The British Parliament building in London. / Credit: Marinesea/Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 19:05 pm (CNA).

A British politician has publicly criticized his parish priest for refusing to give him Holy Communion after he voted in favor of the UK’s assisted dying bill.

Liberal Democrat MP Chris Coghlan took to Social Media on Sunday and reportedly complained to Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton, describing his treatment as “outrageous.”

Father Ian Vane, parish priest at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dorking, Surrey, had warned Coghlan before the June 20 vote that supporting the controversial bill would constitute “obstinately persevering” in sin. He then reportedly named Coghlan, who represents Dorking and Horley in Surrey, from the pulpit two days later.

Coghlan described the priest’s actions as “completely inappropriate” and claimed it “undermines the legitimacy of religious institutions.”

The politician posted on social media that the incident raised “grave public interest” about pressure that religious Members of Parliament (MPs) faced during the vote, calling it “utterly disrespectful to my family, my constituents including the congregation, and the democratic process.”

The MP’s public criticism sparked significant backlash on social media platforms, with many defending Father Vane and criticizing Coghlan’s comportment.

Several commentators reminded the politician of the Vatican’s doctrinal note about participation in public life, ‘"that a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals.”

“Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them,” the Doctrinal Note on the Participation of Catholics' in Political Life states.

The Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton also reportedly reminded the media of the Church’s position while acknowledging the complexity of the vote.

“The Catholic Church believes in the sanctity of life and the dignity of every person,” the diocese stated, adding Bishop Richard Moth spoke to Coghlan “earlier this week and has offered to meet him in person to discuss the issues and concerns raised.”

Church leaders warn of grave consequences

The controversy comes as Catholic bishops and others have repeatedly raised serious concerns about the UK's assisted dying legislation.

Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, the lead bishop for life issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the bill’s passage.

“Allowing the medical profession to help patients end their lives will change the culture of health care and cause legitimate fears amongst those with disabilities or who are especially vulnerable in other ways,” Sherrington stated.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, and Archbishop Sherrington had previously warned that Catholic hospices and care homes may have no choice but to shut down if the bill becomes law, since they “may be required to cooperate with assisted suicide.”

To become law, the bill still needs to pass in the second chamber of Parliament, the unelected House of Lords. The Lords can amend legislation, but because the bill has the support of the Commons, it is likely to pass.

The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square in Rome, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, June 29, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus

Rome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter’s Square, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, with dozens of floral artworks created by master artisans and volunteers from across Italy. 

These floral works, rich in religious symbolism, decorated the spiritual heart of Rome as part of a new edition of the Infiorata Storica (Historic Flower Festival). 

This year’s 12th edition centered on the theme of the Jubilee of Hope, expressed through floral arrangements, each covering more than 500 square feet. The art works were made using dried flower petals, wood shavings, colored sand, salt, sugar, and natural pigments. 

Beginning on Saturday evening, June 28, teams of floral artists and volunteers worked overnight in an intense effort that concluded at 9 a.m. Sunday — just in time for thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul to admire the floral carpets in their full splendor. 

A rich tradition reborn 

This creative and spiritual gathering aims not only to beautify the city but also to preserve a deeply rooted tradition dating back to 1625, when Benedetto Drei, head of the papal florist’s office, first decorated the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica with flowers. 

Though the custom faded in the 17th century, it was revived in 2013. Today, the Infiorata has become an iconic event that combines art, faith, and culture. 

Within the context of the liturgical celebrations led by Pope Leo XIV, the floral exhibition offered a symbolic path of prayer and hope, linking Rome with believers from around the world. 

This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV spoke about unity on Sunday, June 29, after bestowing the pallium on 54 new metropolitan archbishops on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the city of Rome. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV warned new archbishops on Sunday against following “the same old pastoral plans without experiencing interior renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges.”  

Speaking on the Solemnity of Peter and Paul — saints recognized by the Catholic Church as pillars of the faith and venerated as patrons of the city of Rome — the pope also called for maintaining ecclesial unity while respecting diversity. 

“Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from ... a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity,” the pope said. 

During Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, where he bestowed the pallium on 54 new metropolitan archbishops, including eight from the U.S., Leo urged them to “find new paths and new approaches to preaching the Gospel” rooted in the “problems and difficulties” arising from their communities of faith. 

“The two apostles... inspire us by the example of their openness to change, to new events, encounters, and concrete situations in the life of their communities, and by their readiness to consider new approaches to evangelization in response to the problems and difficulties raised by our brothers and sisters in the faith.” 

After the homily, deacons descended to the tomb of the Apostle Peter, located beneath the Altar of the Chair, to retrieve the palliums the pope had blessed. 

Avoiding routine and ritualism 

In his homily, the Pope praised the example of Sts. Peter and Paul, highlighting their “ecclesial communion and the vitality of faith.” He stressed the importance of learning to live communion as “unity within diversity — so that the various gifts, united in the one confession of faith, may advance the preaching of the Gospel.” 

For Pope Leo, the path of ecclesial communion “is awakened by the inspiration of the Spirit, unites difference,s and builds bridges of unity thanks to the rich variety of charisms, gifts, and ministries.” 

'Turn our differences into a workshop of unity' 

The pope called for fostering “fraternity” and urged his listeners to “make an effort, then, to turn our differences into a workshop of unity and communion, of fraternity and reconciliation, so that everyone in the Church, each with his or her personal history, may learn to walk side by side.” 

“The whole Church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope. Fraternity is also needed in pastoral care, ecumenical dialogue, and the friendly relations that the Church desires to maintain with the world,” the pope said. 

He also invited reflection on whether the journey of our faith “retains its energy and vitality, and whether the flame of our relationship with the Lord still burns bright.” 

“If we want to keep our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to move beyond a tired and stagnant faith. We need to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus Christ for us today? What place does he occupy in our lives and in the life of the Church?” 

New paths and practices for the Gospel 

Leo thus encouraged a process of discernment that arises from these questions, allowing faith and the Church “to be constantly renewed and to find new paths and new approaches to preaching the Gospel.” 

“This, together with communion, must be our greatest desire.” 

At the end of the celebration, the pontiff descended the stairs to the tomb of the Apostle Peter and prayed for a few moments before it, accompanied by Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, head of the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.  

The Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul is especially important for ecumenism because the two saints are honored by all apostolic traditions, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate has sent a delegation to Rome for the feast annually since the 1960s. 

Return to an ancient tradition 

During the celebration, Pope Leo XIV revived the ancient tradition of personally imposing the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops. 

This symbolic rite had been modified by Pope Francis in 2015, when he decided to present the pallium — a white wool band resembling a stole with six black silk crosses — to archbishops at the Vatican, while leaving it to the nuncio in each archbishop’s country to impose the pallium in a local ceremony. 

At the time, Pope Francis explained that this change was meant to give greater prominence to local churches, to make the ceremony more pastoral and participatory, and to strengthen the bond between archbishops and their people, without weakening communion with Rome. 

Pope Leo XIV spoke about unity on Sunday, June 29, after bestowing the pallium on 54 new metropolitan archbishops on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the city of Rome. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 09:40 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said on Sunday that unity in the Catholic Church “is nourished by forgiveness and mutual trust,” after bestowing the pallium on 54 new metropolitan archbishops on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the city of Rome. 

“If Jesus trusts us, then we too can trust one another, in his name,” the pontiff said, extending his call to unity to all Christian denominations. 

Speaking before he led those gathered in St. Peter’s Square in praying the Angelus, the pope also recalled the witness of the apostles who were martyred. 

“Today is the great feast of the Church of Rome, born from the witness of the Apostles Peter and Paul and made fruitful by their blood and that of many other martyrs,” he said, emphasizing that even today, “throughout the world there are Christians whom the Gospel makes generous and bold, even at the cost of their lives.” 

In an ecumenical appeal, the pope emphasized that this shared sacrifice creates a “profound and invisible unity among Christian churches,” which he called, echoing Pope Francis, an “ecumenism of blood.” 

Present during the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday morning was Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, heading the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate sent to Rome by Bartholomew I for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul — a celebration rich with ecumenical significance. 

In his remarks prior to the Marian prayer, the pope reaffirmed: “My episcopal service is a service to unity, and the Church of Rome is committed, by the blood of Saints Peter and Paul, to serving communion among all Churches.” 

Quoting the Gospel, the pope reminded that “the stone from which Peter also receives his name is Christ. A stone rejected by men that God has made the cornerstone.” The basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul, he pointed out, are located “outside the walls,” signifying that “what seems to us great and glorious was once rejected and cast out for being in conflict with worldly thinking.” Leo invited all to walk “the path of the Beatitudes,” where poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, and the thirst for justice often meet with “opposition and even persecution.” Yet, he affirmed, “the glory of God shines in his friends and along the way he shapes them, from conversion to conversion.” 

At the tombs of the apostles, “a millennial destination for pilgrimage,” the pope encouraged everyone to discover that “we too can live from conversion to conversion.” The New Testament, he recalled, does not hide the apostles’ faults and sins, “because their greatness was shaped by forgiveness.” Jesus, he said, “never calls only once. That’s why we can always have hope, as the Jubilee also reminds us.” 

After the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness with Barthélémy Boganda high school in Bangui, Central African Republic, “in mourning after the tragic accident that caused many deaths and injuries among students.” Twenty-nine students died and more than 250 were injured in a stampede on Wednesday prompted by an accidental electrical explosion. 

The pope also expressed “a heartfelt thought for the parish priests and all the priests working in Roman parishes, with gratitude and encouragement for their service.” 

Leo recalled that the day’s feast marks the annual Peter’s Pence Collection, “a sign of communion with the pope and of participation in his apostolic ministry,” and thanked “those who, through their contributions, support my first steps as the successor of Peter.” 

Catholic speaker and author Kim Zember (left) and Zember on the set of her new podcast on EWTN, “Here I AM Stories,” with guest Angel Colon. / Credit: Photos courtesy of Kim Zember

CNA Staff, Jun 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

During her senior year of high school, Catholic speaker and author Kim Zember realized she had a sexual attraction to women. She went on to live a hidden life for years — dating men publicly but dating women secretly. Eventually, she ended up solely in relationships with women.

A decade later she found herself increasingly unhappy and one day she threw up her hands and asked God to enter her life. Now, 11 years after experiencing transformation, she’s sharing her conversations with other people who have dealt with sexual identity and gender confusion in a new podcast on EWTN called “Here I AM Stories.”

“In the tenderness of God, I just felt like he said, ‘I want you to share other people’s stories. You’re not the only one,’” Zember told CNA.

According to EWTN, the podcast “highlights raw voices, radical lives, and real stories of those who left LGBT identities for a greater eternal purpose.” It airs weekly on Mondays during the month of June and then beginning in July, two episodes will be aired every month. 

“These are people who have been walking it out,” Zember said. “This is not stories of perfection.”

Four episodes of the podcast have already been released. One particularly powerful episode was a conversation with Jessica Rose, who identified as a male for seven years, battled depression, and attempted suicide until she gave her life to Christ. 

Another episode features the story of Angel Colon, who survived the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting where 49 lives were lost. Despite being shot multiple times, he survived and credits the miracle to God, changing his way of life.

Zember’s own story follows a similar pattern as the guests she speaks with in her podcast. She grew up in what she says was a “normal” Catholic household with two older brothers and parents who were high school sweethearts. She received all her sacraments but admitted that she grew up without having a relationship with Jesus.

She shared that she saw God like a “cop that kind of just kept tally of all the things I was doing, good or bad, and was kind of calculating everything. So that was kind of challenging because I heard all the time like, ‘God loves you,’ ‘God’s for you,’ but I didn’t experience that.”

Despite having a decent childhood, Zember said she did not have a “good, tender father” and did not trust men. As a senior in high school, she longed for a relationship and acted upon her attraction to women.

“My senior year in high school I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t feel safe with men, but I feel safe with women and I’m attracted and I don’t know what that means, but I’m going to take a step,’” she recalled. “And [in] my senior year in high school I acted on these desires towards women with one of my best friends and that changed everything for me.”

From there she began dating women in private. Believing that what she was doing was wrong, she sought a Catholic counselor at age 18 and was affirmed in her homosexual identity. From there, she came out publicly and no longer hid the fact that she was dating women. It wasn’t until Oct. 17, 2014 — after a decade of living a gay lifestyle — that she “cried out to the Lord and said, ‘I can’t do this.’”

She recalled telling God: “‘I’ve heard about you my whole life. I’ve read about you my whole life but I need to experience you now. And so I need you to show up.’ And it might sound horrible but I was like, ‘I need you to show up and I need you to show up now because if you don’t show up and show me that you’re good, I will go to someone or something else, like I have my entire life. So, I’m giving you your one shot, God.’” 

“And I’m telling you, he showed up. He showed up that evening in a way that I will never forget,” Zember shared. “Oct. 17 feels sometimes like my birthday — though I was born on Dec. 22 — that encounter I had with God marked me in a way … that I’ve never been the same.”

In that moment Zember said she experienced the “tangible love of God” and “he has been faithful every day since then.”

“Also in revealing his character and nature, he has shown me that he’s the one my heart has been searching for. He has shown me that he is the one, that God himself, that made man in Jesus Christ, that he is the love of my life that I’ve desired.”

Zember now lives in freedom from her struggle with same-sex attraction and helps others who face similar battles to find their true identity in Christ. 

When asked what the Church can do to better minister to those struggling with gender and sexual identity issues, she said: “I think as a Church, we need to recognize again our own unworthiness; no matter what Jesus has already saved us from, we still need him.”

“If we’d recognize our own brokenness and our own need for Jesus, I think we’d be able to receive other people in their need for him, too. We’d stop trying to fix people, and we’d actually try to walk with one another,” she added. “We’d try to walk with one another in our brokenness to Christ, the only one who can heal, deliver, make whole, and set free.”

As for her hopes for the new podcast, she said she hopes it would show people “that we have a good Father” and “that people would give Jesus a try — a real one.”

“My hope is that people will say, ‘Wait a minute, if Jesus was that good in their life, maybe he wants to be that good in mine too’ — in whatever it is. It doesn’t have to be homosexuality or identity confusion. It could be you holding on too tightly to something. It could be you needing a career and if you don’t get it, you don’t know who you are. It’s all the longings of our heart to be seen, known, loved, chosen, and desired, and how we try to go to the things of this world to fill those when it’s actually the very one who created us that wants to fill those.”

One unique feature of the monastery at Subiaco is that it was built into the mountain. In any room, at least one wall is bare rock. During construction, the connection with the mountain was always preserved. Even above the main altar of the upper church, the rock juts out and looms overhead, enveloping the worship space like a vast cloak. / Credit: D. Ermacora

Paris, France, Jun 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Nestled among the majestic cliffs of the Simbruini mountains in Subiaco, a town about an hour from Rome in the heart of the Aniene River valley, stands the Monastery of St. Benedict, also known as the “Sacro Speco” (“Sacred Cave”). It is from this place that the famous rule of religious life was born and would spread through the centuries, still followed by thousands of monks and nuns around the world today.

In the sixth century, the young Benedict of Nursia withdrew into solitude, fleeing a corrupt and noisy world in search of an inner state that would bring him closer to God through reflection and the listening of silence. Among the rocks and trees, he found a cave — the “speco” — which sheltered him in hermitage for about three years. Thanks to the charity of a local monk and nearby shepherds, to whom he offered knowledge in exchange for food, he survived hunger and hardship.

From that cave began a spiritual journey of prayer and asceticism that led St. Benedict to formulate the rule that countless religious follow today. He devoted great attention to contemplation and prayer, considering silence an essential condition for receiving the word of God and the inspiration for a life of prayer, work, and brotherhood — according to the motto “Ora et Labora” (“Pray and Work”). 

