St. Lawrence Parish

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Mary's "yes" to God, to life and to love continues "in the martyrs of our time, in witnesses of faith and justice, of gentleness and peace," Pope Leo XIV said as he celebrated Mass on the feast of Mary's Assumption into heaven.

In the small parish Church of St. Thomas of Villanova on the main square of Castel Gandolfo, the pope celebrated the Mass Aug. 15 before going to the doorway of the nearby papal summer villa to lead the recitation of the Angelus prayer.

The Mass and prayer took place hours before U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were scheduled to meet in Alaska to talk about steps toward ending Russia's war on Ukraine. 

During the Mass, one of the prayers of the faithful was: "For peacemakers, that guided by God's plan to unite all humanity in one family and inspired to promote the true progress of peoples, they would serve the common good with love."

After reciting the Angelus, Pope Leo told an estimated 2,500 people in the square, "Today we want to entrust to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, assumed into heaven, our prayer for peace. She, as a mother, suffers for the evils that afflict her children, especially the little ones and the weak."

Often, he said, "we feel powerless in the face of the spread of violence across the world -- a violence increasingly deaf and indifferent to any impulse of humanity. And yet, we must not stop hoping. God is greater than the sin of human beings." 

"We must not resign ourselves to the dominance of the logic of conflict and weapons," the pope said. "Through Mary, we believe that the Lord continues to come to the aid of his children, remembering his mercy. Only in his mercy can we find the path to peace."

The Gospel reading at the morning Mass included Mary's "Magnificat," which proclaimed the great things God had done for her and her certainty that God already had fulfilled his promise to rescue the poor and oppressed.

Still today Mary's canticle "strengthens the hope of the humble, the hungry, the faithful servants of God," the pope said. "These are the men and women of the Beatitudes who, even in tribulation, already see the invisible: the mighty cast down from their thrones, the rich sent away empty, the promises of God fulfilled."

The kingdom belongs to God, the pope said, but like Mary, saying "yes" to God's love "can change everything."

"On the cross, Jesus freely uttered that 'yes' which would strip death of its power -- the death that still spreads wherever our hands crucify and our hearts remain imprisoned by fear and mistrust," the pope said. "On the cross, trust prevailed; so did love, which sees what is yet to come; and forgiveness triumphed." 

In a world that often seems resigned to evil, selfishness and "contempt for the poor and lowly," he said, the church "lives in her fragile members, and she is renewed by their Magnificat."

"Even in our own day, the poor and persecuted Christian communities, the witnesses of tenderness and forgiveness in places of conflict, and the peacemakers and bridge-builders in a broken world, are the joy of the church," Pope Leo said. "Many of them are women."

The pope ended his homily praying that all Catholics would look to their example and learn to sing with Mary, "He who is mighty has done great things for me."

"Let us not be afraid to choose life! It may seem risky and imprudent. Many voices whisper: 'Why bother? Let it go. Think of your own interests,'" he said. "These are voices of death."

"But we are disciples of Christ. It is his love that drives us -- soul and body -- in our time. As individuals and as the church, we no longer live for ourselves. This -- and only this -- spreads life and lets life prevail."
 

As Trump meets Putin, Pope Leo prays for peace

As Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump prepared for a rare summit in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, Pope Leo XIV issued a special plea for peace.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God never gives up on anyone, even when the person betrays God's love, Pope Leo XIV said.

Christian hope flows from "knowing that even if we fail, God will never fail us. Even if we betray him, he never stops loving us," the pope said Aug. 13 at his weekly general audience.

Arriving in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Leo welcomed the visitors in English, Spanish and Italian and explained that the audience would be held in two parts -- in the hall and in St. Peter's Basilica -- so people would not be forced to stay outside under the very hot sun. 

Pope Leo was scheduled to leave the Vatican after the two-part audience to return to the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo where he had spent part of July. The Vatican press office said he would stay until Aug. 19 in the town, which is about 15 miles southeast of Rome.

Greeting English speakers in the basilica, the pope wished them "safe travels" and prayed that God's grace would "accompany you and fulfill in your hearts that desire that we all share to live an authentic conversion, to walk united in the church, to renew our faith and to be authentic witnesses of Jesus Christ and his Gospel throughout the world."

In his main audience talk in the hall, Pope Leo continued his series about Jesus' final days, looking specifically at Jesus' revelation during the Last Supper that one of the disciples would betray him.

Jesus does not make the statement to condemn or embarrass Judas in front of the others, the pope said, but does so "to show how love, when it is true, cannot do without the truth." 

In the Gospel, each of the disciples responds, "Surely it is not I?"

