Pope Leo XIV prays during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 13, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 21, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on Friday, Aug. 22, coinciding with the liturgical feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Holy Father made the announcement Aug. 20 during his greeting to Italian-speaking pilgrims at the conclusion of the catechesis for the general audience, recalling that Our Lady, in addition to being queen, is “also invoked as Queen of Peace.”

“While our earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions of the world, I invite all the faithful to devote the day of Aug. 22 to fasting and prayer, imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts,” the pontiff said.

“Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace,” he prayed.

On Tuesday evening at Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV expressed his hope for a solution to the crisis of the war in Ukraine but emphasized the need to continue to “work hard, pray hard” for peace. 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Ten Commandments outside the Texas Capitol. / Credit: BLundin via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

CNA Staff, Aug 21, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA).

A federal judge has partially blocked the state of Texas from enforcing its law ordering the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. 

In a colorful ruling replete with off-the-cuff observances on topics ranging from Greta Garbo to the speed of Earth’s orbit, District Judge Fred Biery said the Texas law — signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year — could pressure children into “religious observance” in violation of the U.S. Constitution. 

The state government did not establish a “compelling interest” in imposing such a burden on students, Biery said, and further it failed to make the law “narrowly tailored” enough to pass constitutional muster. 

“There are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of Scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis,” he wrote. 

The judge suggested that the state Legislature could alternately require schools to display moral lessons not directly connected to religious practice, such as quotes from Unitarian minister Robert Fulghum’s book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” 

The ruling applies to nearly a dozen school districts, including the independent school districts of Houston and Fort Bend. The suit had been brought by a coalition of parents on behalf of their children. 

State Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement to media that his office will “absolutely be appealing this flawed decision.” 

“The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship,” he said. 

This is not the first setback over the past year for advocates of displaying the Ten Commandments in schools. 

In November 2024 a federal judge in Louisiana blocked that state’s Ten Commandments law, calling it “coercive” and “unconstitutional.” 

Elsewhere, in June 2024 the state of Oklahoma directed school districts to incorporate the Bible into middle school and high school curricula, with the state superintendent citing its historical and cultural significance in helping “contextualize” the present-day United States. 

One poll in June showed that a majority of U.S. adults support allowing Christian prayer in schools, though other polling showed a larger number believing the practice shouldn’t be mandatory, with more than half opposing teachers being allowed to lead classes in prayer.

View of the Greek island of Syros. / Credit: Hans Peter Schaefer/Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

CNA Newsroom, Aug 21, 2025 / 10:51 am (CNA).

Prosecutors on the Greek island of Syros have filed felony charges against two Catholic clerics and six civilians in connection with the alleged embezzlement and money laundering of more than 3 million euros ($3.3 million) in diocesan funds.

The indictments this month follow an investigation that began in late 2024 when Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority uncovered suspicious financial transfers from the Catholic Diocese of Syros to accounts linked to nightclub operations, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported.

The probe discovered that church funds had allegedly been diverted to businesses involved in prostitution, drugs, and protection schemes over eight years, according to ProtoThema.

Prosecutors have charged two Catholic priests along with six civilians in connection with embezzlement exceeding 120,000 euros, complicity in embezzlement, and money laundering.

Central to the case is a 53-year-old nightclub owner from Patra. According to investigators, the businessman allegedly used church funds to sublet nightclub operations, serving as what prosecutors consider the “mastermind” of the scheme.

The financial misconduct prompted swift action from the Vatican.

Pope Francis accepted Bishop Petros Stefanou’s resignation in April and appointed Archbishop Sevastianos Rossolatos, emeritus of Athens, as apostolic administrator of the diocese pending a permanent replacement.

The scandal affects one of the smallest Catholic communities in predominantly Eastern Orthodox Greece, where Catholics represent only about 50,000 of Greece’s 10.7 million people.

Located in the Cyclades island chain in the Aegean Sea, about 78 nautical miles southeast of Athens, Syros serves as the administrative center for the Catholic Diocese of Syros with Milos and Santorini.

The Anti-Money Laundering Authority’s investigation resulted in the freezing of bank accounts belonging to the accused civilians. Notably, the Catholic Church foundations’ accounts themselves were not frozen during the probe, ProtoThema reported.

