The European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. / Credit: Ala z via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

CNA Deutsch, Aug 6, 2025 / 10:44 am (CNA).

A leading Christian human rights organization has rejected accusations of extremism in a controversial report by a European abortion advocacy group.

The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights released “The Next Wave” in late June, a report linking Christian pro-life organizations to “religious extremism,” reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The document claimed a “new alliance of religious extremists, far-right populists, and oligarchic funders” was infiltrating mainstream politics.

Funding hypocrisy alleged

Felix Böllmann, the director of European advocacy of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, called the report “a thinly veiled attempt to silence ideological opponents under the guise of academic research” in an interview with Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost.

Despite presenting itself as neutral, the forum operates as a “well-funded activist network,” Bölmmann said, adding it received nearly 3 million euros (approximately $3.4 million) annually from donors including the Gates Foundation, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Merck Sharp & Dohme, UNFPA, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

“It is remarkably hypocritical for such an organization to accuse others of ‘dark money’ when it itself relies on opaque and ideologically driven funding,” Böllmann told Die Tagespost.

‘5D strategy’

The report labeled ADF International as extremist alongside Catholic organizations including Poland’s Ordo Iuris and the Netherlands’ Civitas Christiana.

Even Hungary Helps, a charity supporting persecuted Christians, was classified as an “enemy of sexual rights.”

Böllmann characterized this as a “5D strategy”: “Disrobe, disarm, dislocate, demonetize, and defend — a plan to deprive Christian and conservative voices of legitimacy, financial support, and access to public debate.”

The approach aims at “enforcing a socio-political agenda through the instrumentalization of a misunderstood concept of human rights,” he said.

Böllmann challenged the forum’s undefined use of “religious extremism.” Unlike official EU anti-terrorism documents focusing on violence, the group applies the label to organizations that “invest financially in conservative movements and question constructed codes, such as a ‘right to sexual and reproductive health.’”

“Such a self-definition is clearly based on ideological premises, not on objective, legal standards,” he said.

Lobbying influence

The alliance actively shapes EU political processes despite its NGO (nongovernmental organization) status, influencing European Parliament reports, hearings, and resolutions. It organizes inter-party parliamentary networks and provides lawmakers with expert briefings, “effectively creating a lobbying infrastructure within the EU Parliament.”

The forum group emerged in 2000 as a spinoff of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which traces its origins to Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood and eugenics advocate, CNA Deutsch reported.

The group’s 2023 budget totaled $2.38 million, with 45% from public donors, 31% from foundations, and 20% from pharmaceutical companies.

“The more they try to silence us, the clearer it becomes: Our work is having an impact — in our commitment to fundamental freedoms in Europe and beyond,” Böllmann told Die Tagespost.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday catechesis on the Jubilee theme “Jesus Christ Our Hope” on Aug. 6, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Aug 6, 2025 / 10:14 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV during his Wednesday catechesis on the jubilee theme “Jesus Christ Our Hope” said the gift of the Eucharist prepared by God reveals that his great love “always precedes us.”

Speaking to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 6, the Holy Father said St. Mark’s Gospel shows us that Jesus’ love for his disciples “is not the result of chance but of a conscious choice.”

“It is not a simple reaction but a decision that requires preparation,” he said. “Jesus does not face his passion out of fatalism but out of fidelity to a path freely and carefully accepted and followed.”

Just as God made preparations to show his love for people, the pope said, in turn, people are free to choose God and prepare their own hearts to receive his love.

“He has already thought of everything, arranged everything, decided everything,” Leo said. “However, he asks his friends to do their part.”

“This teaches us something essential for our spiritual life: Grace does not eliminate our freedom but rather awakens it,” he explained. “God’s gift does not eliminate our responsibility but makes it fruitful.”

Noting the significance of the Eucharist for Jesus’ followers, the Holy Father said its celebration should not be “only at the altar” but also lived in “daily life” as a continual offering of love and thanksgiving.