The cave later became a pilgrimage site and source of spiritual inspiration. Over the centuries, a magnificent monastic complex was built around the Sacred Cave, nestled in greenery like a jewel, welcoming faithful and visitors from all over the world. The monastery was constructed on multiple levels and adapted to the shape of the mountain. 

Wrapped in the rocks of the mountain

One unique feature of the place is that in any room, at least one wall is bare rock. During construction, the connection with the mountain was always preserved. Even above the main altar of the upper church, the rock juts out and looms overhead, enveloping the worship space like a vast cloak.

To link the various parts — upper and lower churches, chapels, and the cave itself — an intricate network of staircases was built, making the pilgrim’s path even more fascinating. On the walls of the many chapels and corridors are frescoes painted in various artistic styles from different centuries.

The holy image of St. Francis of Assisi

One of the most important frescoes, found in the Chapel of St. Gregory, is the image of St. Francis of Assisi — considered the oldest portrait of the saint. It was painted by an anonymous friar, likely living in the same convent as Francis between 1220 and 1224. This date suggests that the face depicted in the fresco is one of the most faithful representations of the saint’s actual appearance — almost like a “photograph” of the time.

The absence of the stigmata (which appeared in 1224) and the halo further support the belief that this fresco is an extraordinary testimony to the real face of Francis while he was still alive.

The frescoes that adorn the chapels and corridors were painted in different eras by various artists and mostly depict the life of St. Benedict, especially in the lower church. There, in a style with Roman and Byzantine traits from the 13th century, scenes include “The Miracle of the Poisoned Bread,” with a crow carrying away the poisoned bread meant for Benedict by enemies; “The Miracle of the Goth,” where Benedict blesses a broken jar that miraculously reforms; and “Young Benedict in Subiaco,” illustrating his hermitic life in the cave.

Other frescoes in the lower church narrate Benedict’s arrival in Subiaco and his hermit life, showing his struggles against temptation and the strength with which he persevered; the first disciples and birth of the communities, the beginning of his mission; and his first miracles, bearing witness to the divine power manifesting through Benedict’s actions.

To this day, Benedictine monks still live in the monastery, faithfully upholding the rule. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Archbishops around the world can provide by their example the fraternity and unity in diversity the entire Catholic Church needs today, Pope Leo XIV said.

"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

"Fraternity is also needed in pastoral care, ecumenical dialogue and the friendly relations that the church desires to maintain with the world," the pope said.

"Let us make an effort, then, to turn our differences into a workshop of unity and communion, of fraternity and reconciliation, so that everyone in the church, each with his or her personal history, may learn to walk side by side," he said. 

The feast day celebration in St. Peter's Basilica included the traditional blessing of the pallium, the woolen band that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments and symbolizes an archbishop's unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the pope entrusted to him.

Pope Leo revived a tradition begun by St. John Paul II in 1983 by personally placing the pallium around the shoulders of the recently named archbishops.

Pope Francis had changed the ceremony starting in 2015. The late pope had invited new archbishops to concelebrate Mass with him and be present for the blessing of the palliums as a way of underlining their bond of unity and communion with him, but the actual imposition of the pallium was done by the nuncio and took place in the archbishop's archdiocese in the presence of his faithful and bishops from neighboring dioceses.

The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff issued a formal notification June 11 that on June 29 Pope Leo would preside over the Eucharistic celebration, bless the palliums and impose them on the new metropolitan archbishops. 

According to the Vatican, 54 archbishops from more than two dozen countries who were named over the past 12 months received the palliums. Eight of them were from the United States: Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington; Archbishop W. Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas; Archbishop Michael G. McGovern of Omaha, Nebraska; Archbishop Robert G. Casey of Cincinnati; Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez of Galveston-Houston; Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob of Milwaukee; Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston; and Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Detroit.
The pope blessed the palliums after they were brought up from the crypt above the tomb of St. Peter. Each archbishop then approached Pope Leo by the altar and either knelt or bowed their head as the pope placed the pallium over their shoulders. Each shared an embrace with the pope and a few words.

