St. Paul Catholic Church, Richmond, VA

ROME (CNS) -- Back in 2023, a Vatican archivist discovered a letter to Pope Pius XII's personal secretary from a Jesuit priest in Germany, who was active in the resistance against the Nazis, reporting that thousands of Poles and Jews were being incinerated daily in a Polish concentration camp.

It was "a unique case" with :tremendous value," Giovanni Coco, the archivist, had told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sept. 17, 2023.

The letter is important, Coco then said, because it not only details Nazi crimes at the Belzec extermination camp in 1942, but it refers to other reports and mentions Auschwitz, suggesting that the letter is probably part of much more correspondence between the two priests, said Massimo Franco, the journalist who interviewed the archivist in 2023.

"It makes it clear that in reality much more detailed reports about the extermination underway were getting to the Vatican," Franco said in an interview with Radio Radicale Sept. 17, 2023.

The other letters have not been found yet, "perhaps they were destroyed or lost," but nonetheless they would have described the Nazis' criminal acts against Catholic clergy, who were part of the resistance, and Jews, he said. The letter Coco discovered had been registered in the archive only in 2019 and was "a bit ruined," Franco added.

The letter is "also important because it makes it clear how much pressure the Nazis were putting on Pope Pius XII and, therefore, how terrorized the Catholic Church in Germany and Poland were that any kind of disclosure could in some way worsen Nazi retaliation against Catholics and Jews," Franco then said.

The letter, dated Dec. 14, 1942, was from German Jesuit Father Lothar König, based near Munich, who played an active role in organizing people and initiatives against Hitler's campaigns and in acquiring and sharing information about different camps, including Dachau.

His letter was to German Jesuit Father Robert Leiber, a key and trusted adviser of Pope Pius for decades, starting with the future pope's time as papal nuncio in Munich, then as Vatican secretary of state, and then as pope from 1939 to 1958.

Father König wrote that it seemed that about 6,000 people, especially Poles and Jews, were killed a day in the "blast furnace" at the Nazi concentration camp in Belzec, Poland. That extermination camp had started its operations in March 1942.

The letter also made reference to the camp at Auschwitz and an "indirect reference to Dachau," Franco said.

"These are some hints that make it clear the so-called 'Final Solution' had already not just begun in 1942, but in some way it is a clear reflection that it was getting (reported) to the Vatican and the pope himself," he said.

It is strongly believed the pope would have received the news in the letter, Franco said, especially since, just 10 days later, Pope Pius made a strongly worded appeal on Christmas Eve.

In that appeal, the pope denounced the fact that hundreds of thousands of people were being "marked down for death or gradual extinction,'' sometimes only by reason of their race; however, he did not explicitly mention the Nazis or Jews by name.

It is expected that further discoveries in the Vatican's archives on the pontificate of Pius XII will add to clarifying what the pope knew, what he did and why he did not publicly condemn the atrocities.

In 2022, another scholar offered evidence found in the Vatican archives that Pope Pius XII knew early on about the Holocaust and used that knowledge to warn the Allies and to save thousands of Jews.

The German historian Michael Feldkamp told Vatican News in 2022 that he found proof that the pope sent a message to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in March 1942 regarding "the systematic extermination of European Jews" and "warned him that something was happening in Europe in the war zones."

However, Feldkamp said, "these messages were not considered credible by the Americans." Nonetheless, "it is interesting, however, that the president of the United States or his associates in the State Department repeatedly contacted Pius XII for information on individual cases."

"Today we know … that Pius XII was confronted with the persecution of the Jews almost on a daily basis. He had been presented with all the reports and had created his own office within the Second Section of the Secretariat of State, where the staff had to deal exclusively with such matters," he said.

"During World War II, these leaders were in very close contact with Pius XII, reporting to him daily on persecution and mass deportations, as well as on the individual fates of the people who came to them," he said.

"The exciting thing now is that we can estimate that Pius XII personally saved about 15,000 Jews through his own personal efforts: opening monasteries, raising cloisters so that people could be hidden there, and so on. All of this is a huge sensation! The archival findings I have found now in the Vatican show me how accurately Pacelli was informed," the archivist told Vatican News.

A version of this story was originally published in 2023.

WASHINGTON - “I call for intense prayers for the success of these negotiations,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, on the news of an agreement between the U.S.-led Gaza Board of Peace and Hamas.

Bishop Zaidan’s statement follows:

“I am heartened by news of an agreement which aims at the disarmament of Hamas and Israel’s military withdrawal from the Strip, and I call for intense prayers for the success of these negotiations. This agreement’s successful implementation, as its principles statement says, has the potential of finally providing the Palestinian people with a ‘credible political path that achieves self-determination and Statehood.’ This would be a major milestone.

