Pope Leo XIV addresses the Fratelli Tutti Synod Meeting

 

Pope Leo with participants in the 'Fratelli tutti: North-South Socio-Environmental Dialogue' meeting  (@Vatican Media)

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• Pope Leo XIV
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Pope: Progress must not leave new ruins in its wake

Pope Leo meets participants in the ‘Fratelli tutti: North-South Socio-Environmental Dialogue’ meeting and stresses our shared responsibility in the face of social, economic and technological challenges.

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10/09/2026

Fourth Fratelli Tutti Synodal Encounter begins in Rome

By Sebastián Sansón Ferrari

Differences do not necessarily have to lead to division. They can become a creative force when accompanied by shared responsibility and directed towards the common good.

That was one of the key themes of Pope Leo XIV’s message to participants in the Fourth ‘Fratelli Tutti’ Synodal Meeting, whom he received in audience in the Vatican today, Saturday 12 September 2026. The event had been held from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 September in Rome.

In his wide-ranging address, delivered both in Spanish and in English, the Pope greeted representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

He also thanked representatives of international organizations, regional development banks, businesses, foundations, trade unions, employers’ associations, universities, ecclesial networks and social organizations for their presence.

The breadth of representation, he said, gives the meeting particular significance, and reflects a willingness to continue a dialogue which can translate into models of development that are “more human, sustainable and in solidarity”.

READ THE POPE'S FULL ADDRESS HERE

“A courageous and confident dialogue”

The Pope linked this effort to an essential dimension of the Church’s mission. He recalled that, at the beginning of his pontificate, he had told the College of Cardinals on 10 May 2025 of the need for a “courageous and confident dialogue with the contemporary world in its different components and realities”.

Dialogue with the world, he explained, is not a secondary activity for the Church but part of its evangelizing mission. The Church proclaims the Gospel amid the concrete circumstances in which peoples live and is therefore called to look squarely at the reality of men and women.

In this context, the Pope recalled that the Church is called to “embrace reality” and to expose the contradictions that can accompany scientific and technological progress, whose unprecedented possibilities bring new responsibilities.

What kind of humanity do we want to build?

Faced with technological development, Leo XIV urged people to go beyond simply accepting or rejecting particular tools. The decisive question, he said, is “what kind of humanity we want to build and what place each person will have in it”.

The Pope placed this question within the horizon of Christian faith: God has entered history and, in Jesus Christ, has taken on humanity. The Church is therefore called to discern, within history, what truly serves the human person and what may ultimately turn against it.

The transformations of our time, he added, demand a responsibility that exceeds the capacity of any single institution. Hence the need to recover the logic of subsidiarity, recognizing each actor’s own responsibility while also acknowledging the need to work together.

In this regard, he welcomed the initiative of promoting a North-South Shared Responsibility Agenda for Multisectoral Cooperation.

“When public institutions, businesses, workers, universities, communities and social organizations share their knowledge, capacities and resources in the service of the common good, a conviction that has matured within the Church’s social doctrine and that my Predecessors have developed in different ways takes concrete shape: major social challenges require shared responsibility, participation and collaboration among the different bodies of society.”

Catholic Social Teaching as a process of discernment

In the English-language section of his address, the Pope focused on the res novae, the new realities shaping our time, calling for institutions capable of regulating without stifling.

He also highlighted the responsibility of businesses, which must recognize human dignity, and not just profit, as a measure of success.

In this regard, the Pope highlighted Catholic Social Teaching, highlighting that it is not a manual of principles and rules to be applied mechanically, but rather “a process of shared discernment”.

It does not replace the decisions that different actors are called to make, the Pope said. Instead, CST provides criteria for judging whether those decisions genuinely respect human dignity and serve the common good.

A culture of negotiation

Pope Leo also encouraged the cultivation of a “healthy culture of negotiation”.

Negotiation, he said, can open paths where differences appear to have closed every possibility of encounter. In this way, those involved in the process can also contribute to the diplomacy of peace that the world needs.

Pope Leo brought his address to a conclusion by expressing the hope that the progress of our time would not leave new ruins in its wake, so that what we build might truly become “a home and a refuge for all”.

