo corner.”Jagow-Duda told CNA Deutsch that applications for the Kirchenmeile “follow clear rules and guidelines” and that the organizers do not admit, for example, “right-wing extremist or anti-democratic groups.”The printed program book states, on page 58, that “a diversity of opinions that encourages and enriches discourse on the cohesion of society is expressly desired,” with limits “where discriminatory, racist, or antisemitic convictions are represented, expressions of group-related misanthropy, or an ideological distance from the free democratic constitutional order are to be expected.”“This concerns a booth where Christians are entering into conversation about their faith,” Jagow-Duda said.Other groups presenting on the Kirchenmeile whose positions stand in tension with Catholic teaching on sexuality include the Network of Catholic Lesbians, the LGBT initiative #OutInChurch, and the Ecumenical Working Group Homosexuals and Church.The official program also lists a “Queer worship service” on May 16 under the title “Life is colorful — diversity in the Church?!” and a Bible workshop titled “Reading the Bible queerly. Why G*D is a fan of diversity.”Pro-life panels rejected, association still presentThe eventʼs panel program, meanwhile, turned down three proposals on surrogacy, abortion, and end-of-life care from the countryʼs largest lay pro-life association, citing limited slots, even as the association maintains its own booth at the congress.The proposals were submitted by the Action for the Right to Life for All (ALfA) in cooperation with the Association of Catholic German Teachers (VkdL).The proposals' titles, according to the Catholic weekly Die Tagespost, were “Life Without a Child? Is Surrogacy the Solution on the Way to a Wished-For Child?”, “Taboo Topic Abortion — ‘I didnʼt want to abort, I had to,’” and “My Death and My Dignity — Autonomy and Human Dignity at the End of Life.”Britta Baas, a spokeswoman for the ZdK, told Die Tagespost that the rejections were made on “capacity grounds.” Two-thirds of all applications had to be turned down because only 40 panel slots were available, she said.The Catholic Congress leadership had set up a so-called “topic convention” before the nationwide call for proposals opened, which pre-selected the 40 panel themes. About three times as many applications were submitted as there were slots, Baas said, and “the panel working group commissioned by the Catholic Congress leadership then had to make a selection.”According to Die Tagespost, ALfA and VkdL had already secured several speakers for the proposed panels, including psychiatrist Christian Spaemann, surgeon and medical ethicist Kai Witzel, and the jurist Felix Böllmann of Alliance Defending Freedom International.The Catholic Congress will, however, host one panel on assisted suicide, titled “Quo Vadis Assisted Suicide? General Regulations and Individual Wishes,” with Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentarian Lars Castellucci and the president of the German Caritas Association, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, among the discussants.ALfA itself will be present at the Catholic Congress with a booth on the Kirchenmeile, located in the “Social Cohesion” theme area. In parallel to the official program, the association is holding its own events in cooperation with the VkdL and Die Tagespost, including a lecture on end-of-life autonomy by Witzel, a presentation on international surrogacy by ALfA national chair Cornelia Kaminski, and a panel discussion with Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg on the relationship between the Catholic Church and the German pro-life movement.“The commitment to the protection of human life belongs at the heart of the Church,” Kaminski said in a May 8 statement. “The Catholic Congress is therefore an important place to enter into conversation with people, to present our work, and to make clear how many areas there are in which the right to life and human dignity are under threat — and how needed Church members are who commit themselves to this cause.”Catholic teaching on sexualityThe Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sexual pleasure “is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes” (No. 2351).Chastity, the Catechism teaches, “involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift” and is realized in “the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman” (No. 2337). It requires what the Catechism calls “an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (No. 2339).Consent does not, in Catholic moral theology, automatically change the moral character of an act.
