VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Among his first messages, Pope Leo XIV expressed his intention to strengthen the Catholic Church’s ties with the Jewish community. “Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV asked journalists to be peacemakers by shunning prejudice and anger in their reporting, and he called for the release of journalists imprisoned for their work. “The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With a huge and festive crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV led his first Sunday recitation of the “Regina Coeli” prayer and urged all Catholics to pray for vocations, especially to the priesthood and religious life. Members of a band from Mexico march into St. Peter’s Square at…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic community is alive, beautiful and strong, and it is up to its pastors to protect and nourish the faithful and to help bring God’s hope to the whole world, Pope Leo XIV said. For that reason, the pope invited the cardinals “to renew together today our complete commitment to…
ROME (CNS) — While it is interesting and perhaps even a point of pride that the new Pope Leo XIV was born in the United States, most of the U.S.-based cardinals who participated in the conclave that elected him said nationality was not a factor. “I think the impact of him being an American was…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Where Christians are “mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied” is where the Catholic Church’s “missionary outreach is most desperately needed,” Pope Leo XIV said in his first homily as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Today, “there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered…