After praying the Angelus in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV turned his thoughts to the renewed conflict in the Middle East and the crisis in Ukraine, urging a return to diplomatic solutions. On Sea Sunday, he also expressed his closeness to all seafarers and port workers, whose working conditions have been made more difficult by military tensions. Finally, he recalled the traditional Marian pilgrimage of the Polish faithful to Jasna Góra.

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St. Benedict is believed to have been born around 480, as the son to a Roman noble of Norcia and the twin to his sister, Scholastica. In the fifth century, the young Benedict was sent to Rome to finish his education with a nurse/housekeeper. The subject that dominated a young man's study then was rhetoric -- the art of persuasive speaking. A successful speaker was not one who had the best argument or conveyed the truth, but one who used rhythm, eloquence, and technique to convince. The power ...

Martyr with eleven companions in Lebanon. A Spanish Franciscan, Emmanuel and the others were caught up in the rising of the Druses in Lebanon. The Franciscan community, eight in number, and three Maronite laymen were slain by the Islamic rebels. He was beatified in 1926.

Capuchin mystic who had many spiritual gifis. A native of Binasco, near Milan, Italy, born in 1660, she entered the Capuchins atCitttidi Castello, Umbria, in 1677. She remained there for the rest of her life and served as novice mistress for thirty-four years. A mystic, she was the recipient of a stigmata in 1697 and visions, the accounts of which are quite detailed. She impressed her fellow nuns by remaining remarkably practical despite her numerous ecstatic experiences. Veronica was named ...

ROME (CNS) -- Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington said his decision to remove a high-profile priest as an archdiocesan exorcist was driven by the public way he exercised his ministry, not by his specific beliefs about UFOs.

Following comments on social media linking UFOs to demonic activity, Msgr. Stephen Rossetti was removed in early June as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington. 

In one of his first interviews since the decision, Cardinal McElroy told Catholic News Service it should not be interpreted as a judgment on unidentified flying objects or extraterrestrial life, but in what he sees as the proper role of an exorcist within the Catholic Church.

"It wasn't touching on the question of UFOs," the cardinal said in an interview June 29 at the Pontifical North American College. "My major objection is that I think the traditional role of an exorcist is a very private one. It's a sacred one."

Msgr. Rossetti has built one of the largest online followings among Catholic exorcists through the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, with more than 146,000 followers on YouTube, as well as tens of thousands more on his personal Instagram, where he regularly discusses exorcism, spiritual warfare and demonic activity.

In May, Msgr. Rossetti posted online that "probably many, if not most, UFO sightings are in fact demons," drawing widespread attention as public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP -- the government's official term for what are commonly called UFOs -- has increased in recent years. 

On June 3, Cardinal McElroy said in a press release that "statements made by Msgr. Rossetti linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center's recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism."

The removal has since prompted widespread debate among Catholics over whether the action reflected the archdiocese's position on extraterrestrial life or on Msgr. Rossetti's assertion that many UFO sightings are demonic.

Some Catholics agree with Msgr. Rossetti's views. U.S. Vice President JD Vance has previously said, "I don't think they're aliens. I think they're demons anyway."

Others have argued on social media and in the press that the issue was more about presenting personal speculation as Church teaching. In an interview with The New York Times after Msgr. Rossetti's removal, Christopher Baglow, director of the Science and Religion Initiative at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, said Msgr. Rossetti may have overstepped by "putting forward his own doctrine as something Catholics should accept."

Cardinal McElroy told CNS that exorcists perform a ministry entrusted to them by their bishop in particularly "serious cases" and that the office should remain focused on that pastoral mission.

"I think the more traditional approach of an exorcist is a private, within-the-life-of-the-Church ministry to help individuals who are in crisis and seem to be demonically possessed," he said in the interview. "It shouldn't go beyond that for people who are doing exorcism."

The cardinal added that he believes exorcists should remain "more faithful to the traditional role the Church has had for exorcists." The webpage on exorcisms on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site says "the preservation of confidentiality is important."

