null / Credit: muratart/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has endorsed a report calling for reforms to alleviate the global debt crisis affecting billions of people in developing countries.

The document, titled “The Jubilee Report: A Blueprint for Tackling the Debt and Development Crises and Creating the Financial Foundations for a Sustainable People-Centered Global Economy,” was presented at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on June 20 as one of the main initiatives of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

Supported by Pope Leo XIV, the publication is the work of the Jubilee Commission created by Pope Francis in June 2024 in order to find a way to carry out sovereign debt restructuring based on ethical principles. Thirty international economic experts were on the commission, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and former Argentine Economy Minister Martín Guzmán.

$97 trillion in global public debt

According to data maintained by the U.N., global public debt reached $97 trillion in 2023, an increase of $5.6 trillion compared with 2022.

The document reports that more than 50 developing countries already allocate more than 10% of their tax revenues to interest payments, a dynamic that diverts financial resources from vital sectors such as health, education, and climate resilience (the capacity to respond to climate change or extreme weather events.)

“The debt crisis that is suffocating the global financial system is also fueling a development crisis,” the report states.

It proposes a series of measures and recommendations to transform the international financial system into an instrument of justice and sustainability. These include the creation of an international bankruptcy mechanism for sovereign countries similar to those that exist for private companies; an end to government bailouts for private investors; and the provision of bridge loans and short-term financial support for countries in crisis.

Foreign debt forgiveness, St. John Paul II’s legacy

The initiative is part of the spirit of the jubilee year, traditionally associated with mercy and debt forgiveness. In fact, in the 2024 papal bull Spes Non Confundit, Pope Francis expressly asked governments to show clemency by extraordinary measures, such as forgiving the external (foreign) debt of poor countries.

The June 20 report recaptures the spirit of the Jubilee of the Year 2000, when in 1997, St. John Paul II initiated a truly global movement based on the Church’s social teaching that called for debt relief for the poorest countries. That call gave rise to the “Jubilee 2000” campaign, which collected millions of signatures around the world and mobilized religious communities of all traditions. Thanks to this movement, more than $100 billion in debt was canceled.

“Global finance must serve people and the planet — not punish the poorest to protect profits,” the report concludes.

Presentation at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

The report was presented June 20 at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences during a day dedicated to discussions about how reforms to international financial systems could move toward a truly people-centered system.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Stiglitz, professor at Columbia University and honorary fellow of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, issued a forceful call to “curb the abuses of large private creditors.”

“Normally, we talk about shared responsibility between creditors and debtors, but I would say there is greater responsibility on the part of creditors. These are voluntary transactions. No one has forced creditors to lend money, and they are supposed to be the experts in risk analysis,” he stated in his remarks.

Reducing interest rates with multilateral development banks

The economist was particularly critical of BlackRock and other large funds, which, he said, encourage a type of high-risk lending that ends in crises.

He therefore advocated strengthening the role of multilateral development banks, which can provide loans at lower rates, something that “would help reduce interest rates and make debt sustainable.”

Within the framework of the international meeting on debt, social justice, and development held at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences headquarters, Caritas International representative Alfonso Apicella urged that the technical debate on debt never lose sight of the people most affected.

“We’re here to talk about sustainable growth, but the real question is: sustainable growth for whom? That’s the question we’re asked time and again by communities when we launch campaigns like ‘Turn Debt Into Hope,’” he explained.

Speaking on behalf of the global network of 162 organizations that make up Caritas, Apicella emphasized that the discourse on “sustainability” runs the risk of becoming an empty slogan if its inclusive focus isn’t made explicit: “We have to talk about sustainable growth for all, not just a few. And we must always remember this, especially when we speak from a technical perspective, because behind every figure there are people who experience these realities firsthand.”

A change in the narrative on debt

Apicella also focused on the need to change the narrative on debt: “We must frame this fight for debt justice as a win-win situation. If we work for the poor, policymakers must understand that they will also benefit.”

Professor Kevin Gallagher, director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, pointed to international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund that have forced poor countries to “prematurely open their capital accounts.”

