Church

Pope Leo has pledged action on clergy abuse following a meeting with French survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy. The pledge comes after direct talks between the pontiff and victims' representatives, who have long pressed the Church for accountability and concrete measures. The commitment is being closely watched to see whether it translates into concrete institutional reform.

Speaking during a visit to the French shrine of Lourdes, Pope Francis said medicine must never become the servant of programmed death, a remark widely read as a rejection of euthanasia and assisted dying. The comments came at one of the Catholic Church's most important pilgrimage sites, which is closely associated with healing and care for the sick.

The Pope met with French survivors of clergy child abuse in an emotional two-hour meeting and pledged concrete action to address the scandal. The encounter comes amid continuing pressure on the Catholic Church over its handling of abuse cases in France, where official inquiries have documented widespread abuse by clergy over decades.

The Vatican has formally described the destruction of the environment as an 'ecological sin', a move framed under Pope Francis's push for stronger Church action on climate and ecology. The designation signals that harming nature is now treated not merely as a social or political issue but as an offence against God and creation, drawing attention from observers debating the Church's growing green agenda.

The Pope has celebrated a large open-air Mass in Paris during a landmark visit to France, drawing crowds in the French capital. The trip is being closely watched as a significant moment for the Catholic Church's relationship with France, though further details of the visit and reactions to it remain limited in available reports.

Pope Francis has called on the Catholic Church to acknowledge and confront its failings as it prepares to meet victims of clerical sexual abuse. The appeal, reported by Reuters, frames the upcoming gathering with survivors as a moment for honesty and accountability. The Church continues to face scrutiny over its handling of abuse scandals worldwide.

Pope Leo called on the Catholic Church to confront its failings ahead of a meeting with French survivors of clerical sexual abuse. The remarks, reported by Reuters and U.S. News & World Report, frame the encounter as a moment of accountability for the Church's handling of abuse, an issue that has deeply affected Catholic communities in France.

A Sri Lankan court has handed down convictions over the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, in which coordinated bombings of churches and hotels in Colombo and elsewhere killed more than 250 people. The verdict marks a significant step in a long-running legal process that families of victims and religious communities have followed closely for years.

Pope Leo has defended his decision to speak out on France's proposed end-of-life legislation, saying it was right for the Church to enter the political debate on such a moral issue. The remarks come as France weighs a law on assisted dying, a move the pontiff argues raises fundamental ethical questions that religious leaders cannot stay silent about.

Pope Leo said during a visit to the French shrine town of Lourdes that the 'scourge' of abuse must be rooted out, addressing the clerical abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church. The remarks came as part of his pilgrimage to one of the world's most important Marian pilgrimage sites, and were reported widely by international media.

Pope Leo travelled to Metz, France, and waded into Europe's increasingly polarised debate over immigration. The visit places the pontiff at the heart of a controversy dividing European governments and publics, with the Catholic Church long balancing calls for compassion toward migrants against security concerns driving hardline policies across the continent.

Pope Leo has completed a visit to France that commentators describe as unusually political for a pontiff normally seen as a measured diplomatic figure. Analysts say the trip carried clear political weight, touching on church-state relations and France's secular traditions, drawing attention to how openly the Pope engaged with contested public issues during his stay.

The Pope told French bishops that the Catholic Church carries a prophetic authority to speak in the public square, addressing them on the Church's role in public life. The remarks were carried by Vatican News. The message underscores ongoing Vatican engagement with the French Church at a time of debate over secularism and religion's place in French society.

Catholic Church leaders are continuing to call on the faithful to help and support immigrants, even as the government defends its deportation policies. The appeal underscores a growing tension between religious institutions urging compassion and protection for migrants and state authorities enforcing removals. Church figures have framed aid to immigrants as a moral and pastoral duty, keeping the issue prominent in public debate.

