The Vatican secretary of state appealed for peace and diplomacy on the fifth day of the U.S. and Israel-Iran war, warning that recognition of any country’s right to wage “preventive war” according to their own criteria would risk the world “being set ablaze.”

The Catholic Church is both a community made up of fragile and limited human beings and a divine reality, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly general audience.

A Synod on Synodality study group has recommended the creation of a new “Pontifical Commission for Digital Culture and New Technologies” in the first of 15 synod study group reports expected in the coming weeks.

In a fractured world threatened by war, Christians can strengthen their bonds of unity to show the world that peace is possible, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago said.

From Algeria to Angola, Church leaders across Africa expressed profound joy and hopes that the upcoming apostolic trip would bring much needed change to regions needing reconciliation and social stability, and dialogue to those who live interreligious relations daily.

As tensions escalate following the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, we share this prayer to St. Francis of Assisi — a timeless intercessor for peace — which Pope Leo XIV shared with leaders of the Franciscan order on the beginning of the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death in January 2026.

Life is a journey that requires trust and reliance on Jesus, who sometimes asks his disciples to leave everything behind, Pope Leo XIV said.

Pope Leo XIV issued a fervent appeal for return of diplomacy in “these dramatic hours” in the Middle East and Iran, condemning use of weapons that cause “destruction, pain, and death.”

As the first Lenten retreat of his pontificate drew to a close, Pope Leo XIV thanked Norwegian Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim for “a profound, spiritual experience” after which, the pope said, he felt “particularly invited to reflect at certain moments.”

With the Vatican confirming Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Spain in June, plans for the upcoming visit are full steam ahead, the organizer of the visit said.