“True love, the Gospel reminds us, is given before it is reciprocated,” he said. “It is an anticipatory gift. It is not based on what is received but on what one wishes to offer.”

In order to make space in the heart to receive God’s love, particularly in the Eucharist, the pope asked his listeners to consider: “What does it mean for me today to ‘prepare’?” 

“Perhaps to renounce a demand, to stop waiting for others to change, to take the first step,” he suggested. “Perhaps to listen more, to act less, or to learn how to trust in what has already been prepared.”

Prayers for Japan on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing

Following his catechesis, Pope Leo asked those gathered to pray for the people of Japan who “suffered ... physical, psychological, and social effects” of the atomic bomb dropped during World War II.  

“Despite the passing of the years, those tragic events constitute a universal warning against the devastation caused by wars and, in particular, by nuclear weapons,” he lamented.

“I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction may give way to the tools of justice, to the practice of dialogue, and to trust in fraternity,” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While enjoying a summer break from school or work, Catholics should not neglect "the Lord's invitation to prepare our hearts by actively participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice and by doing generous acts of charity," Pope Leo XIV said.

Speaking in English at his weekly general audience Aug. 6, the pope summarized his main talk, which focused on how Christ prepared to sacrifice himself out of love for humanity and how Christians, in response, must prepare space in their hearts and lives for him.

The Gospel accounts of Jesus and his disciples preparing for Passover and the Last Supper -- and for Jesus' passion and death, he said, "shows us that love is not the result of chance, but of a conscious choice." 

Jesus, the pope said, "does not face his passion out of fatalism, but out of fidelity to a path freely and carefully accepted and followed."

Believers should be comforted by "knowing that the gift of his life stems from conscious intention, not a sudden impulse," Pope Leo told thousands of people gathered for the audience in St. Peter's Square.

As Passover and his death draw near, Jesus "has already thought of everything, arranged everything, decided everything," the pope said. "However, he asks his friends to do their part. This teaches us something essential for our spiritual life: grace does not eliminate our freedom but rather awakens it. God's gift does not eliminate our responsibility but makes it fruitful."

Catholics today also are called to prepare themselves to receive Christ's sacrifice, he said, and not just at Mass.

"The Eucharist is not celebrated only at the altar, but also in daily life, where it is possible to experience everything as an offering and giving of thanks," Pope Leo said. 

Often that preparation is not about doing more, he said, but rather about creating space by "removing what encumbers us, reducing our demands and ceasing to hold unrealistic expectations."

"Every gesture of willingness, every gratuitous act, every forgiveness given in advance, every effort patiently accepted, is a way to prepare a place where God can dwell," Pope Leo said.

"May the Lord grant us to be humble preparers of his presence," the pope prayed. "And, in this daily readiness, may that serene trust also grow in us, allowing us to face everything with a free heart. Because where love has been prepared, life can truly flourish."
 

Pope Leo: Prepare to encounter God

Pope Leo XIV's talk in English at his weekly general audience Aug. 6.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A solo traveler, even using Google maps and ChatGPT, cannot safely and happily complete the journey of life or the journey of faith, Pope Leo XIV told thousands of young pilgrims meeting at the Marian shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"No algorithm will ever replace a hug, a look, a real encounter -- not with God, not with our friends, not with our family," the pope wrote to people attending the international youth festival known as Mladifest Aug. 4-8.

Pope Leo urged young people to "seek genuine encounters" following the example of Mary, who "undertook a difficult journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth." 

The gathering in Medjugorje was the 36th annual youth festival and the first to be held after the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a notification in September 2024 recognizing the spiritual value of devotions connected to Medjugorje but not ruling on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions there or alleged messages from Mary.

Six young people, aged 10 to 16, said Mary began appearing to them in June 1981. Three of them say they still have apparitions of Mary each day, while the other three have them only on special occasions.

Pope Leo did not mention the apparitions or the Vatican notification in his message, instead focusing on the theme of the gathering, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

"This phrase speaks to us of a journey, of a desire that moves us toward God, toward the place of his dwelling, where we can truly feel at home, because his love awaits us there," the pope wrote. 