The scandal has drawn particular attention due to its apparent connection to organized crime elements and the significant duration of the alleged financial misconduct.

Greek authorities traced suspicious transactions back eight years, with the most recent transfer of 50,000 euros occurring shortly before the investigation became public in late 2024, according to Euronews.

Following the Anti-Money Laundering Authority’s findings, Aegean Appellate Prosecutor Odysseas Tsormpatzoglou ordered a preliminary criminal investigation and summoned all accused parties to provide testimony before investigating judges on Syros, ProtoThema reported.

The Catholic Church in Greece initially stated it was unaware of the priests’ alleged actions when the scandal first emerged, Euronews reported.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At a time when many governments seem unable promote peace, justice and development for all, Christians must be prophetic, reaching out to others and daring to try something new, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Without the victims of history, without those who hunger and thirst for justice, without migrants and refugees, without the cry of all creation, we will not have new stones" necessary to build the kingdom of God, said the pope's message to the Meeting at Rimini. 

Tens of thousands of young adults from around the world gather each August in the Italian seaside city of Rimini for the meeting organized by the Communion and Liberation Movement.

The 2025 Meeting, scheduled for Aug. 22-27, drew its theme from "The Rock" by T.S. Eliot: "In the vacant places we will build with new bricks." Organizers said the theme is meant "to express the hope of a novelty within the drama of history, the desire to build together places in which to share the search and experience of what is true, good and just."

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, wrote to Meeting participants on behalf of Pope Leo. The Vatican released the text of the message Aug. 21.

One of the featured exhibits at the Meeting will focus on the martyrs of Algeria: Bishop Pierre Claverie of Oran and 18 others, including the seven Trappist monks of Tibhirine, who were killed between 1993 and 1996 while Algeria was locked in a 10-year-long armed conflict between government forces and extremist Islamic rebel groups. 

Cardinal Parolin said the pope was pleased with the choice because they are an example of "the church's vocation to dwell in the desert in deep communion with all humanity, overcoming the walls of indifference that set religions and cultures against one another, in full imitation of the movement of the incarnation and giving of the Son of God."

The martyrs' "way of presence and simplicity, of knowledge and of 'dialogue of life' is the true path of mission," the message said. "Not self-exhibition, in the contraposition of identities, but self-giving to the point of martyrdom of those who, day and night, in joy and amid tribulations, worship Jesus alone as Lord."

"Where those responsible for state and international institutions seem unable to enforce the rule of law, mediation and dialogue," the message said, "religious communities and civil society must dare to be prophetic. This means allowing ourselves to be driven into the desert and seeing now what can be born from the rubble and from so much, too much, innocent suffering."

The Meeting's focus on dialogue -- among Catholics of differing opinions, with other Christians and with members of other religions -- is the only way to "prepare the 'new stones' with which to build the future that God already has in store for everyone, but which only unfolds when we welcome one another," the message said.

"Unarmed and disarming, the presence of Christians in contemporary societies must translate, with skill and imagination, the Gospel of the Kingdom into forms of development that provide alternatives to paths of growth without equity and sustainability," it said.

"In order to serve the living God, we must abandon the idolatry of profit, which has severely compromised justice, freedom of encounter and exchange, the participation of all in the common good and ultimately peace," it said. "A faith that is estranged from the desertification of the world or that indirectly contributes to tolerating it would no longer be following Jesus Christ."

WASHINGTON – “The situation in Gaza and across the Middle East cries out for the assistance of the Catholic community of the United States,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In a letter to the U.S. bishops, he asked them to consider taking up a voluntary special collection in their dioceses, if they are able, to support the efforts of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). Both organizations have well-established partnerships with the Catholic Church in the region to allow them to respond quickly and efficiently.

“Our Church mourns the terrible suffering of Christians and other innocent victims of violence in Gaza and surrounding areas who are struggling to survive, protect their children, and live with dignity in dire conditions,” continued Archbishop Broglio. “The Holy Father continues to call for a cease fire and for aid to enter the territory, noting with great sorrow that ‘Gaza is starving,’” and encouraged the bishops to consider the special collection in their dioceses at their earliest opportunity.