“As I previously articulated, as ‘people of faith who deeply care for all our brothers and sisters who live in the land of Christ’s life, death, and glorious resurrection, we cannot lose this opportunity for peace.’ To further strengthen this advance, I call on the United States, Israel, and the international community to facilitate greater amounts of humanitarian and development assistance to the Strip. This should include restoring educational opportunities for children and youths, jobs, and clean water. Alleviating the suffering of the Gazan people is not only a vital moral imperative but is also necessary for the consolidation of peace in the Holy Land and the entire region.

“Conscious of the extreme challenges inherent in this ongoing peace process, let us entrust the hearts and minds of the negotiators to the maternal care of Our Lady of Wisdom, that she may illumine and enliven their efforts to finally achieve peace in those sacred lands.” 

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WASHINGTON – Following Pope Leo XIV’s historic, 10-day apostolic journey to Africa in April and his call for peace, reconciliation and interreligious dialogue, Catholics in the United States have an opportunity to support those efforts through the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.

The fund was created nearly two decades ago by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to support the Catholic Church on a continent where the faith is growing rapidly, but where the Church has limited capacity to support its pastoral needs and faces severe hardships.

“The gifts of Catholics in the United States to the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa underwrite projects that build foundations for peace, as well as projects directed toward evangelization, vocations, environmental stewardship, leadership formation, and other facets of our faith,” said Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on the Church in Africa.

In 2025, the Solidarity Fund awarded 97 grants totaling over $3 million.

“My prayer is that those gifts will increase in response to our Holy Father’s call for peace and reconciliation in Africa,” Archbishop Zinkula said. “I have seen the impact of your gifts and can attest that whatever you contribute will be used wisely and well.” Many dioceses will take up the collection in their parishes this summer. #iGiveCatholic also accepts online gifts for the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa at www.igivecatholic.org/story/USCCB-CA .

Examples of the 2025 grants included the following:

• In Mali, where many children grow up believing war and terrorism are a normal part of life, a grant supported an intensive Bible camp for more than 200 young adults from across the nation. There, they learned gospel values of peace, justice and mercy, as well as the Second Vatican Council’s teachings on religious freedom and interreligious dialogue.
• As Sudan endures the world’s largest humanitarian crisis caused by war, a grant supported 223 lay catechists in the Nuba Mountains and Abyei region by providing transportation, food, lodging, and training materials for a three-month course on evangelization, pastoral care and sacramental preparation. They are now better equipped to minister to a population that includes thousands of people displaced by the violence in a region served by very few priests.
• Wars and conflict across the Horn of Africa have attracted human traffickers who prey on vulnerable people in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and neighboring countries, luring them into modern-day slavery. A grant from the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa supported workshops for church leaders throughout the region to raise awareness of human trafficking, design prevention strategies, and train pastoral ministers to assist victims. 
• In Burkina Faso, the Catholic bishops have set a goal of making their dioceses self-supporting despite widespread violence and poverty. A grant from the Solidarity Fund provided training for staff from all 15 dioceses and the national bishops’ conference to develop sustainable plans for managing and supporting the Church’s ministry.
• In the Central African Republic, where poor roads leave many communities isolated, a grant enabled the Marianist Sisters to train “Gospel volunteers” and equip them with bicycles to distribute bibles and rosaries. The bicycles greatly enhance their ministry, allowing them to reach thousands of families.

“Pope Leo has called us to solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Africa, and that is precisely what the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa makes possible. Please take this opportunity to respond to his call by supporting our African brothers and sisters with a generous gift,” Archbishop Zinkula said.

For more information see: https://www.usccb.org/committees/church-africa 

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WASHINGTON - In light of several recent immigration enforcement encounters resulting in the loss of life, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of the Committee on Migration, issued the following pastoral reflection:  

“As Catholics, we believe that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, grieve all situations where human life is brought to an unnatural end. This is a core teaching of our faith and one we can never grow weary of proclaiming as disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

“As the bishops of the United States affirmed last November, ‘We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.’ Racial profiling in particular not only violates God-given dignity* but also inflicts profound harm on individuals, families, and communities by fostering fear, eroding trust, and increasing the risk of unjust and even tragic outcomes. Our pastoral concerns are distinct from what the civil law itself may permit. 

“Acts that diminish or disregard the dignity of any person or group of people should never be normalized in our society. The dehumanization of immigrants, regardless of their legal status, is one such example of this; the vilification of law enforcement officers is yet another.

“We continue to affirm the legitimate role of civil authorities to implement the law in a humane manner and with respect for fundamental human rights, including the rights to life and due process. The power of the state must always be exercised within the limits of the moral law. To that end, we call for accountability, transparency, and justice, which require that meaningful reforms be made to our immigration system. 

“We join in praying for the souls of those killed and for their families, for our nation, and for all those entrusted with the duties of public service. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric, racial prejudice, and violence and for a renewed commitment to recognizing the inherent dignity of every person as a child of God. We plead for the intercession of Mary, Our Mother, who is the model of perfect faith in times of grief, hardship, and uncertainty.”

*Open Wide Our Hearts, p. 4

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Today's lush and immaculately manicured Vatican Gardens were once just a sprawl of mosquito-infested swamps, clay hillsides and hardy grape vines.

The wild, unpopulated landscape on the fringes of early Rome slowly shifted as it changed to accommodate historical events over the course of 2,000 years: the martyrdom and burial of St. Peter; the blossoming of Christianity; the growth of papal power; and the eventual establishment of the world's smallest sovereign nation.

The gardens make up almost half of Vatican City State's 109 acres and their colorful evolution is documented in a volume updated in 2016: "A Guide to the Vatican Gardens: History, Art, Nature," curated by historians and experts from the Vatican Library and Vatican Museums. Illustrated with full-color photographs and historic black and white engravings, the book is available in English.

In the first century AD, the Roman Emperor Caligula set up a circus for chariot racing near a villa his mother, Agrippina, had built in the area, which was still far on the outskirts of ancient Rome. Shipping over a red granite obelisk from Egypt, he decorated the circus with the monument, which now stands in the center of St. Peter's Square.

Emperor Nero expanded the circus, using it to showcase his cruelty against Christians like burning them alive to light his evening parties on the hill's gardens and crucifying others, like St. Peter, who was then buried in a roadside cemetery nearby. 

As the apostle's tomb became a place of worship, the "circus fell into disrepair, Agrippina's villa decayed and the uninhabited hill returned to wild scrub," wrote  Ambrogio Piazzoni, a former vice prefect of the Vatican Library and book's co-author.

After Emperor Constantine converted and granted Christians the freedom to practice their faith, he ordered the construction of the first basilica dedicated to St. Peter, which meant razing part of the hill and covering over part of the cemetery.

A few small buildings were constructed nearby over the next four centuries including a monastery, but the popes -- the successors of Peter -- didn't start living in this "rustic and unprotected location" by the basilica until the fifth century, Piazzoni wrote.

With the Saracen Raid in 846, Pope Leo IV constructed a fortressed wall to defend the Vatican area from marauders. Inside the walls, there were meadows, vegetable gardens, orchards and vineyards while outside -- which is part of today's gardens -- were more pastures and woods.

Once popes started residing permanently at the Vatican, they added their own personal touches to the vast expanse of greenery surrounding them. 

Pope Nicholas IV had his doctor, Simon of Genoa, cultivate medicinal plants and aromatic herbs in the tradition of the Benedictine monks, who were known for creating treatments for illnesses and distilled liqueurs and tinctures. 

This 13th-century papal initiative was to become the oldest botanical garden in Italy and marked the beginning of the formal scientific study of botany as a branch of medicine, "predating by centuries the teaching of botany" in academies and universities, Piazzoni wrote in the 2016 book. 

Pope Pius V made sure the medicinal plant studies continued in the 16th-century by hiring a Tuscan botanist and geologist to take care of the gardens. The pope gave him the title of "medicinal plant expert of Our Lord" and furnished him with a "safe conduct pass" allowing him to travel anywhere in search of rare plants.

The Vatican medicinal garden gradually lost importance -- becoming a humble lawn -- after Pope Alexander VII built a newer and larger botanical garden, which is still one of the largest in Italy, along the Janiculum hill in 1660. The Vatican lost that and many other properties after the loss of the Papal States in 1870.

Given the variety of habitat and papal proclivities at the time, the Vatican Gardens were also home to a menagerie of wild animals including the brief upkeep of a leopard during the pontificate of Boniface VIII in the 13th century and Hanno, the elephant, which was a gift to Pope Leo X from Portugal's king in 1514. 

Pope Pius XII found an injured finch in the Vatican Gardens and nursed her back to health. "Gretchen," the finch, would keep the pope company and sit on his shoulder at mealtime while hopping down to peck at crumbs.

Today, green parrots nesting in palm trees and a small sampling of cats are the only free-range fauna easily sighted in the Vatican Gardens. 

The gardens went largely unchanged from its Renaissance heyday at the end of the 1500s to the end of the 1900s, primarily, Piazzoni wrote, because the popes had moved their main residence to the Quirinale Palace -- judging it to be "more comfortable, functional and situated in a sunny and healthy place." 

Despite the disuse, the gardens were still cared for and embellished with additional fountains, shrines, statues and exotic or rare plant life.

With the end of the Papal States, the pope moved back to the papal residence at the Vatican. 