The question, the pope said, "is perhaps among the sincerest that we can ask ourselves. It is not the question of the innocent, but of the disciple who discovers himself to be fragile. It is not the cry of the guilty, but the whisper of him who, while wanting to love, is aware of being able to do harm. It is in this awareness that the journey of salvation begins."

To be saved, he said, a person must recognize that he or she is in need of salvation.

But, at the same time, a disciple of Christ also should feel "beloved despite everything" and know that "evil is real but that it does not have the last word."

"If we recognize our limit, if we let ourselves be touched by the pain of Christ" at being betrayed, "then we can finally be born again," Pope Leo told the crowd. "Faith does not spare us from the possibility of sin, but it always offers us a way out of it: that of mercy."
 

Pope Leo: God won't give up on you

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Aug. 13.

WASHINGTON - Four dedicated pro-life advocates were honored on August 11 at the 2025 People of Life awards during the Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference in Arlington, Virginia. This year's honorees are Valerie Washington, Judy Haag, and the late Rita and Mike Marker. Approximately 100 diocesan Catholic pro-life leaders and guests attended the private awards dinner, including Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington.

The People of Life award recognizes Catholics who have answered the call outlined by Saint John Paul II in The Gospel of Life (Evangelium vitae, 1995) by dedicating themselves to pro-life activities and promoting respect for the dignity of the human person. It is bestowed in honor of their significant and longtime contributions to the culture of life. 

For the past 25 years, Valerie Washington has led the National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) organization as Executive Director—guiding its mission, shaping its programs, and nurturing partnerships that have strengthened the Church’s commitment to justice and evangelization, with a strong embrace of the pro-life cause. Through Valerie’s leadership, the NBCC has organized national congresses that gather thousands of Black Catholics to celebrate faith, confront challenges, and envision a Church renewed in spirit and mission, while ensuring that the rich faith traditions of Black Catholics are supported and sustained. Valerie has been deeply impactful in supporting and highlighting a culture of life within the Black Catholic community and is a source of inspiration in her compassionate, persistent witness to the Gospel of Life. 

Judy Haag has spent the last 30 years as a long-term care nurse and dedicated pro-life advocate. She served as chairperson of the New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (NUDCCW) Reverence for Life Committee for several years, where she assisted in public education and advocacy on abortion, and was named the NUDCCW “Woman of the Year” in 2017. Judy has co-chaired her local 40 Days for Life campaign since its inception over 15 years ago; leads parish participation in commemorating the Roe v. Wade anniversary on January 22; and facilitates participation in the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) March for Life. Judy has also devoted herself to mentoring youth at her parish and sharing Catholic Social Teaching, forming the next generation of faithful pro-life leaders. 

In the early 1980s, seeing the need for public action against euthanasia and assisted suicide, Rita and Mike Marker co-founded the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force. This groundbreaking organization later become the Patients Rights Council. To aid in their advocacy, Rita obtained a law degree while working and raising their family, ultimately authoring the book “Deadly Compassion” and taking on speaking engagements while Mike ran the organization’s operations. Their tireless efforts helped many dioceses, state Catholic conferences, and the USCCB, and were instrumental in shaping the existing coalition on assisted suicide. Mike Marker passed away in 2021 and Rita Marker passed away in 2023, leaving a legacy of leadership, commitment, and grit. 

The awardees join 43 other People of Life award recipients since the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities established the award in 2007. To learn more about People of Life, the bishops’ pro-life action campaign in the United States, please visit: https://www.usccb.org/prolife/people-life.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Stories about "the first 100 days" are standard fare at the beginning of a U.S. president's four-year term; the articles usually focus on how much the new president was able to accomplish and how quickly.

But a pope is elected for life and without having promised voters anything or having presented a platform.

Pope Leo XIV was elected May 8, making Aug. 16 the 100th day since he stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the new pope. He will celebrate his 70th birthday Sept. 14.

While the first 100 days of a pontificate may hint at what is to come, the initial period of Pope Leo's ministry as the successor of Peter and bishop of Rome seemed mostly about him getting used to the role, the crowds and the protocol. 

According to canon law, the pope "possesses supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely."

In other words, he could have issued a slew of the canonical equivalent of executive orders in his first days in office. Instead, he lived up to his reputation as a person who listens before deciding -- holding a meeting with the College of Cardinals and individual meetings with the heads of Vatican offices.

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo confirmed the heads of Curia offices on a temporary basis a few days after his election. Some major nominations are expected in September or early October, starting with his own replacement as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. 

