Category: Vatican City

MIL-OSI Europe: Pope Leo: a united and missionary Church which becomes a ‘leaven’ for a reconciled world

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Sunday, 18 May 2025 pope

VaticanMedia

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”, said Pope Leo XIV,addressing the many people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pilgrims who have come from all over the world to be close to him at the Mass marking the beginning of his Petrine ministry as Bishop of Rome. He looked out at the people, the representatives of the official delegations, the sister Churches, and other faith communities, and began his homily by quoting St. Augustine.Before the solemn Eucharistic celebration, which took place in the parvis of the Vatican Basilica, Pope Leo prayed at the tomb of St. Peter together with the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches.During the Eucharistic celebration, the solemn presentation of the insignia marking the beginning of the pontificate took place. Cardinal Mario Zenari placed the pallium around the Pope’s neck. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presented him with the Fisherman’s Ring.In his homily, Pope Leo spoke about the task that awaits him and the entire Church in a torn and wounded world.The “intense emotions” in these daysThe death of Pope Francis, according to the Bishop of Rome, and the “intense emotions” in these days, “has filled our hearts with sadness.” These were “difficult hours” in which “we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd”. Then, on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock”.”In the Conclave, the Cardinals, “from different backgrounds and experiences,” placed in God’s hands “the desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world.”The Love of God comes first”I was chosen, without any merit of my own,” Pope Leo said, “and I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.” For “love and unity” are “the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.”The mission that Christ entrusted to Peter and the first disciples, Pope Leo said, referring to the Gospel, “is the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death.” And Peter, according to the Bishop of Rome, his successor, can only fulfill this task “because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial.” Only “if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more’, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”Peter is thus “entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock.” His successors are also called to this task, “because,” Pope Leo continues, “the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ.” Therefore, it is never a question of “capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.””Christ himself,” says Pope Leo, quoting the Apostle Peter in the Acts of the Apostles, “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” on which the Church is built. And if “the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him.” “On the contrary,” the new Bishop of Rome continued, “he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them.”A united Church for a reconciled world”I would like,” Pope Leo addressed his brothers and sisters, “that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.” In our time, Pope Leo admits, we still see “too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest.” Christians are called to be “a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one,” the Pope exhorts, referring to the words of St. Augustine, which he has chosen as his episcopal motto. He thus points to the path “to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!”A “missionary Church” that allows itself to be made restless by historyThis is the “missionary spirit,” Pope Leo continued, “that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.” The missionary Church, which can grow “in the light and power of the Holy Spirit,” is “a Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.” “Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another”, Pope Leo urges at the conclusion of his homily.Before the Regina Coeli prayer, Pope Leo emphasized that during the Mass he “strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis accompanying us from heaven.” “Reflecting on our participation in the communion of saints, I recall that yesterday in Chambéry, France, the priest Camille Costa de Beauregard, was beatified. He lived from the end of the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, and was a witness of great pastoral charity.”The Bishop of Rome also turned his thoughts to the brothers and sisters “who are suffering because of war. In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation. In Myanmar, new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives. Finally, war-torn Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace,” Pope Leo XIV said. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 18/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 19, 2025
US Vice President meets Pope Leo, an American known for past criticism of Trump

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Pope Leo XIV, a U.S. citizen who as a cardinal criticised the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies, met at the Vatican on Monday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Roman Catholicism as an adult.

A Vatican readout confirmed that Vance and Leo had met but offered no details about their discussions. A Vance spokesperson said they met one-on-one before being joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic.

Vatican handout photos showed Vance and Rubio smiling as they were seated across from Leo at the pope’s official desk in the Vatican’s apostolic palace.

Leo, the Chicago-born former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is a relative unknown on the global stage, elected as the new pope on May 8.

While a cardinal, he issued several disapproving posts about the administration’s policies on his X account, reflecting his concern about migrants. The Vatican has not confirmed or denied that the posts were authentic.

The late Pope Francis, who died on April 21, was a champion of the poor and of immigrants who frequently criticised the Trump administration. He called Trump’s plan to deport millions of migrants a “disgrace” and rebuked Vance for arguing that the bible calls on Christians to prioritise love for their families and countrymen over strangers and foreigners.

Vance met briefly with Francis on Easter Sunday, the day before the pontiff died.

Vance and Rubio have been in Rome to lead the U.S. delegation at Leo’s inaugural Mass as pope, held on Sunday among crowds of an estimated 200,000 people in St. Peter’s Square.

After meeting Leo, Vance met on Monday with officials at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, the Church’s top diplomatic office. A Vatican readout called those talks “cordial”.

“There was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” it said.

REUTERS

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Holy See Press Office Communiqué: Audience with the Vice President of the United States of America

Source: The Holy See

Holy See Press Office Communiqué: Audience with the Vice President of the United States of America, 19.05.2025

This morning, Monday 19 May 2025, His Holiness Leo XIV received in audience the Vice President of the United States of America, the Honourable James David Vance, who subsequently met with His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction at the good bilateral relations was reiterated, and the collaboration between Church and State was discussed, as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom.
Finally, there was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved
From the Vatican, 19 May 2025.

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Eucharistic Celebration for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome Leo XIV

Source: The Holy See

Eucharistic Celebration for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome Leo XIV, 18.05.2025
At 10.00 today, Fifth Sunday of Easter, on the parvis of the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father Leo XIV presided over the Holy Mass for the official beginning of his Petrine Ministry.
Before the Eucharistic Celebration, the Pope descended, with the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches, to the tomb of Saint Peter beneath the Vatican Basilica and paused there in prayer, then incensing the Apostolic Trophaeum.
Returning to the Basilica, the Holy Father joined in the procession of the concelebrating Cardinals, preceded by the deacons who brought the pastoral pallium, the Fisherman’s Ring and the Book of Gospels, up to the altar of on the parvis of the Basilica, to the singing of the Laudes Regiae.
During the Eucharistic Celebration, after the proclamation of the Gospel, the rites specific to the beginning of the pontificate took place: the imposition of the pallium by the Cardinal Deacon Mario Zenari, with a prayer recited by the Cardinal Presbyter Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M. Cap., the consignment of the Fisherman’s Ring by the Cardinal Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, and the obedience pledged to the Holy Father by three Cardinals, on behalf of the entire College: Cardinal Frank Leo (for North America), Cardinal Jaime Spengler, O.F.M. (for South America), and Cardinal John Ribat, M.S.C. (for Oceania). Other representatives of the People of God also pledged obedience to the Holy Father: the Bishop Luis Alberto Barrera of Callao, Peru; the priest Reverend Guillermo Inca Pereda; the deacon Teodoro Mandato; the religious Sr. Oonah O’Shea, president of the International Union of Superiors General, and Father Arturo Sosa, S.J., president of the Union of Superiors General; a married couple, Rafael Santa Maria and Ana María Olguín; and the young people Josemaria Diaz and Sheyla Cruz.
During the Holy Mass, concelebrated with the Cardinals, the Patriarchs and the Major Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Holy Father Leo XIV delivered the following homily:

Homily of the Holy Father
Dear Brother Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps.
Greetings to the pilgrims who have come for the Jubilee of Confraternities!
I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. Saint Augustine wrote: Lord, “you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).
In these days, we have experienced intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Then, on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock” (Jer 31:10).
In this spirit of faith, the College of Cardinals met for the conclave. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world. Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.
I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.
Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.
We see this in today’s Gospel, which takes us to the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus began the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death. Walking along the shore, he had called Peter and the other first disciples to be, like him, “fishers of men”. Now, after the resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the “waters” of the world, to sail the seas of life so that all may experience God’s embrace.
How can Peter carry out this task? The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial. For this reason, when Jesus addresses Peter, the Gospel uses the Greek verb agapáo, which refers to the love that God has for us, to the offering of himself without reserve and without calculation. Whereas the verb used in Peter’s response describes the love of friendship that we have for one another. Consequently, when Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:16), he is referring to the love of the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, “Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more’, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”
Peter is thus entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.
The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity. In the words of Saint Augustine: “The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbour” (Serm. 359,9).
Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.
In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!
This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.
Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 20).
With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.
Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Kieran Gilbert, Sky News

Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies

Kieran Gilbert, Host: Joining me live in the studio is the Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell. Thanks for your time. A lot to talk about. I will ask you about that issue that the Deputy Prime Minister finished on there in terms of productivity and the superannuation, but let’s start on trade. Will you get the deal done with the EU? We’re hearing that the talks will resume soon.

Trade Minister, Don Farrell: Yes. In fact, I’m going to be talking to my counterpart tomorrow. So, you might recall in the middle of the election, I had a conversation with Trade Minister Maroš. He’s from Slovakia. We hit it off pretty well, I think, in our first discussion. He sent me a very kind and warm message on election night when it was clear that we had won the election. I’ve subsequently had a meeting with the EU Ambassador and reaffirmed our commitment and heard from him his commitment.

Gilbert: Sounding good?

Trade Minister: Sounding good, yeah, yep. And as I said, I’ve got a conversation with him tomorrow. And of course, in the meantime, the Prime Minister has met President von der Leyen.

Gilbert: The sticking point was on the geographical indicators and also on agriculture. Is that right?

Trade Minister: Yeah.

GILBERT: So, will there be compromise there from the EU?

Trade Minister: Look, what – the politics have changed in two years. I think both Australia and Europe now realise that there’s a priority and an imperative to get a free trade agreement. If other countries don’t want to trade with you, well that’s fine, that’s their decision. But if there are countries such as Europe who do want to do trade with you, well then you’ve got to go that extra mile to get an agreement over the line.

Gilbert: And the things that changed, we know, Donald Trump.

Trade Minister: Yeah, yeah, well look, look. A whole lot of things have changed since we last had a conversation. But I think we share the same values as Europe. So, those geographical indicators are hard issues. On the one hand, the Europeans say, well look, you’re using all of our names. On the other hand, what I say to them is, look, after World War II, a whole lot of Europeans came to Australia. They bought their families, they bought their culture, more importantly, they bought their food and wine.

Gilbert: They sure did.

Trade Minister: Yeah. And for them, the link with Europe is not an economic link, it’s a way that they keep in contact with their European roots.

Gilbert: Would you like to see then, that trade deal, you know, if you are successful in landing that, also expand into a security relationship? Because that’s what von der Leyen has raised with the Prime Minister overnight, that we talk not just in trade terms, but security terms, like Japan and Korea have.

Trade Minister: Yeah, look, look. My space is trade. I’m going to be focused on the trade agenda. We’ve gone a long way down that path. We need to complete that process. What happens with defence and all of those other issues? The Prime Minister has addressed that today. He said, look, we’re happy to look at these things, but our immediate priority with the Europeans is all about trade.

Gilbert: When the PM went to the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, why was it important in your view to be there? Is it something that, you know, a Prime Minister necessarily has to be at, the inauguration of a new Pope?

Trade Minister: Look, I think it was very important that the Prime Minister was there. As you know, he sent me to the funeral a couple of weeks ago. That was obviously, you know, a very solemn event. This was a very joyous event for Australia’s 5 million Catholics, of which the Prime Minister and myself are both adherents to the Catholic faith. I think it was very important that Australia be represented there and represented at the highest level.

Gilbert: Do you think it’s also important in a more secular world that the leadership does show respect to people of faith? Is this something, you know, in simple terms, that people of other faiths will respect?

Trade Minister: Well, look, I think that’s part of it. But this new pope, Pope Leo XIV, has come out very strongly on the issue of peace. That’s very important for Australia. We’ve been calling for peace in Ukraine. We want the Russians to withdraw from Ukraine. And we also want peace in the Middle East. So, I think we’re on board with the agenda for this new Pope to start talking about a more peaceful world. That’s good for Australia and it’s good for the world.

Gilbert: Ok. On some other issues, my colleague Andrew Clennell reported yesterday that state MPs and officials won’t be hit by the government’s super tax on funds upwards of $3 million. Is that viable? You’ve been around politics a long time. Do you think you can still sell that as a policy when people start to realise that some premiers and officials won’t have to pay it?

Trade Minister: Well, look, this tax applies to very, very few people. Less than 0.5 per cent of the population are going to be affected. And of course, it only applies to people on very, very high balances. There are some constitutional issues that relate to how superannuation is dealt with by state governments. But rest assured that the people who are going to be making this decision will themselves be covered by this tax, if they get to that high level of superannuation.

Gilbert: The $3 million fund, I mean, as you touched on, we did go to the election recently, but do you think people, when the details start to emerge about taxing unrealised gains and so on, that that’s going to be a bit complex to try and navigate for the government?

Trade Minister: Look, I hope not. We nailed our colours to the mast in respect to this tax. We tried to get it through the last Parliament, it wasn’t successful. We took it to the last election. So, nobody was in any doubt about what our policy was in respect of this tax. And we’ve received an overwhelming endorsement from the Australian people. So, I think in terms of honesty, if we didn’t proceed with this, then I think people would say, well, what’s going on? You said you were going to do this. We’ve built the savings from this new super tax into our future budgets. So, I think now, we’ve got the endorsement for the Australian people. It’s a very, very minor tax in the scheme of things, and I think the Australian people would now expect us to proceed with it.

Gilbert: And do you think the Treasurer can make it work just with all of those other complications?

Trade Minister: Well, he’s a very, very good Treasurer and I think-

Gilbert: There are those that say it’s just too complex in terms of tax structures and people’s superannuation. You might have an impact on productivity because people will pull out of the workforce before they hit that threshold.

Trade Minister: I think people are barking up the wrong tree. I doubt whether the relatively small impact of this tax is going to result in any of those sorts of things. But we’ve got a very good salesman in Jim Chalmers and of course, now he’s being assisted by Daniel Mulino, who’s a very good friend of mine. He’s got a, I think it’s a Master of Economics from Yale, very smart fellow, and I think that combination will be very successful.

Gilbert: I know you’ve got to go. Just quickly, what else is on your agenda? You’ve got that, the talks tomorrow with the EU.

Trade Minister: Yes, yes, and India.

Gilbert: What’s at the top of your agenda here?

Trade Minister: We were very close to a free trade agreement with India before the election was called. I’m now confident that we’ll get another agreement with them. And of course, in a few weeks’ time, the United Arab Emirates Free Trade Agreement comes into operation. The United Arab Emirates is like the Woollies warehouse of the Middle East. If you can get your product in there. And all of our products are going into the UAE tariff free. It’s a really good, really good agreement.

Gilbert: 93 seats for Labor, you must have said some pretty strong prayers when you were over in the Vatican. They seem like they’ve worked.

Trade Minister: I did. Look, we were the last people, I think, to touch the Pope’s coffin before we went out for the Mass. And I did say a little prayer for the Prime Minister and the Labor Party.

Gilbert: Certainly strengthened your favour. Don Farrell, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

Trade Minister: Thanks, Kieran.

MIL OSI News –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Leo XIV and the greatest challenge of our time

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Following his piece on the late Pope Francis, Jefferson Chua continues his reflections on the relationship between the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church and climate change, now in the hands of a new pontiff.

© ANDINA/Archive

There is a photo of Robert Francis Prevost, back then when he was still archbishop in Chiclayo, Peru, wading through the floodwater that devastated his parish during the historic 2017 El Niño floods. He struck a calm figure who had little to no qualms about being in the middle of a disaster. The photo made me think: what does Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, think of climate change, and–more importantly– the solutions needed to address it?

There are quite a number of clues as to what he would have thought about climate change. He largely aligns with the late Pope Francis’s pivot towards the environment and the Laudato Si agenda, in urging the church to transform words into action in addressing the climate crisis. He has likewise called for a “non-tyrannical relationship” with nature as a key ingredient in climate action, while warning of serious consequences brought about by technological innovation if it is not grounded in a reciprocal relationship with nature.

In the same breath he also mentions the Vatican’s recent adoption of solar power as well as the purchase of electric vehicles as positive steps in addressing climate change. In his younger years he has also pushed for petitions and shared opinions that seem to align with more urgent climate action and international cooperation.

I am drawn to the pope’s choice of name. His nominal predecessor, Leo XIII, stands among the giants of the petrine ministry because he took on arguably the greatest challenge of the church during his time: its relationship with the modern world. His encyclical, Rerum Novarum, not only articulated the church’s positionality in the modernizing and industrializing world, but also spoke about the dangers of unchecked capitalism and its impacts on rights, especially that of workers and laborers. In other words, Leo XIII signalled a critical gaze on unchecked profiteering and how this pursuit of more growth and wealth comes at the expense of the rights of those that were instrumental in achieving that wealth.

I wonder if Leo XIV will be able to transpose this critical gaze onto arguably the greatest challenge of our time, the climate crisis. Our era is characterized by the near-total domination of the corporate few who have reaped in record profits at the expense of everyone. Climate impacts have been increasing in intensity and regularity more than ever, resulting in staggering global losses. In 2024 alone, estimates vary from insurance payouts worth USD 137 billion, to upwards of USD 229 billion with just the ten costliest disasters of last year.

In contrast, just the five largest investor-owned oil and gas companies–Shell, Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum, Chevron, and Total Energies–earned USD 102 billion in 2024. The figure becomes even more mind-boggling if one looks at their profits in the last decade, which amounted to almost USD 800 billion. This greed is underlined by their business practices, with all of them announcing in different manners of speaking that they will not be phasing out oil and gas and will be cutting investments in green and renewable energy, while at the same time spending astronomical amounts of money to run advertising and marketing campaigns that paint a rosy picture of their supposed concern for the environment and climate action.

Taking a broader view lays bare this gross inequality: the world’s wealthiest 10% has caused two-thirds of global warming since 1990, which boils down to not just individual lifestyle choices, but more importantly to the concentration of wealth held by a very few but powerful group of people.

It is amid this sad and alarming backdrop that we find Leo XIV, who inherits a church in a world that is increasingly more difficult to live in, especially by those at the frontlines of the climate crisis. It is this world that also beckons on Leo XIV to transform the church “from words to action.” Climate action must go beyond platitudes and pursue accountability.

There are hopeful signals within the church. A good example would be the Philippines, which constantly ranks as among the most vulnerable countries to climate impacts. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church in the country has set 2025 as the target year when it will be fully divesting from coal and fossil gas investments. Religious-run academic institutions such as Mapua University has likewise pronounced that it too will be divesting from fossil fuels. Church-based grassroots communities and priests have likewise supported environmental defenders and indigenous groups against unchecked transition mineral mining, and have called for holistic climate accountability policies such as the CLIMA Bill. That there is a wealth of examples in the frontiers of the climate crisis should push Leo XIV to take on the fight for climate justice beyond discursive urging. He inherits a church that is suffering precisely because it is in the frontlines. In this manner, Leo XIV himself, through the office entrusted to him, also inherits this moral responsibility to act.

Perhaps none can encapsulate this moral imperative of his papacy better than an example from his adopted home, Peru. Saul Luciano Lliuya, a farmer from Huaraz, Peru, filed a case against German energy company RWE AG. Initially filed in 2015, Lliuya contested that RWE’s emissions–which is considered one of the biggest emitters in Europe–had a direct impact on the climate that is threatening the claimant’s home. After a successful appeal process in 2017 and initial hearings in March 2025, the court will issue an announcement this May. Lliuya’s case takes on and represents an increasingly-familiar experience by climate-impacted frontline communities of no accountability and increasing impacts.
One can imagine Leo XIV, in his white cassock, bearing witness to the increasing frequency of floods that Lliuya and countless others are experiencing and, perhaps, likewise add his influential voice to the growing chorus of those calling for accountability. If he is true to his name, and if his papacy signals an unbroken line from Francis’s concerns in Laudato Si, then there is no other alternative to calling out those who are most responsible for the climate crisis: not just individuals, not just countries, but corporations that have accumulated so much wealth while the least of us suffer the worst consequences of a common home in crisis.

Jefferson Chua is a Greenpeace Campaigner working on climate, based in the Philippines.

You might want to check out Greenpeace Philippines’ petition called Courage for Climate, a drive in support of real policy and legal solutions in the pursuit of climate justice.

Courage for Climate

The climate crisis may seem hopeless, but now is the time for courage, not despair. Join Filipino communities taking bold action for our planet.

Make an Act of Courage Today!

MIL OSI NGO –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: Pope Leo XIV Greets VP JD Vance & Sec. Marco Rubio After His Inaugural Mass at the Vatican

Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)

Pope Leo XIV greets Vice President J.D. Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Mrs. Jeanette Rubio following his Inaugural Mass at the Vatican.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6jJxK3AEvA

MIL OSI Video –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Prime Minister Carney concludes his visit to Italy and Vatican City

Source: Government of Canada – Prime Minister

Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, concluded his visit to Rome, Italy, and Vatican City, where he attended the inaugural Mass of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square, alongside counterparts and delegations from around the world.

Prime Minister Carney met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV following his inaugural Mass. The Prime Minister thanked him for his message of unity, compassion, and peace.

During his visit to Italy, the Prime Minister met with the Italian Prime Minister and President to underscore the strength of the Canada-Italy relationship and efforts to further enhance it. While in Rome, he also met with over a dozen other leaders. Their discussions focused on expanding trade and commercial partnerships, deepening bilateral investment, and addressing immediate global pressures, including around energy security, supply chains, Canada’s support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and the imperative of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Looking ahead to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, next month, the Prime Minister emphasized Canada’s role as a stable, reliable, and innovative partner with a wealth of natural resources and expertise.

In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada will work with its Allies and partners to grow our economies, defend Canadians’ interests, and address the most pressing global challenges.

Associated Links

MIL OSI Canada News –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI: POPEcoin Raises $1.5 Million in Ten Days with No VCs, No Taxes, and No Apologies

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

ROME, May 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In an economy where memecoins often rise and fall within the same week, POPEcoin ($POPE) has managed to carve out a real foothold—raising $1.5 million in just ten days, without venture capital, early access allocations, or flashy partnerships. The entire presale has been structured for fairness and simplicity, with equal terms for every participant and a clean 0% tax on all buys and sells. That approach seems to be resonating. The project has already drawn over 25,000 organic followers across Twitter and Telegram, with round after round of the presale filling up faster than anticipated.

But beyond the numbers, POPEcoin is tapping into something rare: a memecoin with a narrative arc. Inspired by the 1809 imprisonment of Pope Pius VII under Napoleon, the token weaves historical symbolism with meme culture, bringing together two worlds that rarely meet. Its slogan, “History Never Dies,” is more than a tagline—it’s the core of the project’s identity. Every aspect of the launch, from the 1809% staking APR to the relic-themed NFT series in development, is a nod to a forgotten moment of defiance being preserved through blockchain.

From Meme to Mechanism: Building Infrastructure on Bitcoin

The team behind POPEcoin isn’t stopping at memes—they’re setting the foundation for a narrative-fueled Layer 2.

As the presale continues through its 23 planned rounds, with each tier incrementally increasing in price, the next stage of development is already underway. POPEcoin has announced plans for POPEchain—a Bitcoin Layer 2 infrastructure dedicated to supporting on-chain storytelling, decentralized culture, and community-driven engagement. The alpha testnet is scheduled for release post-presale, with early backers given priority access.

Token buyers receive their $POPE instantly upon purchase, with tokens automatically staked to start earning rewards immediately. A dedicated staking dApp will launch following the presale, offering users an intuitive way to claim both their tokens and their earned yield. Parallel to this, the development team is building a native bridge to enable seamless asset movement across Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, and Base.

Further anchoring its cultural mission, POPEcoin is also preparing the launch of NFT Relics—a series of digital artifacts that fuse historical lore with on-chain identity. Plans for a gamified experience dubbed VaticanVerse are also in motion, offering an immersive metaverse-like extension of the token’s historical themes.

A Cultural Token with Momentum to Match

The rise of POPEcoin signals that the memecoin space may finally be ready for substance—without sacrificing speed.

There’s no shortage of tokens with hype, nor of projects with grand ambitions but little traction. What separates POPEcoin is that it’s executing fast, communicating clearly, and drawing real interest without relying on artificial volume or preloaded influencers. The combination of community-driven funding, historical narrative, and infrastructure ambition is proving potent—especially in a market hungry for novelty that actually delivers.

Presale contributions remain open, though rounds are filling quickly. As the project transitions from fundraising to infrastructure rollout, the early days of POPEcoin already read like a memecoin that didn’t follow the script—and that’s exactly why it’s working.

Presale: https://popecoin.meme/#presale
Telegram: https://t.me/popecoin_meme
Twitter/X: https://x.com/POPECOIN_MEME
Whitepaper: https://popecoin.meme/Whitepaper.pdf
Contact: press@popecoin.meme

Contact:
Giovanni Sierra – CEO POPEcoin
Email: contact@popecoin.meme
Website: https://popecoin.meme

Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the POPEcoin. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

Investing in Crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f3e9d6ea-c7f1-4dfe-a148-88f98099f756

The MIL Network –

May 19, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: VATICAN – Pallium and Fisherman’s Ring, symbols of the mission of the Successor of Peter