"On the road of life, we never walk alone," he told the young people. "Our journey is always intertwined with that of others: we are made for encounter, for walking together and for discovering a shared destination."

Young or old, he said, Christians "are not solitary pilgrims. The path toward the Lord is traveled together. That is the beauty of faith lived in the church."

Traveling to Bosnia-Herzegovina from dozens of countries, the pilgrims also discover that "there is a language stronger than any barrier -- the language of faith, nourished by the love of God."

"You are all members of his body, which is the church," the pope wrote, encouraging the young people to "meet one another, get to know one another, share with one another."

And, he said, "if any of you feels within yourselves the call to a special vocation -- to consecrated life or to the priesthood -- I encourage you not to be afraid to respond. That invitation, which you feel stirring within you, comes from God, who speaks to our hearts. Listen to him with trust: the word of the Lord not only makes us truly free and happy but leads to our fulfillment as people and as Christians."
 

WASHINGTON – “The women and men who served our country, to defend innocent life, deserve quality health care and supportive resources, not the violence of abortion,“ said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in response to a proposed rule  published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Monday. 

In 2022, the VA and dependents’ civilian health benefits were changed to include abortion. The proposed rule would restore the prior, long-standing policy that prevented VA and civilian dependents’ health benefits from including abortion.

“The women and men who served our country, to defend innocent life, deserve quality health care and supportive resources, not the violence of abortion. Veterans’ health facilities must not be places of death, but places of great hope. We are grateful that the Department of Veterans Affairs is stepping up to protect preborn children and families once again from taxpayer-funded, elective abortion, and look forward to reviewing the new proposed rule in full.”

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WASHINGTON - “We must renew our efforts to work for the conversion of heart required for a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a message marking the 80th anniversary of the use of atomic weapons on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

In his message, Archbishop Broglio underscored the importance of prayer and renewed efforts toward universal nuclear disarmament and lasting peace: 

“Certainly, the atrocities of war continue to be evident even in our ‘developed world,’ where human life is victimized in the womb, near death, on the streets of our modern cities, and in the various war zones of the contemporary world. We are slow to learn. Longing for peace, we pray for a change in mentality and an ever-deeper respect for every human person. We advocate that dollars be spent in favor of development rather than for arms. We pray that the attitudes and absence of dialogue that led to the use of atomic arms eighty years ago might give way to mutual understanding, peace building, and international cooperation. 

“As we mark this doleful anniversary, we recognize the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons and their proliferation. We must renew our efforts to work for the conversion of heart required for a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons. This week, let us prayerfully remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and urge the United States and the international community to work diligently for nuclear disarmament around the world. Following Pope Leo XIV’s recent appeal, we exhort all nations to ‘shape their future by works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflict!’” 

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ROME (CNS) -- The fullness of life depends on how much one joyfully welcomes and shares in life while also living with a constant yearning for those things that only come from God, Pope Leo XIV told young people.

"Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you," he said in his homily during Mass concluding the Jubilee of Youth Aug. 3.

The outdoor Mass, held in Rome's Tor Vergata neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, marked the culmination of a week-long series of events for the Jubilee of Youth. 

More than 1 million people were estimated to be gathered across the 130 acres that had been prepared for the morning Mass, the prayer vigil the evening before, and for the hundreds of thousands of people sleeping overnight.

After touching down by helicopter less than 12 hours after leaving the evening vigil, the pope rode in the popemobile throughout the open areas -- dotted with tents and tarps, and filled with young people, cheering, waving their nation's flag, and sometimes launching at him shirts and gifts.

"Good morning!" he said in six languages from the massive stage set up for the Mass.

"I hope you all rested a little bit," he said in English. "We will shortly begin the greatest celebration that Christ left us: his very presence in the Eucharist."

He said he hoped the concluding Mass would be "a truly memorable occasion for each and every one of us" because "when together, as Christ's church, we follow, we walk together, we live with Jesus Christ."