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German Catholic congress approves bondage group’s booth #Catholic An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual BDSM culture” will again exhibit at Germanyʼs Catholic Congress in Würzburg this week after organizers said its guidelines pose “no contradiction with the Catechism.”BDSM is an acronym that stands for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.”“The Ecumenical Working Group BDSM and Christianity has been represented on the Kirchenmeile at several Catholic Congresses now,” Cosima Jagow-Duda, head of press and marketing at the Catholic Congress, told CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, in response to an inquiry.“All organizations with an explicitly Christian reference have this right in principle, provided they are not unconstitutional or hostile to specific groups.” The groupʼs guidelines, she added, contain “no contradiction with the Catechism.”The working group was founded in 1999, according to its own website. It also exhibited at the previous Catholic Congress in Erfurt in 2024.Organized by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the German Catholic Congress (Katholikentag) is a biennial gathering led by laypeople and representing the countryʼs main umbrella organization for lay Catholic associations. The 104th edition is taking place from May 13 to 17 in Würzburg under the motto “Have Courage, Stand Up!” Around 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which features approximately 900 events across 50 venues.The approved booth is listed in the official program as stand number MW-R-07 on the Kirchenmeile — a German term meaning “Church Mile” — an exhibitor area where approximately 300 organizations present themselves to attendees.‘Out of the taboo corner’On its website, the working group describes itself as “Christians from various denominations who deal with eroticism and sexuality, particularly in the area of sadomasochistic sexual preferences.”Its published guidelines open with a “preamble on the relationship with God,” affirm belief in “the love and salvation through Jesus Christ,” and state that the group “accepts and lives the diverse and consensual BDSM culture.” The group has also said it wants to take the topic “out of the taboo corner.”Jagow-Duda told CNA Deutsch that applications for the Kirchenmeile “follow clear rules and guidelines” and that the organizers do not admit, for example, “right-wing extremist or anti-democratic groups.”The printed program book states, on page 58, that “a diversity of opinions that encourages and enriches discourse on the cohesion of society is expressly desired,” with limits “where discriminatory, racist, or antisemitic convictions are represented, expressions of group-related misanthropy, or an ideological distance from the free democratic constitutional order are to be expected.”“This concerns a booth where Christians are entering into conversation about their faith,” Jagow-Duda said.Other groups presenting on the Kirchenmeile whose positions stand in tension with Catholic teaching on sexuality include the Network of Catholic Lesbians, the LGBT initiative #OutInChurch, and the Ecumenical Working Group Homosexuals and Church.The official program also lists a “Queer worship service” on May 16 under the title “Life is colorful — diversity in the Church?!” and a Bible workshop titled “Reading the Bible queerly. Why G*D is a fan of diversity.”Pro-life panels rejected, association still presentThe eventʼs panel program, meanwhile, turned down three proposals on surrogacy, abortion, and end-of-life care from the countryʼs largest lay pro-life association, citing limited slots, even as the association maintains its own booth at the congress.The proposals were submitted by the Action for the Right to Life for All (ALfA) in cooperation with the Association of Catholic German Teachers (VkdL).The proposals' titles, according to the Catholic weekly Die Tagespost, were “Life Without a Child? Is Surrogacy the Solution on the Way to a Wished-For Child?”, “Taboo Topic Abortion — ‘I didnʼt want to abort, I had to,’” and “My Death and My Dignity — Autonomy and Human Dignity at the End of Life.”Britta Baas, a spokeswoman for the ZdK, told Die Tagespost that the rejections were made on “capacity grounds.” Two-thirds of all applications had to be turned down because only 40 panel slots were available, she said.The Catholic Congress leadership had set up a so-called “topic convention” before the nationwide call for proposals opened, which pre-selected the 40 panel themes. About three times as many applications were submitted as there were slots, Baas said, and “the panel working group commissioned by the Catholic Congress leadership then had to make a selection.”According to Die Tagespost, ALfA and VkdL had already secured several speakers for the proposed panels, including psychiatrist Christian Spaemann, surgeon and medical ethicist Kai Witzel, and the jurist Felix Böllmann of Alliance Defending Freedom International.The Catholic Congress will, however, host one panel on assisted suicide, titled “Quo Vadis Assisted Suicide? General Regulations and Individual Wishes,” with Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentarian Lars Castellucci and the president of the German Caritas Association, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, among the discussants.ALfA itself will be present at the Catholic Congress with a booth on the Kirchenmeile, located in the “Social Cohesion” theme area. In parallel to the official program, the association is holding its own events in cooperation with the VkdL and Die Tagespost, including a lecture on end-of-life autonomy by Witzel, a presentation on international surrogacy by ALfA national chair Cornelia Kaminski, and a panel discussion with Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg on the relationship between the Catholic Church and the German pro-life movement.“The commitment to the protection of human life belongs at the heart of the Church,” Kaminski said in a May 8 statement. “The Catholic Congress is therefore an important place to enter into conversation with people, to present our work, and to make clear how many areas there are in which the right to life and human dignity are under threat — and how needed Church members are who commit themselves to this cause.”Catholic teaching on sexualityThe Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sexual pleasure “is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes” (No. 2351).Chastity, the Catechism teaches, “involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift” and is realized in “the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman” (No. 2337). It requires what the Catechism calls “an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (No. 2339).Consent does not, in Catholic moral theology, automatically change the moral character of an act.