His choices for members of his team, and whether he decides to have an international Council of Cardinals to advise him will send signals not only about what he wants to do but also how he wants to do it. (Pope Francis set up the Council of Cardinals early in his pontificate to help him with the reform of the Roman Curia and to advise him on other matters, but he did not make the council a formal body.) 

September also should bring an announcement about where Pope Leo will live. Several cardinals have said that in the days before the conclave they encouraged the future pope -- whoever he would be -- to move back into the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace. The move would make security easier, saving the Vatican money and allowing the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis chose to live, to return to full operation as a guesthouse.

In his first public address, moments after his election, the new pope said: "We want to be a synodal church, a church that moves forward, a church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering."

Pope Leo went deeper when he spoke about the key objectives of his ministry -- in a pontificate that easily could last 20 years -- during a meeting with the College of Cardinals two days after his election.

He asked the cardinals to join him in renewing a "complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council."

That path had six fundamental points that, Pope Leo said, "Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth" in his first exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel." 

The six points highlighted by Pope Leo were: "the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation; the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community; growth in collegiality and synodality; attention to the 'sensus fidei' (the people of God's sense of the faith), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety; loving care for the least and the rejected; (and) courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities."

Those realities include the widespread media attention focused on the election of the first U.S.-born pope as well as the fact that people of all stripes feel free to use social media to proclaim what Pope Leo "should" do, "must" or "must not" do.

According to a Gallup Poll conducted in the United States July 7-21 and published Aug. 5, Pope Leo was the most favorably viewed of 14 world leaders and major newsmakers; 57% of Americans said they had a "favorable opinion" of him and 11% said they had an "unfavorable" opinion.

"These figures closely match Pope Francis' ratings when he assumed the role in 2013, then viewed favorably by 58% and unfavorably by 10%, as well as Pope Benedict in 2005 -- 55% favorable, 12% unfavorable," Gallup said.

Among those surveyed, self-identified Catholics gave all three popes even higher ratings at the beginning of their pontificates, the polling group said, "with Leo viewed favorably by 76%, Francis by 80% and Benedict by 67%." 

As the weeks passed after his election, Pope Leo seemed to grow more comfortable with a crowd, spending more time blessing babies and enjoying his interactions with the thousands of people who came to St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audiences.

At his general audience Aug. 6 -- held outside on a very warm summer day -- the pope finished his formal program in less than an hour, then spent another two and a half hours shaking hands, posing for photos with pilgrim groups and having unusually long conversations with dozens of newlywed couples before offering them his blessing.

As a Curia official, the future pope had a reputation of being somewhat reserved, but Pope Leo has shown he has a special tool for connecting with a crowd: speaking English and Spanish as well as Italian, the Vatican's official working language.

His ability to switch between the three languages effortlessly was on full display at the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers July 28-29 and the related Jubilee of Youth July 28-Aug. 3. The young people roared with approval as he spoke to them in languages that most could understand.

While his U.S. roots and Peruvian missionary experience undoubtedly will impact his papacy, he has been very respectful of the Italian tradition of not making major announcements or changes during the summer holidays.
 

100 days of Pope Leo XIV

The first 100 days is a milestone borrowed from politics as a way to glimpse the tone and priorities of a new leader. Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, will reach that point on August 16.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to meet in Alaska Aug. 15, Pope Leo XIV prayed that world leaders would recognize the impact their actions have on the local population.

"May those who make decisions always keep in mind their responsibility for the consequences their choices have on populations. May they not ignore the needs of the most vulnerable and the universal desire for peace," the pope said Aug. 10.

After leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo mentioned the Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The commemorations have "awakened in the world a rightful rejection of war as a means of resolving conflicts," the pope said. "Let us continue to pray for an end to wars."

Pope Leo did not mention Trump and Putin by name nor did he pray specifically for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine. 

The pope did congratulate Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing a peace agreement during a ceremony hosted by Trump at the White House Aug. 8. Pope Leo prayed that "the event may contribute to a stable and lasting peace in the South Caucasus" after decades of conflict.

And he appealed to the international community to act swiftly to bring peace and stability to Haiti.

"The situation of the population in Haiti is becoming increasingly desperate," the pope said. "Reports continue of killings, all kinds of violence, human trafficking, forced exiles and kidnappings."

"I make a heartfelt appeal to all responsible parties that the hostages be released immediately, and I call for concrete support from the international community to create the social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace," the pope said.

In his main Angelus address, commenting on the day's Gospel reading, Luke 12:32-48, Pope Leo XIV said that while giving money to charity is a good thing, God expects Christians to do more by giving of themselves to help others.

"It is not simply a matter of sharing the material goods we have, but putting our skills, time, love, presence and compassion at the service of others," the pope told the crowd in St. Peter's Square.