However, he also acknowledged the internal responsibility of many developing countries that, as the report notes, “have borrowed too much and invested too little.”

In any case, he made it clear that while “debt relief is essential,” it is also necessary to propose viable implementation measures within the current international environment that transform the financial system.

“We have already learned from the last jubilee debt forgiveness in 2009 that debt relief without reforms to the international financial architecture will only lead us to repeat this whole process. It’s a shame that we are in this situation again. Let us not repeat the same mistakes,” Gallagher said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Director Dallas Jenkins (left) and Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series “The Chosen,” speak with journalists during a press conference on June 23, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 13:41 pm (CNA).

“The Chosen” actor Jonathan Roumie said Monday coming to the Vatican is a “humbling honor” and a confirmation for him of the TV show’s continued mission of bringing Jesus Christ to the world.

Roumie, other “The Chosen” castmates, and series creator and director Dallas Jenkins are at the Vatican this week after having just wrapped up three weeks of filming in southern Italy for the Crucifixion scenes of Season 6, out next year.

“The fact we’re here now, sitting at the Vatican… is a testament to, I think, how God wants to continue to further this mission to bring more people to Jesus and to bring Jesus to them,” Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series on the Gospels, said during a press conference at the Vatican on June 23.

Season 5, Episode 4, “The Same Coin,” will be streamed at the Vatican’s Filmoteca theater on the afternoon of June 23 in anticipation of the entire season being available for streaming in Italy in July.

Roumie will also present Pope Leo XIV with a gift from “The Chosen” during the Wednesday general audience on June 25, a meeting he said would be “extraordinary for so many reasons.”

“When [Pope Leo XIV] was elected, I wept, because I never thought I’d see an American pope in my lifetime,” the Catholic actor said. To get “to communicate to him in our native language this week is just something I never thought I would see in my life.”

Series director Jenkins, an evangelical Protestant, said it was “a tremendous honor” to be at the Vatican. He added that being surrounded by the beautiful art of Rome and the Vatican reminded him how much he wants the show to make the events and people depicted in religious artwork feel real to viewers.

“Jesus is more than a painting, and the church is more than just a building,” he said. “Jesus and the apostles were not just stained-glass windows, but Jesus became man … and these men and women actually lived and actually had a relationship with Jesus … something we can have today.”

Roumie and Jenkins were joined at the Vatican press conference by Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), George Xanthis (John the Apostle), and Vanessa Benavente (Mother Mary).

They all talked about the emotional impact of getting to portray their characters, in their humanity and their growth, across five seasons so far.

Roumie said that “in the process of making this show, we didn’t know we would ever go beyond four episodes of the first season.”

“And then to fast forward seven years, and thousands of stories later about how this show has been used by God to change people’s lives — and in some unique, distinct cases, to save people’s lives — humbling doesn’t even come close to describing the understanding of that, the feeling of that: It’s profound,” he added.

The cast and crew on June 22 finished filming Jesus’ crucifixion in Matera in the Italian region of Basilicata, the same location used for Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

Jenkins called the three weeks “the most challenging and difficult we had in filming,” requiring him to surrender everything to Christ.

Roumie noted that since starting the show, many people have asked him if he was looking forward to getting to the Crucifixion scenes, but he would answer, “I can’t think about that, I can’t think about the cross, because we’re not there yet.”

He preferred to stay in the present, concentrating on Jesus’ active, public ministry, and the intimacy between Jesus and his followers. “And if there was anyone in the whole history of the world who was present at all times, it was Jesus Christ,” the actor said.

Talking about Season 5, which is focused on the events of Holy Week, is a welcome break from the intensity of the past three weeks of filming, Jenkins told journalists.

The show’s latest season features some of the most well-known scenes in Scripture, he said, including Judas’ betrayal, when Jesus flips tables in the Temple, the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, and, most importantly, the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist.

The director said he hopes the season will provide an “opportunity for many new viewers to come to the show because they recognize these famous moments.”

Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera is secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. / Credit: “EWTN Noticias”/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCTM, by its Italian acronym), contends that instead of a single reparative action, victims of abuse within the Church require “an in-depth process that listens to, welcomes, and accompanies.”

Alí Herrera explained that the harm done to such victims is “disastrous” as it harms “the very image of God, the [victim’s] relationship with the Church, interpersonal relationships, and one’s very identity. A victim sees their life plans and their ability to bounce back damaged,” Alí explained in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.

The auxiliary bishop of Bogotá — who, along with the other members of his team, met with Pope Leo XIV two weeks ago — stated that the voice of survivors is at the center of the Church’s work and that the presence of victims within the commission itself is key to moving toward a true culture of prevention.

“We have victims on the pontifical commission; they are part of it as members. Their voice is essential to knowing how to speak to all victims and survivors, and also to guiding our responses in prevention processes,” he noted.

Since its creation in 2014, the PCTM, led by Cardinal Seán O’Malley, has been one of the Church’s most practical instruments for combating sexual abuse and promoting a culture of prevention.

The prelate shared that his pastoral perspective on this issue changed completely after hearing the testimony of a person who had suffered abuse.

“I had read, studied, and analyzed it. But it’s another thing entirely to be faced with the real pain, the tears, the despair of someone who has been deeply wounded. That transformed me,” he related.

For the commission’s secretary, a key part of the work of prevention begins with adequate psycho-affective formation of a candidate for the priesthood beginning at the very outset of seminary.

“Affective, communal, and sexual formation must be present from the preparatory phase to the end of theological formation. It must be across the board, continuous, and closely connected to the emotional world and interpersonal relationships,” he noted.

Regarding the impact of the abuse crisis on priestly vocations, Alí acknowledged that it has had painful but also positive effects.

“It has had an impact, because many pull back [from considering a priestly vocation] when they see news of cases. But it has also helped, because it has forced us to rethink vocation ministry and recognize that the priest is, above all, a human person, with wounds, crises, and emotions that he must learn to integrate,” the bishop explained.

Impact of Rupnik 

Regarding decisions such as that taken by the shrine at Lourdes, which this past March covered up the murals of the artist and former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, who is accused of serial sexual abuse, Alí believes it is necessary to act with discernment and empathy.

“Art can heal, but it can also retraumatize. It’s not about condemning beforehand but rather putting oneself in the shoes of the victims and not triggering their pain with gestures that may be insensitive,” Alí indicated.

With a clear appeal to the entire Church, Alí concluded: True reparation only begins when those who have suffered are truly listened to. “That listening, that closeness, is the first step toward restoring what has been broken: the image of God in each victim.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV leads a Eucharistic procession in Rome on June 22, 2025, for the feast of Corpus Christi. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN

Rome, Italy, Jun 22, 2025 / 13:21 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called on the faithful to “share the bread” — a sign of the gift of divine salvation — to “multiply hope and to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom” as he presided for the first time as pope over Mass for the solemnity of Corpus Christi.

On the feast when the Catholic Church especially celebrates the mystery of the Eucharist —namely, the real presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated bread and wine — the pontiff declared: “Christ is God’s answer to our human hunger, because his body is the bread of eternal life: Take this and eat of it, all of you!”

The pope traveled from the Vatican to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, his cathedral as bishop of Rome, to celebrate the Mass on Sunday afternoon. The Mass was followed by a Eucharistic procession along the city’s streets.

In his homily, Leo XIV reflected on the meaning of the Eucharist and the value of sharing. The celebration took place outside the basilica.

Commenting on the day’s Gospel, which recounts the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the pope noted that by saving the crowds from hunger, “Jesus proclaims that he will save everyone from death.”

In doing so, he established the foundation of the “mystery of faith, which we celebrate in the sacrament of the Eucharist,” the Holy Father said, adding: “Just as hunger is a sign of our radical needs in this life, so breaking bread is a sign of God’s gift of salvation.”

Leo said that Jesus’ compassion for the suffering “shows us the loving closeness of God, who comes into our world to save us.”

He added: “Where God reigns, we are set free from all evil.”

In the face of human finitude, he said, “when we partake of Jesus, the living and true bread, we live for him.”

Referring again to the Gospel miracle, Leo said that the people’s hunger is a profound sign, because “at that hour of need and of gathering shadows, Jesus remains present in our midst.”

When the apostles suggest sending the crowd away, the pope pointed out, Jesus teaches a contrary logic, “because hunger is not foreign to the preaching of the kingdom and the message of salvation.”

The pope continued: “He feels compassion for those who are hungry, and he invites his disciples to provide for them.”

The disciples offered only five loaves and two fish — a seemingly reasonable calculation that in fact “reveal their lack of faith, he said. “For where the Lord is present, we find all that we need to give strength and meaning to our lives.”

Jesus’ gesture of breaking the bread, the pope explained, “is not some complicated magical rite; they simply show his gratitude to the Father, his filial prayer and the fraternal communion sustained by the Holy Spirit.”

“To multiply the loaves and fishes, Jesus shares what is available. As a result, there is enough for everyone. In fact, more than enough,” he said.

The pope denounced current global inequalities and criticized “the accumulation by a few” as a sign “of an arrogant indifference that produces pain and injustice.”

“Today, in place of the crowds mentioned in the Gospel, entire peoples are suffering more as a result of the greed of others than from their own hunger,” he stated.

In this light, he called on the faithful to follow the Lord’s example and to live out this teaching with concrete actions, especially during the Jubilee of Hope.

“Especially in this jubilee year, the Lord’s example is a yardstick that should guide our actions and our service: We are called to share our bread, to multiply hope and to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom,” he said.

The Augustinian pope also quoted St. Augustine’s description of the Eucharist as “bread that restores and does not run short; bread that can be eaten but not exhausted,” observing that the Eucharist “in fact, is the true, real, and substantial presence of the Savior, who transforms bread into himself in order to transform us into himself.”

The pope referred to the existential root of communion with Christ, saying: “Our hungry nature bears the mark of a need that is satisfied by the grace of the Eucharist.”

Leo reminded the faithful that “Living and life-giving, the Corpus Domini makes us, the Church herself, the body of the Lord.” Quoting Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution of the Second Vatican Council, he added: “All are called to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world, from whom we come, through whom we live, and toward whom we direct our lives.”

Before beginning the Eucharistic procession to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the pope explained its spiritual and missionary meaning.

“Together, as shepherds and flock, we will feed on the Blessed Sacrament, adore him, and carry him through the streets,” he said. “In doing so, we will present him before the eyes, the consciences, and the hearts of the people.”

Leo concluded with an invitation to all the faithful: “Strengthened by the food that God gives us, let us bring Jesus to the hearts of all, because Jesus involves everyone in his work of salvation by calling each of us to sit at his table. Blessed are those who are called, for they become witnesses of this love!”

Pope Leo XIV speaks to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus on June 22, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 22, 2025 / 08:22 am (CNA).

Reacting to what he called the “alarming news” of U.S. airstrikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday pleaded with the international community “to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

“Today more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace,” the pope said in remarks following his Angelus reflection June 22, adding that the cry “must not be drowned out by the roar of weapons or by rhetoric that incites conflict.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday night that the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites with massive bunker-busting bombs. Iran responded by launching a volley of missiles at Israel. Scores of civilians were wounded in a missile strike in Tel Aviv, Reuters reported.

Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square from a window in the Apostolic Palace, Leo framed the attacks, which have escalated the conflict between Israel and Iran, within the broader context of regional conflicts.

“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population — especially in Gaza and other territories — risks being forgotten, even as the urgency for proper humanitarian support becomes ever more pressing,” he said.

“There are no distant conflicts when human dignity is at stake,” he said. “War does not solve problems — on the contrary, it amplifies them and inflicts deep wounds on the history of nations that take generations to heal.”

The pope also evoked the most heartbreaking human toll of violence. “No armed victory can make up for a mother’s grief, a child’s fear, or a stolen future.”

