CatholicCulture.org - Catholic World News

Pope grateful for Iran-US agreement, appeals for peace in Ukraine (CWN)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 04:06:41 GMT

Echoing comments made yesterday, Pope Leo XIV said this morning that he welcomes the Islamabad Memorandum between Iran and the United States.

Pope reflects on journey to Spain, encourages faithful to look upon others with love (CWN)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 04:06:24 GMT

During his general audience this morning in St. Peter’s Square (video), Pope Leo XIV reflected on his apostolic journey to Spain and called upon the faithful to learn from Jesus to look upon others with “love, respect, and compassion.”

Pope Leo welcomes Iran-US memorandum, weighs in on SSPX (Vatican News)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:06:12 GMT

Responding to journalists’ questions today, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the Islamabad Memorandum and discussed the Society of St. Pius X’s decision to ordain bishops without a papal mandate.

“Thank God, there is at least this memorandum that they will officially sign on Friday,” Pope Leo said at Castel Gandolfo. “There will still be several points to be established, but it is always better to do so through dialogue, through negotiation, rather than returning to war.”

The Pope expressed his hope that the memorandum is “truly a solution to the war, that the war is really over and that we can move forward for the good of all. Eliminate nuclear weapons, yes, seek the good of all peoples, seek how to solve the problems also at the economic and social level that have been created in this time.”

Addressing a question about the Society of St. Pius X, the Pope said:

We are still considering making another appeal, to say “do not do this, let us try to live in communion in the Church.”’ But it is their choice.

We must realize what it means for them and for the Church. Certainly, division among Christians is always a painful point, but they refuse to accept certain fundamental elements of the Church, starting with various points of the Second Vatican Council. If they make that choice, I am sorry, but we must move forward.

The Pontiff also addressed questions about his apostolic journey to Spain, migrants, his summer plans, and a potential future trip to Mexico and Peru.

Pope, in message to climate summit, emphasizes faith, hope, and love (CWN)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 04:06:50 GMT

Pope Leo XIV emphasized faith, hope, and love in a video message to a climate summit that is taking place today.

'Always be an instrument of truth,' Pope tells Italian newspaper (L'Adige)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:06:52 GMT

In a letter marking the 80th anniversary of the Italian newspaper L’Adidge, Pope Leo wrote that “In the time of great change we are going through, I hope that your newspaper will always be an instrument of truth, a guardian of history and memory, a source of knowledge and a leaven of humanity.”

“New challenges await a response today from the world of information, which has only one way to overcome them: quality,” the Pope added, as he called on the newspaper to “cherish voices and faces, to uphold the integrity of every news report and every analysis, to preserve the beauty of cultures and regions, to strengthen communities through the truth that unites us all, to guide technology without succumbing to the rhetoric of a single line of thought, to respect diverse opinions, and never to give in to the temptation to maximize profits by resorting to the drug of fake news and manufactured polarization.”

L’Adidge is based in the northern Italian city of Trento.

Myanmar Catholics celebrate return of Loikaw Cathedral (Vatican News)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:06:36 GMT

Myanmar’s government has returned the cathedral in Loikaw to the bishop.

The nation’s military occupied the cathedral complex in 2023 and used it as a military base. Bishop Celso Ba Shwe welcomed the return of the cathedral but said that he would not reside there, instead ministering in camps filled with persons displaced by the Myanmar civil war.

Pope to visit World Food Programme headquarters (Vatican Press Office)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:06:58 GMT

The Prefecture of the Papal Household announced that Pope Leo will visit the headquarters of the World Food Programme (WFP) on June 22. There, he will meet with board members, staff, and staff members’ families.

The WFP, an agency of the United Nations, is headquartered in Rome.

Cardinal Ruini, key official under St. John Paul II, dead at 95 (CWN)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:06:41 GMT

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a leading protégé of Pope St. John Paul II, died on June 16 at the age of 95.

Increase security in Nigeria, Lagos archbishop pleads (CWN)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:06:14 GMT

The archbishop of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, said that increased security is the greatest gift that the nation’s leaders could give to its people.

Vice President Vance discusses journey to Catholic faith (Fox News)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:06:25 GMT

In an interview with Fox News, Vice President JD Vance discussed his journey to the Catholic faith.

The interview aired on June 16, the date of publication of his book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.

Missionary describes devastation wrought by rebels in DR Congo's Haut-Uélé province (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:06:00 GMT

An unnamed missionary spoke with the Vatican newspaper about the devastation wrought by rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Haut-Uélé province.

“Unidentified rebels, possibly the ADF, are roaming the countryside,” the missionary said. “One of our nurses, Emmanuel, was gunned down behind our convent wall.”