Jesus, he said, invites his followers to "invest" the treasure that is their lives.

"Everything in God's plan that makes each of us a priceless and unrepeatable good, a living and breathing asset, must be cultivated and invested in order to grow," he said. "Otherwise, these gifts dry up and diminish in value, or they end up being taken away by those who, like thieves, snatch them up as something simply to be consumed."

"The works of mercy are the most secure and profitable bank" for investing those treasures and talents, the pope said, "because there, as the Gospel teaches us, with 'two small copper coins' even the poor widow becomes the richest person in the world."

Pope Leo urged people to be attentive so that no matter whether they are at home or work or in their parish they do not "miss any opportunity to act with love."

"This is the type of vigilance that Jesus asks of us: to grow in the habit of being attentive, ready and sensitive to one another, just as he is with us in every moment," the pope said.
 

Pope Leo marks 80 years since atomic bombings with prayer for peace

Pope Leo marked 80 years since the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan with a prayer for peace today.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV, like Pope Francis before him, consistently has called on Hamas to release the hostages it kidnapped in Israel almost two years ago and has pleaded with Israel to allow the delivery of more humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

The urgency of listening to the papal pleas, which began after the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, became more obvious when photographs and videos of Gazans, particularly children, malnourished and on the point of death filled the news in late July and early August. And then Hamas and a group called Islamic Jihad released separate, shocking videos of two of the hostages, showing them emaciated in captivity. 

"We are talking about a terrorist organization that kidnapped people from their beds and from music festivals and is holding them in sub-human conditions and deliberately torturing them and starving them to death -- deliberately and on camera -- and making them dig their own graves on camera," said Yaron Sideman, the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See.

The ambassador spoke to Catholic News Service about the videos Aug. 6, saying urgent international action is needed to pressure Hamas to release the hostages; he also repeated the Israeli government's claims that reports of widespread starvation in Gaza are false. 

But Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, told CNS Aug. 7, "All credible international human rights organizations, including the United Nations, agree there is a famine in Gaza." 

"If Israeli officials deny that there is widespread starvation in Gaza, then they should allow international media unrestricted access to the area and let the cameras speak for themselves," Ambassador Kassissieh said.

In late July, Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organization of national Catholic charities, and more than 100 other humanitarian groups issued a joint statement claiming they had seen their own aid workers in Gaza "waste away" from lack of food.

While food, medicine and fuel aid sit in warehouses and on trucks awaiting delivery, "the government of Israel's restrictions, delays and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation and death," the statement said.

Ambassador Sideman told CNS, "Israel is doing way, way more than what it is obligated to do under international law in order to provide humanitarian assistance and food into Gaza."

The problem, he said, is that aid agencies are not picking up the food or, when they do, it is "immediately looted by Hamas."

Hamas, the Israeli ambassador said, "is the real reason why the civilian population in Gaza not only is suffering now but has been suffering for decades. And that reason has to be taken out. Out of the equation."

Israel's security, the survival of the people of Gaza and peace throughout the Middle East depend on Israel's success in "eliminating Hamas as a military and governing entity in Gaza," Sideman said.

Meanwhile Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador, said that "in the face of such immense tragedy, we must listen to voices of compassion and wisdom. We urgently need a global commitment to justice, peace and humanitarian relief to bring an end to this crisis."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While enjoying a summer break from school or work, Catholics should not neglect "the Lord's invitation to prepare our hearts by actively participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice and by doing generous acts of charity," Pope Leo XIV said.

Speaking in English at his weekly general audience Aug. 6, the pope summarized his main talk, which focused on how Christ prepared to sacrifice himself out of love for humanity and how Christians, in response, must prepare space in their hearts and lives for him.

The Gospel accounts of Jesus and his disciples preparing for Passover and the Last Supper -- and for Jesus' passion and death, he said, "shows us that love is not the result of chance, but of a conscious choice." 

Jesus, the pope said, "does not face his passion out of fatalism, but out of fidelity to a path freely and carefully accepted and followed."

Believers should be comforted by "knowing that the gift of his life stems from conscious intention, not a sudden impulse," Pope Leo told thousands of people gathered for the audience in St. Peter's Square.

As Passover and his death draw near, Jesus "has already thought of everything, arranged everything, decided everything," the pope said. "However, he asks his friends to do their part. This teaches us something essential for our spiritual life: grace does not eliminate our freedom but rather awakens it. God's gift does not eliminate our responsibility but makes it fruitful."

Catholics today also are called to prepare themselves to receive Christ's sacrifice, he said, and not just at Mass.