Being largely confined to the small property, Pope Leo XIII spent a lot of time caring for the gardens and pursuing his love for hunting and viniculture. He reportedly tended his small vineyard himself, hoeing out the weeds, and visiting often for moments of prayer and writing poetry. He had a papal guard on duty with orders to shoot to scare off birds threatening his grape harvest.

Modern-day popes still use the gardens for exercise, restful relaxation and meditation. Retired Pope Benedict XVI took his daily walk there, praying the rosary along the wooded paths. 

Not just for popes anymore, the gardens were opened to the public several years ago as part of an organized tour either on foot or on an environmentally friendly open bus.

The tours highlight the gardens' blend of art, nature and faith, but also help visitors sense what the book describes as the harmonious co-existence of so many species of flora and fauna, which "reinforce the ideals that constitute the universal mission of this extraordinary place" -- the love and care for God's creation.

A version of this story was originally published in 2016.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Confronting a rebel archbishop's accusations and acts of defiance was the heaviest cross St. Paul VI had to bear in his pontificate, said a 2018 book based on never-before published notes and documents.

After years of correspondence and efforts at convincing Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, to accept the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the authority of the pope, St. Paul lost his patience at times in a private meeting with the suspended cleric at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, Sept. 11, 1976.

"You said it and wrote it. (That) I would be a modernist pope. By applying an ecumenical council, I would betray the church. Do you understand that if this were so, I would have to resign and invite you to take my place and lead the church?" Pope Paul said, according to a top Vatican official's report of the proceedings.

The typed report and handwritten notes and letters of St. Paul are part of an Italian book published in 2018 titled, "The Barque of Paul," by Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household. 

The book makes public more than two dozen handwritten or typed notes and letters by the pope, including a letter long-rumored to exist instructing the dean of the College of Cardinals to accept his resignation in case of infirmity.

But the most "dramatic are the documents on the matter of Lefebvre," said an article published May 2018 in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

The book focused on the pope's comments and reactions in 1976-77 when the situation with Archbishop Lefebvre had reached a breaking point. 

At length, the pope condemned the false and "inconsistent" doctrine, and the grave and divisive actions of the archbishop during a secret consistory with cardinals May 24, 1976, the book said. The times, the pope told the cardinals, called not for concessions, but vigilance against all dangerous and incorrect interpretations of the Second Vatican Council.

Just a few months later, in July 1976, Archbishop Lefebvre was suspended from his priestly functions after he illegally ordained 13 priests at his seminary in Ecône, Switzerland. In an open violation of his suspension, he led a Mass at a sports arena in Lille, France, a month later before thousands of faithful and hundreds of journalists, who reported or broadcast his lengthy homily in which he defended the "traditional" faith and lambasted the "conciliar" church.

In the end, after direct correspondence, intermediaries and a number of public statements seemed to have failed to sway the archbishop, the pope met face-to-face with him Sept. 11 of that year. The pope's personal secretary also attended along with the assistant secretary of state, whom the pope charged with taking notes on the entire proceedings.

Written like a transcript, the report said Pope Paul began the conversation saying, "I hope to have before me a brother, a son, a friend. Unfortunately, the position you have taken is that of an antipope. What can I say? You have not allowed for any measure in your words, your actions, your behavior."

According to the 2018 book, St. Paul said the question at stake was not obedience to him as a person, but obedience to the office of pope.

"You judged the pope as disloyal to the faith of which he is the supreme guarantor. Perhaps this is the first time in history that this has happened. You told the whole world that the pope lacks the faith, does not believe, that he is a modernist and so on," St. Paul said, underlining the "extreme gravity" of such accusations, and the need to "reflect" and accept the "just consequences."

Archbishop Lefebvre insisted it was never his intention to attack the pope, and he admitted "perhaps there was something inappropriate in my words, my writings." His true intention, he said, was to follow his conscience and respond to the concerns of numerous others who were worried that the recent changes in the church forced them to either "risk losing the faith" or "give the impression of disobedience."

Referring to the archbishop's criticisms of secularization creeping into religious life and of laxity in the liturgy, the pope said the Vatican was working just as hard and insistently "at eliminating certain abuses that don't conform to the law of the church in force, which is (the law) of the council and of tradition."

What bothered the pope, he said, wasn't the archbishop's "perplexity" with what the council taught, but his attitude or approach to the council, which he had also taken part in.

"I am not against the council, but against some of its acts," Archbishop Lefebvre said.

"If you are not against the council, you must adhere to it, to all of its documents," the pope replied, remarking later that the archbishop had signed many of the council's acts. 

Archbishop Lefebvre proposed requiring bishops to make available in churches a chapel where people could "pray like before the council."

"We are a community. We cannot permit autonomy in behavior in different places," the pope said, but the archbishop continued to make the case that the council accepts "pluralism" and "we ask that that principle be applied to us, too." 

