Pope

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has called for “deep reflection” in the United States about the treatment of migrants held in detention, saying that “many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now.”

The Chicago-born pope was responding Tuesday to a variety of geopolitical questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, including what kind of spiritual rights migrants in U.S. custody should have, U.S. military attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela and the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.

Leo underlined that scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world: “How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening.”

He said “the spiritual rights of people who have been detained should also be considered,’’ and he called on authorities to allow pastoral workers access to the detained migrants. “Many times they’ve been separated from their families. No one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to,’’ Leo said.

Leo last month urged labor union leaders visiting from Chicago to advocate for immigrants and welcome minorities into their ranks.

Asked about the lethal attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela, the pontiff said the military action was “increasing tension,’’ noting that they were coming even closer to the coastline.

“The thing is to seek dialogue,’’ the pope said.

On the Middle East, Leo acknowledged that the first phase of the peace accord between Israel and Hamas remains “very fragile,’’ and said that the parties need to find a way forward on future governance “and how you can guarantee the rights of all peoples.’’

Asked about Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, the pope described the settlement issue as “complex,’’ adding: “Israel has said one thing, then it’s done another sometimes. We need to try to work together for justice for all peoples.’’

Pope Leo will receive Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican on Thursday. At the end of November he will make his first trip as Pope to Turkey and Lebanon.

Oct. 17 (UPI) — King Charles III plans to visit Pope Leo XIV next week in the Vatican as the first reigning English monarch since 1534 to pray in a service with the pontiff.

Charles, along with his wife, Queen Camilla, will visit the Vatican on Wednesday and Thursday. They will appear with the pope during a service on Thursday at the Sistine Chapel, where a special seat has been created for Charles.

The chapel was dedicated on Aug. 15, 1483. Michelangelo painted the ceiling from 1508 to 1512.

Henry VIII split from the Vatican 22 years later.

Buckingham Palace on Sept. 26 announced the state visit to the Holy See for late October in the church’s 25th Jubilee Year to “celebrate the ecumenical work by the Church of England and the Catholic Church, reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope.'”

The royal couple had a private meeting with Pope Francis on April 9 in celebration of their 20th wedding anniversary. It took place at Casa Santa Marta hospital in Rome, 12 days before he died.

In 1961, Queen Elizabeth II was the first British monarch since the Reformation to visit the Holy See. Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, and Charles became king.

“It marks a historic moment in the journey of reconciliation between our Churches,” Archbishop Flavio Pace said in a Vatican press briefing Friday. “It celebrates how far we’ve come — and offers hope for the future.”

This gathering will bring together members of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, of which the king is the supreme governor.

“This will be the first state visit, since the Reformation, where the pope and the monarch will pray together in an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, and the first time the monarch will have attended a service in St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, a church with an historic connection to the English crown,” a Buckingham spokesman told the Guardian.

They also will visit the adjacent Benedictine Abbey. This church, which contains the tomb of St. Paul, had been associated with the English monarchy dating to medieval and Anglo-Saxon rulers who helped with the upkeep.

King Charles will also be honored with the title of Royal Confrater, “recognizing the long-standing ties between the British Crown and the Benedictine abbey attached to the basilica,” Vatican News said.

During the service with the pope, there will be a hymn by Saint Ambrose of Milan sung in an English translation by Saint John Henry Newman, who was canonized in 2019. King Charles attended that event.

Music will be provided by the Sistine Chapel Choir, alongside choristers from the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace and the Choir of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The king and queen will also meet Vatican officials.

The Vatican said the “two central themes of the Royal visit are Christian unity and care for the planet.”

The Roman Catholic Church has approximately 1.4 billion members with 20.4% in Europe, including 6.2 million baptized Roman Catholics in England and Wales, and 676,000 in Scotland.

The Church of England is the largest Christian denomination in Britain with 13.3 million followers. The church originated in the break from the Vatican and features Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.

ROME — Pope Leo XIV urged labor union leaders from Chicago on Thursday to advocate for immigrants and welcome minorities into their ranks, weighing in as the Trump administration crackdown on immigrants intensifies in the pontiff’s hometown.