"The Eucharist is not celebrated only at the altar, but also in daily life, where it is possible to experience everything as an offering and giving of thanks," Pope Leo said. 

Often that preparation is not about doing more, he said, but rather about creating space by "removing what encumbers us, reducing our demands and ceasing to hold unrealistic expectations."

"Every gesture of willingness, every gratuitous act, every forgiveness given in advance, every effort patiently accepted, is a way to prepare a place where God can dwell," Pope Leo said.

"May the Lord grant us to be humble preparers of his presence," the pope prayed. "And, in this daily readiness, may that serene trust also grow in us, allowing us to face everything with a free heart. Because where love has been prepared, life can truly flourish."
 

Pope Leo: Prepare to encounter God

Pope Leo XIV's talk in English at his weekly general audience Aug. 6.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A solo traveler, even using Google maps and ChatGPT, cannot safely and happily complete the journey of life or the journey of faith, Pope Leo XIV told thousands of young pilgrims meeting at the Marian shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"No algorithm will ever replace a hug, a look, a real encounter -- not with God, not with our friends, not with our family," the pope wrote to people attending the international youth festival known as Mladifest Aug. 4-8.

Pope Leo urged young people to "seek genuine encounters" following the example of Mary, who "undertook a difficult journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth." 

The gathering in Medjugorje was the 36th annual youth festival and the first to be held after the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a notification in September 2024 recognizing the spiritual value of devotions connected to Medjugorje but not ruling on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions there or alleged messages from Mary.

Six young people, aged 10 to 16, said Mary began appearing to them in June 1981. Three of them say they still have apparitions of Mary each day, while the other three have them only on special occasions.

Pope Leo did not mention the apparitions or the Vatican notification in his message, instead focusing on the theme of the gathering, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

"This phrase speaks to us of a journey, of a desire that moves us toward God, toward the place of his dwelling, where we can truly feel at home, because his love awaits us there," the pope wrote. 

"On the road of life, we never walk alone," he told the young people. "Our journey is always intertwined with that of others: we are made for encounter, for walking together and for discovering a shared destination."

Young or old, he said, Christians "are not solitary pilgrims. The path toward the Lord is traveled together. That is the beauty of faith lived in the church."

Traveling to Bosnia-Herzegovina from dozens of countries, the pilgrims also discover that "there is a language stronger than any barrier -- the language of faith, nourished by the love of God."

"You are all members of his body, which is the church," the pope wrote, encouraging the young people to "meet one another, get to know one another, share with one another."

And, he said, "if any of you feels within yourselves the call to a special vocation -- to consecrated life or to the priesthood -- I encourage you not to be afraid to respond. That invitation, which you feel stirring within you, comes from God, who speaks to our hearts. Listen to him with trust: the word of the Lord not only makes us truly free and happy but leads to our fulfillment as people and as Christians."
 

WASHINGTON – “The women and men who served our country, to defend innocent life, deserve quality health care and supportive resources, not the violence of abortion,“ said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in response to a proposed rule  published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Monday. 

In 2022, the VA and dependents’ civilian health benefits were changed to include abortion. The proposed rule would restore the prior, long-standing policy that prevented VA and civilian dependents’ health benefits from including abortion.

“The women and men who served our country, to defend innocent life, deserve quality health care and supportive resources, not the violence of abortion. Veterans’ health facilities must not be places of death, but places of great hope. We are grateful that the Department of Veterans Affairs is stepping up to protect preborn children and families once again from taxpayer-funded, elective abortion, and look forward to reviewing the new proposed rule in full.”

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WASHINGTON - “We must renew our efforts to work for the conversion of heart required for a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a message marking the 80th anniversary of the use of atomic weapons on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

In his message, Archbishop Broglio underscored the importance of prayer and renewed efforts toward universal nuclear disarmament and lasting peace: 

“Certainly, the atrocities of war continue to be evident even in our ‘developed world,’ where human life is victimized in the womb, near death, on the streets of our modern cities, and in the various war zones of the contemporary world. We are slow to learn. Longing for peace, we pray for a change in mentality and an ever-deeper respect for every human person. We advocate that dollars be spent in favor of development rather than for arms. We pray that the attitudes and absence of dialogue that led to the use of atomic arms eighty years ago might give way to mutual understanding, peace building, and international cooperation. 

“As we mark this doleful anniversary, we recognize the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons and their proliferation. We must renew our efforts to work for the conversion of heart required for a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons. This week, let us prayerfully remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and urge the United States and the international community to work diligently for nuclear disarmament around the world. Following Pope Leo XIV’s recent appeal, we exhort all nations to ‘shape their future by works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflict!’” 

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