Finally, he renewed his call for diplomacy and commitment to peace: “Let diplomacy silence the weapons; let nations shape their future through works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflict.”

In his catechesis prior to the Angelus on Sunday, the feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Leo XIV focused on the deep meaning of the Eucharist and the value of sharing.

Reflecting on the day’s Gospel, which recounts the miracle of the loaves and fishes (cf. Lk 9:11–17), he said that “God’s gifts, even the smallest, grow whenever they are shared.”

Pope Leo XIV noted that the supreme act of sharing was “God’s sharing with us.”

“He, the Creator, who gave us life, in order to save us asked one of his creatures to be his mother, to give him a fragile, limited, mortal body like ours, entrusting himself to her as a child,” the pope said. “In this way, he shared our poverty to the utmost limits, choosing to use the little we could offer him in order to redeem us.”

God’s generosity is especially manifested in the gift of the Eucharist, the Holy Father said.

“Indeed, what happens between us and God through the Eucharist is precisely that the Lord welcomes, sanctifies, and blesses the bread and wine that we place on the altar, together with the offering of our lives, and he transforms them into the body and blood of Christ, the sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world,” Leo said.

“God unites himself to us by joyfully accepting what we bring, and he invites us to unite ourselves to him by likewise joyfully receiving and sharing his gift of love,” he added. “In this way, says St. Augustine, ‘just as one loaf is made from single grains collected together ... so in the same way the body of Christ is made one by the harmony of charity.’”

The pope was scheduled to celebrate Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi at 5 p.m. Sunday followed by a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome.

Pope Leo XIV tells political leaders that “natural law, which is universally valid apart from and above other more debatable beliefs, constitutes the compass by which to take our bearings in legislating and acting” at the Jubilee of Governments on June 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV urged political leaders from around the world to promote the common good, warning especially of the threat to human dignity from artificial intelligence (AI).

AI “will certainly be of great help to society, provided that its employment does not undermine the identity and dignity of the human person and his or her fundamental freedoms,” the pope said on June 21 to legislators from 68 countries gathered at the Vatican for the Jubilee of Governments.

“It must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings, not to diminish them, not to replace them,” Leo said, speaking in English to the international audience.

The pope has quickly made the challenge of artificial intelligence a signature issue of his pontificate, highlighting it at a meeting with the College of Cardinals two days after his election last month.

In his speech to political leaders on Saturday, Leo also urged them to promote the common good in other ways, including by “working to overcome the unacceptable disproportion between the immense wealth concentrated in the hands of a few and the world’s poor.” The pope decried such inequality as a leading cause of war.

Pope Leo stressed the importance of religious freedom and encouraged political leaders to follow the example of 16th-century St. Thomas More as a “martyr for freedom and for the primacy of conscience.” More was executed for refusing to recognize King Henry VIII as head of the Church in England instead of the pope.

Leo also recommended the ethical tradition of natural law, whose roots in classical antiquity predate Christianity, as “a shared point of reference in political activity” and “an element that unites everyone” regardless of religious belief.

Natural law arguments have played a prominent role in several recent legal and political debates over issues including abortion, euthanasia, religious freedom, same-sex marriage, and transgender policies.

The pope told the political leaders that “natural law, which is universally valid apart from and above other more debatable beliefs, constitutes the compass by which to take our bearings in legislating and acting, particularly on the delicate and pressing ethical issues that, today more than in the past, regard personal life and privacy.”

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Jubilee of Sport on June 15, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV is preparing to celebrate the solemnity of Corpus Christi for the first time as bishop of Rome, one of the rare occasions on which a pontiff leaves the Vatican to celebrate publicly in the city.

As is the tradition, Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in St. John Lateran Basilica, the pope’s cathedral as bishop of Rome. He has also confirmed his subsequent presence at St. Mary Major Basilica.

However, it remains unclear whether he will walk — or otherwise take — the route between the two basilicas.