“While recognizing that appropriate policies are necessary to keep communities safe, I encourage you to continue to advocate for society to respect the human dignity of the most vulnerable,” Leo said.

The audience was scheduled before the deployment of National Guard troops to protect federal property in the Chicago area, including a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that has been the site of occasional clashes between protesters and federal agents.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, who accompanied the labor leaders, said that Leo was well aware of the situation on the ground. In an interview with the Associated Press, Cupich said Leo has made clear, including in recent comments, that migrants and the poor must be treated in ways that respect their human dignity.

“I really didn’t have to tell him much at all, because he seemed to have a handle on what was going on,” Cupich told the AP afterward.

He said that Leo had urged U.S. bishops in particular to “speak with one voice” on the issue. Cupich said he expected the November meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops would make immigration a top agenda item.

“This has to be front and center right now. This is the issue of the day. And we can’t dance around it,” Cupich said.

Catholic leaders in the U.S. have denounced the Trump administration’s crackdown, which has split up families and incited fears that people could be rounded up and deported any time. The administration has defended the crackdown as safeguarding public safety and national security.

Leo “wants us to make sure, as bishops, that we speak out on behalf of the undocumented or anybody who’s vulnerable to preserve their dignity,” Cupich said. “We all have to remember that we all share a common dignity as human beings.”

Cupich said he was heartened by Leo’s remarks last week, in which the pope defended the cardinal’s decision to honor Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin for his work helping immigrants. The plans drew objection from some conservative U.S. bishops given the powerful Democratic senator’s support for abortion rights, and he ultimately declined the award.

It was the second meeting in as many days that history’s first American pope has heard firsthand from a U.S. bishop on the front lines of the migration crackdown. On Wednesday, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz brought Leo letters from desperate immigrant families.

Cupich was in Rome for Vatican meetings and to also accompany a group of Chicago schoolchildren who got a special greeting from Leo during his Wednesday general audience. The kids had staged their own “mock conclave” in school this past spring, and footage of their deliberations went viral online as the real conclave unfolded in Rome. They arrived at the audience Wednesday dressed as cardinals, Swiss Guards and the pope himself.

Winfield writes for the Associated Press.

Oct. 9 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV on Thursday released his first major document, calling on Christians and others not to become indifferent to hunger and extreme poverty across the world.

The pope’s first apostolic exhortation, called Dilexi te, builds on the final text published by Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis, which highlighted the “close connection” between love for God and love for the poor, according to the Vatican.

“With this document, signed on Oct. 4, the feast of Saint Francis of Assis, Pope Leo situates himself firmly on the path laid out by his predecessors, including Saint John XXIII, with his appeal … to wealthier countries not to remain indifferent to nations oppressed by hunger and extreme poverty,” the Vatican said in a news release.

Titled “I Have Loved You,” Leo wrote that Francis had started preparing the document and he had finished it, saying that he is “happy to make the document my own — adding some reflections,” The New York Times reported.

In the document, Leo noted the existence of moral, spiritual and cultural poverty, in addition to the poverty of poorer people and nations lacking the material means of subsistence and calls the world’s commitment to the poor “insufficient.”

Leo wrote that the modern world continues to measure poverty using outdated criteria that “do not correspond to present-day realities,” which the “dictatorship of an economy that kills” has exponentially grown the gap between the rich and poor.

Noting that a “throwaway culture” tolerates indifference toward the poor, Leo called for a change in mentality for people to move away from the “illusion of happiness derived from a comfortable life … centered on the accumulation of wealth and social success at all costs, even at the expense of others.”

“The poor are not there by chance or by blind and cruel fate,” Leo wrote. “Nor, for most of them, is poverty a choice. Yet, there are those who still presume to make this claim, thus revealing their own blindness and cruelty.”

Oct. 8 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV reportedly opposed U.S. mass deportation efforts after meeting with El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz and members of the Hope Border Institute on Wednesday.

The pope hosted Seitz, institute members and others in Vatican City to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to deport potentially millions of “migrants” who no longer have legal standing to remain in the United States, according to the Holy See Press Office.

