Cindy Wooden

The liturgical music tradition of polyphony with its blend of melodies and harmonies should lift people's spirits as it subtly transmits a message about diversity and unity, Pope Leo XIV said.

In the presence of the mother of the newly beatified martyr, Pope Leo XIV prayed that Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui would intercede to finally bring peace to Congo.

As Israel continued its airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran, and Iran launched drones to retaliate, Pope Leo XIV welcomed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the Vatican.

Recognizing the essential tenets of faith that Catholics and Orthodox share should be the lens through which they discuss the issues that continue to separate them, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago recognized that Christian unity had to be based on a common faith and should be demonstrated by a common celebration of Easter, the most sacred feast of the Christian year, said speakers at a Rome conference.

Pope Leo XIV and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held their first telephone conversation June 4 with the pope encouraging Putin to make a gesture to show he is serious about peace with Ukraine, the Vatican press office said.

Pope Leo XIV's offer to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine—an offer Russia has turned down—was motivated by a conviction that the two sides must start negotiating and stop the killing, the Vatican secretary of state said.

Being religious does not automatically mean someone is compassionate, and yet for a Christian compassion is a clear sign of following Christ, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Gospel parable of the "wasteful sower" who casts seeds on fertile soil as well as on a rocky path "is an image of the way God loves us," Pope Leo XIV told visitors and pilgrims at his first weekly general audience.

Pope Leo XIV has named Cardinal Baldassare Reina grand chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences.