Justin McLellan

"You have time! You have more time to dream, to plan and to do good," the pope said. "You are the present, and the future is already taking shape in your hands! You have the enthusiasm to change the course of history!"

Addressing some 400 government officials at his first public engagement in Beirut, the pope said Lebanon needs "authorities and institutions that recognize the common good as superior to the particular."

The Vatican continues to advocate for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and, despite resistance, will continue to seek mediation between Israel and Palestine, Pope Leo XIV said in an impromptu airborne press conference.

The pope celebrated Mass with some 5,000 people, many foreign-born Catholics, in an intimate Istanbul arena on Nov. 29, his last full day in Turkey. 

Seventeen centuries after the Council of Nicaea crafted the creed that defined Christianity, Pope Leo XIV returned to the ancient site with an appeal to "overcome the scandal of the divisions" that fracture Christians.

Shortly after landing in Ankara Nov. 27, Pope Leo XIV advocated for harmony and dialogue in a moment marked by deep global fracture. His remarks set the tone for his six-day visit through Turkey and Lebanon.

Responding to recent questions raised by African bishops concerned about the practice of polygamy, the Vatican issued a sweeping defense of monogamy Nov. 25, in a doctrinal note titled Una Caro.

The Nov. 27-Dec. 2 trip will show how the leader of the Catholic Church steps into the international stage and sets his tone as greets crowds and the press.

A Vatican study group formerly expected to address questions surrounding the possibility of women serving as deacons in the Catholic Church will not take up the issue.

"Cultural facilities, such as cinemas and theaters, are the beating hearts of our communities because they contribute to making them more human," the pontiff said.

As Pope Leo XIV marks his six-month milestone Nov. 8, a gradual sketch of his style and vision of church is beginning to emerge.

Fr. Robert Prevost had no formal ties to the development of liberation theology, yet his worldview is rooted in the concrete realities of suffering communities. 

In 1980s and 1990s Peru, amid post-Vatican II renewal and an Augustinian spirituality of communion, a young Fr. Robert Prevost learned how to construct the participatory church he now champions from Rome.

The nomination comes as Pope Leo begins to name appointments in key Vatican positions after months of quiet discernment following his election to the papacy in May. 

"I am convinced that the preferential choice for the poor is a source of extraordinary renewal both for the church and for society," the pope wrote in Dilexi Te.

Leo's long-expected first international trip as pope marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and will have a focus on dialogue between Christians and with those of other faiths.

The Belém, Brazil summit, scheduled for November, is expected to be one of the most consequential climate gatherings since COP21, which culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. 

In audiences and off-the-cuff comments, Pope Leo has offered migrants and their advocates reason to rally around him as a defender of human dignity.

The pope spoke Oct. 1 at the start of a conference marking the 10-year anniversary of Laudato Si', Pope Francis' landmark document that encapsulated church teaching on the environment. 

"Someone who says, 'I'm against abortion, but I'm in favor of the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,' I don't know if that's pro-life." the pontiff said.