L’Osservatore Romano reported that “missionaries speak about emptied villages, torched homes, and populations forced to flee without knowing when they might return ... In the village of Diforo, rebels attempted to set fire to the local church and killed a catechist’s son.” However, the missionary told the Vatican newspaper that “we are more afraid of the military than the rebels, especially at night.”

Nuncio, other Christian leaders lament Russian attack on historic Ukrainian monastery (CWN)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 08:06:49 GMT

The apostolic nuncio to Ukraine lamented a Russian attack on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Kyiv Monastery of the Caves), an eleventh-century Orthodox monastery recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

Archdiocese denies Sri Lanka cardinal advocated for appointment of government officials (The Morning)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:06:59 GMT

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka, denied that Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don advocated for the appointments of the nation’s public security ministry secretary and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director.

The spokesman, Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, “also urged the public not to be misled by false and defamatory information circulating on social media regarding the ongoing Easter Sunday attacks investigations,” according to The Morning, a newspaper based in Colombo.

The 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings killed over 260 people and injured over 500.

Vatican City, power company sign agreement on construction of energy plant (CWN)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:06:21 GMT

The Vatican City State announced that its Governorate signed a memorandum of understanding with the Italian utility Acea to “develop a joint pathway for the definition, structuring, and progressive implementation of the agrivoltaic plant” that the Holy See will “build within the Vatican’s extraterritorial area of Santa Maria di Galeria.”

Overlapping climate emergencies threaten over 1 billion children, Vatican newspaper warns (CWN)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:06:58 GMT

The Vatican newspaper warned that half of the world’s children face “daily threats from at least three dangers linked to extreme weather events.”

In Vietnam, airport project threatens 5 churches (UCANews)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 08:06:56 GMT

Five churches, as well as the homes of 52,000 people, are slated to be destroyed by the construction of Gia Binh International Airport in metropolitan Hanoi, Vietnam.

“The Church always supports the development of the country and appreciates projects that bring long-term benefits to society,” said Bishop Joseph Đỗ Quang Khang of Bắc Ninh. “However, development only has meaning when people remain at its center.”

“The concerns of the people are also the concerns of the Church,” Bishop Khang added. “People are losing not only homes and property but also memories, traditions, and faith communities built over many generations.”

South Korea's President Lee has 'warm and affectionate' meeting with Pope Leo (CWN)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:06:34 GMT

South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung had a “warm and affectionate” audience with Pope Leo XIV on June 15, a day after he thanked the Holy See for its “unconditional support and constant attention” to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

Pope issues message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly: 'I will never forget you' (Dicastery for Communication)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:06:35 GMT

Pope Leo XIV issued “I will never forget you” (Isaiah 49:15), a message for the upcoming 6th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly.

“Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord promises that he will never forget any of us. He assures us that he has engraved our faces on the palms of his hands and that his love is greater than a mother’s love for her child,” Pope Leo began. “The prophet gives us a glimpse of an intimate and intense dialogue in which God addresses, in familiar terms, each person individually and the people as a whole. Even today, we can read these words as referring to each of us, and everyone can hear that ‘I will never forget you’ spoken directly to them.”

The World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly takes place each year on the fourth Sunday in July, on or close to the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus. In the United States, the bishops transferred the celebration to the Sunday after Labor Day, to coincide with National Grandparents Day.

On June 15—the day on which the Pope’s message was released—the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life also published pastoral guidelines for the day.

USCCB calls on EPA to revise proposed coal-ash rules (USCCB)

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:06:59 GMT

The general counsel of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, joined by the conference’s solicitor and assistant general counsel, called upon the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to revise its proposed revisions to coal-ash regulations.

“The USCCB respectfully urges the EPA to ensure that the flexible approach envisioned by the proposed rule does not come at the expense of the most vulnerable or the integrity of the environment,” the attorneys wrote in their public comments, dated June 8 and posted on the bishops’ website on June 15. “Where the EPA’s proposed rule increases the probability of harm to the common good or to the environment, the EPA should at a minimum retain the relevant restrictions until it fashions new rules that will not unjustifiably increase risk.”

Pope, in response to letter, warns against associating God's name with war (Vatican News (Italian))

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:06:58 GMT

Responding to a letter, Pope Leo denounced “those who dare to associate God’s name with acts of war.”

God’s name is “profaned by the will to dominate, by arrogance, and by discrimination; above all, it must never be invoked to justify choices and actions that bring death,” Pope Leo wrote in the June issue of Piazza San Pietro, the magazine of St. Peter’s Basilica. “Unfortunately, this temptation to profane God’s name affects even those who profess to be Christians.”

The words of faith should not be dragged “into political conflict,” or used “to bless nationalism and religiously justify violence and armed struggle,” the Pope added.