Seitz said the meeting was to enable Pope Leo to see and hear the “stories and fears of our immigrant sisters and brothers from across our country,” USA Today reported.

The meeting included showing a four-minute video of migrants recounting their experiences amid the Trump administration’s efforts to deport those without legal standing to remain in the United States.

“He watched the whole thing, and his eyes at the end were filled with tears,” Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, told Politico.

“As the meeting came to an end, he said, ‘You stand with me, and I stand with you, and the church will continue to accompany and stand with migrants.'” Corbett said.

The Vatican has not confirmed that Pope Leo made those comments, but many U.S. Catholic leaders have denounced the Trump administration’s deportation of an estimated 2 million “migrants.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Oct. 1 rejected claims that those being deported are subject to “inhumane treatment” and said the Trump administration is enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.

The Hope Border Institute is an El Paso-based non-profit that says its mission is “pursuing justice at the U.S.-Mexico border.”

While the pope reportedly stands with Seitz and the Hope Border Institute, Vatican City enforces its borders and punishes illegal crossings by fining and imprisoning offenders for between one and four years, according to the Catholic News Agency.

ROME — Pope Leo XIV has intervened for the first time in an abortion dispute roiling the U.S. Catholic Church by raising the seeming contradiction over what it really means to be “pro-life.”

Leo, a Chicago native, was asked late Tuesday about plans by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich to give a lifetime achievement award to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin for his work helping immigrants. The plans drew objection from some conservative U.S. bishops given the powerful Democratic senator’s support for abortion rights.

Leo called first of all for respect for both sides, but he also pointed out the seeming contradiction in such debates.

“Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life,” Leo said. “Someone who says that ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

Leo spoke hours before Cupich announced that Durbin had declined the award.

Church teaching forbids abortion but it also opposes capital punishment as “inadmissible” under all circumstances. U.S. bishops and the Vatican have strongly called for humane treatment of migrants, citing the Biblical command to “welcome the stranger.”

Pope Leo says mutual respect is needed

Leo said he wasn’t familiar with the details of the dispute over the Durbin award, but said it was nevertheless important to look at the senator’s overall record and noted Durbin’s four-decade tenure. Responding to a question in English from the U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN News, he said there were many ethical issues that constitute the teaching of the Catholic Church.

“I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them but I would ask first and foremost that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings, in that case as American citizens or citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics to say we need to you know really look closely at all of these ethical issues and to find the way forward in this church. Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear,” he said.

Cupich was a close adviser to Pope Francis, who strongly upheld church teaching opposing abortion but also criticized the politicizing of the abortion debate by U.S. bishops. Some bishops had called for denying Communion to Catholic politicians who supported abortion rights, including former President Joe Biden.

Biden met on several occasions with Francis and told reporters in 2021 that Francis had told him to continue receiving Communion. During a visit to Rome that year he received the sacrament during Mass at a church in Francis’ diocese.

Durbin was barred from receiving Communion in his home diocese of Springfield in 2004. Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki has continued the prohibition and was one of the U.S. bishops who strongly objected to Cupich’s decision to honor the senator. Cupich claims Durbin as a member of the Chicago Archdiocese, where Durbin also has a home.

Senator Durbin declines his award

In his statement announcing that Durbin would decline the award, Cupich lamented that the polarization in the U.S. has created a situation where U.S. Catholics “find themselves politically homeless” since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party fully encapsulates the breadth of Catholic teaching.

He defended honoring Durbin for his pro-immigration stance, and said the planned Nov. 3 award ceremony could have been an occasion to engage him and other political leaders with the hope of pressing the church’s view on other issues, including abortion.

“It could be an invitation to Catholics who tirelessly promote the dignity of the unborn, the elderly, and the sick to extend the circle of protection to immigrants facing in this present moment an existential threat to their lives and the lives of their families,” Cupich wrote.

Paprocki, for his part, thanked Durbin for declining the award. “I ask that all Catholics continue to pray for our church, our country, and for the human dignity of all people to be respected in all stages of life including the unborn and immigrants,” Paprocki said in a Facebook post.

