VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- All Catholics are called to stand together by reaching out to their brothers and sisters in the faith of all ethnicities, especially those of Hispanic heritage, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon, said.

"They are our brothers and sisters, we love them, and we stand with them in these difficult times," he told Catholic News Service Feb. 11 during a visit to Rome and the Vatican, which included a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV Feb. 9.

"Our Holy Father has been a great source of encouragement and support for the United States bishops, I think, to be very strong in our statements and in our support for the immigrant community back home," he said. "Our Holy Father feels very strongly about this."

"I had the opportunity to speak with him, and I can say in the conversation, you could see that this was a matter of great concern for him," said the archbishop whose archdiocese had seen sustained activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known by its acronym ICE, in its communities, including near some parishes.

When it comes to immigration and religious liberty, one major concern is allowing the Catholic Church to provide the sacraments and pastoral care inside some detention facilities, he said; the archbishop is chair of the Committee for Religious Liberty of the USCCB.

"There have been some difficulties there in some places, and so we're keeping a very close eye on that to make sure that the religious rights of those in the detention centers are protected so that they can receive pastoral care and especially the sacraments from the church's ministers," he said. 

Archbishop Sample said what had him most worried was when ICE officials "began showing up outside of churches and places of worship" in his archdiocese, causing "a great deal of doubt and fear and anxiety among our people -- people afraid to go to Mass."  

While ICE activity seemed to be less aggressive as of late, he said, "there has to be a better solution here to solving the immigration problem we have in the United States."

"We have a system that isn't working. But in terms of the folks that are already here, and especially when I think of the people in my own archdiocese who have been here sometimes for years and years and have established themselves, there has to be a more just, more humane, just a better way to go about this," he said.

When asked how Catholics in his archdiocese could best accompany those possibly at risk of arrest or detention, he encouraged the English-speaking community to reach out to and build a real connection with those in the Hispanic community.  

"Sometimes it feels like maybe (there are) two communities worshiping in the same building," he said of English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics.  

Launching a call for unity, peace and mutual support, the archbishop said Catholics of every ethnicity need to "see themselves as one and to really reach out to our brothers and sisters in the Hispanic community, especially right now … just get to know them, welcome them, help them, know that they are loved and very much a part of the body of Christ."

Portland has seen ongoing protests in response to ICE operations, particularly near its facility where people are detained and interviewed to determine their legal status as U.S. residents.

While ICE and other agencies are meant to stop and detain people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, they have been accused of overly aggressive action and routinely going beyond what the law allows with entering homes, making arrests without judicial warrants and removing people believed to be unauthorized immigrants through mass deportations. 

Pope Francis released a formal letter to U.S. bishops last February, addressing the "major crisis" taking place and criticizing efforts to equate the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.

While every nation has the right to defend itself and to keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes, the late pope wrote, mass deportations harm human dignity and families. "An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized."

Archbishop Sample also released his own statement in November, reacting to increased ICE activity in Portland. That came just a few days before the U.S. bishops as a whole released a special message Nov. 12 underlining that "human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of goodwill work together."

Pope Leo supported the U.S. bishops' message, telling reporters Nov. 13, "If someone is in the United States illegally, there are ways to address this. There are courts. There is a judicial system."

"I believe there are many problems in the system. No one has said that the United States should have open borders," he said, adding, "I think every country has the right to determine who enters, how, and when."

However, the U.S. pope said, "when people have lived good lives -- many of them for 10, 15, 20 years -- treating them in a way that is, to say the least, extremely disrespectful, and with instances of violence, is troubling."

Pope Leo invited all Catholics and people of goodwill to "listen carefully" to the bishops' message. "I believe we must seek ways of treating people with humanity, with the dignity that is theirs."
 

The Vatican’s doctrinal office told a traditionalist group that consecrating bishops without a papal mandate would mean a “decisive rupture” of communion.

Two indexes with 50 companies each that adhere to Catholic social teachings were announced by the Vatican Bank in order to promote ethical Catholic investing.

