Pope Leo XIV

What could be worse than drug addiction? The denial of it. There is forgiveness for both drug-pusher and drug-addict when they embrace the truth. Unfortunately, however, the damage – both physical and mental – is lasting. The mantra applies: God forgives, but nature doesn’t. How to get this message across? Pope Leo XIV speaks the truth in love: The Church does not intervene in the issue of drugs with the intention of competing with or taking the place of neuroscience, psychia

The Vatican News Service recently reported a fascinating fact. Pope Leo XIV will travel to France 25 September to 28 September. It is the first papal visit to France in 18 years. Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2008. The papal visit will include a gathering with young people in a sports stadium, with a capacity of approximately 80,000. When tickets became available they sold out in just one hour – in the blink of an eye. What is happening with young people? Why a renewed interes

Pope Leo XIV spoke to young people at Rimini, Italy, beach destination: Against the false realism that rearms minds, words, and nations, Catholic culture today must set the realism of mercy, in which there can be no enemies, and all people, even adversaries, are brothers and sisters to be looked in the eye and encountered in truth. Imagine a time without mercy. We don’t have to: The 20th Century was full of war and death, with revolutions abounding – political, cultural, sexu

What is beauty? The modern, more subjective definition is: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A more traditional – and realistic – definition is: That which when seen delights (St. Thomas Aquinas) Are we permitted to dilate St. Thomas’ definition? That which when heard, tasted, smelt and touched delights. Pope Leo XIV – Assumption of Mary into Heaven: The glorification of Mary, body and soul, teaches us that our true beauty does not lie in hiding the signs of aging, but in

Pope Leo XIV recently visited Assisi, home of St. Francis and St. Clare. The occasion was a Franciscan Youth Gathering with the theme, ‘Go!’ The visit took place on 6 August 2026, and the Holy Father celebrated the Mass of the Transfiguration for the young ones: We have come here to understand where history is heading and where we ourselves are going. Assisi is a good place to get our bearings. We know that St. Francis stayed awake for many hours each night asking God two que

Pope Leo XIV begins chapter five of Magnifica Humanitas with a helpful reflection on the ‘tragic issue of war.’ He notes that ‘the past sixty years have been marked by conflicts of astonishing brutality.’ He warns of the danger AI poses for future conflicts. He defends the just war theory as a last resort in cases of legitimate self-defense. He then moves to help us to answer the question: At a time of great change, what should our attitude be? Pope Leo XIV speaks of the need

Chapter Four of Magnificent Humanity is important. Pope Leo XIV claims: Truth can be manipulated. Freedom can descend into anarchy. Work can become slavery. The traditional definition of truth is the ‘alignment of the mind with reality.’ But because we are body, soul and spirit, ‘truth is the conformity of the body, soul and spirit with reality,’ with the ultimate reality being God. The search for truth is fundamental, not only on a personal level, but for democracy itself. T

AI will bring great benefits. In personal use, Pope Leo XIV says: Three aspects deserve particular consideration: the ease with which results are obtained, the impression of objectivity and the simulation of human communication (MH 100). Surely science, innovation, education and health will benefit enormously through AI. But it is artificial, not human intelligence: AI surpasses human intelligence in speed and computational capacity, yet this power remains tied to data proces

The Church’s Social Teaching began with Abraham and Sarah. It is 4,000 years old. What depth! It developed in the most profound manner from the late 19th century onwards, because of rapid changes in society known as the Industrial Revolution. Pope Leo XIII responded magnificently with Rerum Novarum (1891). The Berlin Wall came crumbling down in 1989 and Pope St. John Paul II wrote Centesimus Annus (1991). It honoured the memory of Leo XIII and called for a society of free wo

Pope Leo XIV has issued Magnifica Humanitas. You guessed. It means Magnificent Humanity. The sub-title reads: Safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. I have read the 42,088-word document – twice. I asked various AI platforms for a summary. All were mediocre: Natural intelligence has, and will continue to have, the upper hand. AI can be used for good or for ill, precisely because it is a tool in our hands. Many benefits will come from AI. We exper

