As the Iran war with its air strikes continued into a second week, Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for peace as he mourned the victims. He also prayed that the weapons of war in Iran and Lebanon would soon fall silent.
In Lebanon, the Order of Malta responded to the crisis of hundreds of thousands of people displaced due to Israeli military operations.
The Lebanese foreign minister appealed for the Holy See’s help for Christians in the country’s southern region.
Calls to Conscience Raised by Pope Leo, Cardinal Cupich
Referring to recent images of bombardments in the war and posts on social media from the White House, Chicago Cardinal Blasé Cupich called it “sickening” that “a real war and real suffering” are being treated like a video game.
He issued the statement “A Call to Conscience” to address the human cost of the ongoing conflict involving Iran and the role of media and technology in shaping public perception of war.
Pope Leo, speaking to a group of seminarians and priests on the sacrament of penance, asked rhetorically: “Do those Christians who bear serious responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and to go to confession?”
Christians who lay down the arms of pride, he said, and allow themselves to be renewed by God’s forgiveness then become agents of reconciliation in their daily lives.
Church Remains Sign of Unity, Peace for Humanity
The pope continued his weekly catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution, “Lumen gentium,” said the Church is a sign “placed in the very heart of humanity, a reminder and prophecy of that unity and peace to which God the Father calls all His children.”
Women Leading, Serving in the Church and the World
As the synod released its final report this week on the role of women in the Church, a conference in Rome observed International Women’s Day as women of 13 different nationalities discussed their common interest in how faith, values, and public engagement can help bring about positive change in the Church and in society as a whole.
For his part Pope Leo gave a long and thoughtful response to a question about violence against women. He said one must never underestimate an act of violence and must not be afraid to report it.
In a time of global crisis, the leadership of women is needed more than ever, said the head of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Examples of such servant leadership abounded this week:
- Good Shepherd Sisters serving in Lebanon warned civilians are paying the highest price in conflict of the Middle East.
- Vietnamese nuns continue to serve people affected by leprosy in faith and charity.
- In Papua New Guinea, Catholic women bring prayer, companionship, and the Eucharist to the sick and elderly.
- Religious sisters in Kenya work to confront human trafficking in the digital age, even as the death toll rises due to devastating floods in the country.
Cuba’s Holy Week Gesture
In Cuba, the government said it would release 51 prisoners during Holy Week following diplomatic talks with the Holy See.
Pope Leo XIV’s Balanced View of Artificial Intelligence
Is artificial intelligence the end of human culture? Thinkers as far back as Plato have observed apocalyptic warnings when a revolutionary new technology emerges, be it the printing press or writing itself. One Spanish writer reviews Pope Leo’s World Day of Communications message that addresses the use of AI in our time with courage and clarity of mind.
If Only Pope Leo Had Been Our Math Teacher
Speaking on the International Mathematics Day, Pope Leo – who once taught math and physics – said the moral dimension must be upheld in that field.
Research on algorithms and artificial intelligence “requires not just intellectual effort and ingenuity but an integral growth of the whole person, in order to encompass the moral dimension of these emerging technologies,” the pope said.
The Cross, the Composer and the Curious Inner Life of Sheep
Jenny Kraska, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, reflects on the Lenten Season. She shows how we may “stay with Christ at the cross” in the work of music composer Antonio Vivaldi and a British shepherd who knows the ways, and perhaps the wisdom, of sheep.
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