A statement from the Holy See Press Office confirmed the celebration for the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ at 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, June 22, in St. John Lateran Basilica’s square.

However, the Vatican only specified that “the Eucharistic procession will then take place, traveling along Via Merulana and arriving at St. Mary Major Basilica,” wording that leaves several scenarios open.

Popes have made the procession in different ways. In 2004, John Paul II, suffering from serious health problems, traveled this route seated in the popemobile. The following year, in May 2005, Benedict XVI accompanied the procession on his knees in a white, open-top vehicle that moved slowly, surrounded by a crowd of faithful praying with candles in hand.

In his first year as pontiff, Pope Francis surprised everyone by choosing to walk behind the Blessed Sacrament in a gesture of ecclesial closeness that he repeated in subsequent years.

Since 2014, the Argentine pontiff preferred not to participate in the procession and instead appeared directly at the Marian basilica. He also introduced several new features — for example, celebrating Corpus Christi in marginalized neighborhoods of Rome rather than in Rome’s cathedral.

In 2018, Francis offered the Mass for this liturgical solemnity, which celebrates the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, in Ostia, a seaside town outside Rome, attended by some 10,000 people.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the celebration was moved to St. Peter’s Basilica due to restrictions on social gatherings, and in other years Francis was unable to attend at all for health reasons.

In 2024, he celebrated this liturgical feast again in St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, marking his final Corpus Christi as pope.

This Sunday, attention will be focused on how the new pope chooses to live out and express one of the most emblematic celebrations of the Catholic faith.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

null / Credit: LookerStudio/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Jun 20, 2025 / 18:46 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has issued a fresh warning about the negative effects that artificial intelligence (AI) can have on the “intellectual and neurological development” of rising generations, along with a call to confront the “loss of the sense of the human” that societies are experiencing.

“All of us, I am sure, are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development,” the Holy Father said in a Friday message to participants at the second annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Corporate Governance, held June 19–20 in Rome.

“Our youth must be helped, and not hindered, in their journey toward maturity and true responsibility,” he indicated. He continued that young people are the “hope for the future” and that the well-being of society “depends upon their being given the ability to develop their God-given gifts and capabilities.”

Thus, according to the message made public by the Vatican Press Office, the Holy Father assured that while never before has a generation had “such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI,” this should not be confused with the ability to understand the workings of the world.

“Access to data — however extensive — must not be confused with intelligence,” he said. He added: “Authentic wisdom has more to do with recognizing the true meaning of life than with the availability of data.”

Similarly, he warned that AI can also be misused “for selfish gain at the expense of others, or worse, to foment conflict and aggression.”

At the beginning of his message, written in English, the pontiff stressed the “urgent need” for “serious reflection and ongoing discussion on the inherently ethical dimension of AI as well as its responsible governance.”

Leo XIV was particularly pleased that the second day of this meeting took place in the Apostolic Palace and assured that it was “a clear indication of the Church’s desire to participate in these discussions.”

The pontiff echoed the words of his predecessor, Pope Francis, in recalling that, despite being “an exceptional product of human genius, AI is above all else a tool.” Therefore, “tools point to the human intelligence that crafted them and draw much of their ethical force from the intentions of the individuals that wield them,” he underscored.

Pope Leo went on to point out that, in many cases, AI has been used “in positive and indeed noble ways to promote greater equality.” For example, in the uses it has been put to in the field of health research and scientific discovery.

The Holy Father stressed that the evaluation of the benefits or risks of AI must be made “in light of the “integral development of the human person and society,” as noted in the recent Vatican document Antiqua et Nova.

“This entails taking into account the well-being of the human person not only materially but also intellectually and spiritually; it means safeguarding the inviolable dignity of each human person and respecting the cultural and spiritual riches and diversity of the world’s peoples,” Leo insisted.

In the face of enthusiasm for technological innovations, the pope warned against a loss of sensitivity to the human. “As the late Pope Francis pointed out, our societies today are experiencing a certain ‘loss, or at least an eclipse, of the sense of what is human,’” he recalled. 