Following his removal, Msgr. Rossetti issued a statement expressing sadness over the decision and asking forgiveness "for any ways in which I have failed to remain fully obedient to the Magisterium of the Church." He said the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal would continue its ministry independently.

Debates about UFOs and whether they are tied to demons are not new to Catholics. Priests and theologians have argued for decades that the Church has no official teaching on extraterrestrial life. Some Catholic theologians have said the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is not incompatible with the faith. 

But a fresh wave of public interest in UFOs has continued to grow inside Catholic circles, driven by U.S. government disclosures on the subject and a string of recent films.

On July 7, filmmakers released the trailer for "Not of This World: Catholic Faith in the Age of Disclosure," a documentary series examining how Catholics are responding to UFO questions.

Produced by Catholic filmmaker Sam Sorich, the project features interviews with theologians, UFO researchers, national security officials, clergy and exorcists, prompted in part by claims from a former CIA official that the Vatican possesses evidence of nonhuman intelligence.

The documentary follows Catholic discussions of the issue, including a June private screening at Rome's Cinema Barberini of Steven Spielberg's film "Disclosure Day," organized by Sorich. Attendees included clergy, journalists and students from pontifical universities.

Among those attending was Michael Severance of the Acton Institute, who said the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life would not necessarily conflict with Catholic belief.

"I don't doubt that if there are intelligent or human-like forms in the universe that they also couldn't be made perfect or they couldn't fall or have the same destiny of salvation that we do," he said June 3.

Veteran Vatican journalist Delia Gallagher said the issue is likely to become increasingly important for Catholics.

"This is a topic that is destined to become more important," she said. "The Vatican will eventually -- it could be years -- have something more concrete to say about it."

Benedictine abbot also called Grimwald, invited to England by King Alfred in 885. Grimbald arrived in England and declined the see of Canterbury, preferring to remain a monk. He became the abbot of New Minster Abbey at Winchester appointed by King Edward the Elder. Grimbald is credited with restoring learning to England.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Hesitation and resistance to the Church's synodal journey can be addressed with clearer explanations, better training and more hands-on experience of what synodality is, bishops representing North America said.

"A very clear takeaway is the need for more formation in synodality, including its meaning, its methods and its spirituality," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

"Synodality is often presented and perceived by many as a cumbersome and complicated process with language and terminology that is unfamiliar to most Catholics. Unless we can simplify how synodality is presented, it risks becoming the exclusive domain of specialists or 'the initiated' rather than a way of simply living our faith together," he told Catholic News Service. 

Archbishop Coakley was one of a number of leaders of the so-called "continental bodies" who met at the Vatican in late June as part of their work during the continental stage of the global Synod on Synodality, which was launched by local churches in 2021.

Representatives from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and North America, together with the coordinators of the continental synodal teams, met privately with Pope Leo XIV and members of the General Secretariat of the Synod June 23-25 at the Vatican. Part of the meeting involved reporting on major developments in implementing, across the different continents, the final document that was released in October 2024.

The team representing North America included: Archbishop Coakley; Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt of Hartford, Connecticut, who is the USCCB's bishop liaison for the synod; Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in Québec, Canada, who is president of Canada's Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Julia McStravog, senior advisor to the U.S. synod leaders' team and coordinator of the diocesan synod teams.

Responding to questions from CNS after their meeting, the three bishops shared the progress they have seen and the challenges that remain in implementing the Synod on Synodality's final document in North America.

U.S. synod leaders meet monthly and share what they learn with all leaders and teams across the country, Bishop Betancourt wrote. These virtual gatherings "have strengthened relationships among the dioceses in the United States" and provided important "consultation, feedback, synthesis and the setting of priorities."

Many places in the United States have successfully implemented synodality "in a more intentional way, using the method of conversations in the spirit" and promoting the participation of the laity, religious and clergy "to discern the good and the challenges occurring in the particular dioceses of their provinces," he added. 

"This process has been helpful in guiding pastoral planning, discernment in parish consolidation, assessment of Mass times and the priest's workload, and more effective resource allocation," the bishop told CNS.

Archbishop Coakley said the Church in the U.S. is "very accustomed to welcoming and fostering lay involvement, from both men and women, at every level of church life. We have well-established consultative bodies, such as parish and diocesan pastoral councils, presbyteral councils, finance councils, school advisory councils and so forth."

"It seems to me that we need to continue to deepen our practice of discernment within those bodies and to develop and deepen an appropriate spirituality based on discernment and rooted in prayer," the archbishop wrote.

The Church in the U.S. is also "blessed with remarkable cultural diversity," Bishop Betancourt added. 

Having "brothers and sisters from countless nations offers an opportunity to continue engaging in multicultural dialogue, broaden participation, practice co-responsibility, and, above all, strengthen missionary outreach," he wrote.

However, Bishop Betancourt wrote, they have faced two big challenges: "the language around synodality, including the term itself, and second, resistance to participating in the process."

"Increasing participation by the lay faithful across the global Church, especially among the marginalized or distant, is essential to making the Church’s work more synodal, because all baptized persons share co-responsibility for the Church’s mission, which is rooted in their common dignity," he wrote. "This approach helps overcome clericalism, dismantle self-referential structures and ensure that the Church’s discernment reflects the diverse spiritual gifts of the entire People of God."

"Synodality is not parting from Catholic tradition but a deeper return to it," Bishop Betancourt wrote. "It’s about discerning God’s will, not about personal preferences or agendas, and that the ultimate goal of synodality is stronger evangelization, finding more effective ways to bring Jesus to the modern world and to bring distant or hurting souls back to his Sacred Heart."

Bishop Goudreault told CNS the Church in Canada also finds it "difficult to engage those who are more hesitant to join the process."

They are developing an online resource for Catholics, and they launched a network this spring to facilitate "learning, reception and conversion to synodality. This will take time and patience," he wrote.

"The concrete 'entry points' presented on page 20 of the 'Pathways' document have been very helpful to us, as some communities still did not know where to begin," he wrote. "We learn synodality by living it rather than by talking about it."

In his own diocese, Bishop Goudreault set up a synodal team led by a woman and a priest as "a sign in favor of synodal leadership," and they organized diocesan synodal assemblies to help him, "as bishop, to clarify pastoral guidelines on a specific issue." 

"Another initiative regarding the appointment of priests to parishes," he wrote, was inviting priests to engage in communal discernment guided by conversation in the Holy Spirit.

"The first meeting focused on the needs of the diocese, the second on the charisms of the priests, and the third on identifying which priests would be best suited to serve in those communities," he wrote. "At the end, the priests were open to receiving their appointments because they had taken part in a synodal process."

Also, "after eight years of service as a bishop, I asked the diocesan team to evaluate me," the Canadian bishop told CNS, because "synodality calls for accountability."

"This evaluation process was a genuine opportunity for growth for me, allowing me to celebrate what is going well and to become aware of areas for improvement," he added.

Archbishop Coakley said Pope Leo "clearly wants to build on the synodal vision outlined and presented by Pope Francis" in his own unique way.

Bishop Betancourt said, "I believe Pope Leo's focus on synodality is about communion: that all members of the Church feel united with one another as God's family."

"In acknowledging and appreciating each one’s responsibility, according to their specific vocation, to build the Church in a missionary way, Pope Leo believes that formation at all levels is essential to address fears and resistance to synodality," he added.

The pope has "repeatedly made clear that synodality is not about changing doctrine or undermining the hierarchical communion of the Church," the bishop wrote. Rather, it "serves as a foundation for evangelization, a shared process of listening, discerning, and building relationships, making the Church in the modern world attractive as the beacon of truth and salvation in Christ."

"It is up to the baptized and their pastor in each local church to be creative and take bold steps to put synodality into practice," Bishop Goudreault wrote.

"It is a call to discern paths for mission today," he wrote, inviting those who are hesitant "to trust and listen to the Holy Spirit so that, together with others, we may discern what He is calling us to do in proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world."