The dispute came as President Donald Trump’s administration maintains a surge of immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.

Winfield writes for the Associated Press.

In May, when Stokes backed Pope following the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, the captain said there was an “agenda” against his then deputy.

Pope made a century in the first innings of the first Test against India in June, but passed 50 only once more in the five-match series.

Bethell, 21, played only one first-class match in the run-up to coming into the England team for the final Test at The Oval and struggled as a result, but the left-hander then made his first professional century in a one-day international against South Africa earlier this month.

“We’ll see a bit more of Jacob Bethell playing in white-ball cricket before the Ashes,” said former Kent and England batter Key. “We know a fair amount about Ollie Pope, but Jacob Bethell will continue to get experience.”

Talismanic captain Stokes missed the final Test against India with a shoulder injury, meaning the all-rounder has not completed any of England’s past four Test series.

However, the 34-year-old stepped up his return by bowling during intervals of his county Durham’s County Championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley on Wednesday.

“He won’t have a lot of cricket before the Ashes series, but that didn’t stop him against India,” said Key. “With the ball, it’s certainly the best I’ve seen him bowl for a long time, if not ever, and that was without playing a lot of cricket going into the summer.

“I have no issues with Ben Stokes at all. He’s generally the type of player that builds and everything he does gets himself ready for these big moments.”

Stokes’ Durham team-mate Wood has not played a Test since August 2024 because of elbow and knee injuries, but Key is “confident” the world’s fastest bowler will be fit for the first Ashes Test on 21 November.

“His recovery is probably a little bit slower than we thought but we’re always erring on the side of caution,” said Key.

“The thing Woody always has going for him is he’s never been someone that needs to play lots and lots of games to get into form. He’s someone that can bowl in nets, bowl in middle practice, then all of a sudden he runs up and bowls 95mph.”

Surrey all-rounder Jacks was chosen as the back-up spinner to Shoaib Bashir, ahead of Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach and Liam Dawson.

Off-spinner Jacks has taken only five first-class wickets this year but, like Bashir, offers England height, as well as the option to boost their batting.

“In what we have coming up, we think Jacks offers a lot of different options,” said Key.

Key also confirmed leg-spinner Ahmed will be named in the England Lions squad that will be in Australia the same time as the senior group, so could be called into the Test party if required.

Sept. 20 (UPI) — The election of Pope Leo XIV in carried special meaning for Peru, particularly for the city of Chiclayo in the Lambayeque region, where the then-priest Robert Francis Prevost spent decades as a missionary and nearly 10 years as bishop.

Although Prevost was born in Chicago, he became a Peruvian citizen in 2015 when he was named bishop of what he called his “beloved diocese of Chiclayo,” a phrase he delivered in Spanish in his first words to the world after being elected pope.

The impact of his election has been not only spiritual, but also economic, with a significant boost to tourism in the city.

Lambayeque Gov. Jorge Pérez said Thursday that the region recorded an additional $42 million in revenue from tourism tied to the pope’s history in the area.

“No marketing agency, not even the most powerful in the world, could have achieved what Pope Leo has accomplished,” Pérez said in a television interview with CanalB.

Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism officially launched the “Path of Pope Leo XIV” tourist route in late July, highlighting the Peruvian cities in which the pontiff carried out his missionary and pastoral work.

“This tourist route is not just an itinerary of more than 35 attractions in the regions of Lambayeque, La Libertad, Piura and Callao. It is a spiritual path and an invitation to rediscover who we are, where we come from and what unites us as Peruvians,” the ministry said.

As part of its plan to promote the route, the Peruvian government released a promotional video titled The Route of Leo, aimed at encouraging both domestic and international tourists to visit the destinations.

The official route includes historic churches, landmark museums and natural sites, such as the Santa María Cathedral in Chiclayo, the Pómac Forest Historic Sanctuary, the adobe pyramids of Túcume, the ruins of the former San Agustín Convent in Zaña, the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum and the Chaparrí Ecological Reserve.

This is complemented by the rich cuisine of northern Peru, known for its diverse flavors and ancestral traditions, with dishes that blend seafood, agriculture and the pre-Hispanic heritage of the Mochica and Chimú cultures.