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Saturday, 17 May 2025

Vatican Media

Vatican City – The Mass “for the inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome” officially marks the beginning of the pontificate of the newly elected Pope. This solemn celebration, rich in liturgical signs and theological significance, underlines the unique role of the Pontiff in the Church, placing special emphasis on two episcopal insignia: the Pallium and the Fisherman’s Ring. Beyond their symbolic value as attributes of the episcopal ministry, both evoke for the Successor of Peter the mission entrusted by the Risen Lord, as the Gospel of St. John recalls: “Feed my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17).The date of the celebration is personally chosen by the Pontiff. Pope Leo XIV set the Mass for the inauguration of his pontificate for Sunday, May 18, ten days after his election. His predecessor, Pope Francis, celebrated it on March 19, 2013, the Feast of St. Joseph, a saint very dear to the Argentine Pope, a week after the end of the Conclave; Benedict XVI, celebrated it on April 24, 2005, the Sunday immediately following his election; and Saint John Paul II, on October 22, 1978.During the liturgy, all the signs, texts, and rites refer to Christ, the cornerstone of the Church: “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone” (Eph 2:20), and to Peter, the “rock” upon which the Lord built his Church (cf. Mt 16:18).The celebration begins at the tomb of the Apostle Peter, to underline the close bond between the Apostle and his successor.In front of the Trophæum, the Pallium, the Fisherman’s Ring, and the Book of the Gospels are placed on a platter. Two deacons take them and carry them in procession to the altar in the parvis of the Vatican Basilica. On this occasion, Pope Leo XIV also wanted the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, venerated at the Marian shrine of Genazzano, to be placed next to the altar. He went there to pray in silence after being elected.The Imposition of the Pallium and the RingAfter the proclamation of the Gospel, in Latin and Greek, three Cardinals, representatives of each of the three Orders of the College of Cardinals (Bishops, Priests, and Deacons) and from different continents, approach the new Pontiff for the imposition of the Pallium and the presentation of the Fisherman’s Ring.The Pallium, made of lamb’s wool, is an ancient episcopal insignia that expresses the Pope’s pastoral closeness to the People of God. As Simeon of Thessalonica recalls in his work “De sacris ordinationibus,” “the Pallium refers to the Savior who, finding us as the lost sheep, carried us on his shoulders, and, taking on our human nature in the Incarnation, divinized us; with his death on the cross, he offered us to the Father, and with his resurrection, he exalted us.”The Pallium imposed on the new Pope evokes the Good Shepherd (see Jn 10:11), who carries the lost sheep on his shoulders (see Lk 15:4-7), as well as Peter’s triple profession of love before the risen Christ, who entrusts him with the mission “Feed my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17).In its current form, the Pallium is a narrow, white wool sash, curved in the center to fit the shoulders and draped over the chasuble, from which two rectangular black strips hang in front of the chest and down the back, forming the shape of a “Y.” It is decorated with six black silk crosses embroidered on its ends, shoulders, chest, and back, and adorned on the front and back with three pins (called acicula) that represent the three nails of Christ’s cross.The imposition of the Pallium, performed by a Cardinal of the Order of Deacons, is accompanied by a liturgical formula that recalls Christ as “the great shepherd of the sheep” (Heb 13:20), whom God raised from the dead. The text refers to the Confession of Peter and emphasizes the continuity of the new Pope’s ministry with the mission entrusted to the Apostle.After the imposition of the Pallium, a Cardinal of the Order of Priests invokes a special prayer to the Holy Spirit. The presentation of the Fisherman’s Ring, which has been the bishop’s insignia since the first millennium, then takes place.The ring the new Pope receives has particular value as a signet ring, a symbol of the authority conferred on Peter to confirm his brothers in the faith: “And you, once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Traditionally called the “Fisherman’s Ring,” it refers to the figure of the Apostle Peter, the fisherman from Galilee, whom Jesus called from his daily work to make him a “fisher of men” (cf. Mt 4:18-19; Mk 1:16-17). Peter, obeying the word of the Lord, cast his nets and witnessed the miraculous catch (cf. Lk 5:5) which were filled abundantly (cf. Jn 21:3-14).The presentation of the Ring is carried out by a Cardinal of the Order of Bishops. The text that accompanies this liturgical gesture underlines the unwavering hope that animated Peter when, at Jesus’ command, set out to sea, and cast his nets. It also recalls that Christ entrusted the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to him. In highlighting that the new Pontiff succeeds Peter in the pastoral leadership of the Church of Rome, the exhortation of the Apostle Paul is evoked, who points out that charity is the “fulfillment of the law” (Rom 13:8-10).The explicit reference to the Letter to the Romans (“Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”, Rom 5:5) recalls the teaching addressed by Paul to the Christian community of Rome. Likewise, the famous expression with which Saint Ignatius of Antioch addressed that same Church is cited, recognizing it as the one that “presides in charity.”The rite concludes with an invocation to the Holy Spirit, asking him to grant the new Successor of Peter the strength and gentleness necessary to safeguard unity and communion among Christ’s disciples. (FB) (Agenzia Fides, 17/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Pelosi Joins Bipartisan Congressional Delegation to Attend Pope Leo XIV’s Mass for the Beginning of his Pontificate

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi Representing the 12th District of California

Washington, D.C. — Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is traveling with a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Vatican to attend the inaugural Mass of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has inspired excitement, joy, love and gratitude in Catholics worldwide since his election was announced last week,” Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said. “For many of us, the name Leo XIV happily recalls Leo XIII whose legacy for workers’ rights and social justice was encapsulated in his Rerum Novarum where he wrote foundational calls to action on pressing issues of then and now – including migration and economic inequality. It is therefore my honor to join the Congressional delegation attending the inauguration of His Holiness to convey the prayers and warm regards of every American, especially Catholics, to the first pope from the United States.”

MIL OSI USA News –

May 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Audience with members of the “Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice” Foundation

Source: The Holy See

Audience with members of the “Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice” Foundation, 17.05.2025
This morning, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the members of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation.
The following is the Pope’s address to those present at the audience:

Address of the Holy Father
Good morning everyone!
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I thank the President and members of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation, and I greet all of you who are taking part in this annual International Conference and General Assembly.
The theme of this year’s Conference – “Overcoming Polarizations and Rebuilding Global Governance: The Ethical Foundations” – speaks to us of the deepest purpose of the Church’s social doctrine as a contribution to peace and dialogue in the service of building bridges of universal fraternity. Especially in this Easter season, we realize that the Risen Lord always goes before us, even at times when injustice and death seem to prevail. Let us help one another, as I said on the evening of my election, “to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace.” This is not something that happens by chance, but is rather an active and continuous interplay of grace and freedom, one that our meeting today seeks to respect and support.
Pope Leo XIII, who lived in an age of momentous and disruptive change, sought to promote peace by encouraging social dialogue between capital and labour, technology and human intelligence, and different political cultures and nations. Pope Francis spoke of a “polycrisis” in describing the dramatic nature of our own age, marked by wars, climate change, growing inequalities, forced and contested migration, stigmatized poverty, disruptive technological innovations, job insecurity and precarious labour rights (Message to Participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, 3 March 2025). On such important issues, the Church’s social doctrine is called to provide insights that facilitate dialogue between science and conscience, and thus make an essential contribution to better understanding, hope and peace.
This doctrine helps us to realize that more important than our problems or eventual solutions is the way we approach them, guided by criteria of discernment, sound ethical principles and openness to God’s grace.
You have the opportunity to show that the Church’s social doctrine, with its specific anthropological approach, seeks to encourage genuine engagement with social issues. It does not claim to possess a monopoly on truth, either in its analysis of problems or its proposal of concrete solutions. Where social questions are concerned, knowing how best to approach them is more important than providing immediate responses to why things happen or how to deal with them. The aim is to learn how to confront problems, for these are always different, since every generation is new, and faces new challenges, dreams and questions.
This is a fundamental aspect of our attempts to build a “culture of encounter” through dialogue and social friendship. For many of our contemporaries, the words “dialogue” and “doctrine” can seem incompatible. Perhaps when we hear the word “doctrine,” we tend to think of a set of ideas belonging to a religion. The word itself makes us feel less disposed to reflect, call things into question or seek new alternatives.
In the case of the Church’s social doctrine, we need to make clear that the word “doctrine” has another, more positive meaning, without which dialogue itself would be meaningless. “Doctrine” can be a synonym of “science,” “discipline” and “knowledge.” Understood in this way, doctrine appears as the product of research, and hence of hypotheses, discussions, progress and setbacks, all aimed at conveying a reliable, organized and systematic body of knowledge about a given issue. Consequently, a doctrine is not the same as an opinion, but is rather a common, collective and even multidisciplinary pursuit of truth.
“Indoctrination” is immoral. It stifles critical judgement and undermines the sacred freedom of respect for conscience, even if erroneous. It resists new notions and rejects movement, change or the evolution of ideas in the face of new problems. “Doctrine,” on the other hand, as a serious, serene and rigorous discourse, aims to teach us primarily how to approach problems and, even more importantly, how to approach people. It also helps us to make prudential judgements when confronted with challenges. Seriousness, rigour and serenity are what we must learn from every doctrine, including the Church’s social doctrine.
In the context of the ongoing digital revolution, we must rediscover, emphasize and cultivate our duty to train others in critical thinking, countering temptations to the contrary, which can also be found in ecclesial circles. There is so little dialogue around us; shouting often replaces it, not infrequently in the form of fake news and irrational arguments proposed by a few loud voices. Deeper reflection and study are essential, as well as a commitment to encounter and listen to the poor, who are a treasure for the Church and for humanity. Their viewpoints, though often disregarded, are vital if we are to see the world through God’s eyes. Those born and raised far from the centers of power should not merely be taught the Church’s social doctrine; they should also be recognized as carrying it forward and putting it into practice. Individuals committed to the betterment of society, popular movements and the various Catholic workers’ groups are an expression of those existential peripheries where hope endures and springs anew. I urge you to let the voice of the poor be heard.
Dear friends, as the Second Vatican Council states, “in every age, the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, if she is to carry out her task. In language intelligible to every generation, she should be able to answer the ever-recurring questions which people ask about the meaning of this present life and of the life to come, and how one is related to the other” (Gaudium et Spes, 4).
I invite you, then, to participate actively and creatively in this discernment process, and thus contribute, with all of God’s people, to the development of the Church’s social doctrine in this age of significant social changes, listening to everyone and engaging in dialogue with all. In our day, there is a widespread thirst for justice, a desire for authentic fatherhood and motherhood, a profound longing for spirituality, especially among young people and the marginalized, who do not always find effective means of making their needs known. There is a growing demand for the Church’s social doctrine, to which we need to respond.
I thank all of you for your commitment and for your prayers for my ministry, and I cordially bless you and your families, and all that you do. Thank you!

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 17, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Audience with the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See

Source: The Holy See

At 10.00 this morning, in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, on the occasion of the beginning of his Petrine ministry.
After the introductory words from the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, His Excellency Mr. Georges Poulides, Ambassador of Cyprus to the Holy See, the Pope delivered the following address:

Address of the Holy Father
Your Eminence,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Peace be with you!
I thank His Excellency Mr George Poulides, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, for his cordial greeting in your name, and for the tireless work that he has carried out with his characteristic energy, commitment and kindness. These qualities have earned him the esteem of all my predecessors whom he has met in these years of his mission to the Holy See, particularly the late Pope Francis.
I would also like to express my gratitude for your many messages of good wishes following my election, as well as those expressing condolence for the death of Pope Francis. Some of those messages also came from countries with which the Holy See does not have diplomatic relations, a significant sign of esteem that indicates a strengthening of mutual relations.
In our dialogue, I would like us always to preserve the sense of being a family. Indeed, the diplomatic community represents the entire family of peoples, a family that shares the joys and sorrows of life and the human and spiritual values that give it meaning and direction. Papal diplomacy is an expression of the very catholicity of the Church. In its diplomatic activity, the Holy See is inspired by a pastoral outreach that leads it not to seek privileges but to strengthen its evangelical mission at the service of humanity. Resisting all forms of indifference, it appeals to consciences, as witnessed by the constant efforts of my venerable predecessor, ever attentive to the cry of the poor, the needy and the marginalized, as well as to contemporary challenges, ranging from the protection of creation to artificial intelligence.
In addition to being a visible sign of your countries’ respect for the Apostolic See, your presence here today is a gift for me. It allows me to renew the Church’s aspiration — and my own — to reach out and embrace all individuals and peoples on the Earth, who need and yearn for truth, justice and peace! In a certain sense, my own life experience, which has spanned North America, South America and Europe, has been marked by this aspiration to transcend borders in order to encounter different peoples and cultures.
Through the constant and patient work of the Secretariat of State, I intend to strengthen understanding and dialogue with you and with your countries, many of which I have already had the grace to visit, especially during my time as Prior General of the Augustinians. I trust that God’s providence will allow me further occasions to get to know the countries from which you come and enable me to have occasions to confirm in the faith our many brothers and sisters throughout the world and to build new bridges with all people of good will.
In our dialogue, I would like us to keep in mind three essential words that represent the pillars of the Church’s missionary activity and the aim of the Holy See’s diplomacy.
The first word ispeace. All too often we consider it a “negative” word, indicative only of the absence of war and conflict, since opposition is a perennial part of human nature, frequently leading us to live in a constant “state of conflict” at home, at work and in society. Peace then appears simply as a respite, a pause between one dispute and another, given that, no matter how hard we try, tensions will always be present, a little like embers burning beneath the ashes, ready to ignite at any moment.
From a Christian perspective – but also in other religious traditions – peace is first and foremost a gift. It is the first gift of Christ: “My peace I give to you” (Jn14:27).Yet it is an active and demanding gift. It engages and challenges each of us, regardless of our cultural background or religious affiliation, demanding first of all that we work on ourselves. Peace is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words. For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill.
In this regard, I believe that religions and interreligious dialogue can make a fundamental contribution to fostering a climate of peace. This naturally requires full respect for religious freedom in every country, since religious experience is an essential dimension of the human person. Without it, it is difficult, if not impossible, to bring about the purification of the heart necessary for building peaceful relationships.
This effort, in which all of us are called to take part, can begin to eliminate the root causes of all conflicts and every destructive urge for conquest. It demands a genuine willingness to engage in dialogue, inspired by the desire to communicate rather than clash. As a result, there is a need to give new life to multilateral diplomacy and to those international institutions conceived and designed primarily to remedy eventual disputes within the international community. Naturally, there must also be a resolve to halt the production of instruments of destruction and death, since, as Pope Francis noted in his lastUrbi et OrbiMessage: No peace is “possible without true disarmament [and] the requirement that every people provide for its own defence must not turn into a race to rearmament.”[1]
The second word isjustice. Working for peace requires acting justly. As I have already mentioned, I chose my name thinking first of all of Leo XIII, the Pope of the first great social Encyclical,Rerum Novarum. In this time of epochal change, the Holy See cannot fail to make its voice heard in the face of the many imbalances and injustices that lead, not least, to unworthy working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies. Every effort should be made to overcome the global inequalities – between opulence and destitution – that are carving deep divides between continents, countries and even within individual societies.
It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies. This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman, “a small but genuine society, and prior to all civil society.”[2]In addition, no one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.
My own story is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate. All of us, in the course of our lives, can find ourselves healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country, yet our dignity always remains unchanged: it is the dignity of a creature willed and loved by God.
The third word istruth. Truly peaceful relationships cannot be built, also within the international community, apart from truth. Where words take on ambiguous and ambivalent connotations, and the virtual world, with its altered perception of reality, takes over unchecked, it is difficult to build authentic relationships, since the objective and real premises of communication are lacking.
For her part, the Church can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world, resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding. Yet truth can never be separated from charity, which always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman. Furthermore, from the Christian perspective, truth is not the affirmation of abstract and disembodied principles, but an encounter with the person of Christ himself, alive in the midst of the community of believers. Truth, then, does not create division, but rather enables us to confront all the more resolutely the challenges of our time, such as migration, the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the protection of our beloved planet Earth. These are challenges that require commitment and cooperation on the part of all, since no one can think of facing them alone.
Dear Ambassadors,
My ministry has begun in the heart of a Jubilee Year, devoted in a particular way to hope. It is a time of conversion and renewal and, above all, an opportunity to leave conflicts behind and embark on a new path, confident that, by working together, each of us in accordance with his or her own sensibilities and responsibilities, can build a world in which everyone can lead an authentically human life in truth, justice and peace. It is my hope that this will be the case everywhere, starting with those places that suffer most grievously, like Ukraine and the Holy Land.
I thank you for all the work you are doing to build bridges between your countries and the Holy See, and I cordially impart my blessing to you, your families and your peoples. Thank you! Thank you for all the work that you do!
_______________
[1]FRANCIS,Urbi et OrbiMessage, 20 April 2025.
[2] LEO XIII, EncyclicalRerum Novarum, 15 May 1891, 9.

