Human dignity must be placed at the center of achieving social justice and development, and faith-based organizations play a central role in that task, said the Vatican’s top diplomat to the United Nations.

Pope Leo XIV has called on people around the world to pray for children living with incurable diseases in a video message released by the Vatican Feb. 5.

The world continues to fall short of protecting and caring for its children, leaving them with few opportunities to succeed and at greater risk of suffering abuse, Pope Leo XIV said in a speech Feb. 5. 

During his recent visit to Denmark, Cardinal Pietro Parolin declined an invitation to sign a joint declaration regarding Greenland’s sovereignty, in the hopes of maintaining neutrality and fostering dialogue, said Danish Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen.

Pope Leo XIV said Scripture is meant to speak directly to believers in today’s world, emphasizing that the Bible is the word of God expressed through human authors during his weekly general audience.

Pope Leo XIV has added the feast day of St. John Henry Newman, who is “a radiant light for the Church on pilgrimage through history,” to the General Roman Calendar so that “his Optional Memorial be celebrated by all on 9 October.”

David Ryan, an Irish survivor whose tragic story of the abuse he and his brother suffered was the subject of a 2022 documentary, was overcome with emotion after meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. The pope was reportedly shocked and apologized to the Irish victim.

Pope Leo XIV praised consecrated men and women for going to the world’s peripheries and refusing to abandon their people, even amid conflict.

A lack of faith in Christ leads to many delusions, such as believing the arrogant will always rule and only money can buy happiness, Pope Leo XIV said.

As deadly floods hit southern Africa, Pope Leo XIV prayed for the affected, with Catholic bishops in the region urging support for thousands struck by the climate change-related disaster.