Catholic News Service

The message was read aloud by Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, at the AI for Good Summit 2025 being held July 8-11 in Geneva.

"We must pray for the conversion of many people, inside and outside of the church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home," Pope Leo XIV said while celebrating a new formulary of the Mass "for the care of creation."

After more than a decade without its most famous vacationer, the quiet town of Castel Gandolfo once again counts the pope among its summer residents.

Pope Leo XIV's appointment of the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors shows that safeguarding remains a top priority, its former president said.

Following Pope Francis' teachings on integral ecology must be accepted as "the right path to follow," the pope said in his message for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for Creation.

Pope Leo XIV called on everyone to root out false narratives being used to fuel today's wars, conflict and violence.

"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," the pope said. "In stark contrast to the dire poverty of many, the amassing of wealth by a few is the sign of an arrogant indifference that produces pain and injustice."

Just hours after the United States bombed the sites of three nuclear-enrichment facilities in Iran, Pope Leo XVI called the situation in the Middle East "alarming" and said diplomacy was the only responsible way forward.

Renewing an appeal for peace, Leo underlined the importance of trying "at all costs to avoid the use of weapons and seek dialogue through diplomatic means" during a brief interview with the Italian state television station, RAI Uno.

At a time when the fate of refugees and migrants is becoming increasingly uncertain, faith-based organizations in Rome say they are putting into practice their Christian values of protection and respect of human life to aid those seeking help.

The world must resist the allure of modern weapons which threaten to give conflicts a ferocity surpassing that of previous wars, Pope Leo XIV said.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Leo would be staying in the Villa Barberini, the former summer residence of the Vatican secretaries of state; Francis turned the former papal palace on the town's main square into a museum, which opened in 2016.

St. Peter's Basilica and some of its surrounding buildings are working to reduce their environmental impact by becoming more energy efficient and promoting sustainability, based on findings by a scientific committee.

Pope Leo XIV asked Madagascar's bishops to embrace the care of creation as a central part of their prophetic ministry, calling on them to safeguard the unique ecological beauty and fragility of their homeland.

"I want to strongly renew an appeal to responsibility and reason," he said.

Meeting with cardinals living in and visiting Rome for an ordinary public consistory June 13, the pope approved the new canonization date for the two young blesseds and set Oct. 19 as the date for the canonization of seven others.

The cultural and pastoral diversity among clergy is not a burden but a gift that should enrich communion within the church rather than fragment it, Pope Leo XIV told the priests and deacons of the Diocese of Rome.

The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, reported increased profits in 2024 and gave a slightly larger dividend check to Pope Francis, who used the entire amount for charity.

At his weekly general audience, the pope spoke about the Gospel story of the healing of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) as he continued a series of talks about how the life and ministry of Jesus is a source of hope.

"Synodality," he said, is "a word that aptly expresses how the Spirit shapes the Church."