The 2033 Jubilee will commemorate the bimillennium of the Redemption but the main ecumenical obstacle is the rift between the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, 76, from the Office of Archbishop of New Orleans. On the same day, Coadjutor Archbishop James F. Checchio, will assume the pastoral governance of the archdiocese.

The announcement was publicized in Washington, D.C. on February 11, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop Checchio’ biography may be found here.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is comprised of 4,208 square miles in the State of Louisiana.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ignorance of sacred Scriptures is ignorance of Jesus Christ, Pope Leo XIV said during his weekly general audience.

"The ultimate purpose of reading and meditating on the Scriptures," he said Feb. 11, is "to get to know Christ and, through Him, to enter into a relationship with God, a relationship that can be understood as a conversation, a dialogue."

Also, with the season of Lent beginning in one week, Feb. 18, the pope said the season "is a time for deepening our knowledge and love of the Lord, for examining our hearts and our lives, as well as refocusing our gaze on Jesus and his love for us." 

"May these coming days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving be a source of strength as we daily strive to take up our own crosses and follow Christ," he said during his audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall.

In his main catechesis, Pope Leo continued his series of talks on Vatican II, specifically the Dogmatic Constitution "Dei Verbum," on divine revelation and the Word of God.

The word of God is a source of comfort, guidance and strength for Christians, he said, and it should be shared with others, too, he said.

"Indeed, we live surrounded by so many words, but how many of these are empty!" he said.

"On the contrary, the Word of God responds to our thirst for meaning, for the truth about our life," he said. "It is the only Word that is always new: revealing the mystery of God to us, it is inexhaustible, it never ceases to offer its riches."

Sacred Scripture is "the means by which we come to know the incarnate living Word of God who is Jesus Christ," the pope said in his summary in English. "Indeed, praying with Scripture opens the door for an intimate relationship with God who, through these sacred writings, invites us into conversation with him." 

"As St. Jerome rightly points out, ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of God," he said, encouraging all faithful to read and reflect on the word of God every day, so that it may "nourish our hearts and our minds and lead us to the fullness of life."

Speaking to Portuguese-speaking visitors, Pope Leo said prayerfully reading the word of God is a special kind of "nourishment" and an invigorating "medicine in moments of weakness"; from it, the faithful can draw "light and comfort."

"Christians are called to listen to the word of God, to keep it in their hearts, and to put it into practice in their daily lives, because it is alive, effective and a light on their path," he told Arabic-speaking visitors, which included members of the Sisters of Nazareth living in Haifa, Israel.

Pope Leo said in his English summary that there is a "profound and vital connection" between the word of God and the Catholic Church.

"Sacred Scripture, which has been entrusted to the Church and is guarded by her, reveals its meaning and manifests its strength in the life and faith of the Church, above all in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist," he said. 

"For this reason, the Church continually meditates upon and interprets Scripture because it is the means by which we come to know the incarnate living Word of God who is Jesus Christ," he added. 

To mark the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, celebrated Feb. 11, Pope Leo began the general audience with lighting a candle placed in front of a statue of Our Lady, and he joined in singing the "Immaculate Mary," also known as the Lourdes Hymn, with the thousands of faithful in the hall.

After the general audience, he visited the replica of the grotto at Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens and lit a candle there, too, "as a sign of my prayer for all the sick, whom we remember with particular affection today, World Day of the Sick."

Gathered together with a small group of people experiencing illness and those who care for them, the pope said, "We pray for you." 

Thanking them for taking part in the moment of prayer, he said, the feast day "reminds us of the closeness of Mary, our mother, who always accompanies us and teaches us so much: what suffering means, what love means, what it means to entrust our lives into the hands of the Lord."

Pope Leo XIV appointed Archbishop James Checchio coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans in September 2025 to automatically succeed the 76-year-old Archbishop Gregory Aymond upon his retirement.

Pope Leo XIV spoke about sacred Scripture during his weekly audience with pilgrims in the Vatican.

“I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15) is the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the sixth World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, which this year will take place on Sunday, July 26.

Vatican aid is headed to hard-hit areas including Fastiv and Kyiv, with distribution organized through parish networks.