More information about the efforts by CRS and CNEWA in Gaza, please visit:

• https://www.crs.org/where-we-work/middle-east-north-africa/jerusalem-west-bank-and-gaza
• https://cnewa.org/what-we-do/support-emergency-relief-in-the-holy-land/

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus' love and forgiveness do not deny the truth of pain and betrayal, but they do prevent evil from having the last word, Pope Leo XIV said.

"To forgive does not mean to deny evil, but to prevent it from generating further evil," the pope said Aug. 20 at his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall.

"It is not to say that nothing has happened, but to do everything possible to ensure that resentment does not determine the future," he said.

Continuing his series of talks about Jesus' final days, the pope looked specifically at "one of the most striking and luminous gestures in the Gospel," when Jesus offers a morsel of bread to Judas during the Last Supper, knowing full well that his disciple is about to betray him.

"It is not only a gesture of sharing: it is much more; it is love's last attempt not to give up," Pope Leo said.

"The key to understanding Christ's heart," he said, is to realize that his love "does not cease in the face of rejection, disappointment, even ingratitude."

"His love is stronger than hatred," he said.

The pope said Jesus recognizes that "his love must pass through the most painful wound, that of betrayal. And instead of withdrawing, accusing, defending himself, he continues to love: he washes the feet, dips the bread and offers it" to all his disciples, including Judas. 

Jesus is not ignoring what is happening, he said. Rather, he has understood "that the freedom of the other, even when it is lost in evil, can still be reached by the light of a meek gesture, because he knows that true forgiveness does not await repentance, but offers itself first, as a free gift, even before it is accepted."

Judas accepts the morsel of bread, but does not understand its meaning, and "Satan entered him," the pope said. "That morsel is our salvation, because it tells us that God does everything -- absolutely everything -- to reach us, even in the hour when we reject him."

"Jesus, with the simple gesture of offering bread, shows that every betrayal can become an opportunity for salvation if it is chosen as a space for a greater love," he said. "It does not give in to evil, but conquers it with good, preventing it from extinguishing what is truest in us: the capacity to love."

"Jesus' love does not deny the truth of pain, but it does not allow evil to have the last word," he said. "This is the mystery Jesus accomplishes for us, in which we, too, at times, are called to participate."

"We, too, experience painful and difficult" moments, such as when there is disappointment or when "someone has hurt or betrayed us," the pope said. "The temptation is to close ourselves up, to protect ourselves, to return the blow." 

"But the Lord shows us the hope that another way always exists," he said, and that the faithful can "respond with the silence of trust. And that we can move forward with dignity, without renouncing love."

"Let us ask today for the grace to be able to forgive," he said. "As Jesus teaches us, to love means to leave the other free -- even to betray -- without ever ceasing to believe that even that freedom, wounded and lost, can be snatched from the deception of darkness and returned to the light of goodness."

"Even if the other does not accept it, even if it seems to be in vain, forgiveness frees those who give it: it dispels resentment, it restores peace, it returns us to ourselves," he said.

Pope Leo spent nearly an hour and a half greeting visitors and pilgrims in the audience hall, including special guests, sports teams, newlyweds and the infirm. He greeted several families with small children, holding their newborns and posing for a family photo. 

He then headed to St. Peter's Basilica to greet those who could not fit in the large audience hall and blessed people who were waiting in the parking area outside the hall. Because of the high temperatures outside, the general audience was being held in two parts -- in the hall and in the basilica -- so people would not have to be under the hot sun.

The pope greeted the faithful in the basilica in English, Spanish and Italian and reminded them of the theme of forgiveness in his main catechesis.

"Let us all learn to pardon," he said in English. "Because to pardon one another is to build a bridge of peace. And we must pray for peace, which is so necessary in our world today, a peace which only Jesus Christ can give us."

Pope Leo: God always forgives!

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Aug. 20, 2025. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV asked Catholics to observe Aug. 22 as a day of prayer and fasting for peace and justice, particularly in Ukraine and in the Holy Land.

At the end of his general audience Aug. 20, the pope noted that the church will celebrate the feast of the Queenship of Mary Aug. 22.