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Organizers of the Würzburg congress told EWTN News the group’s guidelines contain ‘no contradiction with the Catechism.’

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After stillbirth loss, mother of 7 returns to school to help others heal #Catholic After experiencing an unimaginable loss, Kelly Helsel felt called to begin a new chapter. Following 17 years as a stay-at-home mother, she returned to school to pursue her dream of becoming a counselor — hoping to offer others the same compassionate support and Catholic guidance that helped bring healing to her own life.In 2023 Helsel’s daughter, Mary Catherine, was stillborn. The experience and grief was ultimately “a huge catalyst to me going back to school,” Helsel told EWTN News.“I think death has an interesting way of snapping your priorities in line,” she said. “And through the death of our daughter, I understood that tomorrow was not promised. And I had been holding this dream very closely for 17 years, just trusting,” she said.“Much of my healing process after the stillbirth of our daughter was helped along by solid Catholic counseling,” she said. “So I just felt a whisper at first, and then I felt like, ‘I can turn around and be this for someone else in need.’ And so I did.”Path back to schoolA native of Arizona, Helsel met her now-husband, Doug, in high school. She then attended Northern Arizona University to receive a bachelorʼs degree in psychology with the hopes of becoming a counselor, but motherhood ultimately became her first priority.“My firstborn … was born during finals week of my bachelorʼs degree,” Helsel said. “I actually had a positive pregnancy test the day before I was scheduled to take the GRE [Graduate Record Examination].”“I just knew that motherhood was the priority and that Godʼs timing would take care of things. So I stayed at home,” she said.Helsel decided to put her plans of working as a counselor on the side and focus on her growing family. She and her husband had seven children over the next 17 years, but after the loss of their sixth child she felt called to switch her plans and return to school. “We just started taking one step in front of the other,” she said. Helsel started by applying to the University of Mary’s master’s program for counseling about six months after her daughter’s passing but was thrown an unexpected “curveball” during the process.“On the feast of the Annunciation, I got in. But then I also had a positive pregnancy test with my daughter, Isabel, on the very same day.”“I remember standing in the bathroom with my husband with my phone in one hand with an acceptance letter, and on the counter was a positive pregnancy test with our seventh baby.”Motherhood provided ‘the skills to be a fantastic student’Despite navigating grief, welcoming a new baby, and continuing to care for the rest of her family, Helsel not only decided to return to school but also opted for a five-semester accelerated program.She graduated on April 25 with a 4.0 GPA and her whole family by her side. It was all possible not in spite of her 17 years as a stay-at-home mom but because of the experience. Kelly Helsel, her husband Doug Helsel, and their children at her graduation a the University of Mary on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Kelly Helsel “I actually think that motherhood, 17 years of motherhood, gave me the skills to be a fantastic student,” she said. “I learned time management. I learned prioritization. I learned how to ask for help. I learned all kinds of things in the trenches of motherhood that gave me the opportunity to really thrive at UMary.” “I guess the loss of my daughter really showed me that like all things are ‘figure-out-able,’” she said. “When youʼve gone through something like that, it makes you unafraid to do really big things.”“I knew that I could just cannonball into the deep end and we could do this. And my husband was an amazing support throughout the program. But, Isabel was the curveball of all curveballs,” she said.“She was born during Christmas break and I just jumped back in in January. I didnʼt take any time off,” she said. "I would be in a rocking chair breastfeeding her, and my laptop is sitting next to me and Iʼm listening to a lecture.”“I became a pro at using the dictation tool on Microsoft Word” so “I could hold my baby and dictate a paper,” she said. “It was just a really wild time. I learned to be extremely flexible and gentle with myself ... But I just knew God was like, ‘go, go right now.’”“It was super bumpy at some points,“ she said. ”But I chose the University of Mary because I feel like [University of Mary president] Monsignor [James] Shea and the university really put their money where their mouth is in terms of supporting nontraditional students — especially mothers.”“All of my professors were extremely accommodating with extensions if I needed one. A few professors gave me early finals because Isabel was born right at the end of that first semester,” she said. “So the University of Mary was really crucial to my success because everyone was behind me.” Helsel noted that her professors, especially counseling professor Olivia Wedel, and other facility members and students were champions in cheering her “all the way to the finish line.”Waddell “would always remind me that ‘Iʼm surrounded by support,’” Helsel said. “When youʼre super tired and youʼre on your fourth Crock-Pot meal of the week and you donʼt have anymore bandwidth left, I just thought, ‘I am surrounded by support.’”