Justin McLellan

In a sprawling document published Sept. 2, the Vatican's International Theological Commission makes the case for developing an "ecological spirituality" in light of the Christian understanding of the Triune God.

Celebrating a new form of the Catholic Mass "for the care of creation," Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to contemplate nature as well as the ways they have shirked their responsibility to care for it.

Three months after the release of Pope Leo XIV's encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas continues to gain traction among tech leaders and policymakers alike.

"The participation of the faithful cannot be passive," the pontiff said. "From this conviction arose the need to make the richness of the biblical texts and prayers more accessible to all the faithful."

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly will join the Vatican office responsible for engaging with the Catholic laity and families, another high-profile Vatican appointment from the Catholic Church in the U.S.

The pontiff's comments to people preparing for baptism will suggest where he wants to lead the next generation of Catholics and shape their spirituality.

Two recent decisions by French Bishop Jean-Marc Micas have positioned the Marian shrine at Lourdes as a microcosm for church issues ahead of the pope's visit there at the end of September.

Following Pope Leo XIV's meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, the Vatican said Aoun's subsequent meetings with Vatican diplomats focused on the recent agreement signed by the U.S., Israel and Lebanon.

The first U.S.-born pope on Tuesday tapped three experts from U.S. institutions to advise the Catholic Church's central office dedicated to promoting social justice. All three are affiliated with the University of Notre Dame.

The news vacuum created during Leo's absence gave conservative voices abundant material to shape the summer's Catholic news cycle.

Smith, 79, was in Rome to perform a show in the city's Circus Maximus on July 27. Although she does not consider herself Catholic, the rock legend wore a Franciscan Tau cross during her audience with the pope.

"Pope Leo is not going to change Traditionis Custodes," said Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in an interview with The Tablet published July 29.

After July 29's "Concert for Peace," NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas asked the pontiff about the importance of being American. "I think of myself more as the pope who happens to be American," he responded.  

As pope, Leo has repeatedly shown himself willing to stick his neck out in defense of migrants. But he spent years confronting his own migration crisis as bishop of the rural diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru.

As Pope Leo XIV continues to rearrange Vatican personnel, his appointment of San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on July 25 to the microstate's highest court was yet another eye-catching move.

The proceedings remain underway, the Holy See Press Office said July 22, rejecting as "completely unfounded" rumors that the case had concluded and absolved the artist and former Jesuit of any wrongdoing.

Despite the controversy surrounding synodality, the pope's ministerial record shows that the principles of a participatory church are deeply embedded in his pastor's DNA.

After the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See characterized the pope's criticism of the Iran war as the intervention of a head of state "coequal" to the U.S. president, a top Vatican communications official appeared to clap back.

A day after Pope Leo begged the group not to proceed with its illicit bishop consecration, the atmosphere was "a festive scene tinged with relief and charged with righteousness," writes NCR's Justin McLellan.

Leo, who said religion must never justify discrimination, symbolically took up the mantle of his predecessor, who placed migration at the center of his pontificate by visiting the island in July 2013.