In his homily during the Mass, the pope again highlighted the importance of the Eucharist, as "the sacrament of the Lord's total gift of himself to us."

It is Christ, the Risen One, he said, "who transforms our lives and enlightens our affections, desires and thoughts."

"We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through the gift of self in love," he said. 

Much like a field of flowers, where each small, delicate stem may dry out, become bent and crushed, he said, each flower is "immediately replaced by others that sprout up after them, generously nourished and fertilized by the first ones as they decay on the ground. This is how the field survives: through constant regeneration."

"This is why we continually aspire to something 'more' that no created reality can give us; we feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy," he said. "Knowing this, let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations!"

Pope Leo urged the young people to listen to that yearning and "turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God," who has been "waiting for us, knocking gently on the window of our soul."

"It is truly beautiful, especially at a young age, to open wide your hearts, to allow him to enter, and to set out on this adventure with him towards eternity," he said.

Speaking briefly in English, the pope said, "There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves: what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom and mediocrity?"

"Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough," he said. The fullness of existence "has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share." 

"We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the 'things that are above,' to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in 'compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience,' forgiveness and peace, all in imitation of Christ," he said.

Evoking St. John Paul II's words during the XV World Youth Day prayer vigil held in the same spot 25 years ago, Pope Leo reminded the young people that "Jesus is our hope."

"Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic communion, frequent confession, and generous charity, following the examples of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will soon be declared saints," he said.

Wishing everyone "a good trip home," he encouraged the young people to "continue to walk joyfully in the footsteps of the Savior, and spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet!"

The Jubilee logo is seen at the Jubilee of Youth closing Mass Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo XIV greets a baby before Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth Aug. 3, 2025, in Rome's Tor Vergata neighborhood. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo XIV holds a hat before Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth Aug. 3, 2025, in Rome's Tor Vergata neighborhood. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo XIV walks up the steps to the altar during the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Leo XIV arrives in the popemobile to preside over Mass concluding the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd from the popemobile as he departs after celebrating Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. A South Korean flag is visible among the pilgrims greeting him. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pilgrims gather for Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd from the popemobile as he arrives to celebrate the Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. Pilgrims display a large banner with an image of a lion. The pope's name in Italian, "Leone," means "lion." (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Pope Leo XIV processes to the altar to celebrate a Mass concluding the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Pilgrims pray during a Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Pope Leo XIV gives a word of thanks as his mozzetta lifts in the breeze at the conclusion of the Jubilee of Youth in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Pope Leo XIV waves from a helicopter of the Italian Air Force as he departs Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood after celebrating a Mass closing the Jubilee of Youth Aug. 3, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Pope Leo with 1 million young people: We walk together, we follow Jesus Christ!

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass in the southeast of Rome August 3, 2025, with an estimated one million young people who had camped out overnight in the fields. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)

ROME (CNS) — Addressing an estimated 1 million young people, Pope Leo XIV urged them to forge genuine relationships rooted in Christ rather than ephemeral online connections that can reduce individuals to a commodity.

"When a tool controls someone, that person becomes a tool: a commodity on the market and, in turn, a piece of merchandise," the pope said during the evening prayer vigil for the Jubilee of Youth Aug. 2. "Only genuine relationships and stable connections can build good lives."

The pope arrived by helicopter at the Tor Vergata field, roughly eight miles southeast of Rome's city center, and was greeted with cheers from young people waving flags. Many of the youth were going to camp out overnight, sleeping in tents and sleeping bags on the dusty field, much like the World Youth Day celebration held 25 years ago in the same location.

Countless young people kicked up the dust from the field as they ran alongside the popemobile to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. Pope Leo smiled and waved at the youth, occasionally catching objects and plush toys that were hurled his way. 

Exiting the popemobile, he was handed the large Jubilee year cross, which he carried to the main altar, accompanied by dozens of young people.

After beginning the vigil with prayers, the pope engaged in a dialogue with several young people who asked him three questions.

