Catholic News
- Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on liturgical reform (CWN)
Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV spoke this morning on “The reform of the liturgy: tradition and development“ (video). - Pope Leo issues new appeal for peace in Ukraine (Vatican Press Office)
At the conclusion of today’s general audience, Pope Leo XIV again appealed for peace in Ukraine. “I am following with concern the war in Ukraine, which has intensified significantly in recent days,” Pope Leo said to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. “I wish to express my solidarity with all those suffering as a result of the recent attacks, which have also targeted civilians.” The Pope added: War does not solve problems; it exacerbates them. It does not build security; it multiplies suffering and hatred. Where missiles and drones fall, hopes are crushed, homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are cut short. I entrust all peoples stricken by war to the protection of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace. - Nobel laureate Bialiatski meets with Pope, discusses human rights abuses in Belarus (CWN)
Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski asked Pope Leo XIV to pray publicly for victims of human rights abuses in Belarus. - Pope Leo calls on Polish Catholics to protect life from conception to natural death (CWN)
At the conclusion of his May 27 general audience, Pope Leo XIV asked Polish pilgrims to work to protect life from conception to natural death. - Pontiff receives Spanish prime minister (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain on May 27, ten days before the Pontiff’s apostolic journey to Spain begins. - Pope establishes commission to supervise hospital founded by Padre Pio (Vatican News)
In a chirograph on May 27, Pope Leo XIV established a Steering and Supervisory Commission for the House for the Relief of Suffering, the hospital established in 1956 by St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Unions representing employees there announced a hunger strike earlier this month, with four non-negotiable demands: “guarantee of quality care for all patients who see the hospital as a national point of reference; protection of the rights and future of hundreds of workers and their families, defense of the original mission of the House for the Relief of Suffering; [and] enhancement of the historical and social heritage of the territory.” - Pope Leo breaks new ground with encyclical on AI [News/Analysis] (CWN)
In choosing to be known as Pope Leo XIV, our current Pontiff made tribute to Leo XIII, the author of Rerum Novarum, the encyclical that formed the foundation of Catholic social teaching. Now Leo XIV stands alongside his illustrious predecessor, as the author of his own landmark encyclical, breaking new ground in that field. - Niger's bishops urge Christians, Muslims to deepen peace, solidarity at Eid al-Adha (ACI Africa)
In a message for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, Niger’s leading prelate said that the day “reminds us that as believers, we are called, like Abraham, to submit ourselves daily to the will of God and to offer ourselves in holy sacrifice.” “We are therefore invited to weave and consolidate between us relations of love, of respect, of solidarity, of truth, of justice, and to work together in unity so that peace reigns in all of Niger,” said Archbishop Djalwana Laurent Lompo of Niamey, who spoke on behalf of the nation’s bishops. Located in West Africa, the nation of 27.3 million (map) is over 95% Muslim and 4% ethnic religionist. An Islamist insurgency began there in 2015. - Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space established inside Vietnamese cathedral (UCANews)
A Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space was inaugurated inside Phú Cường Cathedral on May 8, sparking controversy among Vietnam’s Catholics. Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was the founder of the Indochina Communist Party and the president of North Vietnam. The cathedral is located in the former South Vietnam, conquered by North Vietnam in 1975. Venerable Nguyễn Văn Thuận (1928-2002), the coadjutor archbishop of South Vietnam’s capital, was then imprisoned by the Communist regime for 13 years. At Phú Cường Cathedral, “Father Anton Hà Văn Minh said that the teachings of Jesus Christ and the ideology of Hồ Chí Minh shared similarities in their humanistic values and aspirations toward freedom,” UCA News reported. “Within hours, clips of the interview spread across Vietnamese Catholic social media, triggering an intense backlash.” - Bishop, other Indonesian Catholics give Muslims sacrificial animals for festival (UCANews)
Bishop Maksimus Regus of Labuan Bajo gave a sacrificial cow to the imam of the Al-Munawwarah Terang Grand Mosque as Muslims commemorated the festival of Eid al-Adha on May 27. “We bring a gift in the form of a sacrificial animal as a sign of brotherhood and support for Muslim families,” Bishop Regus said. The mosque’s imam, in turn, said that “the bishop’s presence strengthens us as Muslims preparing for the sacrifice, and at the same time affirms our togetherness with Catholic families who have long lived in harmony here.” UCA News reported that “from the national capital Jakarta to Christian strongholds in eastern Indonesia, Catholic individuals and Church-based groups donated cows and goats” for sacrifice. Jakarta Cathedral, for example, gave sacrificial animals to Istiqlal Mosque. Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, a nation of 283.6 million (map), is the world’s fourth most populous; it is also the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The nation is 78% Muslim, 13% Christian, 2% new religionist, and 2% ethnic religionist. - Ghana welcomes papal apology for slavery (BBC)