In this regard, Leo made clear the role of the Catholic Church in weighing the ramifications of AI in light of the “integral development of the human person and society.” 

Leo XIV also expressed his hope that the meeting’s deliberations would include reflection on intergenerational roles in ethical formation. “I express my hope that your deliberations will also consider AI within the context of the necessary intergenerational apprenticeship that will enable young people to integrate truth into their moral and spiritual life,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo greets pilgrims during the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly on Sunday, June 1, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 20, 2025 / 13:11 pm (CNA).

Members of Italy’s local and national governments will be the main participants in events for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee of Government Leaders on June 21–22, part of the wider Jubilee of Hope.

According to the Vatican, the weekend’s events mix government and Church initiatives, including a pilgrimage through the Holy Door on June 21 followed by a meeting on “ecological debt” hosted by Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri at city hall. The event will include a keynote by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The Vatican has not yet confirmed if Leo will hold a jubilee audience with participants on Saturday morning, as he did last weekend, and as Pope Francis did twice before his hospitalization in mid-February.

In addition to members of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate, Italian mayors and regional counsellors are expected to participate in one or more events. Ambassadors to the Holy See and representatives from other countries will also attend.

The area just outside St. Peter’s Square will transform into an open-air concert venue on the evening of June 21. The “Harmonies of Hope” concert will feature musicians from the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Switzerland, Italy, and Japan.

The U.S. musician taking part is Brad Mehldau, a 54-year-old jazz pianist and composer from Jacksonville, Florida.

On Sunday, June 22, jubilee participants will be able to attend Pope Leo XIV’s Angelus from a reserved area. Attendees are also invited to join the pope’s Mass for the solemnity of Corpus Christi to be celebrated at the Basilica of St. John Lateran and which will be followed by a Eucharistic procession through the streets to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

During the Jubilee of Government Leaders, one of the largest groups to participate in the Holy Door pilgrimage will be employees of Italy’s national welfare agency, INPS (Istituto Nazionale Della Previdenza Sociale).

The paragovernmental entity, which employs approximately 25,000 people throughout Italy, is participating in the Catholic Church’s jubilee year with a pilgrimage through the Holy Door and Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on June 21 as an event to bring employees together.

Diego De Felice, the institute’s director of communications, told CNA around 4,000 INPS employees and their family members will participate.

According to De Felice, the welfare agency “espouses a positive vision of the intervention of the state for the purposes of social justice,” and this approach, even though secular, is “close to what the social doctrine of the Church professes.”

This week, in anticipation of the jubilee, the Italian Parliament hosted a conference on interreligious dialogue with the participation of religious and civil society leaders, and delegations from 60 countries. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, spoke at the opening of the conference on June 19.

Pope Leo XIV delivers his homily during the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and the Jubilee of Sport on June 15, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 20, 2025 / 12:41 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday declared 174 new martyrs, including 50 French Catholics who died in Nazi concentration camps during World War II and more than 100 Spanish priests killed during the Spanish Civil War.

In a decree signed on June 20, the pope also recognized a medical miracle that occurred in 2007 in a Rhode Island hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit through the heavenly intercession of a 19th-century Spanish priest, Father Salvador Valera Parra, making possible his future beatification.

Faith and resistance: The young French martyrs of World War II 

The French martyrs declared Friday died between 1944 and 1945, many after being arrested by the Nazi regime for their ministry and resistance efforts under German occupation.

Among them were Father Raimond Cayré, a 28-year-old diocesan priest who died of typhus in Buchenwald in October 1944; Father Gerard Martin Cendrier, a 24-year-old Franciscan who perished in the same camp in January 1945; Roger Vallée, a 23-year-old seminarian who died in Mauthausen in October 1944; and Jean Mestre, a 19-year-old lay member of the Young Christian Workers, who was killed in Gestapo custody in May 1944.

They were part of a broader network of clergy, religious, and Catholic laity (particularly laity affiliated with Catholic Action movements) who clandestinely accompanied French forced laborers into Germany after the Vichy regime’s Service du Travail Obligatoire was enacted in 1943. Some were tortured and killed by the Nazis because of their apostolate in Germany, while others died “ex aerumis caceris,” or because of their suffering in prison.