Dulce Maria, a 23-year-old woman from Mexico, spoke of the excitement of online friendships but also of the loneliness that comes from connections that are "not true and lasting relationships, but rather fleeting and often illusory."

"How can we find true friendship and genuine love that will lead us to true hope? How can faith help us build our future?" she asked.

Pope Leo acknowledged the potential of the internet and social media as "an extraordinary opportunity for dialogue," but warned that these tools "are misleading when they are controlled by commercialism and interests that fragment our relationships." 

Drawing from his Augustinian spirituality, Pope Leo urged young people to emulate St. Augustine, who had a "restless youth, but he did not settle for less."

"How did he find true friendship and a love capable of giving hope? By finding the one who was already looking for him, Jesus Christ," the pope said. "How did he build his future? By following the one who had always been his friend."

Gaia, a 19-year-old woman from Italy, asked how young people can find the courage to make choices amid uncertainty.

"To choose is a fundamental human act," the pope responded. "When we make a choice, in the strict sense, we decide who we want to become."

He encouraged young people to remember they were chosen by God, and that "the courage to choose comes from love, which God shows us in Christ."

The pope recalled St. John Paul II's words spoken in the same place 25 years ago, reminding the youth that "it is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you."

The pope called "radical and meaningful choices," such as marriage, priesthood and religious life, "the free and liberating gift of self that makes us truly happy." 

"These choices give meaning to our lives, transforming them into the image of the perfect love that created them and redeemed them from all evil, even from death," he said.

Departing from his prepared remarks, Pope Leo expressed condolences for the deaths of two pilgrims. Pascale Rafic, an 18-year-old pilgrim from Egypt, who died due to a heart condition. Earlier in the day, the pope met with a group of Egyptian youth with whom Rafic traveled to Rome.

Maria Cobo Vergara, a 20-year-old pilgrim from Madrid, Spain, died July 30. While the cause of death was not mentioned in a statement published Aug. 1, the Archdiocese of Madrid said the young pilgrim suffered "four years of illness."

"Both (pilgrims) chose to come to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, and death has taken them in these days," the pope said at the vigil. "Let us pray together for them."

Lastly, 20-year-old Will, a young pilgrim from the United States, asked the pope how to "truly encounter the Risen Lord in our lives and be sure of his presence even in the midst of trials and uncertainties." 

Recalling Pope Francis' papal bull for the Holy Year 2025, "Spes non confundit" ("Hope Does Not Disappoint"), Pope Leo said that "hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come," and that one's understanding of good "reflects how our conscience has been shaped by the people in our lives."

He urged them to foster their conscience by listening to Jesus' word and to "reflect on your way of living, and seek justice in order to build a more humane world."

"Serve the poor, and so bear witness to the good that we would always like to receive from our neighbors," he said. "Adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the source of eternal life. Study, work and love according to the example of Jesus, the good Teacher who always walks beside us."

He also invited young people to pray to remain friends with Jesus and be "a companion on the journey for anyone I meet."

"Through praying these words, our dialogue will continue each time we look at the crucified Lord, for our hearts will be united in him," the pope concluded.

Pope Leo XIV leads vigil with 1 million youth

Celebrating the Jubilee of Youth with hundreds of thousands of young people Aug. 2, 2025, Pope Leo XIV joined them in prayer, reflection, and dialogue. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One of Pope Leo XIV's early appointments was naming Msgr. Renzo Pegoraro to be the new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The 66-year-old monsignor is a bioethicist who earned a medical degree before entering the seminary, and he had served as chancellor of the academy since 2011 before succeeding Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia as president at the end of May.

Msgr. Pegoraro earned his medical degree from the University of Padua, Italy, in 1985, before earning a degree in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1989.

He earned an advanced degree in bioethics from Italy's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and has taught bioethics at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy and served as secretary-general of Padua's Lanza Foundation, a center for studies in ethics, bioethics and environmental ethics. He taught nursing ethics at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome and was president of the European Association of Centers for Medical Ethics from 2010 to 2013.