Ghana welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Holy See’s complicity in the slave trade. Ghana’s government stated that the apology “reinforces the growing global understanding that confronting historical injustices demands truth-telling and moral responsibility as essential foundations for justice and reconciliation,” the BBC reported. The statement came two months after the United Nations adopted a declaration on slavery backed by Ghana’s foreign minister. At the time, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, criticized the declaration for its “partial narrative, which, regrettably, does not serve the cause of truth,” adding that “as early as 1435, Pope Eugene IV condemned the enslavement of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands and excommunicated those who refused to free them.” - Vatican foundation hosts conference on Catholic social thought (Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation)
The Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) Foundation, named after Pope St. John Paul II’s 1991 social encyclical, is hosting a three-day conference, “Renewing the Vision of Centesimus Annus: Catholic Social Thought Facing the Challenges to Freedom and Pluralism.” The conference, which began this morning, will conclude on May 30 with a papal audience. - Scotland abortion numbers highest on record (Right to Life UK)
The number of annual abortions in Scotland soared 55% between 2016 and 2025, from 12,135 to 18,783, according to statistics from Public Health Scotland. In 2025, 42% of abortions were repeat abortions. - Abducted Nigerian parishioners freed after 3 months in captivity (Leadership News (Abuja))
The chancellor of the Diocese of Kafanchan, Nigeria, announced that all parishioners abducted on February 9 from Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Karku have been released. Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, the parish priest, was released earlier this month. - Pope calls for aid for Gaza (Vatican News)
Addressing questions from journalists this evening as he left Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV called for aid for the suffering people of Gaza. Stating that “the people are truly suffering,” Pope Leo urged “all authorities to assist and accompany the people of Gaza, and to help begin reconstruction.” The Pope also renewed his appeal for a disarmed AI and noted that “war is being waged with AI, without thinking about human lives, which are truly victims of all this.” - Iranian convert to Catholicism sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison (World )
An Iranian woman who converted to Catholicism has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison, the evangelical Protestant publication World reported. Ghazal Marzban, 41, was charged with propaganda against Islam. She had previously received 74 lashes for taking part in an anti-government protest, according to the report. - VP Vance calls Pope Leo's AI warnings 'profound' (NBC News)
Vice President JD Vance praised Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical (CWN coverage). “What I read of it sounds very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the Church,” he said in an interview with NBC News. “The thing about morality is that the principles never change, but the way you apply those principles does, because the world changes, right?” “You have to kind of rethink the entire Catholic social teaching in light of the new world that we live in,” the vice president added. “And I think that’s exactly what the Pope is trying to do. So I’m glad that he did it.” In contrast, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum criticized the encyclical: he said that “I didn’t know that tech editorializing was part of the role of being Pope.” - SSPX announces names of priests who will be ordained bishops (Society of St. Pius X)
The Society of St. Pius X announced today the names of the four priests who are scheduled to be consecrated bishops on July 1. They are Father Pascal Schreiber, 53; Father Michael Goldade, 45; Father Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, 42; and Father Marc Hanappier, 36. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, recently warned the Society that consecrating bishops without a papal mandate entails an automatic excommunication under canon law. - School abuse scandal rocks Paris (France 24)
Police in Paris are investigating abuse allegations at over 100 state-run nursery and primary schools. “I know there is a clear breakdown of trust in the state school system,” said Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, himself a sexual abuse victim. “But we will get there; we have no choice.” - USCCB committee chairman: Increase funding for EPA, Department of the Interior (USCCB)
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development called on Congress to increase funding for the EPA and Department of the Interior, from fiscal year 2026 levels to the higher levels in the preceding fiscal year. In a recent letter to leaders and ranking members of the House and Senate appropriations committees, Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, also asked that “funding allocation be faithful to the mission and goal of these agencies.” “Adequate funding for EPA and DOI is necessary for our nation to safeguard our God-given, life sustaining natural resources such as water, air, lands, and wildlife,” Archbishop Fabre added. “Congress should take care to ensure that these funds address environmental risks to God’s creation, especially for the most vulnerable amongst us.” - More...