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 17, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for May 17, 2025

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 17, 2025.

A life of service: celebrating the career of Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban
SPECIAL REPORT: By Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor, RNZ Pacific manager At this year’s May graduation ceremony, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University’s Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition for her contribution to education. Although she has now stepped down from the role, Luamanuvao served as the university’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Pasifika, for 14 years.

‘Manu jumping’: The physics behind making humongous splashes in the pool
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pankaj Rohilla, Postdoctoral Fellow in Fluid Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology Maybe you’ve unknowingly tried to do a manu jump. Isabel Pavia/Moment via Getty Images Whether diving off docks, cannonballing into lakes or leaping off the high board, there’s nothing quite like the joy of jumping into

Time for NZ media to ditch the propaganda and stand against genocide
COMMENTARY: By Saige England in Christchurch “RNZ is failing in its duty to inform the public of an entirely preventable humanitarian catastrophe.” Tautoko to Jeremy Rose, Ramon Das and Eugene Doyle for this critique of a review of RNZ’s coverage of a genocide. Sadly, this highlights RNZ’s failure to report the genocide from the perspective

Media Council makes ‘stop Telikom PNG silencing journalists’ plea to PM Marape
The Media Council of Papua New Guinea (MCPNG) has called on Prime Minister James Marape to stop Telikom PNG silencing and suppressing media personnel. Telikom PNG, which is 100 percent government-owned, has two key outlets: FM100 radio and EMTV. Recently, it sacked FM100 talkback host Culligan Tanda after he featured opposition East Sepik Governor Allan

Ben Roberts-Smith has lost an appeal in his long-running defamation case. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia The full Federal Court has dismissed Ben Roberts-Smith’s appeal to have his defamation case loss overturned. It is important in seeking to understand this judgement to know the history of the case. In June

With a new minister for early childhood education, what can the federal government do to make centres safer?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Victoria Minson, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Australian Catholic University This week, more reports emerged of horrific abuse of children at childcare centres. An ABC investigation reported young children had suffered burns and been verbally abused. In another case, a baby was repeatedly slapped by an

Australian researchers use a quantum computer to simulate how real molecules behave
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivan Kassal, Professor of Chemical Physics, University of Sydney University of Sydney Nano Institute When a molecule absorbs light, it undergoes a whirlwind of quantum-mechanical transformations. Electrons jump between energy levels, atoms vibrate, and chemical bonds shift — all within millionths of a billionth of a second.

To boost the nation’s health, the government’s proposed food strategy must put people over profits
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Walshe, Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Canberra crbellette/sShutterstock On election night, a triumphant Anthony Albanese took to the stage brandishing a Medicare card as a symbol of the nation’s commitment to public healthcare. As the re-elected government gets to work on its promised national food security strategy

You usually need more than a few drops of blood, saliva or urine to detect illnesses. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amali Cooray, PhD Candidate in Genetic Engineering and Cancer, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) Lumen Photos/Shutterstock In the 2000s, biotech company Theranos promised to revolutionise blood testing. Founder Elizabeth Holmes claimed Theranos technology could perform hundreds of tests using just a finger-prick drop

Some young trans people take sex hormones so their bodies better align with their gender. What are the benefits and risks?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cristyn Davies, Senior Research Fellow in the Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney romain-jorge/Shutterstock Triggered by hormonal changes in the brain and body, puberty marks a physical transformation. Oestrogen and testosterone – often called “sex hormones” – drive many

Saudi Arabia has big AI ambitions. They could come at the cost of human rights
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niusha Shafiabady, Associate Professor in Computational Intelligence, Australian Catholic University This week, on his tour of the Middle East, United States President Donald Trump unveiled a suite of new deals with Saudi Arabia. Trump claimed the deals were worth more than US$1 trillion (A$1.5 trillion). This is

Why Anthony Albanese’s presence at Pope Leo’s inauguration is shrewd politics
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese steps into St Peter’s Square for the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, the optics will be far more than pious courtesy. For a day, the Vatican will temporarily be the world’s

The space race is being reshaped by geopolitics, offering opportunities for countries such as New Zealand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Zámborský, Senior Lecturer, Management & International Business, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau NASA/Getty Imges The space economy is being reshaped — not just by innovation, but by geopolitics. What was once dominated by state space agencies, and more recently by private ventures, is evolving into

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 17, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Pope Leo to the Diplomatic Corps: Peace, Justice and Truth, ‘key words’ of papal diplomacy

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

VaticanMedia

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Peace, Justice, Truth. These are the three words Pope Leo XIV chose in his address to members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. Peace which is “the first gift of Christ”, an “active and demanding gift. It engages and challenges each of us”. Justice, which is also denied by “global inequalities – between opulence and destitution – that are carving deep divides between continents, countries and even within individual societies”. Truth, which “can never be separated from charity, always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman”.The “sui generis” Nature of Papal DiplomacyPope Leo began by thanking the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, for his cordial greeting, and recalling the tireless work that he has carried out with his characteristic energy, commitment and kindness”, stressing that papal diplomacy is “an expression of the very catholicity of the Church. In its diplomatic activity, the Holy See is inspired by a pastoral outreach that leads it not to seek privileges but to strengthen its evangelical mission at the service of humanity.” For this reason it appeals to consciences, as witnessed by the constant efforts of my venerable predecessor, ever attentive to the cry of the poor, the needy and the marginalized, as well as to contemporary challenges, ranging from the protection of creation to artificial intelligence”. The Pope born in Chicago then referred to his “own life experience, which has spanned North America, South America and Europe, has been marked by this aspiration to transcend borders in order to encounter different peoples and cultures. Through the constant and patient work of the Secretariat of State”, Pope Leo continued, “I intend to strengthen understanding and dialogue with you and with your countries, many of which I have already had the grace to visit, especially during my time as Prior General of the Augustinians. I trust that God’s providence will allow me further occasions to get to know the countries from which you come and enable me to have occasions to confirm in the faith our many brothers and sisters throughout the world and to build new bridges with all people of good will”.Human Nature and the Gift of PeaceThen, recognizing, with the Christian realism with which Saint Augustine and the Fathers of the Church also contemplated the condition of the human race, marked by Original Sin, the Pope said: “it is part of human nature and always accompanies us, pushing us too to live in a constant “state of conflict” at home, at work and in society”. And “no matter how hard we try, tensions will always be present, a little like embers burning beneath the ashes, ready to ignite at any moment”.In this state of affairs – the Bishop of Rome added – “peace is first and foremost a gift. It is the first gift of Christ”. Yet it is “an active and demanding gift. It engages and challenges each of us, regardless of our cultural background or religious affiliation, demanding first of all that we work on ourselves. Peace – he added -is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words. For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill”. Looking at global scenarios, Pope Leo recognized “the fundamental contribution to fostering a climate of peace. This naturally requires full respect for religious freedom in every country, since religious experience is an essential dimension of the human person. Without it, it is difficult, if not impossible, to bring about the purification of the heart necessary for building peaceful relationships”. The Pontiff also reiterated that “there is a need to give new life to multilateral diplomacy and to those international institutions conceived and designed primarily to remedy eventual disputes within the international community”. Furthermore – he added – “there must also be a resolve to halt the production of instruments of destruction and death, since, as Pope Francis noted in his last Urbi et Orbi Message: No peace is “possible without true disarmament [and] the requirement that every people provide for its own defence must not turn into a race to rearmament.”Justice and the faces of the new “Social Question”“I chose my name,” Pope Leo XIV repeated, introducing the reflections on justice – “thinking first of all of Leo XIII, the Pope of the first great social Encyclical, Rerum Novarum. In this time of epochal change, the Holy See cannot fail to make its voice heard in the face of the many imbalances and injustices that lead, not least, to unworthy working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies.”To build “harmonious and peaceful civil societies”- the Pontiff underlined in this passage of his speech – it is necessary to invest “in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman”, and to ensure that “respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike. My own story”, he added, making another reference to his personal story in his speech, “is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate. All of us, in the course of our lives, can find ourselves healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country, yet our dignity always remains unchanged: it is the dignity of a creature willed and loved by God”.Truth is an encounter“Truly peaceful relationships cannot be built, also within the international community,” the Pontiff remarked, dwelling on the third key word of his speech – apart from truth. Because “where words take on ambiguous and ambivalent connotations, and the virtual world, with its altered perception of reality, takes over unchecked, it is difficult to build authentic relationships, since the objective and real premises of communication are lacking.” The Church, for her part –Pope Prevost added – “can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world, resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding. Yet truth can never be separated from charity, which always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman”. And from the Christian perspective – the Pontiff clarified – “truth is not the affirmation of abstract and disembodied principles, but an encounter with the person of Christ himself, alive in the midst of the community of believers. Truth, then, does not create division, but rather enables us to confront all the more resolutely the challenges of our time, such as migration, the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the protection of our beloved planet Earth”. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 16/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 17, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Why Anthony Albanese’s presence at Pope Leo’s inauguration is shrewd politics

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University

When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese steps into St Peter’s Square for the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, the optics will be far more than pious courtesy.

For a day, the Vatican will temporarily be the world’s premier diplomatic stage. And a canny Australian leader can use such an occasion to advance domestic and foreign policy agendas simultaneously.

Faith optics and domestic politics

Albanese has lately spoken of “reconnecting” with his Catholic heritage. He called the election of the US-born pontiff “momentous” for believers and non-believers alike.

In multicultural Australia, where roughly one in four citizens identifies as Catholic, Albanese’s trip to the Vatican allows him to reassure a core constituency that sometimes feels politically overlooked: Catholics.

This signalling costs Albanese nothing. Yet, it helps to boost Labor’s broader narrative of inclusion and respect for faith communities.

St Peter’s Square as a diplomatic crossroads

The inaugural mass will also attract a rare concentration of global powerbrokers in one square kilometre. The head-of-state guest list is still fluid, but several confirmations make the trip worth Albanese’s while.

Albanese’s most immediate objective will likely be to revive free-trade negotiations with the European Union, which broke down in 2023.

The Australian has reported that Albanese hopes to bend the ear of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.

Albanese will also get a chance to meet Prince Edward, who will represent King Charles III, as well as his newly elected counterpart in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend after a week of overtures to the new pope concerning Kyiv’s quest for a just peace in its war with Russia.

Speculation was swirling around the possibility of US President Donald Trump returning to Rome, fresh from his high-visibility appearance at Pope Francis’s funeral on April 26.

But Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation, joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

For Albanese, a corridor encounter with Vance would allow him to set a personal tone before his expected visit to Washington later this year, without the media glare that accompanies an Oval Office photo-op.

Why leaders flock to the Vatican

Some commentators may frame the attendance of world leaders at the mass cynically: a chance to use a sacred event for their own political purposes.

Yet, politicians have long been a fixture at papal events. Such participation is hardly exceptional. It reflects a centuries-old dynamic in which those with temporal political power seek moral sanction, and the papacy demonstrates its enduring capacity to convene the political order.

Pope Francis’s inauguration in 2013 drew 31 heads of state and 132 official delegations from national governments or international organisations.

And John Paul II’s funeral in 2005 assembled more than 80 sitting heads of state. It was one of the largest gatherings of leaders in modern history.

Why does the Vatican exert such magnetic pull?

First, it is a neutral micro-state whose moral authority can confer legitimacy on secular, political initiatives. Consider, for example, John Paul II’s role in Poland’s democratic revolution.

Second, the Holy See’s diplomatic corps is the world’s oldest continuous foreign service. It boasts diplomatic relations with 184 states, including Palestine and Taiwan (one of a dozen states in the world to do so).

Although every pontiff is first and foremost the universal pastor of the Catholic Church, the Lateran Treaty of 1929 also endowed him with full sovereignty over the territory of Vatican City.

The pope’s head-of-state status is most visible at multilateral forums. In 2024, for instance, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to address a G7 summit, speaking in a special session on artificial intelligence.

He also had a string of bilateral meetings on the sidelines with the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, France, Brazil, Turkey, Canada and India, among others.

When a pope travels, host governments roll out the symbols of a state visit, though the Vatican insists on calling such trips “apostolic journeys”. Conversely, when foreign leaders come to Rome, they are received in the pope’s own apartments, not in a government palace. These meetings therefore take on a spiritual, as well as political, cast.

In short, the pope moves with ease between being a shepherd and sovereign. His spiritual authority opens doors for dialogue, while his head-of-state status allows him to receive ambassadors, sign treaties and sit across the table from presidents and prime ministers.