Some of the region’s most famous dishes include arroz con pato (rice with duck), cabrito a la norteña (northern-style goat and one of Pope Leo XIV’s favorites), stingray omelet and black clam ceviche.

For the first stage of the route, which required coordination across four regions and 20 municipalities, the Peruvian government allocated $151 million.

The Ministry of Culture also announced a second stage of the project, with $2.5 million set aside to upgrade the Sicán National Museum and to reinforce the preservation of Chiclayo’s Cathedral and La Verónica Chapel.

In addition, plans are underway to expand the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum, one of Peru’s most important archaeological museums, which is known for its historical value, the preservation of its artifacts and the quality of its exhibits.

The museum houses the funerary treasures of the Lord of Sipán, a Moche ruler from the third century A.D., which were discovered in 1987 at Huaca Rajada near Chiclayo.

The discovery is considered one of the most significant in the Americas because it was the first intact royal Moche tomb found without looting, offering researchers a detailed view of the hierarchy and splendor of that culture.

Sept. 14 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV said there has been a “huge learning curve” in his first several months as the new pontiff, and declared that about some aspects of his role are akin to jumping “in on the deep end of the pool very quickly,” in remarks to released to coincide Sunday with his 70th birthday.

He also lamented the growing income gaps between the world’s working class and company CEOs, pointing out that Elon Musk could soon become the globe’s first trillionaire.

“If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble,” the first American pope said in his comments released by the Vatican.

The interview was conducted over the summer of Elise Ann Allen, a correspondent for the Vatican news service, and the author of an upcoming biography on the pontiff. The remarks were published on Allen’s website, the Crux, and in the Peruvian daily El Comerico.

Leo said he felt both American and Peruvian, noting his dual citizenship, and his 20 years of missionary work in Peru. He said his time there gave him a great appreciation of the church in Latin America and for Pope France’s ministry, the first pope from South America.

Francis promoted Leo to the Vatican’s top job in 2023, raising speculation that the then pope views Leo as a successor, though Leo said he felt unprepared for the responsibilities of the role.

“There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me,” he said, adding that he felt confident as a pastor, but noted that the job of pontiff was that of a world leader, which was a challenge.

The excerpts of the interview were released Sunday as Leo celebrated his 70th birthday during the traditional noon blessing at the Vatican.

There were multiple, giant “Happy birthday” banners in multiple languages displayed by believers throughout St. Peter’s Square. Groups of Peruvian believers, some donning traditional dance attire, celebrated.

“Dear friends, it seems you know today I have turned 70,” Leo said amid choruses of cheers from onlookers. “I thank the Lord, my parents and all those who remembered me in their prayers.”

Carlo Acutis, a digital pioneer, used his computer skills to spread Catholic teaching globally.

A London-born Italian teenager, known as “God’s influencer”, who was an early adopter of the internet to spread Catholic teachings, has been made the church’s first millennial saint at a ceremony led by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

Leo canonised Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 aged 15, in a ceremony attended by thousands on Sunday in St Peter’s Square. At the Mass, the pontiff also canonised Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1924 but was widely recognised for his charitable work.

During a speech at the event, Leo credited Acutis and Frassati for making “masterpieces” out of their lives, warning congregants that the “greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan”.

Often seen photographed in his casual outfits, with scruffy hair, T-shirts and sunglasses, Acutis cuts a different figure from the church’s saints of the past who were often depicted in solemn paintings. This has built a global following for Acutis, with the church intending him to be a more relatable saint for digitally-focused young people today.

Leo said Acutis and Frassati’s lives are an “invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces”.

Acutis was born in London in 1991 but moved early on in his life to the northern Italian city of Milan with his family, where he lived until he died of leukaemia in 2006.

As a teenager, Acutis taught himself coding and programming, using the skills he had acquired to document recognised church miracles to spread Catholic teaching globally. His pioneering digital efforts took place at a time when literacy around those subjects was not widespread.

He was also believed to have regularly attended church services, been kind to the homeless and children who suffered bullying, which endeared him to Catholic youth globally.