Archbishop Lefebvre added that he would let the Vatican oversee the Ecône seminary to ensure it was forming candidates in "true piety," and he said he would be ready to not speak at any more conferences, staying put in the seminary -- "I promise I won't come out anymore."

St. Paul questioned how this would be in communion with the church "when you take positions against us, before the world, to accuse us of infidelity, of wanting to destroy the church?"

"I had no intention...," Archbishop Lefebvre said. However, the pope added, that was what the archbishop had said and written and if he were such a modernist pope betraying the church, "I would have to resign and invite you to take my place and lead the church."

When the archbishop explained the church was in crisis, Pope Paul said, "We are suffering deeply. You contributed to making it worse with your solemn disobedience, with your open challenge against the pope."

"I am not being judged as I should," Archbishop Lefebvre replied. 

"Canon law judges you," the pope said, urging him to make an examination of conscience of the situation and ask God what to do.

St. Paul said he would reflect as well and pray, reiterating he had much esteem for the archbishop, knew of his merits and had common ground in recognizing there were "many problems" to deal with. 

He asked Archbishop Lefebvre to sign a public declaration, retracting his recent remarks and actions which "everyone took notice of as actions not to build the church but to divide it and bring it harm." 

"We have to find union in prayer and reflection," he said, ending the 30-minute meeting with prayers.

A version of this story was originally published in 2018.

ROME (CNS) -- Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington said his decision to remove a high-profile priest as an archdiocesan exorcist was driven by the public way he exercised his ministry, not by his specific beliefs about UFOs.

Following comments on social media linking UFOs to demonic activity, Msgr. Stephen Rossetti was removed in early June as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington. 

In one of his first interviews since the decision, Cardinal McElroy told Catholic News Service it should not be interpreted as a judgment on unidentified flying objects or extraterrestrial life, but in what he sees as the proper role of an exorcist within the Catholic Church.

"It wasn't touching on the question of UFOs," the cardinal said in an interview June 29 at the Pontifical North American College. "My major objection is that I think the traditional role of an exorcist is a very private one. It's a sacred one."

Msgr. Rossetti has built one of the largest online followings among Catholic exorcists through the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, with more than 146,000 followers on YouTube, as well as tens of thousands more on his personal Instagram, where he regularly discusses exorcism, spiritual warfare and demonic activity.

In May, Msgr. Rossetti posted online that "probably many, if not most, UFO sightings are in fact demons," drawing widespread attention as public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP -- the government's official term for what are commonly called UFOs -- has increased in recent years. 

On June 3, Cardinal McElroy said in a press release that "statements made by Msgr. Rossetti linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center's recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism."

The removal has since prompted widespread debate among Catholics over whether the action reflected the archdiocese's position on extraterrestrial life or on Msgr. Rossetti's assertion that many UFO sightings are demonic.

Some Catholics agree with Msgr. Rossetti's views. U.S. Vice President JD Vance has previously said, "I don't think they're aliens. I think they're demons anyway."

Others have argued on social media and in the press that the issue was more about presenting personal speculation as Church teaching. In an interview with The New York Times after Msgr. Rossetti's removal, Christopher Baglow, director of the Science and Religion Initiative at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, said Msgr. Rossetti may have overstepped by "putting forward his own doctrine as something Catholics should accept."

Cardinal McElroy told CNS that exorcists perform a ministry entrusted to them by their bishop in particularly "serious cases" and that the office should remain focused on that pastoral mission.

"I think the more traditional approach of an exorcist is a private, within-the-life-of-the-Church ministry to help individuals who are in crisis and seem to be demonically possessed," he said in the interview. "It shouldn't go beyond that for people who are doing exorcism."

The cardinal added that he believes exorcists should remain "more faithful to the traditional role the Church has had for exorcists." The webpage on exorcisms on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site says "the preservation of confidentiality is important."

Following his removal, Msgr. Rossetti issued a statement expressing sadness over the decision and asking forgiveness "for any ways in which I have failed to remain fully obedient to the Magisterium of the Church." He said the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal would continue its ministry independently.

Debates about UFOs and whether they are tied to demons are not new to Catholics. Priests and theologians have argued for decades that the Church has no official teaching on extraterrestrial life. Some Catholic theologians have said the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is not incompatible with the faith. 

But a fresh wave of public interest in UFOs has continued to grow inside Catholic circles, driven by U.S. government disclosures on the subject and a string of recent films.

On July 7, filmmakers released the trailer for "Not of This World: Catholic Faith in the Age of Disclosure," a documentary series examining how Catholics are responding to UFO questions.

Produced by Catholic filmmaker Sam Sorich, the project features interviews with theologians, UFO researchers, national security officials, clergy and exorcists, prompted in part by claims from a former CIA official that the Vatican possesses evidence of nonhuman intelligence.