The result is a singular blend of moral voice and diplomatic reach unmatched in global affairs.

Pragmatic statecraft under the colonnade

For a middle-power such as Australia, dialogue between a prime minister and a pope can have a multiplier top-down effect. These discussions often echo across chancelleries in the Global South, especially in Catholic Latin America and the Philippines. These are both priority markets for Australian education and green-hydrogen exports.

In Rome, Albanese can also affirm Australia’s commitment to multilateralism at a moment when Indo-Pacific tensions have nudged Canberra towards increased defence spending and an over-militarised image. The sacred stage permits a softer register: diplomacy as dialogue, not deterrence.

When the incense clears on Sunday, most viewers will remember the pageantry: the fisherman’s ring (a gold signet ring cast for each new pope), the pallium (the white woollen band draped over the pope’s shoulders during mass), and the roar of 100,000 pilgrims.

Yet, the quieter choreography in the diplomatic boxes may shape trade flows, security partnerships and refugee corridors for years.

Albanese appears to have recognised this rare alchemy. Showing up in Rome is pragmatic statecraft, executed under Bernini’s colonnade. This is where religious and political figures have long mingled — and will continue to do so as long as popes and prime minister seize the moment.

Darius von Guttner Sporzynski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why Anthony Albanese’s presence at Pope Leo’s inauguration is shrewd politics – https://theconversation.com/why-anthony-albaneses-presence-at-pope-leos-inauguration-is-shrewd-politics-256696

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis drew inspiration from Latin American church and its martyrs – leaving a legacy for Pope Leo

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo, Associate Professor of Catholic and Latin American Studies, Wake Forest University

A mural of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero decorates a wall in Panchimalco, El Salvador, May 21, 2015. AP Photo/Salvador Melendez

Pope Leo XIV’s election marks a historic moment: the first pope from an English-speaking country, and the first from the United States. Even more significant than these “firsts,” I believe, is a “second”: Leo follows in Pope Francis’ footsteps as a priest shaped by the Latin American church.

The new pontiff served the church in Peru throughout the late 1980s and ‘90s. Francis called him back to serve from 2015-2023 as bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo – where Catholics today are rejoicing over the election of one of their own, “un papa Chiclayano.”

As a Catholic theologian, I believe the College of Cardinals’ decision to elect another pontiff with such strong ties to Latin America reaffirms the continent’s influence on the global church’s sense of mission: to be a church that defends the marginalized and stands in solidarity with the oppressed.

This vision is embodied by the continent’s many Catholics who have given their lives for speaking out against repression, violence and poverty over the past 50 years – most famously St. Oscar Romero, whom Francis beatified in May 2015.

Having studied Latin American martyrdom closely, I would argue that Francis’ pontificate was at least partially inspired by these martyrs’ example, forged in blood. His decision to officially recognize this form of martyrdom adds to the legacy that many Latin American Catholics are hoping Leo will continue.

‘Church of the poor’

The Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings of bishops from around the world that took place between 1962-65, brought about a number of reforms in the Catholic church, including greater focus on the poor and vulnerable. During the council, a group of bishops gathered in the Catacombs of Saint Domitilla to sign a pact in which they committed themselves to renouncing wealth and privilege and becoming a “church of the poor.”

Many of these bishops were from Latin America, and in 1968, the Latin American Bishops’ Conference met to implement the council’s reforms. The documents that emerged from this meeting in Medellín, Colombia, encouraged closeness to people living in poverty and placed the promotion of justice and peace at the heart of the church’s evangelizing mission. In particular, they emphasized the church’s call to help liberate the oppressed from unjust social structures that produce poverty and violence.

Pope Francis, then a cardinal, kisses a man’s foot during a Mass with youth trying to overcome drug addictions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2008.
AP Photo

Not all Latin American bishops embraced this vision of the church’s mission. But many took the call to solidarity very seriously, denouncing economic injustices and human rights violations. These bishops and other socially committed Christians promoted causes like land reform, agricultural cooperatives, workers’ rights and access to health care and education.

At the time, many Latin American countries were marked by vast inequalities, military dictatorships and violent political repression. These regimes, many of which were backed by the United States, often labeled any opposition as “communist” and a threat to national security.

Some Latin American bishops – along with many priests, nuns and laypeople – paid for their faith-inspired commitments to justice and peace with their lives. Thousands of Christians were assassinated during the late 20th century because they stood up for the rights of the poor, or they spoke out against oligarchs for hoarding wealth, land and power. Others were targeted after denouncing military regimes for massacring, torturing and “disappearing” civilians.

Within some sectors of Latin American Catholicism, these women and men are remembered as “martyrs”: people who, like Jesus of Nazareth, gave their lives for following what they saw as God’s mandate to speak the truth and practice compassion, justice and peace.

Pope’s recognition

During Francis’ pontificate, he officially recognized several of these Christians as martyrs, moving their cause for sainthood toward beatification and canonization. Beatification officially declares a person to be “blessed” and allows them to be venerated locally, while canonization makes them a full saint for the global church.

Students hold up art depicting slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero as they walk to the chapel in San Salvador where he was shot and killed.
AP Photo/Salvador Melendez

For example, Bishop Enrique Ángel Angelelli was assassinated in 1976 for his solidarity with the poor and defense of workers’ rights during Argentina’s Dirty War – a violent campaign of state terrorism against critics of the military junta. Francis declared him a martyr in 2018. The following year, Angelelli was beatified, along with two priests and a lay leader from the same province who were all similarly martyred just weeks before.

Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero was equally committed to defending the poor of El Salvador during the years of armed conflict leading up to the Salvadoran Civil War. In his Sunday homilies, he named people who had been imprisoned, tortured and disappeared by military and paramilitary forces, and drew on the Gospel and church teaching to challenge the violence and oppression of the day.

His promotion of human rights and his demand that the military “stop the repression” led to his assassination while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980. Francis declared Romero a martyr and beatified him in 2015, then canonized him in 2018.

Pope Francis views an image of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero during a private audience at the Vatican in 2015.
L’Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP

These actions placed a stamp of approval on how leaders like Angelelli and Romero embodied the church’s mission in their own time and place. But Francis’ recognition also made a broader statement about how the church should relate to the “powers and principalities” of the world. Throughout his papacy, Francis continued these martyrs’ commitment by standing with people on the “peripheries”: washing the feet of prisoners, defending the rights of migrants and demanding care for the Earth.

Martyrs of the Earth

In the 21st century, care for the Earth is producing a whole new generation of martyrs like Angelelli and Romero. Land and environmental defenders in Latin America and around the world are being assassinated for their work to mitigate harm from industries like fossil fuel extraction, mining, logging, ranching and more.

In September 2024, Francis signaled his awareness of this phenomenon when he lamented the murder of Juan Antonio López. López was a lay Catholic leader in Honduras whose faith inspired him to defend local communities, lands and rivers from open-pit iron oxide mining.

The Latin American bishops’ conference has taken note of this resurgence in violent persecution. In December 2024, it launched a campaign called “Life is hanging on by a thread,” promoting solidarity with the work of ecological and human rights defenders like López.

As a former vice president of the Peruvian bishops’ conference, Pope Leo XIV is likely aware of this campaign and the violence that it hopes to disarm.

The new pope had a close relationship with Francis, whose legacy looms large. A key inspiration for that legacy, however, is the witness of Latin American Christians whose blood has been shed for justice, peace and the environment.

Only time will tell if this new pontiff’s leadership continues their indomitable solidarity with people whom, in Francis’ words, this world has deemed to be “disposable.”

Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Pope Francis drew inspiration from Latin American church and its martyrs – leaving a legacy for Pope Leo – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-drew-inspiration-from-latin-american-church-and-its-martyrs-leaving-a-legacy-for-pope-leo-255582

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: What Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms and motto reveal about his dedication to the ideals of St. Augustine − an art historian explains

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, College of the Holy Cross

A 17th-century stained glass image of St. Augustine. Artist Tobias Müller, 1622. Michel M. Raguin, with the permission of the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton NJ, U.S.

Pope Leo XIV has announced his motto and coat of arms – a long-held tradition for those in the ranks of bishops, cardinals and popes. The choice of symbols and words reflects the person’s experience.

Leo’s shield is divided diagonally: The upper half shows a white lily on a blue background, and the lower shows the emblem of the Order of St. Augustine – an order to which he belongs. His motto reads, “In Illo uno unam,” translated as “In the One, we are one,” which are words of St. Augustine from his Exposition on Psalm 127, Paragraph 2: “I understand one in the One Christ. You are therefore many, and you are one; we are many, and we are one. ”

In choosing this motto, Leo includes the identifying symbol of Augustine, a heart pierced by an arrow.

Coat of Arms of Pope Leo XIV.
Photo courtesy of the Holy See Press Office

As an art historian, I explain how Renaissance artists portrayed Augustine’s humility – and what the choice of the motto might tell us about the new pope.
.

The Order of St. Augustine

Augustine lived in the late fourth century, ultimately serving as bishop of Hippo in northern Africa for 34 years. The Augustinian order was founded in 1244 after several communities of hermits living in the region of Tuscany, Italy, petitioned Pope Innocent IV to form a single order. The pope gave them the Rule of Saint Augustine as a code of living, which stated: “Call nothing your own, but let everything be yours in common; [do] not seek after what is vain and earthly.”

Augustine’s status as a scholar, theologian and administrator made him a widely depicted saint. For example, he appears in a stained glass window commissioned by a pastor in 1622, in which he holds his symbol of the heart pierced with the arrow resting on a book on his lap.

The image relates to a phrase from Augustine’s book “The Confessions”: “Thou hadst pierced our heart with thy love, and we carried thy words, as it were, thrust through our vitals.”

In this stained-glass image, the saint is seen speaking to a child. The 1483 translation of the “Golden Legend,” a collection of saints’ lives, explains that while struggling to write his treatise “On the Trinity,” Augustine was walking at the seashore and saw a child filling a tiny pit with water.

When the child explained that he was bringing the ocean into the pit, Augustine scolded him for being silly. The child answered that he would sooner fit all the water of the sea into the pit than Augustine could bring the mystery of the Trinity into his limited human understanding. The Trinity is the Christian concept that God is not a single person but three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – united in a single divine and eternal nature.

This lesson in humility became widely depicted across the centuries. In 1482, an altarpiece by the painter and sculptor Michael Pacher shows Augustine with a child at his feet holding a spoon.

Augustine’s scholarship

Augustine’s legacy includes not only “The Confessions,” one of the most widely read books of medieval and early modern times, and “On the Trinity,” but many others, including “The City of God,” a monumental work of over 1,000 pages.

Fresco of St. Augustine.
Sandro Botticelli via Wikimedia Commons

Sandro Botticelli’s 1480 painting of Augustine in his study shows the saint searching for clarity of thought as he pauses his writing.

Dressed simply in a long white garment and a cloak, he has set aside his bishop’s miter, an official hat – also a gesture of humility. His study is crowded with books; on the right, behind his head, a book is open to a study of geometry.

Botticelli tries to show the saint as a scholar in ancient times by placing on the left an old and discredited celestial model that depicts the Earth at the center of the universe, with the Sun, Moon, planets and stars revolving around it. We, with modern knowledge, understand that despite his intelligence, Augustine cannot know everything.

Leo has been both a scholar and pastor. He served as a professor of canon law and early Christian theology at San Carlos y San Marcelo, a seminary in Peru.

Yet, like the founder of his order, his words at this first Mass reflected his humility when he said that his appointment as pope was “both a cross and a blessing” and spoke of the responsibility he and the cardinals have in the world.

Virginia Raguin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms and motto reveal about his dedication to the ideals of St. Augustine − an art historian explains – https://theconversation.com/what-pope-leo-xivs-coat-of-arms-and-motto-reveal-about-his-dedication-to-the-ideals-of-st-augustine-an-art-historian-explains-256539

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Audience with the Brothers of the Christian Schools

Source: The Holy See

This morning, the Holy Father Leo XIV met with the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present at the audience:

Address of the Holy Father
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, peace be with you.
Your Eminence,
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I am very pleased to receive you, in the third centenary of the promulgation of the Bull In apostolicae Dignitatis solio, with which Pope Benedict XIII approved your Institute and your Regulations (26 January 1725). It also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the proclamation, by Pope Pius XII, of Saint John Baptist de La Salle as “Heavenly patron of all educators” (cf. Apostolic Letter Quod ait, 15 May 1950: AAS 12, 1950, 631-632.
After three centuries, it is good to see how your presence continues to bear the freshness of a rich and vast educational entity, with which, in various parts of the world, you still dedicate yourselves to the formation of the young with enthusiasm, fidelity and a spirit of sacrifice.
Precisely in the light of this anniversary, I would like to pause and reflect with you on two aspects of your history that I consider important for all of us: attention to current events and the ministerial and missionary dimension of teaching in the community.
The beginnings of your work say a great deal about “current events”. Saint John Baptist de La Salle began by responding to the request for help from a layperson, Adriano Nyel, who was struggling to maintain his “school of the poor”. Your founder recognized in his request for help a sign of God; he accepted the challenge and set to work. Thus, beyond his own intentions and expectations, he brought to life to a new teaching system: that of the Christian Schools, free and open to everyone. Among the innovative elements he introduced in this pedagogical revolution were the teaching of classes and no longer of individual pupils; instead of Latin, the adoption of French as the language of instruction, which was accessible to all; Sunday lessons, in which even young people forced to work on weekdays were able to participate; and the involvement of families in the school curriculum, according to the principle of the “educational triangle”, which is still valid today. Thus, problems, as they arose, instead of discouraging him, stimulated him to seek creative answers and to venture onto new and often unexplored paths.
All this can but make us think, and it also raises useful questions. What, in the world of youth today, are the most urgent challenges to be faced? What values are to be promoted? What resources can be counted on?
Young people of our time, like those of every age, are a volcano of life, energy, sentiments and ideas. It can be seen from the wonderful things they are able to do, in so many fields. However, they also need help in order for this great wealth to grow in harmony, and to overcome what, albeit in a different way to the past, can still hinder their healthy development.
While, for example, in the seventeenth century the use of the Latin language was an insuperable barrier to communication for many people, today there are other obstacles to be faced. Think of the isolation caused by rampant relational models increasingly marked by superficiality, individualism and emotional instability; the spread of patterns of thought weakened by relativism; and the prevalence of rhythms and lifestyles in which there is not enough room for listening, reflection and dialogue, at school, in the family, and sometimes among peers themselves, with consequent loneliness.
These are demanding challenges, but we too, like Saint John Baptist de La Salle, can turn them into springboards to explore ways, develop tools and adopt new languages to continue to touch the hearts of pupils, helping them and spurring them on to face every obstacle with courage in order to give the best of themselves in life, according to God’s plans. In this sense, the attention you pay, in your schools, to the training of teachers and to the creation of educating communities in which the teaching effort is enriched by the contribution of all is commendable. I encourage you to continue along these paths.
But I would like to point out another aspect of the Lasallian reality that I consider important: teaching lived as ministry and mission, as consecration in the Church. Saint John Baptist de La Salle did not want there to be priests among the teachers of the Christian Schools, but only “brothers”, so that all your efforts would be directed, with God’s help, to the education of the pupils. He loved to say: “Your altar is the cathedra”, thus promoting a reality hitherto unknown in the Church of his time: that of lay teachers and catechists, invested in the community with a genuine “ministry”, in accordance with the principle of evangelizing by educating, and educating by evangelizing (cf. Francis, Address to participants in the General Chapter of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, 21 May 2022).
In this way the charism of the school, which you embrace with the fourth vow of teaching, besides being a service to society and a valuable work of charity, still appears today as one of the most beautiful and eloquent expressions of that priestly, prophetic and kingly munus we have all received in Baptism, as highlighted in the documents of the Vatican Council II. Thus, in your educational entities, religious brothers make prophetically visible, through their consecration, the baptismal ministry that spurs everyone (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 44), each according to his or her status and duties, without differences, “as living members, to expend all their energy for the growth of the Church and its continuous sanctification” (ivi., 33).
For this reason, I hope that vocations to Lasallian religious consecration may grow, that they may be encouraged and promoted, in your schools and outside them, and that, in synergy with all the other formative components, they may contribute to inspiring joyful and fruitful paths of holiness among the young people who attend them.
Thank you for what you do! I pray for you, and I impart to you the apostolic Blessing, which I gladly extend to all the Lasallian Family.

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: EUROPE/UKRAINE – Father Luca Bovio, IMC, at the head of the newly established national direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), appointed Father Luca Bovio, IMC, as director of the national direction of the newly established Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Ukraine on March 25, 2025, for the five-year period 2025-2030.Born in Milan on October 19, 1970, Father Bovio experienced missionary volunteering as a lay person in Tanzania before joining the Consolata Missionaries in 1996. He completed his philosophical studies at the Interdiocesan Theological Study of Fossano, affiliated with the Faculty of Theology of Northern Italy (1998-2000), and his theological studies at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome (2001-2004). He was ordained a priest in Milan in 2006. He obtained a degree in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (2005-2007). In 2008, together with two confreres, he founded the first community of Consolata Missionaries in Poland.Since 2012, he has served as National Secretary of the Pontifical Missionary Union within the Polish PMS, playing a key role in organizing missionary congresses and in the formation of local clergy. He has been responsible for the Kielpino community since 2013 and has also been the Province’s Delegate to the Conference of Major Superiors of Poland.In 2019, he obtained his doctorate in Missiology at the University named after Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in Warsaw. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Father Bovio has visited the country many times, providing humanitarian support to several dioceses and strengthening his ties with the local Church. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 14/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Leo XIV to Eastern Catholics: You are precious. Continue to be outstanding for your faith, hope, and charity, and nothing else

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

VaticanMedia

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “You are precious”. “The Church needs you”. “Continue to be outstanding for your faith, hope, and charity, and nothing else”. Pope Leo XIV receives in audience a multitude of baptized men and women of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Paul VI Hall who have come to Rome accompanied by their Patriarchs and Bishops to celebrate their Jubilee of Hope. And he addresses them with an intense and important speech for the entire universal Church. He uses words which highlight the great “contribution that the Christian East can offer us today is immense”. Words that recall the suffering endured by the Eastern Christian in many war scenarios and are transformed into a new, passionate appeal for peace by the new Bishop of Rome, determined in repeating “I will make every effort so that this peace may prevail”, and that “the Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace”.The topicality of Leo XIII”Christ is risen. He is truly risen”. Pope Leo thus greets the multitude that today, Wednesday, May 14, welcomed him joyfully in the Nervi Hall, and immediately recalls that with those words, “Eastern Christians in many lands never tire of repeating during the Easter season, as they profess the very heart of our faith and hope, a hope unshakably grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ”.Then the Pontiff born in Chicago weaves a speech full of gratitude for the treasure of faith represented by the Churches of the East, a wealth that draws from the source of the faith of the Apostles.Pope Prevost quotes Pope Francis, to repeat that the Eastern Churches with their spiritual heritage “have so much to say to us about the Christian life, synodality, and the liturgy”; he quotes John Paul II, for whom the Churches of the East have “a unique and privileged role as the original setting where the Church was born”, and some of their liturgies still use the language of the Lord Jesus.The Pontiff also disseminates in his speech quotations from Eastern Fathers, from Ephrem the Syrian to Isaac of Nineveh; he also cites Pope Leo XIII, the Pontiff who inspired him in choosing his name as Successor of Peter.Pope Pecci – recalls Leo XIV – “was the first Pope to devote a specific document to the dignity of your Churches, inspired above all by the fact that, in his words, “the work of human redemption began in the East”, and above all “made a heartfelt appeal that the “legitimate variety of Eastern liturgy and discipline… may redound to the great honor and benefit of the Church”. His concern at that time – Pope Prevost recognizes that – “In our own day too, many of our Eastern brothers and sisters, including some of you, have been forced to flee their homelands because of war and persecution, instability and poverty, and risk losing not only their native lands, but also, when they reach the West, their religious identity. As a result, with the passing of generations, the priceless heritage of the Eastern Churches is being lost”. Leo XIII, in his time, took concrete measures to promote the preservation of the rites of the Eastern Catholic Churches, prohibiting missionaries of the Latin Church from “attracting any Eastern-Rite Catholic to the Latin Rite”. With the same concreteness, Pope Leo XIV emphasized today that “in addition to establishing Eastern circumscriptions wherever possible and opportune, there is a need to promote greater awareness among Latin Christians. In this regard, I ask the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches – which I thank for its work – to help me to define principles, norms, and guidelines whereby Latin Bishops can concretely support Eastern Catholics in the diaspora in their efforts to preserve their living traditions and thus, by their distinctive witness, to enrich the communities in which they live”.Familiarity with the MysteryThe help that can come from the East to Christians throughout the world touches the most intimate fibers of their baptismal faith. “We have great need”, Pope Leo recognized, “to recover the sense of mystery that remains alive in your liturgies, liturgies that engage the human person in his or her entirety, that sing of the beauty of salvation and evoke a sense of wonder at how God’s majesty embraces our human frailty”. And “it is likewise important”, continued the US-born Pontiff, “to rediscover, especially in the Christian West, a sense of the primacy of God, the importance of mystagogy and the values so typical of Eastern spirituality: constant intercession, penance, fasting, and weeping for one’s own sins and for those of all humanity (penthos)! It is vital, then, that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them, for the sake perhaps of practicality or convenience, lest they be corrupted by the mentality of consumerism and utilitarianism”.”Your traditions of spirituality,” Pope Leo recalled in one of the most intense passages of his reflection, “are medicinal. In them, the drama of human misery is combined with wonder at God’s mercy, so that our sinfulness does not lead to despair, but opens us to accepting the gracious gift of becoming creatures who are healed, divinized and raised to the heights of heaven.”The peace of Christ and the Manichean “notions”Christians of the East – Pope Leo acknowledged – often find themselves “singing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence” and amid the horrors of war. “From the Holy Land to Ukraine, from Lebanon to Syria, from the Middle East to Tigray and the Caucasus, how much violence do we see! And rising up from this horror,” the Pontiff continued, “from the slaughter of so many young people, which ought to provoke outrage because lives are being sacrificed in the name of military conquest, there resounds an appeal: the appeal not so much of the Pope, but of Christ himself, who repeats: “Peace be with you!”Looking at the tribulations of the Christians of the East, the Successor of Peter repeated words full of suggestions and referable to the evil roots of all the conflicts that tear the world apart. “Christ’s peace,” said the Bishop of Rome, “is not the sepulchral silence that reigns after conflict; it is not the fruit of oppression, but rather a gift that is meant for all, a gift that brings new life.” After reiterating his and the Holy See’s involvement in safeguarding and making every possible seed of peace flourish, Pope Leo XIV addressed the “leaders of the peoples: let us meet – he said -, let us talk, let us negotiate! War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering. Our neighbours are not first our enemies, but our fellow human beings; not criminals to be hated, but other men and women with whom we can speak. Let us reject” added the Pontiff “the Manichean notions so typical of that mindset of violence that divides the world into those who are good and those who are evil”, adding that “the Church will never tire of repeating: let weapons be silenced. I would like to thank God for all those who, in silence, prayer and self-sacrifice, are sowing seeds of peace. I thank God for those Christians – Eastern and Latin alike – who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them. Christians – continued the Bishop of Rome – must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence. Please, let us strive for this!” (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 14/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Chelsea Stieber, Associate Professor of French Studies, Tulane University

Pope Leo XIV appears before thousands of journalists on May 12, 2025, in Vatican City. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Early coverage of Pope Leo XIV has explored the first American pontiff’s Chicago upbringing, as well as the many years he spent in Peru, first as a missionary and then as a bishop.

Genealogist Jari Honora broke the story of the pope’s ancestors’ connection to the Creole of color community in New Orleans. A family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center, Honora has given research presentations to my graduate students and consulted with me on my own work. In his research on Leo’s lineage, he was also able to find several official documents that list Haiti as the birthplace of his maternal grandfather, Joseph Norval Martinez.

The pope’s Creole lineage in Louisiana is interesting enough. But many commentators have strained to make sense of the link to Haiti, if they mention it at all.

As an expert in 19th-century Haiti, I study the period during which Leo’s ancestors likely traveled between Haiti and New Orleans before migrating to Chicago. Their story is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration.

A grandfather born in Haiti

It’s worth noting that Leo’s genealogy is not entirely straightforward.

At least one record indicates Joseph Norval as having been born in Louisiana. And a 1910 census seems to reinvent the family lineage: Martinez is now “Martina,” Joseph’s birthplace is “S. Domingo,” and he is supposedly Maltese.

Nevertheless, far more documents – numerous census records as well as his marriage certificate – identify Martinez’s place of birth as Haiti. An 1866 passenger list for a ship bound for New Orleans from Haiti, despite some inconsistencies, does indeed appear to list members of the Martinez family, including his father and three siblings.

Just because Leo’s grandfather was born in Haiti, it didn’t mean he was Haitian. Instead, he belonged to a class of people in New Orleans known as Creoles of color.

A three-pronged racial order

It’s important to understand the historical complexity of the Creole identity in New Orleans and in Louisiana, and its continued significance today.

The descriptor “Creole of color” is somewhat anachronistic; it emerges at the end of the 19th century in Louisiana to categorize the descendants of a historically subordinate class known as free people of color, or “gens de couleur libres” in French.

Portrait of a Free Woman of Color by François Jacques Fleischbein.
Courtesy of the Historic New Orleans Collection

It has its origins in the tripartite racial order of the French and Spanish colonial periods in the Americas, when authorities created a hierarchy of legal classes: enslaved people, free people of African descent, and white people.

In theory, free people of color encompassed a range of people. It could describe formerly enslaved people; people who had never been enslaved; people born in Africa; or people with extended, mixed-race American families.

In 19th-century Louisiana, the term generally referred to people of mixed racial ancestry who were born with free status, though at varying degrees of removal from slavery. They generally spoke French and were Catholic.

Though they were subject to repressive laws and could never become citizens and gain the right to vote, free people of color could own, inherit and sell property, including enslaved people. Most worked as artisans and shopkeepers, and a handful became quite wealthy through trade and real estate.

The Martinez family fits squarely within this community.

Census records from 1850 list Jacques Martinez – Joseph Norval Martinez’s father and Leo’s maternal great-grandfather – as a tailor and modest property owner in New Orleans. They were never enslaved but do not appear to have been enslavers, either.

Life gets worse for people of color

So why was Joseph Norval Martinez born in Haiti?

At some point, his parents probably felt they had to leave New Orleans.

Despite their relative prosperity, free people of color in Louisiana and throughout the United States were being subjected to increasing legal restrictions, repression and violence in the years leading up to the Civil War.

This situation worsened in the 1840s and ‘50s, as white Southerners worked to further restrict citizenship and rights along hard racial lines. The 1857 Dred Scott Supreme Court decision affirmed that any people descended from Africa, including free people of color, had no right to citizenship.

For those who remained in the South, the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 would have made life even more difficult.

In the first half of the 19th century, many free people of color in Louisiana emigrated to France. But the two main options in the 1860s were Haiti and Mexico.