Catholic News Service reached out to Msgr. Pegoraro for an interview in July. He took time out of a trip outside of Rome to respond to our questions. His written responses are translated from the original Italian.

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Congratulations on your appointment. Did Pope Leo XIV say anything to you about your appointment or give you any indications and insight as to the priorities or the role the academy can play in his ministry?

The recommendations are to continue the work of discussion and dialogue with experts from various disciplines on the challenges facing humanity on the theme of life and the quality of life in different contexts. And without forgetting issues related to the beginning and end of life, as well as environmental sustainability, equity in healthcare systems, the right to care, health and essential services. We live in a difficult landscape, marked by advancing technologies but also by conflicts, and human life on the planet is truly challenged. The church has a wealth of wisdom and a vision to serve everyone in order to make the world a better and more livable place.

Do you know how the pope will approach the topic of AI -- for example, an encyclical -- and will your academy play a role in giving him input, the way the Dicastery for Integral Human Development helped Pope Francis with 'Laudato Si''?

Pope Leo XIV demonstrated early on, with the choice of his name, that he is putting social issues and integral human development first. He has already spoken on several occasions about technological challenges and AI. In this sense, the Pontifical Academy for Life can make an important contribution to the development of the papal Magisterium, in line with all the dicasteries. 

Will there be any follow-up to what came out of the seminar/study of the Theological Ethics of Life? How will the academy continue to explore and address topics like abortion, IVF, contraception and end-of-life issues?

The reflection of our academics continues. We are following the debates underway in different countries, as well as in Italy, where there is a law before parliament. The Pontifical Academy for Life supports and promotes palliative care, always and especially in the final and fragile phases of life, always asking that there be attention to and respect for the protection and dignity of people who are frail.

How can the church communicate its bioethical/life teachings better wherever there is a lot of debate or polarization?

This is a very important issue. We do our best to offer in-depth and articulate reflections. For example, our general assembly of academics, which includes an international conference, will address the sustainability of health systems in February 2026, with examples from five continents and detailed studies. We work this way: to offer a contribution; it is our desire to broaden collaboration as much as possible with everyone who is truly interested in the common good, believers and nonbelievers alike, in a spirit of mutual learning.

Will you continue to promote a transdisciplinary approach of dialogue with experts beyond the Catholic Church, much like the way the Pontifical Academies for the Sciences and Social Sciences operate? If so, how do you go about reassuring Catholics who wish the academy only had members and presentations that are aligned with church teaching? How do you avoid any so-called 'confusion?'

The Pontifical Academy for Life, since its beginning, has been a place of study, dialogue, discussion and reflection among experts from different disciplines. And it has continued its work in the service of the church, to analyze developments in science and technology that have to do with human life and to always understand how to defend the dignity of the human person. In this sense, the church, in continuity, is always staying up-to-date, as the Second Vatican Council put it so well.

Tell me about being both a physician and a priest. Are you the first president of the PAL who is a medical doctor? How do you balance what you saw and learned in the field -- your clinical experience -- with your ethical reasoning? Such as respecting a patient’s autonomy and respecting church teaching when it comes to assisted suicide or refusing aggressive treatment?

I remember that the first president, the late Dr. Jerome Lejeune, was a physician, a scientist of the highest class, worthy of a Nobel Prize for his studies. And later, Msgr. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, who served as president from 2010 to 2016, is a medical psychiatrist and priest, a high-level expert in bioethics.

Having expertise in the medical field is a great help in having a more precise understanding of the findings and challenges that arise on an ethical level. But there is more than that, as you point out in your question. Today, in addition to scientific knowledge, there is a need for an ethical point of view and an awareness of the questions that come from patients, from those who are sick. The church can respond. 

For example, on the issue of end-of-life, the church says 'no' to aggressive medical treatment -- therapeutic obstinacy -- and 'yes' to the use of palliative care to manage and reduce pain and suffering. 