President of the USCCB beg Americans to see Christ in others; reject all political violence

 

USCCB president begs Americans to see Christ ‘in every person,’ reject political violence

written by Gina Christian 

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, gives the homily during Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome Feb. 6, 2025, as part of the Jubilee of the Armed Services, Policethe and Security Personnel. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

(OSV News) — Five years after the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on fraternal love, and amid a rise in political violence, the leader of the U.S. Catholic bishops is pleading for a rediscovery of — and respect for — a common humanity.

“I ask every American to reflect on the value of every human life. I beg you to see Christ in every person, even those whose politics you oppose,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The archbishop, who also leads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, shared his thoughts in an Oct. 1 pastoral invitation for reflection ahead of the fifth anniversary of “Fratelli Tutti.” Pope Francis penned the encyclical and released it Oct. 3, 2020, as an exploration and exhortation on the issues of human fraternity and social friendship.

Dan Bradley holds a 10-foot cross near the scene of a mass shooting which took place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sept. 29, 2025. (OSV News photo/Rebecca Cook, Reuters)

The late pope noted that his encyclical — which focused on a topic about which he had frequently spoken — was partly inspired by his own fraternal encounters with leaders of other faith traditions: Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, one of the pre-eminent Sunni Muslim scholars in the world.

Quoting the late pope, Archbishop Broglio said the encyclical “prophetically” observed that the world must rebuild its sense of communion, and that the erosion of social communion leads to humans being manipulated by the powerful. He referenced the late pope’s warning in the encyclical on how great words — the pontiff gave “democracy, freedom, justice or unity” as examples — have been emptied of their meaning, bent and shaped “to serve as tools for domination, as meaningless tags that can be used to justify any action.”

“We have seen the manifestation of this notion in the perverse idea that one can serve the common good by becoming an instrument of violence,” he said. “This happens when we refuse to see the face of Christ in the other person and only see an enemy that must be dominated or destroyed.”

He said, “Tragically, decent people of every political persuasion continue to fall victim to this deadly trend.”

Archbishop Broglio pointed to his experience ministering to military members and their families, saying, “I have known the pain that the violence of war inflicts on men and women and those closest to them.”

Now, he said, “grievous acts of violence have intruded into the daily lives of too many Americans — an experience that, tragically, many civilians around the world have long endured. 

“Places once regarded as safe harbors to grow and learn — our schools, universities, and churches — have become sites of heartbreaking tragedy and bloodshed,” said Archbishop Broglio.

While he did not name any specific incidents, the archbishop’s reflection was released just days after several high-profile killings, including deadly targeted attacks on a Latter-day Saints church in Michigan and a Catholic church in Minnesota, and the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university campus.

A woman cries amid a sea of signs at a memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., Sept. 21, 2025. Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem. (OSV News photo/Cheney Orr, Reuters)

Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative, a research and policy development effort to mitigate political violence, predicted that 2025 would be “a bellwether year for political violence” in the U.S., with rising threats against local officials and communities, and a deepening “climate of hostility in American politics.”

International online research firm YouGov, which since 2022 has polled on how extensive a problem respondents perceive political violence to be in the U.S., has found that levels of concern depend “to some degree” on “whether someone from their side or from the other side is the most recent to be attacked.”

Archbishop Broglio, quoting from “Fratelli Tutti,” said that “authentic reconciliation does not flee from conflict, but is achieved in conflict, resolving it through dialogue and open, honest and patient negotiation.”

As Pope Francis wrote in the encyclical, said the archbishop, “the path to social unity always entails acknowledging the possibility that others have, at least in part, a legitimate point of view, something worthwhile to contribute, even if they were in error or acted badly.”

The late pope stressed that peace “requires us to place at the center of all political, social, and economic activity the human person from conception to natural death, who enjoys the highest dignity, and respect for the common good.” 

“Each of us should examine our hearts, our thoughts, and our actions and ask ourselves how we contribute to the polarization and animosity plaguing our nation,” Archbishop Broglio said.

That self-reflection should be accompanied by concrete actions to mend a wounded society, he said.

“We should also put into practice those behaviors that can help us begin to heal the rifts between us,” said Archbishop Broglio, recommending in particular the corporal works of mercy, which along with their spiritual counterparts are described in Catholic teaching as “charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.”

The corporal works of mercy listed by Archbishop Broglio in his reflection included “feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.”

Along with such outreach, said the archbishop, “Consider fasting from social media for one day a week or in the evening.”