In his homily, the pope reflected on Sts. Peter and Paul -- two saints who were martyred on different days and yet share the same feast day.

Sts. Peter and Paul were two very different people with different backgrounds, faith journeys and ways of evangelizing, Pope Leo said. They were at odds over "the proper way to deal with gentile converts" and would debate the issue. 

And yet, they were brothers in the Holy Spirit, and they both shared "a single fate, that of martyrdom, which united them definitively to Christ," he said. 

Their stories have "much to say to us, the community of the Lord's disciples," he said, especially regarding the importance of "ecclesial communion and the vitality of faith."

"The history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone's freedom," Pope Leo said.

"Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living the 'concordia apostolorum,' that is, a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity," he said.

"It is important that we learn to experience communion in this way -- as unity within diversity -- so that the various gifts, united in the one confession of faith, may advance the preaching of the Gospel," Pope Leo said.

Sts. Peter and Paul challenge Catholics to follow their example of fraternity and to think about "the vitality of our faith," he said. "As disciples, we can always risk falling into a rut, a routine, a tendency to follow the same old pastoral plans without experiencing interior renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges." 

The two apostles were open to change, new events, encounters and concrete situations in the life of their communities, the pope said, and they were always ready "to consider new approaches to evangelization in response to the problems and difficulties raised by our brothers and sisters in the faith."

In the day's Gospel reading, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" which he continues to ask his disciples today, "challenging us to examine whether our faith life retains its energy and vitality, and whether the flame of our relationship with the Lord still burns bright," the pope said. 

"If we want to keep our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to move beyond a tired and stagnant faith," he said, and ask: "Who is Jesus Christ for us today? What place does he occupy in our lives and in the life of the church? How can we bear witness to this hope in our daily lives and proclaim it to those whom we meet?"

"Brothers and sisters, the exercise of a discernment born of these questions can enable our faith and the faith of the church to be constantly renewed and to find new paths and new approaches to preaching the Gospel. This, together with communion, must be our greatest desire," he said.

Keeping with a long tradition, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis of Chalcedon, was present at the Mass. Also present were members of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The pope and the Orthodox metropolitan also descended the stairs below the main altar to pray at St. Peter's tomb.

"I would like to confirm on this solemn feast that my episcopal ministry is at the service of unity, and that the church of Rome is committed by the blood shed by Sts. Peter and Paul to serving in love the communion of all churches," Pope Leo said before praying the Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square. 

"The New Testament does not conceal the errors, conflicts and sins of those whom we venerate as the greatest apostles. Their greatness was shaped by forgiveness," he said. "The risen Lord reached out to them more than once, to put them back on the right path. Jesus never calls just one time. That is why we can always hope. The Jubilee is itself a reminder of this."

In fact, "those who follow Jesus must tread the path of the beatitudes, where poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, hunger and thirst for justice, and peace-making are often met with opposition and even persecution," he said. "Yet God's glory shines forth in his friends and continues to shape them along the way, passing from conversion to conversion."

Pallium: U.S. archbishops on healing division

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29, 2025, and gave eight newly-appointed U.S. metropolitan archbishops palliums -- woolen bands symbolizing an archbishop's unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility...

Pro-life demonstrators take part in a rally calling for Planned Parenthood to be defunded in Denton, Texas, Saturday, June 28, 2025 / Credit: Carole Novielli/Live Action

CNA Newsroom, Jun 28, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Thousands of pro-life advocates rallied at hundreds of locations across the United States on Saturday while taking part in a "single, coordinated day of demonstration" urging Congress to defund the abortion giant Planned Parenthood.

The pro-life group Live Action spearheaded the nationwide "Defund Day" event. Group founder Lila Rose told CNA it was the "largest grassroots effort" yet to call for stripping federal funds from Planned Parenthood, which received around $800 million in taxpayer dollars during its most recent fiscal year.

