Despite appeals from Pope Leo XIV, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (FSSPX), founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, has announced that it intends to carry out its plan to ordain new bishops without the pontifical mandate in July 2026.
The prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said on Wednesday that if carried through, the society’s action will constitute “a schismatic act” that will entail “the excommunication established by the law of the Church.”
May 13: The Day Pope John Paul II Was Shot
Vatican News looks back on the day of May 13, 1981 when Pope John Paul II was shot by an assassin. The pope credited his survival to the Blessed Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Fatima, whose feast day is May 13.
On the 45th anniversary of the event, Pope Leo prayed at the site of the shooting.
Messages of Fraternity, Prayer for Buddhists, Muslims, Other Christian Churches
Pope Leo and a Vatican dicastery this week reached out to religious leaders with prayerful messages of fraternity.
He told an ecumenical, global prayer movement that in the songs and prayers of Christmas, Christians are calling for God to heal what is broken in us individually and in the world.
“Even though we know that God is almighty and transcendent, we are still bold enough to ask him to be truly with us – not distant, but close,” the pope said in a video message.
At an interfaith colloquium he called on Christians and Muslims to “revive humanity where it has grown cold” and “transform indifference into solidarity.”
Ahead of the Buddhist feast of Vesak, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue gave a message to Buddhist communities worldwide, inviting Christians and Buddhists to walk together in cultivating an “unarmed and disarming peace.”
Echoing Pope Leo’s World Day of Peace message this year, the Holy See’s message called for joint efforts rooted in compassion, dialogue, and inner transformation, as well as a meditation on peace at a time marked by war, division, and growing distrust.
Global Catholic Church Acts With Compassion in Missionary Discipleship
Catholic leaders around the world this week reported on the service of their Church communities, and the challenges they face, in their respective countries.
In Ukraine, continued deadly attacks by Russia on civilian centers suggest no intention to end the war in its fourth year.
As if the deprivations of residents in Gaza displaced by war were not severe enough, Gazans now face a growing public health emergency of disease linked to a massive rodent infestation. Meanwhile, an art exhibit in Rome explores the impact of war on the children of Gaza, and their message of peace.
In Nigeria, recent violence has claimed more than 100 lives, displaced over 98,000 residents, and destroyed 217 churches within a relatively new diocese in the country’s south.
Recent terrorist attacks in the Sahel region of North Africa were condemned by Pope Leo on Sunday.
The efforts begun in 2008 by leaders of religious congregations and local bishops in South Sudan are bearing fruit with gains in education, health care, agriculture, peacebuilding and pastoral formation in the African country.
As Chile faces wildfires, clashes between police and student protestors and changes in government, the Catholic bishops of the South American nation are calling for a “greater ethic of dialogue” and a new society built on hearts “formed in charity and solidarity.”
In the rural desert highlands of Argentina, the Diocesan Missionaries Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church live among the region’s indigenous people, sharing in their culture, offering pastoral care, and coexisting with the daily challenges of their territory.
A leading Catholic bishop of Haiti is calling on the international community to help the suffering people of the Caribbean nation address gang violence, widespread poverty, and an institutional and political crisis.
During their visit to the Vatican, the Catholic bishops of Pakistan shared the challenges of the Church in their country including discrimination, blasphemy accusations, and forced conversions. They also expressed hope for equal rights and a stronger future for Christians there.
The United Nations reported that at least 59 children were reportedly killed or injured in Lebanon over the past week, despite a ceasefire agreed to last month. According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, at least 23 children have been killed and 93 injured since the ceasefire took effect and 200 children have reportedly been killed and 806 injured since early March.
The Catholic eparch of Ethiopia appealed to international organizations and humanitarian agencies defending human dignity to save the lives of 200 Ethiopian prisoners sentenced to death in Saudia Arabia. One human rights group identified 65 Ethiopian migrants, convicted of crimes related to drug trafficking and possession, were at risk of execution in Saudi Arabia.
Wars, Extreme Weather, Instability Threaten World’s Food
The Holy See warned during a conference for Europe that wars and extreme weather have a lethal impact on food systems around the world. The Vatican’s observer at the conference emphasized the importance of concrete actions to foster food security in the wake of recent global crises.
“The combination of merciless wars, economic recessions, extreme climate events, political instability, and market volatility has given rise to a lethal combination for the world’s food systems,” said Msgr. Chica Arellano.
Pope Leo: ‘Because God Loves Us, We Truly Love One Another’
During his Regina Coeli address in Rome on Sunday, Pope Leo reminded the faithful that Jesus loves us forever and unconditionally, and that His love for us moves us to love others.
“It is Jesus’ love that begets love within us,” the Holy Father highlighted, noting, “Christ himself is the standard, the measure of true love: the love that is faithful forever, pure and unconditional.”
“Because God loves us first,” he noted, “we too can love; and when we truly love God, we truly love one another.”
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