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Pope to nunciature staff: Bring hope where the world lacks peace

In Rome, Pope Leo meets with Vatican diplomatic staff serving worldwide, urging them to be "pilgrims of hope, especially where people lack justice and peace."

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CAFOD at COP30: Catholic actors push for justice and climate finance

Catholic actors at COP30 are amplifying the “cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” while urging negotiators to pursue justice-based climate finance. CAFOD brings the experience of its partners across the globe who work with communities facing life-threatening climate impacts.

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Help everyone access the Bible, including online, pope urges

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At a time when young people spend so much time in "digital environments," members of the Catholic Biblical Federation need to ask how they are fulfilling the Second Vatican Council's mandate to give everyone access to the Bible, Pope Leo XIV said.

"What does 'easy access to Sacred Scripture' mean in our time? How can we facilitate this encounter for those who have never heard the Word of God or whose cultures remain untouched by the Gospel?" the pope asked members of the federation's steering committee and its regional representatives.

Pope Leo welcomed the group to the Apostolic Palace Nov. 17, expressing particular concern for people who "find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests."

At the end of the audience, Mary Sperry, associate director of the U.S. bishops' Office for the Biblical Apostolate, presented Pope Leo with two large white binders. They contained a preview copy of The Catholic American Bible, slated for publication in 2027. 

Pope Leo speaks to the Catholic Biblical Federation
Pope Leo XIV meets with members of the Catholic Biblical Federation at the Vatican Nov. 17, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Meeting on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, "Dei Verbum," Pope Leo asked members of the group to reflect on how they individually and as a federation respond to the call "to hear the Word of God with reverence and to proclaim it with faith."

"The church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel," he said. "From the Gospel she continually rediscovers the direction for her journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who teaches all things and reminds us of everything the Son has said."

A key part of that, he said, is helping everyone have access to a Bible so they can "encounter the God who speaks, shares his love and draws us into the fullness of life."

Translations of the Bible, which the federation promotes, are essential for that, he said, but so are initiatives like encouraging "lectio divina," a prayerful reading of Scripture.

"Ultimately," Pope Leo told federation members, "your mission is to become 'living letters … written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,' bearing witness to the primacy of God's Word over the many voices that fill our world."
 

Dozens of people die in DRC mine accident

At least 32 people have been killed in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo when a bridge at a copper and cobalt mine collapsed due to overcrowding. Enormous financial interests in the mineral-rich region have long fuelled strife and conflict, resulting in corruption, displacement and an acute humanitarian crisis.

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U.N. Security Council to vote on Trump’s Gaza peace plan

The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a U.S. draft resolution backing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

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St. Hugh of Lincoln: Saint of the Day for Monday, November 17, 2025

Hugh of Lincoln was the son of William, Lord of Avalon. He was born at Avalon Castle in Burgundy and was raised and educated at a convent at Villard-Benoit after his mother died when he was eight. He was professed at fifteen, ordained a deacon at nineteen, and was made prior of a monastery at Saint-Maxim. While visiting the Grande Chartreuse with his prior in 1160. It was then he decided to become a Carthusian there and was ordained. After ten years, he was named procurator and in 1175 became ...

St. Elizabeth of Hungary: Saint of the Day for Monday, November 17, 2025

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, was born in Hungary on July 7, 1207 to the Hungarian King Andrew II and Gertrude of Merania. As soon as her life began, she had responsibilities from being a royal pressed upon her. While Elizabeth was very young, her father arranged for her to be married to Ludwig IV of Thuringia, a German nobleman. Because of this plan, Elizabeth was sent away at the age of four for education at the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia. ...

Pope: Liturgical formation must be renewed with ‘new paths and methods'

Pope Leo XIV encourages the formation of “those who proclaim the Word of God” to support the liturgical initiation of the faithful and a deeper understanding of Christian worship.

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Pope: Safeguard human dignity as health systems integrate AI

Pope Leo XIV reflects on the need for an ethical approach to healthcare systems, especially in light of the growing use of Artificial Intelligence and technological innovation as tools for management and optimisation of resources.

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Pope: No pain can extinguish our reflection of God’s goodness

Pope Leo XIV encourages consecrated religious to build communities that respect the dignity of every person, in a message sent to a conference promoted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

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