Investigators have linked a man whose body was found in an Idaho church 40 years ago to the 1982 Chicago-area Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people and triggered a national panic. The identification and connection, revealed through renewed investigative work, sheds new light on one of America's most notorious unsolved criminal cases.

Pope Leo met with victims of church sexual abuse during a visit to Lourdes, France, one of Catholicism's most important pilgrimage sites. The meeting is a significant gesture as the Vatican continues to face scrutiny over its handling of clergy abuse scandals, and it is likely to draw attention from both supporters and critics of the Church's reform efforts.

Pope Leo XIV criticized the legalization of medically assisted dying, calling it immoral and an example of "false compassion." He made the remarks during a Sunday visit to Lourdes, the Catholic shrine in France known for miraculous cures of the sick. The comments came as debates over assisted dying laws continue in several countries, drawing reactions from both supporters of the Church's stance and advocates of legal euthanasia.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass in Lourdes, France, urging the Catholic Church to acknowledge its own faults. His remarks, delivered at one of the world's best-known pilgrimage sites, call for humility and self-examination within the institution and are drawing attention as an early signal of his papacy's tone on reform and accountability.

Pope Leo addressed a crowd of around 150,000 pilgrims in Lourdes, France, calling on the Catholic Church to acknowledge and admit its mistakes. The remarks, delivered at one of the world's most famous Marian pilgrimage sites, are being read as a message of humility and institutional accountability, drawing wide attention from Catholics and observers of the Vatican alike.

Pope Leo is visiting Lourdes, the famed French Catholic pilgrimage site, in a trip that has turned into a fresh confrontation with the church's history of abuse and scandal, according to The Washington Post. The visit puts the pope at one of Catholicism's most sacred shrines while facing renewed questions over the institution's moral failings.

Pope Leo said that concern over artificial intelligence is not 'fake news,' while stressing that he remains optimistic about the technology. His comments add the Vatican's voice to the global debate over AI's risks and benefits, signalling that the Catholic Church takes the alarm seriously but does not want to slide into fatalism about the future.

Pope Leo, visiting France, cautioned that a 'paradise of machines' could undermine humanity, warning that unchecked technological advancement risks eroding human dignity and relationships. The remarks come amid global debate over artificial intelligence's rapid development. Observers see the pope positioning the Catholic Church as a moral voice on technology, echoing earlier Vatican concerns about AI's social and ethical consequences.

The Catholic Church in Kenya has urged stronger protection for refugee and migrant children, calling on authorities and communities to safeguard unaccompanied and vulnerable minors from exploitation and abuse. The appeal highlights the plight of young people displaced across the Horn of Africa, many of whom arrive in Kenya without family support. Kenya hosts a large refugee population, mainly in Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

Pope Leo traveled to Lourdes, France, where he said the Church must confront and heal her 'wounds, infidelities, and painful errors.' The remarks, reported by Catholic media outlets including Catholic World Report and EWTN News, frame the pilgrimage visit as an act of penance and renewal. The visit draws attention given Lourdes' status as one of Catholicism's most important Marian shrines and pilgrimage sites.

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington led a Mass for Migrants and told worshippers the public cannot 'pass by' the suffering of immigrants. The message, reported by America Magazine, frames immigration as a moral issue demanding public attention and response, as the Catholic Church in the United States continues to speak out on migration policy.

Church officials have called for greater care for workers as the rapid development of artificial intelligence reshapes labor markets. Their message stresses that technological progress should not come at the expense of human dignity, employment and fair conditions. The appeal reflects a growing religious voice in debates over how societies should manage the AI transition and protect vulnerable workers.

Members of the Orange Order have held a limited parade to Drumcree Church in Portadown, Northern Ireland, following a three-decade restriction on the contentious march. The event, long a flashpoint between unionist marchers and residents of the nationalist Garvaghy Road area, has historically triggered major security operations and unrest. The parade has drawn fresh attention to Northern Ireland's contested parading tradition and lingering sectarian sensitivities.