"We’re spearheading an effort with over 200 peaceful rallies across the country in all 48 states where there are Planned Parenthoods," she said. "This is a national call to defund the biggest abortion chain."

Citing Planned Parenthood's hundreds of thousands of abortions per year, as well as other extreme services such as providing cross-sex hormones to minors, Rose said: "Congress has an opportunity to defund. They need to seize it."

Photos and videos flooded social media on Saturday showing demonstrations taking place around the country, including in states such as California, Texas, Kentucky and Georgia, with protesters displaying signs and banners calling for Planned Parenthood to be blocked from federal funds.

Rose told CNA that pro-life advocates are "closer than ever" to defunding the abortion chain.

"We have the opportunity with the [Republican] majority in the House and the Senate, and with an administration that has indicated it would defund," she said.

Rose said that there are still "significant challenges" to the defunding goal, including the possibility of a filibuster in the Senate blocking any bill to that effect, though she noted that the budget reconciliation process could be used to bypass that obstacle.

If defunding is ultimately accomplished, Rose said, "we need to ensure that it sticks," not just for one budget year but permanently.

Looking forward, she said, "we have to abolish abortion."

"Defunding will weaken abortion, but the main goal is the complete legal protection for the preborn."

"We’re building a groundswell [to abolish abortion]," she added. "It’s going to take time to develop the political infrastructure. But I believe we’ll do it within a decade."

null / Credit: TippaPatt/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 28, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The last three popes — Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV — have on more than one occasion recommended reading “Lord of the World,” the dystopian science fiction novel written by Robert Hugh Benson in 1907.

This apocalyptic novel depicts the consequences of a society that turned its back on God and presents a social critique of the customs of the West, which has succumbed to capitalism and socialism.

Benson, an Anglican cleric who eventually converted to Catholicism and was ordained a priest in 1904, proposes a reality in which “the forces of secularist materialism, relativism, and state control triumph everywhere.”

This work, praised by the last three popes, also describes the arrival of the Antichrist as a charismatic personality but who also promotes ideals destructive to society.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, cited this work during a lecture he gave at the Catholic University of Milan in February 1992, stating that the work “gives much food for thought.”

It was also one of Pope Francis’ favorite books. During his meeting with the academic and cultural world as part of his apostolic journey to Budapest, Hungary, in April 2023, Francis explained that this work “shows that mechanical complexity is not synonymous with true greatness and that in the most ostentatious exteriority is hidden the most subtle insidiousness.”

For the Argentine pope, the book was “in a certain sense prophetic.” Although it was written more than a century ago, “it describes a future dominated by technology and in which everything, in the name of progress, is standardized; everywhere a new ‘humanism’ is preached that suppresses differences, nullifying the life of peoples and abolishing religions,” he said. 

Specifically, he emphasized that in the society described in the book, all differences are eradicated, as opposing ideologies merge in a homogenization resulting in “ideological colonization — as humanity, in a world run by machines, is gradually diminished and life in society becomes sad and rarefied.”

Francis noted that in the novel, “everyone seems listless and passive, it seems obvious that the sick should be gotten rid of and euthanasia practiced, as well as national languages ​​and cultures be abolished in order to achieve a universal peace.”

This idea of ​​peace, however, “is transformed into an oppression based on the imposition of consensus, to the point of making one of the protagonists state that the world seems at the mercy of a perverse vitality, which corrupts and confuses everything,” Francis said in his address in the Hungarian capital.

Also, while criticizing ideological colonization, Pope Francis during a press conference he gave to the media on his flight back to the Vatican after his Apostolic Journey to Manila, Philippines, in 2015 recommended reading the book.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, before being elected Pope Leo XIV, also recommended the book in an interview given to the Augustinians from Rome. “It speaks about what could happen in the world if we lose faith,” Prevost explained.

He emphasized that Benson’s work contains passages that give a lot of food for thought “in terms of the world we are living in,” presenting challenges about the importance of “continuing to live with faith but also to continue to live with a deep appreciation of who we are as human beings, brothers and sisters, but understanding the relationship of ourselves with God and the love of God in our lives.”