The documentary follows Catholic discussions of the issue, including a June private screening at Rome's Cinema Barberini of Steven Spielberg's film "Disclosure Day," organized by Sorich. Attendees included clergy, journalists and students from pontifical universities.

Among those attending was Michael Severance of the Acton Institute, who said the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life would not necessarily conflict with Catholic belief.

"I don't doubt that if there are intelligent or human-like forms in the universe that they also couldn't be made perfect or they couldn't fall or have the same destiny of salvation that we do," he said June 3.

Veteran Vatican journalist Delia Gallagher said the issue is likely to become increasingly important for Catholics.

"This is a topic that is destined to become more important," she said. "The Vatican will eventually -- it could be years -- have something more concrete to say about it."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Hesitation and resistance to the Church's synodal journey can be addressed with clearer explanations, better training and more hands-on experience of what synodality is, bishops representing North America said.

"A very clear takeaway is the need for more formation in synodality, including its meaning, its methods and its spirituality," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

"Synodality is often presented and perceived by many as a cumbersome and complicated process with language and terminology that is unfamiliar to most Catholics. Unless we can simplify how synodality is presented, it risks becoming the exclusive domain of specialists or 'the initiated' rather than a way of simply living our faith together," he told Catholic News Service. 

Archbishop Coakley was one of a number of leaders of the so-called "continental bodies" who met at the Vatican in late June as part of their work during the continental stage of the global Synod on Synodality, which was launched by local churches in 2021.

Representatives from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and North America, together with the coordinators of the continental synodal teams, met privately with Pope Leo XIV and members of the General Secretariat of the Synod June 23-25 at the Vatican. Part of the meeting involved reporting on major developments in implementing, across the different continents, the final document that was released in October 2024.

The team representing North America included: Archbishop Coakley; Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt of Hartford, Connecticut, who is the USCCB's bishop liaison for the synod; Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in Québec, Canada, who is president of Canada's Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Julia McStravog, senior advisor to the U.S. synod leaders' team and coordinator of the diocesan synod teams.

Responding to questions from CNS after their meeting, the three bishops shared the progress they have seen and the challenges that remain in implementing the Synod on Synodality's final document in North America.

U.S. synod leaders meet monthly and share what they learn with all leaders and teams across the country, Bishop Betancourt wrote. These virtual gatherings "have strengthened relationships among the dioceses in the United States" and provided important "consultation, feedback, synthesis and the setting of priorities."

Many places in the United States have successfully implemented synodality "in a more intentional way, using the method of conversations in the spirit" and promoting the participation of the laity, religious and clergy "to discern the good and the challenges occurring in the particular dioceses of their provinces," he added. 

"This process has been helpful in guiding pastoral planning, discernment in parish consolidation, assessment of Mass times and the priest's workload, and more effective resource allocation," the bishop told CNS.

Archbishop Coakley said the Church in the U.S. is "very accustomed to welcoming and fostering lay involvement, from both men and women, at every level of church life. We have well-established consultative bodies, such as parish and diocesan pastoral councils, presbyteral councils, finance councils, school advisory councils and so forth."

"It seems to me that we need to continue to deepen our practice of discernment within those bodies and to develop and deepen an appropriate spirituality based on discernment and rooted in prayer," the archbishop wrote.

The Church in the U.S. is also "blessed with remarkable cultural diversity," Bishop Betancourt added. 

Having "brothers and sisters from countless nations offers an opportunity to continue engaging in multicultural dialogue, broaden participation, practice co-responsibility, and, above all, strengthen missionary outreach," he wrote.

However, Bishop Betancourt wrote, they have faced two big challenges: "the language around synodality, including the term itself, and second, resistance to participating in the process."

"Increasing participation by the lay faithful across the global Church, especially among the marginalized or distant, is essential to making the Church’s work more synodal, because all baptized persons share co-responsibility for the Church’s mission, which is rooted in their common dignity," he wrote. "This approach helps overcome clericalism, dismantle self-referential structures and ensure that the Church’s discernment reflects the diverse spiritual gifts of the entire People of God."

"Synodality is not parting from Catholic tradition but a deeper return to it," Bishop Betancourt wrote. "It’s about discerning God’s will, not about personal preferences or agendas, and that the ultimate goal of synodality is stronger evangelization, finding more effective ways to bring Jesus to the modern world and to bring distant or hurting souls back to his Sacred Heart."

Bishop Goudreault told CNS the Church in Canada also finds it "difficult to engage those who are more hesitant to join the process."

They are developing an online resource for Catholics, and they launched a network this spring to facilitate "learning, reception and conversion to synodality. This will take time and patience," he wrote.