“Jesus is real and his promises are too,” Helsel said. “I just remember really having to trust the Lord in a new way and also having to be very open to my dream not looking exactly like I wanted.”“So yes, I went back to school and I got a masterʼs degree, but it looked absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to, but it was also better, just like he had promised me.”“Your dreams matter to him,“ she said. ”Trust him, and especially Our Lady, with your dreams. Because he wants both. He wants your motherhood and your dreams.”Catholic counseling offers ‘the keys to real human flourishing’Officially a licensed counselor, Helsel is ready to jump in headfirst to help others in need by utilizing the guidance offered by the Catholic Church.“I believe very deeply that the Catholic Church has the keys to real human flourishing,” she said. “So I knew I wanted to become a mental health professional with those guardrails in place, because I benefited so much from Catholic counseling.”“I want to turn back around and help the next woman or couple or … anyone in line that needs to hear the good news, coupled with solid mental health formation. Like St. Thomas Aquinas says, ‘faith and reason.’ We need both.”With her “perinatal mental health training,” Helsel hopes to primarily work in the womenʼs health category “to support other women, pregnant women, postpartum women,” she said. “And obviously I have a love for people who may have lost a child in a particular way.”Helsel is interested in helping those discerning vocations, as her oldest son plans to apply to the priesthood. She is also hoping to support the vocation of marriage as it is “under a particular attack at this time.”To accomplish all of this, Helsel has already started her own private practice called Concordia Counseling.“I chose Concordia because Mary Catherine had a congenital heart condition,” she said. “Concordia means heart to heart or to bring two hearts into harmony. I wanted to honor my baby in heaven and Our Lord with my work. And so I started Concordia Counseling.”“Iʼm just getting it started. I have a caseload of about 10 clients, but Iʼm hoping to accept more,“ Helsel said. ”I know that the work I want to do most of all involves not just mental health but the teachings of the Catholic Church.”“I just think the framework needs to be formed properly, and that is the Catholic understanding of the whole person. And from there we can jump off anywhere,” she said.
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After stillbirth loss, mother of 7 returns to school to help others heal #Catholic After experiencing an unimaginable loss, Kelly Helsel felt called to begin a new chapter. Following 17 years as a stay-at-home mother, she returned to school to pursue her dream of becoming a counselor — hoping to offer others the same compassionate support and Catholic guidance that helped bring healing to her own life.In 2023 Helsel’s daughter, Mary Catherine, was stillborn. The experience and grief was ultimately “a huge catalyst to me going back to school,” Helsel told EWTN News.“I think death has an interesting way of snapping your priorities in line,” she said. “And through the death of our daughter, I understood that tomorrow was not promised. And I had been holding this dream very closely for 17 years, just trusting,” she said.“Much of my healing process after the stillbirth of our daughter was helped along by solid Catholic counseling,” she said. “So I just felt a whisper at first, and then I felt like, ‘I can turn around and be this for someone else in need.’ And so I did.”Path back to schoolA native of Arizona, Helsel met her now-husband, Doug, in high school. She then attended Northern Arizona University to receive a bachelorʼs degree in psychology with the hopes of becoming a counselor, but motherhood ultimately became her first priority.“My firstborn … was born during finals week of my bachelorʼs degree,” Helsel said. “I actually had a positive pregnancy test the day before I was scheduled to take the GRE [Graduate Record Examination].”“I just knew that motherhood was the priority and that Godʼs timing would take care of things. So I stayed at home,” she said.Helsel decided to put her plans of working as a counselor on the side and focus on her growing family. She and her husband had seven children over the next 17 years, but after the loss of their sixth child she felt called to switch her plans and return to school. “We just started taking one step in front of the other,” she said. Helsel started by applying to the University of Mary’s master’s program for counseling about six months after her daughter’s passing but was thrown an unexpected “curveball” during the process.“On the feast of the Annunciation, I got in. But then I also had a positive pregnancy test with my daughter, Isabel, on the very same day.”