Shortly after he died, Antonia Salzano, Acutis’s mother, began advocating globally for her son to be recognised as a saint, which requires that he carry out miracles during his life.

Pope Francis, whose death in April this year led to a delay in the saint-making ceremony for Acutis, said the teenager carried out two miracles during his life. According to the Catholic News Agency, Acutis healed a boy who had a birth defect affecting his pancreas and a girl who sustained an injury in Costa Rica.

In a 2019 letter to Catholics, Pope Francis acknowledged Acutis’s efforts, saying, “It is true that the digital world can expose you to the risk of self-absorption, isolation and empty pleasure.” He added, “But don’t forget that there are young people even there who show creativity and even genius. That was the case with the Venerable Carlo Acutis.”

Acutis’s body, encased in wax, lies in a glass tomb in Assisi, a medieval town in central Italy, which is a pilgrimage site visited by hundreds of thousands of people annually. Our Lady of Dolours Church in London, where he was baptised, has also attracted growing numbers of visitors. A part of his heart has been removed from his body as a relic and has been displayed at churches globally.

Sept. 1 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV confirmed his intent to include LGBTQ parishioners within the Catholic Church ahead of their planned Holy Year pilgrimage to Vatican City.

The pope met editor and author the Rev. James Martin of New York for 30 minutes and said he intends to continue Pope Francis‘ policy of inclusion for all, the National Catholic Reporter reported Monday.

Pope Francis refused to judge and expel a gay priest in 2013 and afterward allowed priests to bless same-sex couples.

Francis did not change the Catholic Church’s policy of teaching parishioners that homosexual acts are “disordered,” though.

Martin co-founded Outreach, which is a Catholic ministry that promotes LGBTQ inclusion, and will participate in the Holy Year pilgrimage to Vatican City on Friday and Saturday.

An estimated 1,200 people are expected to participate in the pilgrimage, which is not sponsored by the Vatican.

Leo and Martin met in the library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, where the Pope clarified his position of inclusion for LGBTQ church members.

The pontiff’s position was in doubt after he criticized what he called the “homosexual lifestyle” in 2012 while serving the church and was still known as the Rev. Robert Prevost.

After being elevated to a cardinal in 2023, Prevost told Catholic News Service he did not oppose Pope Francis’ inclusion of members due to the choices that they make in their personal lives.

He confirmed the Catholic Church’s policy regarding homosexuality had not changed.

Leo also said church leaders were “looking to be more welcoming and more open and to say all people are welcome in the church,” the Catholic News Service reported.

Will Jacks takes a brilliant leaping one-handed catch to remove Ollie Pope off the bowling of Sam Curran as London Spirit face Oval Invincibles in the men’s Hundred at the Oval.

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Aug. 21 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV is expected to travel to Lebanon before the end of the year on his first international trip.

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, said in an interview that Leo would visit Lebanon “sometime between now and December.”

“The visit will happen after a decision from the Vatican about when it will take place, so until now it’s not yet determined. But preparations for the visit are underway, though the exact timing is still unknown, waiting for the Vatican to announce it,” Rai said.

There has been no official announcement from the Vatican about the international trip yet

Archbishop Paul Sayah, deputy to Lebanon’s highest-ranking Catholic leader, told BBC that a trip to Lebanon would be an important visit for the pope.

“Lebanon is a multicultural, multi-religious country and is a place of dialogue,” Sayah said. “It’s one of the rare environments where Muslims and Christians are living together and respecting each other so it sends a message to the region.”

Throughout recent decades, popes have been conducting overseas travels to connect with Catholics worldwide.

Pope Francis during his 12 years, visited 68 countries on 47 foreign trips.

Francis had formerly expressed his desire to visit Lebanon, but the country’s political and economic crisis complicated the planning.

Lebanon is home to more than two million Catholics and has carried symbolic weight for the Church.

Pope Leo XVI is set to meet with representatives from a pro-LGBTQIA+ equality group.

Back in May, the religious figure made history when he was elected as the first US-born pontiff. His placement came two weeks after the passing of Pope Francis, who died after suffering a stroke that was then followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.