"The concrete 'entry points' presented on page 20 of the 'Pathways' document have been very helpful to us, as some communities still did not know where to begin," he wrote. "We learn synodality by living it rather than by talking about it."

In his own diocese, Bishop Goudreault set up a synodal team led by a woman and a priest as "a sign in favor of synodal leadership," and they organized diocesan synodal assemblies to help him, "as bishop, to clarify pastoral guidelines on a specific issue." 

"Another initiative regarding the appointment of priests to parishes," he wrote, was inviting priests to engage in communal discernment guided by conversation in the Holy Spirit.

"The first meeting focused on the needs of the diocese, the second on the charisms of the priests, and the third on identifying which priests would be best suited to serve in those communities," he wrote. "At the end, the priests were open to receiving their appointments because they had taken part in a synodal process."

Also, "after eight years of service as a bishop, I asked the diocesan team to evaluate me," the Canadian bishop told CNS, because "synodality calls for accountability."

"This evaluation process was a genuine opportunity for growth for me, allowing me to celebrate what is going well and to become aware of areas for improvement," he added.

Archbishop Coakley said Pope Leo "clearly wants to build on the synodal vision outlined and presented by Pope Francis" in his own unique way.

Bishop Betancourt said, "I believe Pope Leo's focus on synodality is about communion: that all members of the Church feel united with one another as God's family."

"In acknowledging and appreciating each one’s responsibility, according to their specific vocation, to build the Church in a missionary way, Pope Leo believes that formation at all levels is essential to address fears and resistance to synodality," he added.

The pope has "repeatedly made clear that synodality is not about changing doctrine or undermining the hierarchical communion of the Church," the bishop wrote. Rather, it "serves as a foundation for evangelization, a shared process of listening, discerning, and building relationships, making the Church in the modern world attractive as the beacon of truth and salvation in Christ."

"It is up to the baptized and their pastor in each local church to be creative and take bold steps to put synodality into practice," Bishop Goudreault wrote.

"It is a call to discern paths for mission today," he wrote, inviting those who are hesitant "to trust and listen to the Holy Spirit so that, together with others, we may discern what He is calling us to do in proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world."

The leaders of the continental bodies will continue to accompany the synodal process back home during this implementation phase in light of the publication of "Towards the Assemblies 2027-2028: Stages, Criteria and Tools for Preparation."

That text outlines the next four stages: diocesan and eparchial evaluation assemblies will review the implementation of the final document in the first half of 2027; national and regional assemblies of the bishops' conferences will interpret those evaluations during the second half of 2027; continental assemblies will produce "forward-looking" reports and guidance in the early part of 2028; and an ecclesial assembly of the whole Church will gather with the pope at the Vatican in October 2028.

LAMPEDUSA, Italy (CNS) -- For more than 30 years, Dr. Pietro Bartolo said he has examined more than 350,000 people and performed postmortem examinations on those who died making the crossing to Lampedusa, where migrants rescued from the Mediterranean first arrived.

One story, he said, has stayed with him.

After a shipwreck near Malta, a father told Bartolo how he had tried to keep his family alive in the water. He held his youngest child against his chest, his wife with one hand and his 3-year-old son with the other as he swam. When he realized he no longer had the strength to save everyone, he let go of his older son.

"'If I had held on for one more minute, my son would still be here,'" Bartolo recalled the father telling him. Rescue crews arrived moments later.

"Understand," Bartolo said in an interview with Catholic News Service June 3, "how terrible it is that a father has to choose which child to let go."

Stories like this, he said, explain why Pope Leo XIV came to Lampedusa.

For Bartolo, who spent decades as Lampedusa's physician and former member of the European Parliament, these human tragedies explain why Pope Leo chose this tiny Mediterranean island for one of the defining visits of his pontificate.

"People ask why the pope comes to Lampedusa," Bartolo told CNS. "Because this is the icon of solidarity."

As the first American pope marked the 250th anniversary of the United States' Declaration of Independence July 4, he did so not in celebration of his homeland, but on a European migrant entrypoint, praying for migrants buried in the island's cemetery, meeting survivors and celebrating Mass where tens of thousands of people flee war, persecution and poverty.

Before delivering a single public address, Pope Leo laid flowers at the graves of migrants who died trying to cross the Mediterranean. He met a migrant family at the "Door of Europe" monument, blessed a plaque naming Favaloro Pier after Pope Francis, and later celebrated Mass beneath an image of Our Lady of Safe Harbor.

The visit deliberately echoed Pope Francis' first journey outside Rome in 2013, when Pope Francis came to Lampedusa to denounce what he called the "globalization of indifference."

"I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to visit you, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis," Pope Leo said in his homily at the Arena sports field in the Salina district of Lampedusa.

But while repeating his predecessors' focus on migrants, Pope Leo gave the message his own theological emphasis.

Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan, he said Lampedusa today lies "along a path as dangerous as the one that led down from Jerusalem to Jericho."

"Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made," he said.

The pope praised the fishermen, volunteers, rescue workers, civil authorities and ordinary island residents who have welcomed migrants for years, thanking them for demonstrating "the miracle of compassion."

"There is no love of God without love of neighbor," he said, "and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near."

"Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries" generates poverty and exclusion, Pope Leo said. Yet quoting his first encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas," he said, "no one is without responsibility."

Pope Leo also urged Europe to move beyond emergency responses, calling for long-term policies capable of "receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants," while helping developing countries so that "no one is forced to emigrate."

His message extended beyond Europe.

In addition to his July 4 homily, Pope Leo released a message marking the United States' 250th birthday, praising the nation's founding ideals of liberty and religious freedom while reminding Americans that immigrants "have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning."

"Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants," he wrote, calling such welcome "not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person."

For the first U.S. pope, migration has been a priority as a matter of human dignity. Pope Leo tied in his trip to the migrant entrypoint on the U.S. holiday, saying immigrants "have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning."

"To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person."

Pope Leo said the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is not only an invitation to celebrate, "but also to reflect upon the responsibilities that the sons and daughters of this country bear to one another."

That message resonates deeply on Lampedusa.

According to Mediterranean Hope's annual report on the Migration Observatory of Lampedusa, nearly 40,000 migrants arrived on the island in 2025, with more than 80% departing from Libya. The observatory documented at least 1,314 deaths along the central Mediterranean route during the year, while noting that the actual number is likely higher because many shipwrecks go unrecorded. 

For Bartolo, however, statistics tell only part of the story. The retired physician said conducting postmortem examinations on drowned children and families "turned my life upside down." The doctor now spends his time traveling across Europe speaking in schools and universities about what he witnessed during his years at the migrant entrypoint.

Remembering the dead has also become the life's work of Tareke Brhane, an Eritrean refugee who crossed the Mediterranean himself before reaching Italy in 2006.

After surviving the journey, Brhane founded the Committee of Oct. 3 following the 2013 shipwreck off Lampedusa that claimed more than 360 lives. The organization works to identify those who die at sea and return names to victims buried as unknown migrants.

"The majority have only numbers," Brhane said.

His committee has helped identify roughly 100 bodies and successfully campaigned for Italy to establish Oct. 3 as a national day of remembrance for migrants who died trying to reach Europe, he told CNS. 

For Brhane, Pope Leo's decision to begin his visit in the cemetery was the day's most powerful gesture. Brhane has made it one of his life's missions to identify migrants buried without names. 

Many bodies recovered from the Mediterranean have historically been buried with only a case number because authorities could not establish their identities. The Committee of Oct. 3 has worked with forensic experts, Italian authorities and victims' families to change that. He told CNS that there is a huge difference in the graves of residents and the unmarked graves of migrants. 

"People will talk about the port," he said. "But the real message was that he went first to the cemetery to pray for those who died."

He called Lampedusa "a place of suffering and a place of hope."

Many migrants who later become citizens of Britain, Sweden or the Netherlands return simply to stand once more on the island where they first arrived alive, he said.

"They say this is where we were born again," Brhane told CNS. 

With a similar message, Mayor Filippo Mannino told the pope during his visit that the island is as a beacon that "does not judge" and "does not choose whom to illuminate," but remains lit through the night for anyone searching for shore.

"No one is too small to point the way," he said.

The visit echoed the pope's June apostolic journey to Spain, when he devoted some of his strongest remarks on migration to the Canary Islands, another major gateway for migrants seeking to reach Europe. Speaking there, he urged Europeans not to allow tourism to obscure the human suffering unfolding along migration routes and challenged visitors to "have the courage to think differently," saying authentic rest should lead people to rediscover the meaning of life and solidarity with others.

Pope Leo repeated that theme in Lampedusa, again using the image of the Good Samaritan to argue that Christian discipleship requires drawing near to those in need rather than "passing by."

"Have the courage to think differently," the pope urged those who vacation on the island, encouraging them not to ignore the suffering unfolding in the surrounding sea.

From this "far-flung corner of Europe," he said, the challenge facing both Europe and the wider world can be seen with unusual clarity.

"All of this must be done with vigilance, ensuring respect for the dignity of every person," the pope said July 4. "This is a task not only for public institutions but also for civil society as a whole and for the Church."

WASHINGTON – Marking the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, Pope Leo XIV has addressed a letter to the American people. The U.S. bishops are grateful to the Holy Father for his inspiring message, and for his prayers as we commemorate this milestone anniversary of our nation. 

All are invited to read Pope Leo XIV’s message which may be found here.

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