The Knights of Peter Claver, one of the Catholic Church’s largest historically Black Catholic lay fraternal organizations, said it “offers its full support” for Pope Leo XIV’s acknowledgment of the Church’s role in slavery.

As the first pope in modern history to have spent much of his priestly ministry as a missionary, Pope Leo arrives in Spain June 6 with a unique familiarity not only with the country itself — which he has visited almost 50 times — but also with the missionary tradition that helped shape Catholicism across much of the world.

Pope Leo XIV will preside over a worldwide rosary for peace May 30, uniting Marian shrines across continents in simultaneous prayer to close the Catholic Church’s month of devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Amid renewed tensions between the Vatican and traditionalist Catholics over the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Leo XIV defended Church reform as a legitimate process that adapts to current needs while remaining rooted in authentic tradition.

On May 15, 2026 — the 135th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum” — Pope Leo XIV signed his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” The date was deliberate.

Amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and digital media, Pope Leo XIV is calling on families, schools and policymakers to forge an “educational alliance for the digital age” to protect the dignity and intellectual development of young people.

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” addressed sexual exploitation as one of the human dignity concerns posed by AI.

In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV used a sweeping reflection on artificial intelligence to question whether the Catholic Church’s centuries-old just war framework remains valid in modern warfare and to ask pardon for the church’s role in slavery.

Uruguay’s bishops have confirmed “there is a high probability” Pope Leo XIV will visit the country in late 2026 and “progress is being made with hope toward its realization.”

Presenting the first encyclical of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence must be “disarmed,” urging governments, tech leaders and society to confront the rapidly growing technology before it weakens human relationships, critical thinking and peace itself.