Catholic News

• Pope thanks priests of Rome diocese, encourages unity (Vatican News)
  “I thank you for your lives given in service to the Kingdom,” Pope Leo XIV told the priests and deacons of the Rome diocese at a June 12 meeting. In an upbeat address, the Holy Father emphasized the need for unity in the lives of the clergy: unity with Jesus Christ, with each other, and with the Church. He recognized that “this communion is today hindered by a cultural climate that promotes isolation or self-reference.” Pope Leo assured the clerics of Rome that “I would like to help you, to walk with you, so that each one may regain serenity in his ministry; but precisely for this, I ask you for a renewed effort in priestly fraternity, which is rooted in a solid spiritual life, in the encounter with the Lord and in listening to His Word.”
• Pope Leo encourages traditional June devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (CWN)
  At the conclusion of his June 11 general audience, Pope Leo encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during June, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart.
• Former Jerusalem Patriarch, other Christian leaders decry Israeli policy in Gaza (Society of Jesus)
  A Jerusalem Voice for Justice, an ecumenical organization whose most prominent members are retired Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah and current Greek Orthodox Archbishop Theodosios Hanna, has issued an “SOS for Gaza.” Current Israeli policy “is presenting Gazans with a horrific choice: submit to full Israeli control or starve,” the Christian signatories wrote in their Pentecost appeal. “Furthermore, many are wondering whether this might lead to another attempt to ethnically cleanse the Strip, culminating in pushing the population beyond the borders of the Strip.” “The end-goal of removing the Palestinians has been repeatedly openly formulated by Israeli politicians, including members of the government, since President Trump first suggested it on February 5, 2025,” they continued. “Let us be filled with the energy of the resurrection and of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and recommit to fighting for life and freedom for our brothers and sisters in Gaza and everywhere else in Palestine/Israel.”
• President Trump pays tribute to persecuted Christians, pledges to defend religious freedom (White House)
  In a message for Pentecost, President Donald Trump wrote that “as we celebrate this glorious feast day, we also honor all Christians who, like the Apostles, have willingly endured persecution because of their faith.” “My Administration will always defend the right of every American to worship God freely and without fear,” he added, citing the creation of the White House Faith Office and the White House Religious Liberty Commission.
• Pope restores tradition of imposing pallium on archbishops (CWN)
  Pope Leo will impose the pallium on new archbishops during Mass on June 29, restoring a tradition that was discontinued by Pope Francis in 2015.
• Opus Dei submits revised statutes for approval (Omnes)
  Msgr. Fernando Ocariz, the prelate of Opus Dei, has announced that the group has submitted new statutes for approval by the Holy See. Opus Dei had been required by Pope Francis to revise its statutes, and the revisions were originally scheduled for presentation at an April Congress of the organization. However, with the final illness and death of Pope Francis, that discussion was postponed until after the election of the new Pontiff. Msgr. Ocariz had met with Pope Leo in May to brief him on the latest revisions of the statutes.
• At labor conference, Vatican diplomat discusses AI, climate change, and demographic changes (Holy See Mission)
  Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, reflected on AI, climate change, and demographic changes at the 2025 session of the International Labour Conference. “The dignity of labor must not be sacrificed on the altar of progress,” the prelate said of AI; displacement because of climate change “risks forcing more workers into the informal economy, where they lack social protection and cannot exercise their rights.” Commenting on “demographic changes, such as aging populations in some regions and surges in youth populations in others,” he added: Care work, including unpaid work, does not hinder growth. Growth itself must be measured not merely by material output, but by its capacity to improve the human condition. Unpaid care work represents the essence of the relational nature of all human persons and their work. It is the path of solidarity and inclusion.
• US bishops offer Congress ethical principles, policy considerations on AI (USCCB)
  In a letter to congressional leaders, the chairmen of six committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offered three ethical principles and five policy considerations related to artificial intelligence. “We are not technical experts, but pastors entrusted with concern for the life and dignity of the human person and the common good,” the bishops wrote in their June 9 letter. “Congressional response to this rapidly developing technology should include a regulatory framework informed by ethical principles and reasonable policy considerations.” The bishops’ ethical principles centered on the dignity of the human person, care for the poor, and respect for the truth. Their policy considerations touched on family life; labor and the economy; healthcare, education, and political and civic life; warfare; and energy and the environment.
• Vatican newspaper analyzes divisions in United States over immigration (CWN)
  In a two-article series in its June 11 edition, the Vatican newspaper analyzed the divisions in American society over immigration.
• Athletes are 'missionaries of hope,' cardinal says at press conference (Vatican News)
  Athletes joined Vatican officials at a June 11 press conference (video) for the upcoming Jubilee of Sport, a celebration that is part of the 2025 jubilee year. “Sport teaches us to rise after a fall, just as faith sustains us in times of difficulty,” said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. The prelate spoke of the “Church’s recognition of sport and the social responsibility entrusted to athletes” and expressed a wish: “May this Jubilee awaken in them the awareness that they, too, are missionaries of hope.”
• Recalling Jubilee, Vatican newspaper highlights plight of debtor nations in Global South (CWN)
  In a two-article series in its June 11 edition, the Vatican newspaper highlighted the plight of debtor nations in the Global South.
• 'Despite great insecurity, we continue our mission,' Nigerian priest says (Fides)
  In an interview with the Fides news agency, Father Solomon Patrick Zaku, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, addressed three questions: “Can you describe the insecurity situation in Nigeria?”, “How is the Church experiencing these difficulties?”, and “Are the Pontifical Mission Societies able to work effectively?” The nation of 237 million (map), the most populous in Africa and sixth most populous in the world, is 47% Christian (11% Catholic), 46% Muslim, and 7% ethnic religionist.
• Pope's genealogy chart: 'one of the most diverse family trees' (New York Times)
  Tracing the genealogy of Pope Leo XIV, the New York Times has worked back through 15 generations, discovering ancestors in the Spanish nobility as well as French, Italian, and African roots. The researchers announce that “the Pope’s roots make for one of the most diverse family trees we have ever created.”
• Georgetown, Vatican host conference for writers on Pope Francis's legacy (CWN)
  Georgetown University and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education sponsored a conference in Rome on the theme of “Human Fraternity in a Divided World: Writers Engage the Legacy of Pope Francis.”
• Papal prayer for Austrian school shooting victims (CWN)
  At the conclusion of his June 11 general audience (CWN coverage), Pope Leo XIV issued the following appeal:
• Curial dicastery hosts art exhibit on migration (CWN)
  The Dicastery for Culture and Education has announced an exhibition in its new contemporary art space, Conciliazione 5.
• Papal condolences after Ahmedabad air tragedy (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Leo XIV has sent a message of condolence to the relatives and friends of the victims of an airliner crash outside Ahmedabad, India. The flight, headed for London with 242 aboard, crashed in a residential neighborhood near the airport.
• USCCB issues new abuse report: 902 allegations, 26 of them current, made in 2023-24 (CWN)
  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released its 2024 annual report on the implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the document that has governed the bishops’ response to the abuse crisis since 2002.
• China accepts Vatican appointment of new auxiliary bishop (Vatican News)
  The Vatican announced on June 11 that Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan, who had been named by Pope Leo XIV to be an auxiliary bishop of the Fuzhou diocese, has been installed and recognized by the Chinese government. “We are pleased to report” the bishop’ installation, the Vatican press office said, saying that it “constitutes fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities” on the appointment of new bishops. Bishop Lin Yuntuan is the first Chinese bishop whose appointment has been named since the election of Pope Leo XIV.
• Christ calls everyone, Pope tells audience (Vatican Press Office)
  At his weekly public audience for June 11, Pope Leo XIV spoke on Christ’s encounter with Bartimaeus, the blind beggar whose sight He restored. The Pope encouraged the faithful to learn from Bartimaeus, who persisted in calling upon Jesus, asking for help. “I invite you to bring before the Heart of Christ your most painful and fragile parts, those places in your life where you feel stuck and blocked,” the Pope said. When Jesus called to him, Pope Leo continued, Bartimaeus rushed to respond, tossing off his cloak. “For a beggar, the cloak is everything: it is his safety, it is his house, it is the defense that protects him,” the Pope remarked. He added that for all us, “many times, it is precisely our apparent securities that stand in our way.” Next, Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted. Pope Leo explained that this step was and is necessary, because “it is not given that we want to be healed from our ailments; at times we prefer to stay still so as not to take responsibility.”
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