A girl holds a candle during a vigil at Lynnhurst Park in Minneapolis Aug. 27, 2025, following a shooting earlier in the day at Annunciation Church. A shooter opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the school’s church and struck children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two children and wounding 21 people in an act of violence the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible.” (OSV News photo/Tim Evans, Reuters)

In addition, he said, “Pray for your enemies,” referencing a command given by Jesus Christ to his followers during both the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:38-48) and the Sermon on the Plain (Lk. 6:27-35). 

“Listen and talk with those with whom you disagree — especially within your own family,” said Archbishop Broglio. “Disagree, debate civilly, stand for your rights, but always remember in your heart that we are all children of God and deserve dignity and life.” 

The archbishop concluded his reflection with a call to pray “that we may discover anew that all are important and all are necessary, different faces of the one humanity that God so loves. Amen.”

The USCCB is also providing Catholics with a variety of resources to help implement the vision of “Fratelli Tutti” on its fifth anniversary. These include information on its CivilizeIt initiative, the “Fratelli Tutti Study Guide,” resources on Catholic social teaching and the corporal works of mercy, all of which can be found on its website, usccb.org. 

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.

President Trump plans expansion of the death penalty especially in Washington D.C.

 

Trump says his administration will pursue capital punishment for all murders in DC

written by Kate Scanlon 

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington Aug. 26, 2025. Trump said during the meeting that capital punishment will be sought for all murders in Washington. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Donald Trump said at an Aug. 26 Cabinet meeting that capital punishment will be sought for all murders in Washington, D.C.

Trump’s comments came amid his federalization of the police force in the nation’s capital and after he activated the National Guard in what he called an effort to combat crime in Washington.

“Anybody murders something in the capital: capital punishment,” Trump said at the White House meeting. “Capital: capital punishment. If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty.”

Trump argued the policy was “preventative,” a claim disputed by death penalty opponents. 

‘Misguided approach’

“Perpetuating more violence in response to harm does not promise safety or an effective solution to crime,” Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a group that advocates for the abolition of capital punishment in line with Catholic teaching, told OSV News.

Vaillancourt Murphy said the District of Columbia like other major metropolitan areas “has challenges with crime and violence that should not be ignored.” But she said that to respond with capital punishment is “at best a terribly misguided approach.” 

She said capital punishment “defiles the sacred dignity of life and deserves no place in our nation’s capital, our country, or any society.” 

“Simply put, the death penalty is a failed system beyond repair,” she said. “Instead of providing real opportunities for healing and closure, capital punishment systematically perpetuates a cycle of violence.”

Among the first actions of his second term earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general to “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” and to “seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime” that involves the “murder of a law-enforcement officer” or a “capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country.”

Vaillancourt Murphy noted that “practically speaking, capital punishment is more expensive than other prison sentences and it is often applied arbitrarily.” 

She pointed to information from the Death Penalty Information Center showing that at least 200 people — or one person for every eight persons executed since 1973 — have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death.

“For every eight people executed in the United States, one person has been exonerated. Additionally, the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime,” she said. “Research has consistently demonstrated that murder rates are lower in states that do not have the death penalty.”

“The people of Washington, D.C., deserve real safety, true accountability, and approaches to crime and violence that are rooted in the preservation of life,” she said. 

Magisterial teaching

The Catholic Church’s official magisterium opposes the use of the death penalty as inconsistent with the inherent sanctity of human life, and advocates for the practice’s abolition worldwide. 

The late Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 to clarify the church’s teaching that capital punishment is morally “inadmissible” in the modern world and that the church works with determination for its abolishment worldwide.

In his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis addressed the moral problem of capital punishment by citing St. John Paul II, writing that his predecessor “stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice.”

About a decade prior to becoming Pope Leo XIV earlier this year, then-Bishop Robert Prevost wrote in a March 5, 2015, post on X, then known as Twitter, “It’s time to end the death penalty.”

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.

Pope Leo XIV meets with delegations of non-Catholic

 

Pope Leo XIV meets with representatives of various Churches and religions on Monday  (@Vatican Media)

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• Pope Leo XIV
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Pope Leo XIV: Now is the time for dialogue and building bridges

On the day after the Mass for the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry, Pope Leo XIV greets delegations from non-Catholic Churches, ecclesial communities, and other faith traditions, recalling his predecessor’s commitment to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.

By Christopher Wells

Pope Leo XIV held a special audience on Monday for ecumenical and interreligious delegations that took part in the Solemn Mass for the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry.