The studies and insights we have made in recent years are just as important on the topics of stem cells and biotechnology, neonatal screening, organ transplantation and innovations in digital medicine and health care technology. These are all efforts to better understand scientific developments so that we can put them at the service of people.

Could you better explain if there have been any changes or new recommendations when it comes to avoiding aggressive treatment and the requirement to provide food and hydration to individuals in a vegetative state? Where does the church draw the line between legitimate medical care and overreach?

The topic is very complex. We need to understand how to interpret treatments so that they may support and care for sick people. Every situation is to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis so that they support the sick person and are not a source of further suffering. That is why there are no ready-made solutions; instead, an approach of constant dialogue between doctor, patient and family members must be fostered.

How do you ensure the ethical frameworks being proposed are not just “Western,” but also include all realities across the globe? There is a lot of attention on first-world issues like IVF or assisted suicide, and yet many people in the world are dying because of a lack of nutrition, clean water and basic medical care….

This will be the theme of our international congress in February, as part of the general assembly of academy members. We want to end up with a strong call to understand that 'health' and health systems must provide answers centered on life in all contexts, in all social and political realms. In many countries, the lack of basic care, the lack of water and the lack of food pose so many problems. Added to this are conflicts, which cause further suffering. And so that is why we say 'no' to war, because today we need resources to make human beings live, not to build weapons and finance conflicts.

Your predecessor (Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia) helped spearhead the "Rome Call for AI Ethics." How will the academy build on that, especially regarding AI in medicine?

Together with Catholic Physicians Throughout the World (F.I.A.M.C.), we are organizing an international conference in Rome Nov. 10-12 on "AI and Medicine: The Challenge of Human Dignity" (www.aimedicine.va), precisely to confront the changes introduced by AI. It is a way to enhance the "Rome Call for AI Ethics," signed in 2020, a document that lays the foundations for an ethical use of AI, which impacts all areas: medicine, science, society and legislation.

As the population ages, the use of robots in eldercare is increasing. And robotics is making huge strides in helping those with disabilities, too. How do you navigate the benefits of robotics with ethical concerns about human connection and dignity?

The progress is extraordinary. We must never forget that the needs of the person who is sick and in need of help are the priority. That is what technology must serve: it must not become an end in itself, and we must not fall into a 'technocracy.' We want to put the person and his or her inherent dignity at the center. 

As young people grow up in a world shaped by artificial intelligence and social media, how can they learn to make ethical decisions about technology that has such a big impact on their mental health and relationships?

Change has already happened, both because these tools, such as smartphones, have already made it into the hands of the very young and because of the impact they have on cognitive function. There needs to be a debate on the use of technology that includes all facets of society. For example, families need to be helped with children and their relationship with technology. And schools have a major role to play in education. 

Really, everything can be addressed if all of society -- policy-makers, governments, the church, different organizations -- put the issue of the use of technology at the forefront. Let's also recall the recent contribution of the document, 'Antiqua et nova,' from the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith and Culture and Education, for an anthropological reflection that provides criteria for discernment on these issues. What is needed is ongoing, steady and high-level public debate. And the media also have a very important role in disseminating information and subject matter on this.

What is the single most urgent bioethical issue you would like to tackle and the biggest AI issue?

The topic of data management, its use and storage, the objectives of the so-called 'Big Companies,' (ed. note: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, etc.) is crucial. 

Today, we are talking about global bioethics: the topic of human life must be posed by looking at all dimensions of its development, at different social and political contexts, at its connection with respect for the environment, and by scrutinizing how technologies either help us live more fully and better or (hurt us by) providing terrible tools for control and manipulation. This is why the topic of 'data' is key. Today, the wealth of big industries is the data we ourselves put on the internet.      

We need a public debate on a global scale, a grand coalition aimed at the respect of data. The European Union has taken up the issue, and it is also being studied at the United Nations. But it is not enough. A global debate is needed. The framework is clear and Pope Francis gave it to us with "Fratelli Tutti," expanding on Vatican II: we are one human family, and the issues of development and life affect every one of us.