"While our world continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine and in many other regions of the world," he said, "I ask all the faithful to spend Aug. 22 in fasting and prayer, asking the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to dry the tears of those who suffer because of the armed conflicts underway."

"May Mary, queen of peace, intercede so that people would find the path of peace," he prayed. 

The night before his audience, as he was greeting people who gathered outside the Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo told reporters the new diplomatic moves aimed at ending Russia's war on Ukraine are a reason for hope, but much remains to be done.

"There is hope. We still have to work hard, pray hard and seek the way forward," the pope told reporters late Aug. 19 as he prepared to leave the villa and return to the Vatican.

Encountering the pope the day after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders, the reporters asked Pope Leo if he had heard from any of the leaders.

"I hear from some of them from time to time," the pope said, but he did not respond to a journalist who asked if he speaks with Trump.

Pope Leo, who marked the 100th day of his papacy Aug. 16, also was asked how that was going.

It has been "a blessing from God," he said. "I receive so much. I really believe in the Lord's grace, and I am so thankful for the reception I have received."

Ending his short, second stay at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo said he would return. "It's a grace to be here."
 

Pope Leo: Pray, fast for peace Aug. 22

Pope Leo asked Catholics to fast and pray for peace in the world on Aug. 22.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV paid a private visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace of Mentorella, high in the Monti Prenestini mountain range of central Italy.

On his last full day in Castel Gandolfo, Aug. 19, the pope made the hour journey northeast to pray in the shrine church and the Cave of St. Benedict, where a pious tradition holds that St. Benedict lived for two years early in the sixth century.

Pope Leo visited with the Polish priests of the Resurrectionist order, which has cared for the shrine since 1857, and they helped him ring the church bells at noon before praying the Angelus together. 

The pope returned to Castel Gandolfo for the afternoon and was scheduled to returned to the Vatican that night.

St. John Paul II visited the Mentorella shrine often as a bishop and cardinal, went there to pray before the conclave that elected him in 1978 and returned two weeks after his election.

"This place, hidden among the mountains, has particularly fascinated me. From it, one's eyes can range over and admire the magnificent view of the Italian landscape," he said during his Oct. 29, 1978, visit.

After the Annunciation, he said, Mary went to "the hill country" to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and it was there that she sang the "Magnificat."

"I wanted to come here, among these mountains, to sing the 'Magnificat' in Mary's footsteps," St. John Paul had said.

Exactly 27 years later -- Oct. 29, 2005 -- Pope Benedict XVI made a private visit to Mentorella in memory of St. John Paul's visit.

Tradition holds that the shrine, perched 3,300 feet above sea level, originally was built under the order of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. 
 

Pope Leo visits mountaintop Marian shrine

Pope Leo made a private visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace of Mentorella Aug. 19.

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Ralph Bernard O’Donnell, as Bishop of Jefferson City. Father O’Donnell is a priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and currently serves as pastor of Saint Margaret Mary parish in Omaha, Nebraska. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on August 19, 2025, by Monsignor Većeslav Tumir, chargé d’ affaires, a.i., of the Apostolic Nunciature, in the temporary absence of Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The following biographical information for Bishop-elect O’Donnell was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Father O’Donnell was born August 31, 1969, in Omaha, Nebraska. Bishop-elect O’Donnell studied at Conception Seminary College in Conception, Missouri (1989-1993) and Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois (1993-1997). He received a bachelor’s degree in religion from Conception Seminary College (1993), a master of divinity from University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein (1997), and a master’s degree in Christian spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska (2000). Father O’Donnell was ordained to the priesthood on June 7, 1997.

Bishop-elect O’Donnell’s assignments after ordination include: associate pastor, Mary Our Queen parish in Omaha (1997-2001); associate pastor, Saint Vincent de Paul parish in Omaha (2001-2003); director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Omaha (2003-2008); pastor, Saint Brigit parish and Saint Rose parish in Omaha (2008-2011); director of the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Omaha (2008-2009); vice rector and dean or formation at Conception Seminary College in Conception (2011-2015); and executive director for the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (2015-2019). Since 2019, he has served as pastor of Saint Margaret Mary parish in Omaha.