Furthermore, the cardinal, who became Leo XIV on May 8, noted that his two predecessors had also cited this book on more than one occasion.

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

A monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament is displayed on the altar during Eucharistic adoration at a Loretto Community Pentecost event accompanied by live music. / Credit: Loretto Gemeinschaft

CNA Newsroom, Jun 28, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

What began as a modest prayer meeting in a Vienna student apartment in 1987 has grown into one of Europe’s largest Catholic youth movements. The Loretto Community — named after the Marian shrine of Loreto — now draws over 12,000 participants to its annual Pentecost Festival, held simultaneously at 28 locations across four countries.

The Loretto Community traces its roots to the mid-1980s, when Georg Mayr-Melnhof, a businessman and permanent deacon from Salzburg, Austria, first visited Medjugorje, the Bosnian town known for its reported Marian apparitions.

Inspired by these spiritual experiences, Mayr-Melnhof began organizing pilgrimages for young people.

After one such pilgrimage during Easter 1987, two young Viennese approached him: “Georg, after these strong experiences here in Medjugorje, let’s start something at home.” They felt called by the Virgin Mary’s message to “found prayer circles.” That October, the first Loretto prayer group met in a Vienna apartment — just three people, a rosary, and a simple meal.

Charismatic foundations and mission

The Loretto Community identifies with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, emphasizing a personal relationship with Jesus and openness to the Holy Spirit’s gifts. 

Its spirituality is described as Marian, charismatic, and Eucharistic, reflecting devotion to Mary, a focus on spiritual gifts, and the centrality of the Mass. The community’s vision is “to see a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a new fire in the Catholic Church,” and its mission is to create welcoming spaces where people can encounter God and deepen their faith through prayer and worship.

From its Austrian beginnings, Loretto has expanded across Europe, with over 700 members in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and the U.K. The community operates “HOME Mission Bases” in Salzburg and Vienna in Austria; in Passau, Germany; and in London — centers for prayer, formation, hospitality, and mission work. Loretto UK was founded in London in 2019 and registered as a charity the following year.

Launched in 2000 as a local youth festival at Salzburg Cathedral, the Pentecost Festival has become the movement’s flagship event. By 2018, it was attracting 10,000 young people from 28 countries with a social media reach of over 1 million. In 2022, Loretto shifted from a single large gathering to simultaneous events at multiple locations, aiming to create “Pentecostal beacons throughout the German-speaking area and beyond.”

The 2025 festival drew over 12,000 participants from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and beyond, as CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported.

Festival activities blend traditional Catholic elements with contemporary expressions of faith: praise music, worship services, prayer moments, and opportunities for confession and spiritual growth. A signature feature is the “Evening of Mercy,” described as a time “full of God’s gentle presence” focused on confession and healing.

Loretto enjoys strong support from the Catholic hierarchy. At the 2025 Pentecost Festival, several Austrian bishops participated, including Archbishop Franz Lackner of Salzburg, who celebrated Mass and currently serves as the president of the Austrian bishops’ conference. Other bishops in attendance included Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Freitag of Graz; Bishop Hermann Glettler of Innsbruck; Bishop Alois Schwarz of Lower Austria; and “Youth Bishop” Stephan Turnovszky of Vienna. Glettler has described the festival as an “explosion of joy” and a place where “one breathes future.”

International expansion: The Loretto Project in England

Loretto UK marks a significant step in the movement’s international growth. The community’s London base offers worship services, prayer houses, discipleship programs, and hospitality events. In 2023 alone, Loretto UK organized over 165 hours of continuous prayer in its chapel.

Originally developed in Germany and Austria, the “Follow Me” program is a key export model for Loretto’s expansion. Targeted at young Catholics aged 16–30, it combines teaching, sacraments, prayer, small-group meetings, and practical applications over eight weekends in 12-16 months. All lectures are reviewed by a theological commission, underscoring the program’s orthodox Catholic orientation.