ROME (CNS) -- God, not AI, answers the questions that really matter in life, and God has an idea of the saint everyone is meant to be, said two U.S. bishops speaking at a national gathering in Rome.

More than 4,000 pilgrims from the United States flocked to St. Paul's Outside the Walls for the USA National Jubilee Pilgrim Gathering July 30 as part of the Jubilee of Youth taking place July 28-Aug. 3.

The evening event, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops with the support of the Knights of Columbus, featured prayer, music, moments of witness, Eucharistic adoration and a solemn procession of the relics of a dozen saints and blesseds, including Blesseds Stanley Rother, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, and Sts. Paul, Kateri Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

After U.S. Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of the basilica, welcomed the pilgrims, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, gave the keynote address, highlighting the stories of several biblical figures and how "the Bible tells the story of a great adventure," that of being called by God "to a higher life."

"And that's the adventure of the spiritual life, everybody. Don't ever let them tell you that religious people are kind of dull, stay-at-home types," said the bishop, who is also chairman of the USCCB committee of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and head of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

"On the contrary, it seems to me, religion at its best is always a summons to adventure," he said.

Faith is cultivating an "attitude of trust in regard to the summoning power of God," he said, and "to be a person of faith is to accept that call and to place one's will within the higher will of God."

If one chooses to "settle for the person I am, to accept things the way they are, to just listen to the voices of people around me," Bishop Barron said, then "that is to live in this very narrow, cramped space." 

But Jesus told his disciples to "stop playing around in the shallow waters" of their own limited imaginations and to instead go "into the deep" or toward the great heights "of the person that God wants you to be," he said.

"God has an idea of the saint you were meant to be," he said, and "a person of faith is to open your heart trustingly to that call."

In fact, the most spiritually important question and the greatest decision one can make, he said, is "Who will I be?"

However, the mission God gives is never easy, he said, because "he's summoning us up out of ourselves to the heights."

"We hear the mission. We know what it is. We know the call to radical love, radical self-gift. But we tend to go the other way," he said, which tends to trigger some kind of "storm" or struggle in one's life.

"Is God being vindictive? No," Bishop Barron said. "It's spiritual physics. It's when you go against the divine call, storms kick up in you." 

"Refusing your mission is bad for you, and bad for people around you, because you were meant to help them in some way," he said. 

"What happens when we accept the mission?" he asked. "You don't know who you are until you find your mission," which comes by asking, "Whom do you worship, what voice do you listen to, and what's the mission that voice is giving to you?"

Each mission is unique to each individual, he said, "but it'll look something like a path toward greater self-gift, a greater letting go," much like the crucified Jesus, who gave his life away in love.

During the hour of Eucharistic adoration, Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas gave a homily in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, placed on the altar over the tomb of St. Paul. 

Hope is "alive within us because of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and equips us, not with artificial intelligence, but with divine intelligence," said the bishop who is chairman-elect of the USCCB Committee of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Search engines and AI models can help people with almost everything and answer so many questions, he said. "But let us remember the answers that truly matter do not come from codes or algorithms."

When praying to the Lord and before the Blessed Sacrament, ask those essential questions, he said, so that "you may be given the answers that truly matter," that uphold the dignity of every human life and every human person, and "that lead us to mercy and to compassion."

"The answers that we need are whispered by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us," Bishop Burns said.

"The Spirit of God doesn't merely inform us. The Spirit of God transforms us," he said. "With technology, we can see what is trending in our world. But with God's love, we can see what's timeless."

Before the Blessed Sacrament, the faithful do not ask for "quick answers, but for hearts renewed," he said.

"In the end, it is not data that will change the world, it's disciples -- disciples whose lives proclaim that Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again," Bishop Burns said.

U.S. bishops and youth unite in Rome for Jubilee celebration

As hundreds of thousands of young people poured into Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops hosted a national gathering for U.S. pilgrims at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome July 30, 2025.