Catholic News Service

Arriving in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV told reporters he hoped U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin can find a way to reach a ceasefire in Russia's war on Ukraine when they meet in Alaska.

As the Israeli-Hamas conflict continues, three more children arrived in Italy on a military transport plane late Aug. 13 for treatment at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital.

Pope Leo XIV approved expanded benefits for Vatican employees with children, formalizing the five-day paternity leave granted by Pope Francis in January and raising the age of children covered by the Vatican's family allowance.

Yaron Sideman, the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, says urgent international action is needed to pressure Hamas to release the hostages.

The scars still borne by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and still visible on the cities' streets and buildings are a plea to pursue peace and disarmament, Pope Leo XIV said.

Pope Leo XIV visited a Spanish teenager who had to be hospitalized during the Jubilee of Youth and prayed with and spoke to the family.

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.

It all has the vibe of a World Youth Day, the Catholic Woodstock festival that Pope John Paul II inaugurated and made famous in 2000 in Rome at the very same Tor Vergata field. 

Rome's historic Risorgimento Square was transformed into an outdoor concert venue to host a festival marking the close of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, which was part of the larger Jubilee of Youth taking place in Rome.

He also greets young people in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, thanked journalists and reminded people to connect with grandparents and the elderly.

With their courage and tenacity in the pursuit of happiness, migrants and refugees are "messengers of hope," Pope Leo XIV said in his message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, upcoming in October.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Today, in place of the crowds mentioned in the Gospel, entire peoples are suffering more as a result of the greed of others than from their own hunger," the pope said. "In stark contrast to the dire poverty of many, the amassing of wealth by a few is the sign of an arrogant indifference that produces pain and injustice."

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

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