The leaders of the continental bodies will continue to accompany the synodal process back home during this implementation phase in light of the publication of "Towards the Assemblies 2027-2028: Stages, Criteria and Tools for Preparation."

That text outlines the next four stages: diocesan and eparchial evaluation assemblies will review the implementation of the final document in the first half of 2027; national and regional assemblies of the bishops' conferences will interpret those evaluations during the second half of 2027; continental assemblies will produce "forward-looking" reports and guidance in the early part of 2028; and an ecclesial assembly of the whole Church will gather with the pope at the Vatican in October 2028.

LAMPEDUSA, Italy (CNS) -- For more than 30 years, Dr. Pietro Bartolo said he has examined more than 350,000 people and performed postmortem examinations on those who died making the crossing to Lampedusa, where migrants rescued from the Mediterranean first arrived.

One story, he said, has stayed with him.

After a shipwreck near Malta, a father told Bartolo how he had tried to keep his family alive in the water. He held his youngest child against his chest, his wife with one hand and his 3-year-old son with the other as he swam. When he realized he no longer had the strength to save everyone, he let go of his older son.

"'If I had held on for one more minute, my son would still be here,'" Bartolo recalled the father telling him. Rescue crews arrived moments later.

"Understand," Bartolo said in an interview with Catholic News Service June 3, "how terrible it is that a father has to choose which child to let go."

Stories like this, he said, explain why Pope Leo XIV came to Lampedusa.

For Bartolo, who spent decades as Lampedusa's physician and former member of the European Parliament, these human tragedies explain why Pope Leo chose this tiny Mediterranean island for one of the defining visits of his pontificate.

"People ask why the pope comes to Lampedusa," Bartolo told CNS. "Because this is the icon of solidarity."

As the first American pope marked the 250th anniversary of the United States' Declaration of Independence July 4, he did so not in celebration of his homeland, but on a European migrant entrypoint, praying for migrants buried in the island's cemetery, meeting survivors and celebrating Mass where tens of thousands of people flee war, persecution and poverty.

Before delivering a single public address, Pope Leo laid flowers at the graves of migrants who died trying to cross the Mediterranean. He met a migrant family at the "Door of Europe" monument, blessed a plaque naming Favaloro Pier after Pope Francis, and later celebrated Mass beneath an image of Our Lady of Safe Harbor.

The visit deliberately echoed Pope Francis' first journey outside Rome in 2013, when Pope Francis came to Lampedusa to denounce what he called the "globalization of indifference."

"I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to visit you, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis," Pope Leo said in his homily at the Arena sports field in the Salina district of Lampedusa.

But while repeating his predecessors' focus on migrants, Pope Leo gave the message his own theological emphasis.

Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan, he said Lampedusa today lies "along a path as dangerous as the one that led down from Jerusalem to Jericho."

"Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made," he said.

The pope praised the fishermen, volunteers, rescue workers, civil authorities and ordinary island residents who have welcomed migrants for years, thanking them for demonstrating "the miracle of compassion."

"There is no love of God without love of neighbor," he said, "and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near."

"Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries" generates poverty and exclusion, Pope Leo said. Yet quoting his first encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas," he said, "no one is without responsibility."

Pope Leo also urged Europe to move beyond emergency responses, calling for long-term policies capable of "receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants," while helping developing countries so that "no one is forced to emigrate."

His message extended beyond Europe.

In addition to his July 4 homily, Pope Leo released a message marking the United States' 250th birthday, praising the nation's founding ideals of liberty and religious freedom while reminding Americans that immigrants "have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning."

"Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants," he wrote, calling such welcome "not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person."

For the first U.S. pope, migration has been a priority as a matter of human dignity. Pope Leo tied in his trip to the migrant entrypoint on the U.S. holiday, saying immigrants "have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning."

"To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person."

Pope Leo said the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is not only an invitation to celebrate, "but also to reflect upon the responsibilities that the sons and daughters of this country bear to one another."

