Ahead of the World Day Against Human Trafficking Feb. 8, Pope Leo XIV offered a message to “confront and bring to an end” the practice he called a “crime against humanity.”
Bishops of the Philippines called for stronger action against human trafficking in that country especially among its women and girls, and a representative of the Talitha Kum organization related his experience from Africa.
As Pope Leo called for Catholic action Feb.5 to ensure that every child grows up in safe, nurturing family care supported by strong, coherent systems, global aid experts met to discuss responses to the impacts of growing world crises on children.
On the other end of the age spectrum, missionaries in Brazil stressed sensitivity, love and patience when caring for the elderly in body and soul
Concerns Rise over Nuclear Arms
The Catholic bishops of the United States called the Feb. 5 expiration of a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia “unacceptable.”
Pope Leo called for renewed commitment to oppose nuclear proliferation and prayed for peace in Ukraine, where despite peace talks this week, Russian strikes killed Ukrainian civilians. War deaths on both sides approached 2 million since the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago.
‘Urgent Necessity’ of Human Fraternity, World Stability
The pope marked the World Day of Human Fraternity Feb. 4, calling fraternity an “unbreakable bond which unites every human being, created in the image of God. Today, the need for this fraternity is not a distant ideal but an urgent necessity.”
“At a time when the dream of building peace together is often dismissed as an ‘outdated utopia,’” he said, “we must proclaim with conviction that human fraternity is a lived reality, stronger than all conflicts, differences and tensions.”
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in an interview this week before the start of the Winter Olympic Games Feb. 6-22 in Italy that “when the law of power replaces the power of law, the consequences are deeply destabilizing” for the world.
Papal Letter on Value of Sports
Looking to the start of the games in northern Italy, Pope Leo released a new letter Feb. 6 titled “Life in Abundance” on the value of sports. Read the full text of the letter here.
Sports, he wrote, “can truly become a school of life, where all can learn that abundance does not come from victory at any cost, but from sharing, from respecting others, and from the joy of walking together.”
New Feast Day for Saint; High-Level Vatican Meeting
Officials at the Vatican announced Feb. 3 that a high-level meeting between the leadership of the Vatican’s Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Priestly Society of St. Pius X will occur next week, as a sign of ongoing dialogue regarding the society’s planned ordination of bishops in France this summer.
St. John Henry Newman, the 19th century cardinal canonized in 2019, has been inscribed in the Church’s liturgical calendar to be celebrated as an optional memorial Mass on Oct. 9. A Vatican official reflected on the life of this priest, cardinal, and Doctor of the Church.
Pope: Read Scripture in Context to Avoid Fundamentalism
Continuing his weekly catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s decree on divine revelation, Dei Verbum, Pope Leo on Feb. 4 invited people to read the Word of God in its historical and literary context to avoid “fundamentalist or spiritualist readings of Scripture, which betray its meaning,” he said.
“Scripture,” he explained, “is intended to speak to today’s believers, to touch their present lives with their problems, to enlighten the steps to be taken and the decisions to be made.”
Read the pope’s catechesis here.
Restoration work begins on Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’
People around the world were awed 30 years ago when the “Last Judgment” scene in the Sistine Chapel was restored to its original glory.
Michelangelo’s 16th century masterpiece again will undergo restoration work for three months this year to remove a “widespread whitish film” obscuring the brilliant original colors of the fresco. The chapel will remain open during the work.
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