“I remember standing in the bathroom with my husband with my phone in one hand with an acceptance letter, and on the counter was a positive pregnancy test with our seventh baby.”Motherhood provided ‘the skills to be a fantastic student’Despite navigating grief, welcoming a new baby, and continuing to care for the rest of her family, Helsel not only decided to return to school but also opted for a five-semester accelerated program.She graduated on April 25 with a 4.0 GPA and her whole family by her side. It was all possible not in spite of her 17 years as a stay-at-home mom but because of the experience. Kelly Helsel, her husband Doug Helsel, and their children at her graduation a the University of Mary on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Kelly Helsel “I actually think that motherhood, 17 years of motherhood, gave me the skills to be a fantastic student,” she said. “I learned time management. I learned prioritization. I learned how to ask for help. I learned all kinds of things in the trenches of motherhood that gave me the opportunity to really thrive at UMary.” “I guess the loss of my daughter really showed me that like all things are ‘figure-out-able,’” she said. “When youʼve gone through something like that, it makes you unafraid to do really big things.”“I knew that I could just cannonball into the deep end and we could do this. And my husband was an amazing support throughout the program. But, Isabel was the curveball of all curveballs,” she said.“She was born during Christmas break and I just jumped back in in January. I didnʼt take any time off,” she said. "I would be in a rocking chair breastfeeding her, and my laptop is sitting next to me and Iʼm listening to a lecture.”“I became a pro at using the dictation tool on Microsoft Word” so “I could hold my baby and dictate a paper,” she said. “It was just a really wild time. I learned to be extremely flexible and gentle with myself … But I just knew God was like, ‘go, go right now.’”“It was super bumpy at some points,“ she said. ”But I chose the University of Mary because I feel like [University of Mary president] Monsignor [James] Shea and the university really put their money where their mouth is in terms of supporting nontraditional students — especially mothers.”“All of my professors were extremely accommodating with extensions if I needed one. A few professors gave me early finals because Isabel was born right at the end of that first semester,” she said. “So the University of Mary was really crucial to my success because everyone was behind me.” Helsel noted that her professors, especially counseling professor Olivia Wedel, and other facility members and students were champions in cheering her “all the way to the finish line.”Waddell “would always remind me that ‘Iʼm surrounded by support,’” Helsel said. “When youʼre super tired and youʼre on your fourth Crock-Pot meal of the week and you donʼt have anymore bandwidth left, I just thought, ‘I am surrounded by support.’”“Jesus is real and his promises are too,” Helsel said. “I just remember really having to trust the Lord in a new way and also having to be very open to my dream not looking exactly like I wanted.”“So yes, I went back to school and I got a masterʼs degree, but it looked absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to, but it was also better, just like he had promised me.”“Your dreams matter to him,“ she said. ”Trust him, and especially Our Lady, with your dreams. Because he wants both. He wants your motherhood and your dreams.”Catholic counseling offers ‘the keys to real human flourishing’Officially a licensed counselor, Helsel is ready to jump in headfirst to help others in need by utilizing the guidance offered by the Catholic Church.“I believe very deeply that the Catholic Church has the keys to real human flourishing,” she said. “So I knew I wanted to become a mental health professional with those guardrails in place, because I benefited so much from Catholic counseling.”“I want to turn back around and help the next woman or couple or … anyone in line that needs to hear the good news, coupled with solid mental health formation. Like St. Thomas Aquinas says, ‘faith and reason.’ We need both.”With her “perinatal mental health training,” Helsel hopes to primarily work in the womenʼs health category “to support other women, pregnant women, postpartum women,” she said. “And obviously I have a love for people who may have lost a child in a particular way.”Helsel is interested in helping those discerning vocations, as her oldest son plans to apply to the priesthood. She is also hoping to support the vocation of marriage as it is “under a particular attack at this time.”To accomplish all of this, Helsel has already started her own private practice called Concordia Counseling.“I chose Concordia because Mary Catherine had a congenital heart condition,” she said. “Concordia means heart to heart or to bring two hearts into harmony. I wanted to honor my baby in heaven and Our Lord with my work. And so I started Concordia Counseling.”“Iʼm just getting it started. I have a caseload of about 10 clients, but Iʼm hoping to accept more,“ Helsel said. ”I know that the work I want to do most of all involves not just mental health but the teachings of the Catholic Church.”“I just think the framework needs to be formed properly, and that is the Catholic understanding of the whole person. And from there we can jump off anywhere,” she said.