In his address, the Holy Father highlighted Pope Francis’ emphasis on universal fraternity, continuing the initiatives of previous popes, especially St John XXIII.

Pope Francis, “the Pope of Fratelli tutti, promoted both the ecumenical path and inter-religious dialogue,” Pope Leo said, “above all by cultivating interpersonal relations, in such a way that, without taking anything away from ecclesial bonds, the human trait of the encounter was always valued. May God help us to treasure his witness!”

True unity is unity in faith

Speaking first to other Christian Churches and ecclesial communities, Pope Leo XIV took note of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, emphasizing that unity among Christians “can only be unity in faith.”

He added that the pursuit of full and visible communion of all Christians is one of his priorities as Bishop of Rome.

At the same time, he recalled the close links between ecumenism and synodality, and assured the delegations of his commitment to follow Pope Francis in “promoting the synodal character of the Catholic Church.”

A common path in the spirit of human fraternity

Turning to representatives of non-Christian religious traditions, Pope Leo XIV said our “common path” can and must be understood to involve everyone, “in a spirit of human fraternity.”

Today, he said, “is the time for dialogue and building bridges.”

The Holy Father looked back again at his immediate predecessor, calling to mind “the remarkable efforts made by Pope Francis in favour of interreligious dialogue.”

Citing the Document on Human Fraternity, Pope Leo said, “Through his words and actions, [Pope Francis] opened new avenues of encounter, to promote ‘the culture of dialogue as the path; mutual collaboration as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.’”

Relations with Judaism, Islam, and other religious traditions

Following the path laid out by Vatican II’s document on interreligious relations (Nostra aetate), Pope Leo also highlighted the “spiritual heritage shared by Christians and Jews,” and emphasized the importance of theological dialogue between the communities, even in times of “conflicts and misunderstandings.”

The Pope went on to note “the growing commitment to dialogue and fraternity” that marks relations between the Catholic Church and Muslims, saying an approach based on “mutual respect and freedom of conscience” is “a solid basis for building bridges between our communities.”

Finally, addressing representatives of other traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and others, Pope Leo expressed gratitude for their contributions to peace “in a world wounded by violence and conflict.”

At the same time, he conveyed his hopes that, by working together, religious believers can help to say “no” to war, to the arms race, and to an unjust economy; and “yes” to peace, to disarmament, and to integral development.

Building a more peaceful world

Pope Leo XIV concluded his discourse by sharing his conviction that “the witness of our fraternity… will certainly contribute to building a more peaceful world, something that all men and women of good will desire in their hearts.”

And he invited the delegations to “invoke God’s blessings in our hearts,” praying that “His infinite goodness and wisdom help us to live as His children and as brothers and sisters to each other, so that hope may grow in the world.”

A theme of forgiveness and peace chosen for 2025 World Day of Peace

 

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• POPE FRANCIS
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Vatican reveals theme for 2025 World Day of Peace

“Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace” is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the next “World Day of Peace," held on January 1, 2025.

By Christopher Wells

“Only from a genuine conversion on all levels – personal, local and international – will true peace be able to flourish,” says the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Development in its statement on the theme for the 2025 World Day of Peace.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Dicastery adds that peace comes not only from an end to conflicts, “but also in a new reality in which wounds are healed and each person’s dignity is recognized”.

The World Day of Peace is observed each year on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Since its establishment in 1967 by Pope St Paul VI, the Pope’s have taken the occasion to offer magisterial reflections in Messages for the day, dealing with topics such as the United Nations, human rights, diplomacy, and economic development.

The theme chosen by the Holy Father for the World Day of Peace for 2025 is “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”, corresponding to “the biblical and ecclesial understanding of the Jubilee Year”.

Hope and forgiveness at the heart of the Jubilee

In its statement, the Dicastery says the theme is inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical letters Laudato sí and Fratelli tutti, “and above all by the concepts of Hope and Forgiveness, which are at the heart of the Jubilee, a time for conversion that calls us not to condemn, but instead to bring about reconciliation and peace”.

The Dicastery goes on to note by “considering the reality of conflicts and social sins afflicting humanity today in light of the hope inherent in the Jubilee tradition of the forgiveness of sins and the cancellation of debts, together with the reflections of the Fathers of the Church in this regard, concrete principles emerge that can lead to a much needed spiritual, social, economic, ecological and cultural change”.