In his first public address, Pope Leo XVI said: “We want to be a synodal church, a church that moves forward, a church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.”

Since that fateful day, the new pontiff has dived headfirst into his holy tenure and is wasting no time to implement change.

On 14 August, the Vatican announced that eight representatives from We are Church (WAC) will participate in a Holy Year meeting of synodal teams and participatory bodies – describing it as “a first for the international church reform movement.”

The aforementioned reps will also be allotted time with Pope Leo XIV and “pass through the holy door,” which is described as a “powerful act of spiritual renewal.”

The landmark Jubilee celebrations are scheduled to take place from 24 October to 26 October.

Shortly after the news was announced, Christian Weisner of We are Church expressed excitement over the group’s inclusion while speaking to Vatican Radio.

“We were pleased that this meeting of synodal teams and bodies of the World Synod will also take place in the Vatican as part of the Holy Year, and that the invitation was open,” he said.

“After two major synodal assemblies in autumn 2023 and autumn 2024, it is important that the synodal spirit and synodal networking remain alive and become even more visible and tangible. This is what we hope for from the meeting, and are happy to contribute to it.

“Our patient work over 30 years, during which we have often been present in Rome at bishops’ synods, council commemorations, papal elections, and other events, may have contributed to this. I also see the passage through the Holy Door as a sign for the church as a whole: to leave mistakes behind and to set out again and again in Christian hope.”

Founded in 1995, WAC has committed itself to “the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.”

The equality group, which is represented in more than twenty countries and has presence in or is cooperating with similar groups, has committed itself to five goals: Shared decision making, full equality for all genders, free choice between a celibate and non-celibate lifestyle, positive evaluation of sexuality and good news instead of a threatening message.

For more information about the LGBTQIA+ and women’s equality group, click here.

Manchester United are willing to accept a reduced fee in the region of £17m for Jadon Sancho, 25, with Borussia Dortmund and Juventus interested in the England winger. (Mail), external

United have ended their interest in Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, 24, with the Senegal forward demanding too much in wages. (Mirror), external

Napoli want Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish, 29, but would struggle to meet his wage demands, and also have Chelsea and England winger Raheem Sterling, 30, and Manchester United’s Argentina forward Alejandro Garnacho, 21, on their list of targets. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

United are keen to offload Garnacho and have spoken to Aston Villa and Chelsea about the possibility of striking a deal. (Independent) , external

Everton are prioritising a move for Juventus and Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 27, before acting on their interest in Grealish. (GiveMeSport), external

Manchester United have placed Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, 29, at the top of a two-man striker shortlist with RB Leipzig and Slovenia frontman Benjamin Sekso, 22, the second option. (Sun), external

Manchester City have informed German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, 32, that he can leave the club following the arrival of James Trafford from Burnley. (Fabrizio Romano), external

West Ham are eyeing Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira, 25, who joined Arsenal in 2022 but spent last season on loan at Porto. (Ben Jacobs), external

Manchester City and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, 29, wants to reunite with boyhood club Leeds. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool have reached an agreement to sign 17-year-old striker Will Wright from Salford City. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Portuguese side Famalicao are interested in Tottenham’s English midfielder Tyrese Hall, 19, who attracted interest from Championship clubs in January. (Sky Sports), external

July 21 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV spoke with astronaut Buzz Aldrin to discuss the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

During the call, the two reminisced on the 1969 landing, “reflecting on the mystery of creation, its greatness and fragility.”

“Anca and I were grateful and touched to receive the highest blessing from His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV on the 56th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. What an honor! We prayed for good health, long life, and prosperity for all humankind,” wrote on social media after the conversation.

The pope also recited the midday Angelus and visited the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo for the Anniversary, where he was able to look through the astronomical center’s historic telescopes.

In June, Leo, who graduated from Villanova University with a degree in mathematics, hosted participants in the Vatican Observatory Summer school, asking them to never forget “that what they do is meant to benefit everyone.”

July 6 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV, 69, started a six-week long vacation at the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo Sunday, getting out of the Roman summer heat and seeking the cooler temperatures outside of the capitol.