The Church teaches that priests receive the triple Munera when ordained. This Latin word means both gift and service. They are called to govern, preach and celebrate. Governing means forming the Body of Christ. Of great importance, too, is: The preaching of the Gospel, which is the primary role of priests, and celebrating the mysteries of faith, which is the principal role of priests (Vatican Council II, Order of Priests, 5). Romans 10 sheds light on the matter: How are they

Why are people surprised that popes are on the side of world peace? During World War I, Pope Benedict XV was criticised for calling for peace. Pope Leo XIV recently held a prayer vigil for peace with the troubles in the middle east. What is surprising is that some people accused Pope Leo XIV of dumping the Just War Theory. He did nothing of the sort. Notice what the pope actually said: In the context of the 2003 Iraq war crisis, Saint John Paul II said with deep emotion: ‘I b

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Holy Thursday Mass just a few days ago. He focused his attention on the Gospel of John. Jesus assumes the position of a slave by washing the feet of his apostles: What the Lords shows us — taking the water, the basin and the towel — is far more than a moral example. He entrusts to us his very way of life (2 April 2026). Pope Benedict XVI is quoted: We too must ‘learn repeatedly that God’s greatness is different from our idea of greatness… bec

Theology seeks to understand the meaning of events, so as to help us spiritually. After praying the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the meaning of the resurrection of Lazarus: This event invites us to free our hearts from habits, conditioning and ways of thinking which, like boulders, shut us away in the tomb of selfishness, materialism, violence and superficiality. In these places there is no life, but only confusion, dissatisfaction and loneliness (22 March 2026). Surely

Pope Leo XIV is an Augustinian. Is it any surprise he likes to quote St. Augustine? The pope recently visited the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Ponte Mammolo (Rome), and naturally enough he cited the saint: Saint Augustine, speaking about the face of God, of which we are called to be a mirror in the world, said to the Christians of his time: ‘What sort of face has love? What form has it? What stature? What feet? What hands has it?’ ‘It has feet, for these carry men to

Research affirms what makes great parishes: Good Community Good Teaching and Preaching Good Music. In other words, an experience of love, an experience of truth, an experience of beauty. With Christ at the centre of our community, teaching, music and art, we shall – with the help of Almighty God – create great parishes. Recently, the pope visited the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Rome. It was Pope Leo XIII who asked St. John Bosco to establish the parish near Termini T

Bishop Erik Varden gave the Papal Lenten Retreat 2026 and spoke about biblical paradox. The word comes from the Greek: Para - Beyond Doxos - Opinion. It is one among many literary techniques that is able to express profound truths, not open to conventional language. For example: Less is more. Apparently, Adolf Hitler hated the Bible because it is full of paradox. Life is full of paradox, and so we find metaphorical language to express it. John’s Gospel highlights the paradox

Pope Leo XIV, on annual retreat, has been sitting at the feet of Bishop Erik Varden (Norway) who reflected on the question: What is truth? Christ is truth itself and so truth is personal – both objective and subjective. When I can say, ‘I am not a thief,’ I have taken the objective truth – ‘Thou shalt not steal’ – and internalised it perfectly. Varden makes this claim: Ambition represents a particular form of capitulation to un truth. Why would this be the case? Because humil

200 Words: Recorded to Rekindle Gustav Mahler (1860-1911): Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. Pope Leo XIV reflected on the relationship between Tradition and the Bible in his Wednesday Catechesis: There exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end (28 January 2026). The ‘fir

WATCH NOW: ABC Interview with Bishop Tony Percy (see foot of page) Ashes are placed upon our foreheads. The priest has the option of saying: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent, and believe in the Gospel. Quite evocative, I’d say. St. John Paul II: Lent is the time for entering into ourselves. It is a time of special intimacy with God in the depths of our hearts and consciences. And it is within this interior intimacy with God that the main work o