Pope Leo XIV continues to recover in a Rome hospital from successful lung surgery, which removed a cancerous portion of his lower right lung. As he showed “steady improvement,” he celebrated Mass for hospital staff.
Prayers for Pope Leo poured in from around the world, including: numerous Catholic bishops and other Christian leaders; messages before and after the surgery by Archbishop Nelson Pérez; Catholics praying the rosary for the pope; Catholic school students in Chicago; and child cancer patients in the same hospital as the pope offering him words of support, including a 7-year-old boy who wrote in a letter, “My mom and I pray for you every evening. I wish you a speedy recovery.”
Church Reflects on 10 Years Since ‘Amoris’ Letter on Family Life
A Vatican meeting to discuss the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ letter “Amoris Laetitia” pledged to renew the Church’s commitment to families. The weeklong gathering brought together bishops, married couples and experts to reflect on how the Church can better accompany families today.
At a Mass to conclude the meeting, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle read the homily of Pope Leo. He encouraged Catholics to put into practice Jesus’ command to love one another, and said those who are most vulnerable, or experiencing difficulties, should be “surrounded by affection and shielded from judgment.”
In a separate message, the pope told participants that he hoped “families will always be active participants in the life and mission of your local Churches, and that they will help you to discern the paths ahead.”
One participant, Cardinal Gérald Lacroix of Quebec, Canada, said the Church must listen more carefully to couples and families.
“There is an overall recognition that we must be more welcoming, more present, listen much more to what people are experiencing and give them hope,” he said. “We must give them the tools to grow in their faith. This is what is emerging across the board.”
Villanova U Honors Vatican Official With New Award on Sustainability
This week Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, received the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal from Villanova University in Rome.
He called for humanity to adopt new behaviors to protect the environment. The challenge of sustainability, he said, is “an opportunity, before it is too late, to protect and save humanity from environmental self-destruction.”
His call was echoed at the United Nations, where a Church diplomat urged sustainable development that eradicates poverty by balancing three pillars: social, economic, environmental efforts. These cannot be separated “from humanity’s cultural, moral and spiritual dimensions.”
Even as an order of Catholic religious sisters are turning ecological commitment into action in Africa, the U.N. noted that funding cuts are putting millions of displaced people around the world at risk.
Meanwhile on World Food Day, UNICEF warned that threats from climate change and events associated with El Nino pose a threat to child nutrition.
U.S. Catholics Respond to Execution Plans, Immigration
While plans were canceled for a livestream telecast of a still-scheduled U.S. military execution, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he “obliges” Catholics to request to be excused from the firing squad.
The bishops’ conference and Evangelical Christians issued a joint statement calling for compassion and wisdom concerning immigration.
“We have witnessed within our communities the sowing of fear, the fracturing of families, the deprivation of due process, and the vilification of our neighbors,” the statement read. “In the midst of this state of affairs, we have also seen the hope instilled by faith in Jesus Christ and acts of loving care among neighbors.”
Church’s Presence Growing Worldwide, New Stats Say
Ahead of World Mission Sunday, Oct. 18, annual Church statistics showed that the number of Catholics increased worldwide to more than 1.4 billion. The number of priests rose slightly, even as the numbers of religious sisters and seminarians fell.
The Church is giving hope to young students in Kazakhstan, where a Catholic school is thriving in the Central Asian country.
The Church affirmed its longstanding presence in Iraq, as the Holy See opened a new diplomatic embassy, and a “sign of hope,” in the Middle Eastern country.
Documentary Examines Tomb of St. Peter
A documentary film narrated by actor Chris Pratt, with participation by Pope Leo, explores the tomb of St. Peter in his namesake church at the Vatican. The film’s release precedes the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica next month.
Bill Gates: Technology is a world in need of governance
In an interview with Vatican News, the former head of Microsoft said humanity is “not paying enough attention to the risks” of artificial intelligence “and we’re not doing enough to minimize the harms. We are also not doing enough to take advantage of the current opportunities with AI.”
Gates spoke about Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica humanitas,” saying, “What struck me is that the pope isn’t saying ‘stop AI’. He’s making a more careful argument: that we need to actively preserve what’s human in the face of it. That lines up with something I’ve been arguing myself.”
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