“I hope everyone can have some vacation time to restore the body and spirit,” Leo said before leaving the Vatican during his noontime prayer Saturday.

“Once the gate was closed and the crowd began to disperse towards the square and the lake area, a woman’s cry caught everyone’s attention,” a release from the Vatican said. “Pope Leo suddenly appeared on the balcony of the villa.”

Leo’s visit marks a return to the papal vacation spot after his predecessor, Pope Francis, eschewed the retreat during his dozen year papacy.

Castel Gandolfo overlooks Lake Alban in the hills south of Rome, and has been a favorite getaway for Roman rulers since the time of first century Emperor Domitian.

Leo will have a handful of public events while on vacation, including performing Masses, noon prayers and will also participate in some events at the Vatican, the release said.

Catholic pontiff says international rules have been ‘replaced by the presumed right to overpower others’.

Pope Leo XIV has lamented what he described as the rise of blunt power over the rules of international law as conflicts rage around the world and global institutions continue to fail to end abuses and war crimes.

“It is disheartening to see today that the strength of international law and humanitarian law no longer seems binding, replaced by the presumed right to overpower others,” the pontiff said in a social media post on Thursday.

“This is unworthy and shameful for humanity and for the leaders of nations.”

Leo did not elaborate on his remarks, but his statement comes amid growing calls for ending the Israeli assault on Gaza, which leading rights advocates and United Nations experts have described as a genocide.

Israel has faced growing accusations of violating international humanitarian law, a set of rules meant to protect civilians in conflict, during its conflict with Palestinians.

Backed by the United States, the Israeli military has levelled large parts of Gaza, displaced nearly its entire population and killed at least 56,156 in the territory, according to health officials.

Earlier this month, former US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller, who spearheaded Washington’s defence of Israel’s conduct during the Joe Biden administration, acknowledged that the Israeli military has “without a doubt” committed war crimes in Gaza.

Israel stands in defiance of several international resolutions, including rulings by the International Criminal Court, the top UN tribunal, against the Israeli blockade and killings in Gaza.

Last year, the ICJ also declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory – East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – unlawful and called for its end “as rapidly as possible”.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over possible war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.

But most members of the ICC, especially in Europe, have maintained their deep trade and military ties to Israel despite the charges.

After succeeding the late Pope Francis in May, becoming the first pontiff from the US, Leo pleaded for an end to the war on Gaza.

“Ceasefire now,” Leo, the top spiritual authority for about 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, said in May.

“From the Gaza Strip, we hear rising ever more insistently to the heavens, the cries of mothers and fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, and who are continually forced to move about in search of a little food and water and safer shelter from bombardments.”

As the war in Gaza continues, deadly conflicts and reports of abuses in Sudan and Ukraine have also persisted.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV urged the warring sides in the Israel-Iran war to “reject the logic of bullying and revenge” and choose a path of dialogue and diplomacy to reach peace as he expressed solidarity with all Christians in the Middle East.

Speaking at his weekly Wednesday general audience, the American pope said he was following “with attention and hope” recent developments in the war. He cited the biblical exhortation: “A nation shall not raise the sword against another nation.”

A ceasefire is holding in the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict, which involved Israel targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and the U.S. intervening by dropping bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful.

“Let us listen to this voice that comes from on High,” Leo said. “Heal the lacerations caused by the bloody actions of recent days, reject all logic of bullying and revenge, and resolutely take the path of dialogue, diplomacy and peace.”

The Chicago-born Leo also expressed solidarity with the victims of Sunday’s attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, and urged the international community to keep supporting Syrian reconciliation. Syria’s Interior Ministry has said a sleeper cell belonging to the Islamic State group was behind the attack at the Church of the Holy Cross, which killed at least 25 people.

“To the Christians in the Middle East, I am near you. All the church is close to you,” he said. “This tragic event is a reminder of the profound fragility that still marks Syria after years of conflict and instability, and therefore it is crucial that the international community doesn’t look away from this country, but continues to offer it support through gestures of solidarity and with a renewed commitment to peace and reconciliation.”