That message resonates deeply on Lampedusa.

According to Mediterranean Hope's annual report on the Migration Observatory of Lampedusa, nearly 40,000 migrants arrived on the island in 2025, with more than 80% departing from Libya. The observatory documented at least 1,314 deaths along the central Mediterranean route during the year, while noting that the actual number is likely higher because many shipwrecks go unrecorded. 

For Bartolo, however, statistics tell only part of the story. The retired physician said conducting postmortem examinations on drowned children and families "turned my life upside down." The doctor now spends his time traveling across Europe speaking in schools and universities about what he witnessed during his years at the migrant entrypoint.

Remembering the dead has also become the life's work of Tareke Brhane, an Eritrean refugee who crossed the Mediterranean himself before reaching Italy in 2006.

After surviving the journey, Brhane founded the Committee of Oct. 3 following the 2013 shipwreck off Lampedusa that claimed more than 360 lives. The organization works to identify those who die at sea and return names to victims buried as unknown migrants.

"The majority have only numbers," Brhane said.

His committee has helped identify roughly 100 bodies and successfully campaigned for Italy to establish Oct. 3 as a national day of remembrance for migrants who died trying to reach Europe, he told CNS. 

For Brhane, Pope Leo's decision to begin his visit in the cemetery was the day's most powerful gesture. Brhane has made it one of his life's missions to identify migrants buried without names. 

Many bodies recovered from the Mediterranean have historically been buried with only a case number because authorities could not establish their identities. The Committee of Oct. 3 has worked with forensic experts, Italian authorities and victims' families to change that. He told CNS that there is a huge difference in the graves of residents and the unmarked graves of migrants. 

"People will talk about the port," he said. "But the real message was that he went first to the cemetery to pray for those who died."

He called Lampedusa "a place of suffering and a place of hope."

Many migrants who later become citizens of Britain, Sweden or the Netherlands return simply to stand once more on the island where they first arrived alive, he said.

"They say this is where we were born again," Brhane told CNS. 

With a similar message, Mayor Filippo Mannino told the pope during his visit that the island is as a beacon that "does not judge" and "does not choose whom to illuminate," but remains lit through the night for anyone searching for shore.

"No one is too small to point the way," he said.

The visit echoed the pope's June apostolic journey to Spain, when he devoted some of his strongest remarks on migration to the Canary Islands, another major gateway for migrants seeking to reach Europe. Speaking there, he urged Europeans not to allow tourism to obscure the human suffering unfolding along migration routes and challenged visitors to "have the courage to think differently," saying authentic rest should lead people to rediscover the meaning of life and solidarity with others.

Pope Leo repeated that theme in Lampedusa, again using the image of the Good Samaritan to argue that Christian discipleship requires drawing near to those in need rather than "passing by."

"Have the courage to think differently," the pope urged those who vacation on the island, encouraging them not to ignore the suffering unfolding in the surrounding sea.

From this "far-flung corner of Europe," he said, the challenge facing both Europe and the wider world can be seen with unusual clarity.

"All of this must be done with vigilance, ensuring respect for the dignity of every person," the pope said July 4. "This is a task not only for public institutions but also for civil society as a whole and for the Church."

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, in the Province of Ancona, Italy. Her family lived in deep poverty, and when her farmworker father moved them to Ferriere di Conca, near Anzio, their hardship only increased. After her father died of malaria, Maria's mother was left to care for and provide for her children alone. While her mother and older siblings labored in the fields, young Maria assumed great responsibility at home. She cooked, sewed, kept the house, and lovingly ...

Cofounder of the Barnabites. Born in 1502 in Cremona, Italy, Anthony became a medical doctor. In 1528 he was ordained a priest and cofounded the Barnabites, the religious congregation so called because it was headquartered in St. Barnabas Monastery in Milan. The Barnabites occupied the monastery in 1538, having been approved in 1533. Anthony popularized the forty-hour prayer ceremony, promoted the use of altar sacraments, and introduced the ringing of church bells on Friday. He is depicted in ...