However, at the time of the Martinez family’s departure, Mexico was embroiled in conflict with France. Haiti, meanwhile, was crafting an ambitious plan to attract immigrants.

After the 1804 Haitian Revolution – the uprising against French colonizers that led to the creation of Haiti – the nation became the first in the world to permanently ban slavery. For this reason, many people of color viewed Haiti as a beacon of freedom and equality.

Indeed, Haiti long promoted itself as a free soil republic: Any person with African descent would enjoy freedom and, eventually, Haitian citizenship. Several Haitian presidents staged immigration campaigns to attract enslaved and formerly enslaved laborers from the United States.

Fabre Geffrard served as president of Haiti from 1859 to 1867.
Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

In response to worsening conditions for people of color in the U.S., Haitian President Fabre Geffrard launched a particularly ambitious campaign, setting up Haitian Emigration bureaus and staffing them with agents in New York, Boston, New Orleans and other major cities. Louisiana newspapers advertised Geffrard’s immigration plan, which included land concessions for families and individuals. Geffrard’s focus was on attracting agricultural laborers – not the kind of work the Martinez family would likely be enticed to take on. Still, skilled artisans were welcomed as immigrants.

It was within this context that the Martinez family probably departed New Orleans for Haiti. At present there is scant information about their voyage, but the journey would have echoed many family histories of migration from Louisiana to Haiti in the 1860s.

Based on my study of census and notarial archives, it appears the Martinez family left sometime after the birth of daughter Adele in New Orleans in December 1861 and before the birth of Joseph Norval in Haiti in 1864.

The promise of Reconstruction crumbles

The Martinez family didn’t stay in Haiti long.

According to the passenger list, they returned to New Orleans in February 1866.

As was the experience for many émigrés to Haiti, they may have found the conditions difficult. It’s also possible that the successes of wartime Reconstruction in Louisiana encouraged them to reestablish their lives in New Orleans.

They returned to a state transformed by the abolition of slavery. Free people of color were at the forefront of the fight for civil rights and key architects behind a progressive, egalitarian state constitution that called for equal access to education for all citizens.

The Martinez children likely benefited – albeit briefly – from that provision. The 1870 census records show them all enrolled in school: Michel (14), Girard (12), Adele (9) and young Joseph Norval (6).

They would also witness the violent backlash to Reconstruction, which was especially intense in Louisiana. In 1866, a white mob laid siege to those attempting to amend the state’s constitution to enfranchise Black voters, in what became known as the Mechanics Institute Massacre. In the ensuing years, the state was gripped by ever more violence.

A sketch of the Mechanics Institute Massacre in an issue of Harper’s Weekly.
The Historic New Orleans Collection

Joseph Norval Martinez married Louise Baquié in 1887, and they went on to have six children, all girls, in New Orleans. He worked as a cigar maker – a common enterprise for free men of color during the period – and later as a clerk.

The family was subjected to increasing segregation with the Separate Car Act, an 1890 Louisiana statute that separated train cars by race. The Supreme Court went on to uphold the Louisiana statute in 1896, enshrining the “separate but equal” doctrine throughout the South.

An American tale

Martinez and Baquié remained in New Orleans until 1910, at which point they joined the millions of other Black Americans who migrated from the South to the North and the West in the early decades of the 20th century, in what became known as the Great Migration. A significant portion, including Martinez and Baquié, ended up in Chicago.

Their youngest daughter, Mildred Anges Martinez – Leo’s mother – was born there.

Joseph Norval Martinez’s census records tell a complex story about the history of race in the U.S. Prior to 1900, he is listed as “m” for “mulatto.” In the 1900 census, he is listed as Black. And then in the 1910 census, he is listed as white.

The Martinez family could not dictate the racial descriptors assigned to them in the census, but they had some claim over birthplace and lineage. Against the backdrop of segregation, disenfranchisement and violence, Martinez appears to have claimed a lineage – Maltese – that the 1910 census categorized as white.

It is this – and so much more – that makes theirs a truly American story.

One thing we do know: Martinez reverted back to his original lineage after he and his family settled in Chicago. The 1920 census lists Martinez’s birthplace of record as Haiti.

Chelsea Stieber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration – https://theconversation.com/pope-leo-xivs-link-to-haiti-is-part-of-a-broader-american-story-of-race-citizenship-and-migration-256425

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 15, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Ann Wagner to Attend Funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis with Bipartisan Congressional Delegation

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO-02)

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Johnson today announced a Congressional delegation, led by Majority Leader Scalise, along with Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) and a bipartisan group of their House colleagues, is traveling to the Vatican to attend the funeral service of His Holiness Pope Francis. The funeral will take place on Saturday, April 26, in St. Peter’s Square.

“I am humbled and honored to represent Missouri on this Congressional Delegation with Leader Scalise to the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis. It was just a year ago yesterday that Ray and I were blessed to meet with the Holy Father at the Vatican and pray,” said Congresswoman Wagner. “He has left a legacy of service and selflessness that will echo through future generations. Tomorrow we will be mourning with those touched by his faith and devotion to the Greater Glory of God.”

“Our prayers are with the many Christians who mourn the passing of Pope Francis,” Speaker Johnson said. “It is my honor to send this Congressional delegation, during which participating Members will celebrate the life of Pope Francis and the teaching of the Catholic Church. I’ve asked the House’s highest ranking Catholic, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, to lead this bipartisan group on this faith-filled visit.”

“I am honored to be asked to lead the Congressional delegation of the House Representatives to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican this weekend. The Holy Father humbly devoted his life in service to the Church, and he was dedicated to spreading the Gospel of the Lord to the world,” said Leader Scalise. “As a lifelong Catholic, I am honored to represent the House in paying our respects and praying for the soul of Pope Francis, as Catholics all around the world grieve, and as Church leaders prepare to elect a new pope in the coming weeks.”

The Members of the Congressional delegation are:

1.         The Honorable Steve Scalise

2.         The Honorable French Hill

3.         The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

4.         The Honorable Brendan Boyle

5.         The Honorable Ann Wagner

6.         The Honorable Tom Suozzi

7.         The Honorable John Joyce

8.         The Honorable Pete Stauber

9.         The Honorable Scott Fitzgerald

10.       The Honorable Laura Gillen

MIL OSI USA News –

May 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: ‘The pope is Peruvian!’ How 2 decades in South America shaped the vision of Pope Leo XIV

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Casey-Pariseault, Associate Clinical Professor of History, Arizona State University

Faithful hold a photo of Robert Prevost, who was elected Pope Leo XIV, in front of the Cathedral of Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop for several years. AP Photo/Manuel Medina

In his first appearance as Pope Leo XIV on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the man born Robert Francis Prevost spoke for 10 minutes in Italian. Then he transitioned to Spanish and, with a big grin, gave a greeting to his “beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru.”

Many Peruvians were overjoyed with the election of Leo, whom they are proud to claim as a fellow citizen. “The Pope is Peruvian!” reported the live coverage on Latina Noticias, one of the main national networks. Other news outlets around Lima, where I live, shared similar headlines. Within minutes, all of Peru knew that the new pope, who was born and raised in Chicago, had served in Peru for over two decades and was nationalized as a citizen in 2015.

During his time in the South American nation, he lived alongside his parishioners through a bloody civil war, a decade-long dictatorship and an unstable post-dictatorship period that has so far led to three former presidents being handed prison sentences. Amid these challenges, Prevost became part of Peruvian society – and, eventually, a leader within it.

Prevost’s leadership roles in Chicago and Rome were essential in his formation. But as a scholar of religion in Latin America, I believe that it is his time in Peru that has best prepared him to take on the challenges of directing the global Catholic Church. In Peru, where Catholicism permeates public life, Prevost encountered deep social and political challenges in ways that bishops in many other countries may never face so directly.

Missionary during war and dictatorship

Prevost first arrived in Peru in 1985. A member of the Order of St. Augustine, the young man had been sent to its mission in Chulucanas, in the northern province of Piura. Chulucanas is about 30 miles east of the regional capital, where the desert coast begins to rise up into the Andes.

After a year, Prevost left to finish his doctoral degree and serve briefly in Illinois. But he soon returned to Peru, serving as a missionary in the northern city of Trujillo. He stayed there through the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s, amid civil war between the government and various militant groups – primarily the Maoist guerrillas of Sendero Luminoso, or “Shining Path,” who aimed to install a communist state.

The violence hit other regions more severely, but Trujillo and the surrounding area were home to car bombs, sabotaged electrical grids and brutal military dragnet operations. Prevost accompanied Peruvians through some of the darkest days of the country’s history.

During these years, Prevost trained future clergy and served as a parish priest. One fellow Augustinian recalled that Prevost played a key role in recruiting and training Peruvian candidates to the priesthood. Prevost also founded the Trujillo parish of Nuestra Señora de Montserrat, where his parishioners knew him as “Padre Roberto.”

As the country transitioned away from the civil war period, which ultimately left nearly 70,000 dead, Prevost remained in Peru. During the 1990s, President Alberto Fujimori’s government built a polarizing legacy by undermining democracy and citizenship rights while capturing the two most powerful guerrilla leaders.

Peruvian families carry remains of recently identified relatives who were killed years ago, during the insurgency, to the cemetery for burial in 2022.
AP Photo/Martin Mejia

As I show in my research, religion and politics are deeply intertwined in Peru. By the 1990s, the Peruvian Catholic Church was divided between members who spoke out in defense of human rights and those who defended the often brutal tactics of the government. Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, who was then the archbishop of Ayacucho – the Andean stronghold of Sendero Luminoso – became a spokesperson for the pro-state faction, framing defenders of human rights as apologists for terrorism.

Prevost was among those who maintained a critical view of any party, including the government, that committed human rights abuses. Diego Garcia-Sayan, the country’s former minister of justice and foreign affairs, recently wrote an op-ed praising Prevost’s willingness to speak out against attempts to legalize the death penalty and to defend embattled human rights organizations.

From Chiclayo to the Vatican

After returning to the United States in 1999, Prevost rose through the leadership ranks of the Augustinian order. He was sent back to Peru in 2014, when Pope Francis named him the apostolic administrator, and later bishop, of the northern diocese of Chiclayo.

As bishop, Prevost emerged as a voice for democracy and justice. In a 2017 public statement to national media, he urged former President Fujimori to “personally ask forgiveness for the great injustices that were committed and for which he was prosecuted.”

During his tenure as bishop, Prevost helped guide his community through the COVID-19 pandemic. He also played a key role ministering to Chiclayo’s growing population of Venezuelan migrants.

Venezuelan Betania Rodriguez on May 10, 2025, shows a photo taken with Pope Leo XIV at a migrant shelter in Chiclayo, Peru.
AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo

Meanwhile, he was gaining the confidence of his peers, as well as Pope Francis. Prevost was given a leadership role in the Peruvian Conference of Bishops and played a central role during Francis’ 2018 visit to Peru. In 2023, Francis named Prevost prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, the oversight body for naming new bishops across the world.

Prevost took the position in Rome but was sad to leave Peru again. “This time, again, it will be hard for me to leave here,” Prevost told Peruvian media.

In recent years, Prevost has taken on causes central to Francis’ papacy. He was a key actor in the Vatican investigations of a Peruvian organization, Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, which was found to have committed dozens of sexual and psychological abuses dating back to the 1970s. Francis dissolved the organization in 2025. Prevost has also developed an increased focus on Indigenous and environmental rights, in line with Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si and 2019 conference for bishops in the Amazon.

Local celebrations

Photographs and memes celebrating the Peruvian pope have flown around social media and WhatsApp groups in Peru. The photos of Prevost eating traditional dishes from the north coast are especially popular. AI-generated memes of the pope wearing the Peruvian national soccer jersey or eating ceviche with an Inca Kola soda are making the rounds.

In Chicalayo and Trujillo, in addition to official church celebrations, thousands have taken to the streets to express their joy with placards and chants.

Leo XIV has clearly brought the memory of his years in Peru with him to the Vatican. He has chosen Edgard Rimaycuna, a Peruvian priest whom the pope knew from his time in Chiclayo, as his personal secretary.

I believe the challenges that Leo guided his parishioners through in two decades in Peru should offer valuable lessons for the new pope to build on the legacy of Francis, the first Latin American pope.

Matthew Casey-Pariseault does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. ‘The pope is Peruvian!’ How 2 decades in South America shaped the vision of Pope Leo XIV – https://theconversation.com/the-pope-is-peruvian-how-2-decades-in-south-america-shaped-the-vision-of-pope-leo-xiv-256415

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Amata Welcomes the Announcement of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata released the following statement on the announcement of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV:

“As one of the more than a billion Catholic worshippers worldwide, I am delighted to welcome the announcement of Pope Leo XIV. Watching the ceremonies is a special and joyous occasion. Leading the Church forward is a great international undertaking and responsibility, and possibly the most influential role in the world. He is the second Pope in a row with strong ties to South America, and the first U.S.-born Pope in history. I appreciate his opening words of unity and peace that he delivered to the world from the Vatican, as we look forward to his Papacy with hope and joy.”