The Diocese of Jefferson City is comprised of 22,127 square miles in the State of Missouri and has a total population of 926,905 of which 74,413 are Catholic.

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ROME (CNS) -- Spending the day with the poor, Pope Leo XIV prayed that Catholics would make sure their parishes are welcoming of all people and would be "on fire" with God's love.

'We are the church of the Lord, a church of the poor -- all precious, all active participants, each one bearing a unique word from God," the pope said Aug. 17 as he celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano Laziale with about 110 clients and volunteers of the Diocese of Albano's Caritas programs, including people experiencing homelessness and residents of its shelter for families. 

"Let us not leave the Lord outside of our churches, our homes or our lives," the pope said in his homily at the Mass. "Rather, let us welcome him in the poor -- and then we will make peace even with our own poverty, the kind we fear and deny when we seek comfort and security at all costs."

After the morning Mass, Pope Leo returned to Castel Gandolfo -- less than two miles away -- to lead the recitation of the Angelus prayer and then to host lunch for the Caritas clients and some of the volunteers.

The luncheon was held in the Borgo Laudato Si', a project for education and training in integral ecology begun by Pope Francis in the gardens of the papal summer villa. Waiters in white shirts and black trousers served the guests a meal that included vegetable lasagna, eggplant parmesan or roast veal, fruit salad and dessert provided by local restaurants.

Cardinal Fabio Baggio, director general of Borgo Laudato Si', welcomed the pope and said the lunch with the poor was a beautiful way to celebrate Pope Leo's first 100 days in office and affirm Catholic teaching that "unites care for creation with care for every person." 

Pope Leo was seated at a round table placed at the junction of two long tables that formed an "l" under an awning to protect guests from the sun. At the table with him were: Rosabal Leon, a migrant from Peru, whose husband and two children were seated nearby; and Gabriella Oliveiro, 85, who lives by herself on the outskirts of Rome.

Before blessing the food, the pope said the setting was a reminder of the beauty of God's creation, especially God's creation of human beings in his image and likeness -- "all of us. Each one of us represents this image of God. How important it is to always remember that we find this presence of God in every person."

In his homily at the Mass, the pope had said that whether seeking assistance or providing it, in the church "each person is a gift for others. Let us tear down walls."

Pope Leo thanked the people in Catholic communities around the world who "work to facilitate the encounter between people of different origins and economic, psychological or emotional situations: only together, only by becoming one body in which even the most fragile has full dignity, do we truly become the body of Christ, the church of God."

The day's Gospel reading, Luke 12:49-53, began with the words, "Jesus said to his disciples: 'I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!'"

The fire Jesus was speaking of, the pope said, was "not the fire of weapons, nor the fire of words that burn others down. No. But the fire of love -- a love that stoops to serve, that responds to indifference with care and to arrogance with gentleness; the fire of goodness, which doesn't cost like weapons do, but freely renews the world."

The price may be "misunderstanding, ridicule, even persecution, but there is no greater peace than having his flame within us," the pope said.

The Shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda is built in the round on the site of a first-century pagan temple. The shape, Pope Leo said, "makes us feel welcomed into the womb of God." 

"From the outside, the church, like every human reality, can appear rigid. But its divine reality is revealed when we cross its threshold and experience its welcome," the pope said. "Then our poverty, our vulnerability, and above all our failures -- for which we may be despised and judged, and sometimes we despise and judge ourselves -- are finally welcomed into the gentle strength of God, a love without sharp edges and without conditions."

"Mary, the mother of Jesus, is for us a sign and foretaste of God's maternity," he said. "In her, we become a motherly church, one that generates and regenerates not by worldly power, but by the virtue of charity."

Pope Leo prayed that Catholics would allow Jesus' fire to burn away "the prejudices, the caution and the fears that still marginalize those who carry the poverty of Christ written into their lives."
 

Pope Leo eats lunch with poor, homeless

Pope Leo XIV spent the day Aug. 17 with people experiencing homelessness and families in need -- celebrating Mass with over 100 guests and volunteers from the Diocese of Albano’s Caritas programs.