Most of the 50 martyrs died in camps like Buchenwald, Mauthausen, Dachau, and Zöschen, often succumbing to typhus, tuberculosis, or brutal execution. They included four Franciscans, nine diocesan priests, three seminarians, 14 Catholic Scouts, 19 members of the Young Christian Workers, and one Jesuit.

The majority of these French martyrs (more than 80%) were under the age of 30 when they died. The youngest of the Catholics Scouts, aged 21 and 22, were both executed — one by gunfire at Buchenwald and the other by beheading in Dresden in 1944.

According to the Vatican, their persecution was rooted in “odium fidei,” or hatred of the faith. The martyrs’ “apostolic action” and their willingness to die rather than abandon their spiritual duties were seen as a direct affront to the totalitarian and anti-Christian ideology of the Nazi regime.

The martyrs of the Spanish Civil War 

The pope also declared 124 martyrs from the Spanish Civil War, all from the Diocese of Jaén, killed between 1936 and 1938. They included 109 diocesan priests, one religious sister, and 14 lay Catholics.

The Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints divided them into two martyr groups for their records: Father Manuel Izquierdo Izquierdo and 58 companions and Father Antonio Montañés Chiquero and 64 companions.

Their martyrdom occurred in the context of widespread anticlerical violence during Spain’s civil war, when many revolutionaries, fueled by atheist propaganda, desecrated churches and executed religious leaders. According to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, their deaths, marked by “anti-religious and anti-Christian sentiments” of the guerrillas, fit the Church’s criteria for martyrdom in “odium fidei.” 

In response to the news, Bishop Sebastián Chico Martínez of Jaén said: “These lands have been blessed and watered throughout the centuries of Christianity by the blood and witness of martyrs … their sowing has been fruitful in new Christians and will continue to be so.” 

The martyrs from the Diocese of Jaén are the latest of a total of more than 2,000 martyrs from the Spanish Civil War already recognized by the Church and beatified under the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.  

The new Spanish martyrs’ beatification ceremony will take place in Jaén on a date to be determined.

Miracle in Rhode Island opens path to beatification 

The pope also approved a miraculous healing attributed to the intercession of Father Salvador Valera Parra, a 19th-century Spanish priest known for his charity during epidemics and natural disasters in Almería. He can now be beatified, thanks to an inexplicable healing that occurred in Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 2007. 

Born in 1816, Valera Parra had a childhood marked by profound faith. When his father died, 13-year-old Salvador was seen kneeling before the body reciting the Divine Office alone. The Spanish diocesan priest is remembered for many works of charity, including founding, along with St. Teresa Jornet, a home for the elderly.

The miracle involved a premature infant named Tyquan who was delivered by emergency cesarean section after complications during labor in 2007. Born without signs of life and suffering from severe oxygen deprivation, the baby showed no improvement after an hour. The attending Spanish physician, a devotee of Servant of God Salvador Valera Parra, prayed for his intercession. Moments later, the child’s heart began to beat.

Despite doctors’ expectations of lifelong neurological damage, Tyquan developed normally, growing into a healthy, active child.

4 declared venerable for heroic virtue 

In the audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV also recognized the heroic virtue of four individuals, declaring them venerable. They are:

— João Luiz Pozzobon (1904–1985), a Brazilian deacon and father of seven known for his Marian devotion and founding the Schoenstatt Movement’s Pilgrim Mother Rosary Campaign, which is now present in more than 100 countries

— Anna Fulgida Bartolacelli (1923–1993), an Italian laywoman who suffered from dwarfism and rickets and was a consecrated member of the Silent Workers of the Cross, living a life of hidden sanctity and service to the sick

— Raffaele Mennella (1877–1898), a young Italian cleric of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 21

— Teresa Tambelli (1884–1964), a Daughter of Charity known for her long ministry to the poor in Cagliari, Italy