###

MIL OSI USA News –

May 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Bishop Martinelli entrusts Pope Leo to Our Lady of Arabia: “A son of migrants”

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Abu Dhabi (Agenzia Fides) – “To Mary, Our Lady of Arabia, we entrust the new Pope Leo XIV,” said Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, at the end of his homily at the Holy Mass in Abu Dhabi following the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new Bishop of Rome and Successor of Peter on Thursday, May 8.The day after the papal election, Friday, May 9, Masses were celebrated in all the churches of the Apostolic Vicariate with special prayer intentions for the new Pope and his ministry. Bishop Martinelli, a Capuchin, presided over the evening Eucharist at the parish of St. Joseph in Abu Dhabi, a celebration in which hymns and songs inspired by the figure of St. Peter and Christ the Good Shepherd were sung.”After days of mourning the death of our beloved Pope Francis,” Bishop Paul said, “the Lord has given us a new successor to the Apostle Peter: Robert Francis Prevost, who has taken the name Leo XIV.” “Last night,” he added, “we were all deeply moved to see him appear on screen and address his first words to the People of God.”In his brief homily, Bishop Martinelli recalled that in his first words from the central loggia of the Vatican Basilica, Pope Leo greeted the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square with the words of the Risen Christ: “Peace be with you,” adding, “A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering.” Bishop Martinelli, who presides over an ecclesial community of migrants, emphasized that Pope Leo “is the son of migrants, and this is one of the reasons why we feel particularly close to him. Although he was born in Chicago, he has Italian, French, and Spanish roots,” highlighting some essential characteristics of the new Pontiff’s personality, such as his long experience as a missionary in Peru and his affiliation with the Augustinian Order. “Pope Leo,” Bishop Martinelli continued, quoting his words during his homily as the new Bishop of Rome on Friday, May 9, during Mass in the Sistine Chapel, when he said, “we are called to bring Jesus to others and to proclaim him. We must in a certain sense put ourselves aside so that Jesus can shine; we are called to be signs of his presence. This is the path of witness that we too are called to follow in this part of the world.” He then recalled that the episcopal motto of the new Bishop of Rome “is a saying of Saint Augustine: In Illo unum uno, which means: ‘In the one Jesus we are all one.’” Bishop Martinelli added, “This beautiful expression reminds us that we Christians, although many and diverse, are united in Christ Jesus, as Saint Paul himself writes in his Letter to the Ephesians: ‘Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.’” (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 13/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: VATICAN – The Pope to journalists: choose consciously and courageously the path of communication in favour of peace

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Monday, 12 May 2025

VaticanMedia

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “You are at the forefront of reporting on conflicts and aspirations for peace, on situations of injustice and poverty, and on the silent work of so many people striving to create a better world. For this reason, I ask you to choose consciously and courageously the path of communication in favour of peace”. With these words, Pope Leo XIV addressed the representatives of the media from around the world gathered in Rome for the Conclave.A few days after his election, the new Pontiff granted his first public audience to journalists, as is tradition. More than 3,000 photographers, editors, and television crews filled the Paul VI Hall. Greeted with prolonged applause, the Pope broke the ice with humor: “Thank you for this wonderful reception! They say when they clap at the beginning it does not matter much, if you are still awake at the end and you still want to applaud…thank you very much”!After thanking the media for their work “in these days, which is truly a time of grace for the Church”, Leo XIV called upon every journalist “to strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition”. He added: “we must reject the paradigm of war” “of words and images”.The Pope expressed the “Church’s solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned for seeking to report the truth and called for their release”. At the same time, he invited communication professionals to contribute to helping society emerge from “the confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan. Therefore, your service, with the words you use and the style you adopt, is crucial. As you know, communication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion”.Leo XIV also called for “responsibility and discernment” in the use of artificial intelligence, a task that, he stressed “concerns everyone in proportion to his or her age and role in society”. In conclusion, he echoed the words of Pope Francis in his latest message for World Day of Social Communications which will be celebrated on June 1: “Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression. Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world. Disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a manner consistent with our human dignity”. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 12/5/2025)
Share:

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 13, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for May 13, 2025

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 13, 2025.

The dreaded beep test: outdated or still a valid assessment of your fitness?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise Science and Physiology, Griffith University For many, the beep test is seared into memory. And not just the test itself, but the wave of dread that came before hearing that first beep in school physical education (PE) classes. Also known as the

Liberals elect first woman leader, with Ley defeating Taylor 29-25
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal Liberal party has elected its first female leader, with Sussan Ley narrowly defeating Angus Taylor, 29-25. Ley, 63, who was deputy leader to Peter Dutton during the last term, had the support of the moderates in the party.

Don’t click without thinking – and 4 other ways to keep yourself safe from scams
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meena Jha, Head Technology and Pedagogy Cluster CML-NET, CQUniversity Australia tete_escape/Shutterstock Think about how many things you have done online today. Paid a bill? Logged into your bank account? Used social media or spent time answering emails? Maybe you have used your phone to pay at a

Community-run food co-ops can reduce food insecurity and boost healthy diets, research shows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Kent, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Wollongong alicja neumiler/Shutterstock As grocery prices continue to rise, many Australians are struggling to afford healthy food and are looking for alternatives to the big supermarket chains. The recent supermarkets inquiry, run by the Australian Competition and

Indigenous Kanaks support New Caledonia’s 50-year ban on seabed mining
By Andrew Mathieson New Caledonia has imposed a 50-year ban on deep-sea mining across its entire maritime zone in a rare and sweeping move that places the French Pacific territory among the most restricted exploration areas on the planet’s waters. The law blocks commercial exploration, prospecting and mining of mineral resources that sits within Kanaky

As insurance gets harder to buy, NZ has 3 choices for disaster recovery – and we keep choosing the worst one
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The number of climate change-related extreme weather events) is on the rise, making it harder for many people to buy affordable home insurance. The industry has already signalled

Pope Leo XIV expresses solidarity for ‘persecuted’ journalists seeking truth, calls for their freedom
By Devin Watkins of Vatican News Only four days have passed since his election to the papacy, and Pope Leo XIV has made it a point to hold an audience with the men and women who were in Rome to report on the death of Pope Francis, the conclave, and the first days of his

Free food and beer are common perks for hospitality workers – but are they masking unfairness?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olivier Oren, Associate lecturer, hospitality management, Griffith University G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock For cafe and restaurant workers, getting a free drink or meal at the end of a long shift might feel like a well-deserved reward. But could such perks – common across the industry – be masking deeper

A looming workforce crisis in NZ tourism and hospitality threatens industry growth plans
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Brien, Associate Professor, Department of Global Value Chains and Trade, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images Last week’s big tourism conference in Rotorua saw plenty of optimism about the industry’s potential, but also warnings that airline capacity is hampering post-COVID growth. The focus on bringing more

From Zoo Quest to Ocean: The evolution of David Attenborough’s voice for the planet
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil J. Gostling, Associate Professor in Evolution and Palaeobiology, University of Southampton Over the course of seven decades, Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries have reshaped how we see the natural world, shifting from colonial-era collecting trips to urgent calls for environmental action. His storytelling has inspired generations, but

Trump heads to the Gulf aiming to bolster trade ties – but side talks on Tehran, Gaza could drive a wedge between US and Israel
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman attend the G20 Summit in Japan in 2019. Eliot Blondet/AFP via Getty Images President Donald Trump will sit down with the Saudi crown prince

What did the parties say on TikTok in the election, and how? Here’s the campaign broken down in 5 charts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Oates, PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, Monash University TikTok emerged as a key battleground in an election where young voters comprised a dominant share of the electorate. All the prominent political parties used the platform – especially after tactics by Labor contributed to its electoral

Dementia risk depends on more than lifestyle factors. Overstating this can cause stigma and blame
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joyce Siette, Associate Professor | Deputy Director, The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University Shvets Production/Pexels As public awareness of dementia grows, so too does the appetite for prevention. Global headlines tout the benefits of exercise, diet, brain training and social activity in reducing dementia risk. In recent

Range anxiety – or charger drama? Australians are buying hybrid cars because they don’t trust public chargers
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ganna Pogrebna, Executive Director, AI and Cyber Futures Institute, Charles Sturt University VisualArtStudio/Shutterstock Range anxiety has long been seen as the main obstacle stopping drivers from going electric. But range isn’t the real issue. The average range of a new electric vehicle (EV) is more than 450

PSNA says broadcast ruling a warning to NZ news media to be wary of ‘Israeli propaganda’
Asia Pacific Report A decision by the Broadcasting Standards Authority to uphold a complaint against a 1News broadcast last November is a warning to news media, says the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. The authority ruled that a TVNZ news item on violence in Amsterdam in the Netherlands breached BSA rules. 1News described violence in the

If you really want to close the US trade deficit, try boosting innovation in rural manufacturing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Distinguished Professor, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, & Interim Head, Department of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology President Donald Trump has long been preoccupied by the trade deficit — the gap between what the U.S. sells to the rest of the world and

Bindi Irwin was rushed to hospital for appendix surgery. But what is appendicitis?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Warwick Teague, Co-group Leader, Surgical Research, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute lev radin/Shutterstock Bindi Irwin has reportedly been rushed to hospital in the United States to undergo emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. According to brother Robert Irwin, “she’s going to be OK”, however the 26-year-old was forced

Otago academics plan declaration on Palestine to ‘face daily horrors’
Asia Pacific Report A group of New Zealand academics at Otago University have drawn up a “Declaration on Palestine” against genocide, apartheid and scholasticide of Palestinians by Israel that has illegally occupied their indigenous lands for more than seven decades. The document, which had already drawn more than 300 signatures from staff, students and alumni

View from The Hill: Albanese shifts Tanya Plibersek from environment, in favour of ‘can-do’ Murray Watt
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The reshuffle announced by Anthony Albanese is a mix of continuity and change, with those in the government’s top rank staying in their previous ministries, as the prime minister had earlier flagged, but some big movements down the line. Tanya

Genes, environment or a special bond? Why some twins talk and think in unison
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeffrey Craig, Professor in Medical Sciences, Deakin University An interview with Paula and Bridgette Powers – identical twins who witnessed their mother’s carjacking – recently went viral. The way they spoke and gestured in unison has captivated global audiences. Bridgette and Paula Powers have gained global attention

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 13, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Pope Leo XIV expresses solidarity for ‘persecuted’ journalists seeking truth, calls for their freedom

By Devin Watkins of Vatican News

Only four days have passed since his election to the papacy, and Pope Leo XIV has made it a point to hold an audience with the men and women who were in Rome to report on the death of Pope Francis, the conclave, and the first days of his own ministry.

He met media professionals in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall yesterday, and thanked reporters in Italian for their tireless work over these intense few weeks.

The newly-elected Pope began his remarks with a call for communication to foster peace by caring for how people and events are presented.

He invited media professionals to promote a different kind of communication, one that “does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition, and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it.”

“The way we communicate is of fundamental importance,” he said. “We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images; we must reject the paradigm of war.”

Solidarity with persecuted journalists
The Pope went on to reaffirm the Church’s solidarity with journalists who have been imprisoned for reporting the truth, and he called for their release.

He said their suffering reminded the world of the importance of the freedom of expression and the press, adding that “only informed individuals can make free choices”.

Service to the truth
Pope Leo XIV then thanked reporters for their service to the truth, especially their work to present the Church in the “beauty of Christ’s love” during the recent interregnum period.

He commended their work to put aside stereotypes and clichés, in order to share with the world “the essence of who we are”.

[embedded content]
Pope Leo XIV calls for release of journalists imprisoned for ‘seeking truth’ Video: France 24

Our times, he continued, present many issues that were difficult to recount and navigate, noting that they called each of us to overcome mediocrity.

Facing the challenges of our times
“The Church must face the challenges posed by the times,” he said. “In the same way, communication and journalism do not exist outside of time and history.

“Saint Augustine reminds of this when he said, ‘Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times’.”

Pope Leo XIV said the modern world could leave people lost in a “confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan.”

The media, he said, must take up the challenge to lead the world out of such a “Tower of Babel,” through the words we use and the style we adopt.

“Communication is not only the transmission of information,” he said, “but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion.”

AI demands responsibility and discernment
Pointing to the spread of artificial intelligence, the Pope said AI’s “immense potential” required “responsibility and discernment in order to ensure that it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity”.

Pope Leo XIV also repeated Pope Francis’ message for the 2025 World Day of Social Communication.

“Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred,” he said. “Let us disarm words, and we will help disarm the world.”

The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the Pope’s commitment and has issued five concrete recommendations to the new head of the Catholic Church and Vatican City.

As censorship, misinformation and violence against journalists are on the rise worldwide, RSF has called on the Holy See to maintain a strong, committed voice for press freedom and the protection of journalists everywhere.

“The fact that one of Pope Leo XIV’s first speeches addressed press freedom and the protection of journalists sends a strong signal to news professionals around the world. RSF salutes Pope Leo XIV’s commitment to press freedom and calls on him to build on his declaration with concrete actions to promote the right to information,” said RSF director-generalThibaut Bruttin.

In his first Sunday noon blessing, Pope Leo XIV called for genuine peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza.

“No more war,” the pontiff said, adding a warning against “the dramatic scenario of a third world war being fought piecemeal.”

Devin Watkins writes for Vatican News. Republished under Creative Commons.

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 13, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Peters’ Statement on the Passing of Pope Francis

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

San Diego, CA – Today, Representative Scott Peters released the following statement upon learning of the passing of Pope Francis:

“Pope Francis’s loss is particularly painful today, as so many of us were heartened to see him celebrate the Resurrection of Christ yesterday. He reminded Catholics – and all Christians – of the core values of our faith: caring for the poor and most vulnerable among us, outreach to those in most need of acceptance, healing and forgiveness, nurturing the planet and God’s creation, courage, faith, and love and inclusion for all of God’s children.

“I was honored to speak at the Vatican’s global climate conference in 2017. Pope Francis lived up to his given name for the Saint from Assisi, who considered all living things his brothers and sisters. Pope Francis’s moral clarity and commitment toward climate action through his Encyclical on climate change and leadership have been critical to the movement to save God’s planet. May God bless him and may he rest in peace.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

May 13, 2025