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After navigating loss and grief, Kelly Helsel is officially now a licensed counselor thanks to the guidance given to her by the Catholic Church and her desire to use her experience to help others.

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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.
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Answering call to serve the poor: Papal Foundation announces more than $15 million in grants #Catholic The Papal Foundation this week announced a record-setting $15 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 $270 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 $90,000 each from the foundation in 2008.This year, The Papal Foundation’s board of trustees approved $15 million, including $12,502,765 in current grants and an additional $3 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.

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

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Miami Catholic Charities to lay off more than 80 employees after government cut millions in funding #Catholic Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami (CCADM) said it will cut more than 80 jobs after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declined to renew an million federal contract.“HHS not renewing funding to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami will result in 85 staff members being laid off as of May 31, 2026,” Peter Routsis-Arroyo, the organization’s CEO, said in a statement to EWTN News.He said another 20 employees will be let go on June 30.For decades, CCADM partnered with the federal government to serve vulnerable children and families. The termination of the contract ended a more than 65-year relationship that began with Operation Pedro Pan, which resettled about 14,000 Cuban children who were fleeing the Castro regime in the U.S.The layoffs follow the announcement that CCADM "had to make the difficult decision to close the Msgr. Bryan Walsh Children’s Village,” Devika Austin, chief administrative officer of CCADM, wrote in an April 24 letter.The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village, formerly known as Boys Town, is a CCADM program sheltering unaccompanied, undocumented immigrant children with the ability to house up to 81 children. It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores.” Archbishop Thomas WenskiArchdiocese of Miami “This week all affected employees received notice," she wrote. "We are working with our employees to assist them during this difficult transition."Due to the unforeseen circumstances, CCADM reported in the letter it was “unable to provide 60 days’ notice” to employees and noted that the “layoffs are permanent.”More than half of the staff laid off was made up of youth care workers in the program, along with numerous others including clinicians, case managers, and medical coordinators.During a press conference on April 15 following the funding cuts, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami urged the government to reinstate the funds noting that services for unaccompanied minors would “be forced to shut down within three months.”“It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores,” he said.
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Miami Catholic Charities to lay off more than 80 employees after government cut millions in funding #Catholic Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami (CCADM) said it will cut more than 80 jobs after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declined to renew an $11 million federal contract.“HHS not renewing funding to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami will result in 85 staff members being laid off as of May 31, 2026,” Peter Routsis-Arroyo, the organization’s CEO, said in a statement to EWTN News.He said another 20 employees will be let go on June 30.For decades, CCADM partnered with the federal government to serve vulnerable children and families. The termination of the contract ended a more than 65-year relationship that began with Operation Pedro Pan, which resettled about 14,000 Cuban children who were fleeing the Castro regime in the U.S.The layoffs follow the announcement that CCADM "had to make the difficult decision to close the Msgr. Bryan Walsh Children’s Village,” Devika Austin, chief administrative officer of CCADM, wrote in an April 24 letter.The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village, formerly known as Boys Town, is a CCADM program sheltering unaccompanied, undocumented immigrant children with the ability to house up to 81 children. It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores.” Archbishop Thomas WenskiArchdiocese of Miami “This week all affected employees received notice," she wrote. "We are working with our employees to assist them during this difficult transition."Due to the unforeseen circumstances, CCADM reported in the letter it was “unable to provide 60 days’ notice” to employees and noted that the “layoffs are permanent.”More than half of the staff laid off was made up of youth care workers in the program, along with numerous others including clinicians, case managers, and medical coordinators.During a press conference on April 15 following the funding cuts, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami urged the government to reinstate the funds noting that services for unaccompanied minors would “be forced to shut down within three months.”“It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores,” he said.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services canceled an $11 million federal contract that served families and vulnerable children including unaccompanied minors.

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Artemis II Recovery – NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard is seen under parachutes as it lands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 7:07 p.m. EDT, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha.
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Artemis II Recovery – NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard is seen under parachutes as it lands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 7:07 p.m. EDT, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha.

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NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard is seen under parachutes as it lands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 7:07 p.m. EDT, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha.

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