Pope Leo XIV approved the decision to declare St. John Henry Newman the 38th doctor of the universal Church. The decision to confer the title upon the 19th-century English saint — a former Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism — was confirmed during the pope’s morning meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 

According to the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father accepted the “affirmative opinion” of dicastery members and the plenary session of cardinals and bishops regarding the founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England.  In the Church’s 2,000-year history, only 37 other saints, including four women, have been given the title of doctor. The title is granted in recognition of an already canonized saint’s significant contribution to advancing the Church’s knowledge of doctrine, theology, or spirituality. The Vatican has not yet confirmed the date of Newman’s formal proclamation as a doctor of the Church.

Born in London and baptized into the Church of England in 1801, Newman was a popular and respected Anglican priest, theologian, and writer among his peers prior to his conversion to Catholicism. In 1845, Newman asked his friend Blessed Dominic Barberi, an Italian Passionist priest living in England, to receive him into the Catholic Church.

He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847 and later made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. He chose the motto “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“Heart speaks to heart”) as an expression of his conversion in his own heart, through the heart of God. As a Catholic, Newman deepened and contributed to the Church’s teaching, thanks to his broad knowledge of theology and his keen insight into modern times, grounded in the Gospel. His body of work includes 40 books and more than 20,000 letters. Newman died in Edgbaston, England, in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019.

The Vatican has unveiled a sweeping update to its public procurement regulations, introducing a streamlined framework designed to safeguard integrity while accelerating decision-making in the Holy See’s contracting processes. The reform, enacted through a General Executive Decree from the Secretariat for the Economy on August 9, implements key provisions of «Para una mejor armonización» (“For a Better Harmonization”), the motu proprio issued in January 2024. This decree builds upon the Vatican’s 2020 apostolic letter on transparency, oversight, and competition in awarding public contracts—originally promulgated by Pope Francis and later refined to better align with the evolving needs of the Church’s administration

Signed on August 5 and comprised of eight sections and 52 articles, the new regulation represents the work of multiple Vatican departments. Officials say the goal is to preserve the principles of transparency, fair competition, and equal treatment of bidders while cutting through bureaucratic bottlenecks that can delay projects.

The updated code is not only an exercise in administrative housekeeping; it reflects the Vatican’s ongoing commitment to the values embedded in Catholic social teaching. These include fairness in economic dealings, responsible stewardship of resources, and the promotion of efficiency and value for money without compromising ethical standards.

The balance between rigorous oversight and procedural simplicity has been a recurring theme in Vatican governance reforms since the apostolic constitution «Praedicate Evangelium» came into force in 2022. The new framework draws on lessons from recent years, aiming to ensure that procurement decisions are both transparent and practically executable, avoiding excessive delays or red tape. The decree took immediate effect on August 10, a day after its publication on the website of L’Osservatore Romano.

Delegates of the third Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society, and Pastoral Life who gathered in Ivory Coast’s city of Abidjan from Aug. 5–10 have called for the support of African missionaries who are experiencing hardships in their missions, especially those set back by immigration challenges. In a statement at the end of the congress, the delegates said divisions such as ethnicity and racism must not stand in the way of missionary discipleship in Africa and even outside the continent.

Noting that self-reliance is an imperative for the Church in Africa, “not as isolation from other local churches but as mature participation in the universal communion of faith,” the delegates said: “This means … supporting African missionaries in the challenging mission in some parts of the world where some African missionaries experience racism and immigration restrictions.”

The delegates acknowledged that the African Church has transitioned to becoming a “Church of the Sheaves,” sharing personnel within the continent, even outside Africa. “We recognize with gratitude how far the African Church has journeyed: transiting from a mission Church receiving the Gospel to a Church of the Sheaves, sharing gifts and sending missionaries to other parts of the world,” they said, adding: “We commit ourselves to deepening this transformation as missionary disciples of the Lord to Africa and the world.”

]They said that synodality, as explored in the Synod on Synodality, is the pathway of the mission of evangelization and called for “overcoming divisions based on ethnicity, status, or ideology.” The call by the congress delegates comes amid mounting frustrations of foreign Catholic priests who have been forced out of South Africa on alleged expiry of their visas.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more than 3.3 million people in north-eastern Nigeria are currently facing food insecurity. The vast majority are farmers who have been forced to abandon their land due to the ongoing insecurity in the region, and are thus cut off from their primary source of livelihood. Fishermen are also affected.

The Vatican’s Fides news agency has reported that security concerns are preventing herders from accessing grazing areas for their livestock and keeping fishermen from reaching waters such as Lake Chad and major rivers like the Niger and Taraba. Both groups are also suffering due to the activities of armed groups and bandits that continue to wreak havoc across northern Nigeria.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has also raised the alarm. The FAO has warned that during this lean season, that is the months before the harvest, over 30 million Nigerians could be at risk of food insecurity, and the Red Cross has warned that relief efforts alone may not be enough to address the situation.

Food insecurity in Nigeria is a symptom of a deeper, unresolved problem, the organisation says, namely the persistent violence caused by armed groups. Adding to the crisis, the Red Cross says, is the impact of climate change, which is driving internal displacement across the country. Nigeria is experiencing both drought in the north west and flooding in the east, two extremes that are devastating the nation’s agricultural heartlands.

From an organization directly under the Pope’s authority, the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day–established last year by Pope Francis to organize and coordinate the so-called “WCDs”–has now been placed within the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. This decision was made by Pope Leo XIV following an audience granted to the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, on August 6, and was made public in a Rescript.

In the document–released today but dated Saturday, August 9–it is specified that: “This Superior Provision is to be communicated to the two Institutions concerned so they may carry out the transition process.” The new Vatican body was officially announced in a chirograph, a papal handwritten decree, in which Pope Francis entrusted it with the task of overseeing the ecclesial engagement and pastoral organization of the annual event.

It was Pope Francis, on November 20, 2024, who established—via a chirograph—the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day, giving it the mission of overseeing “the ecclesial animation and pastoral organization of World Children’s Day.” This event, inspired by the World Youth Days (WYD), is aimed at bringing together minors from around the globe for a gathering of faith, music, and testimonies. The first edition took place on May 25, 2024, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, in the presence of Pope Francis, and saw participation from over 50,000 children and adolescents, including many from conflict zones.

Pope Leo spoke on the ceasefire and peace agreement in Ukraine, a resolution of the humanitarian crisis and hunger in Gaza, and the release of Israeli hostages there. These objectives of the Holy See’s “soft diplomacy” for issues that “cannot be resolved through war,” were expressed by Pope Leo XIV on 13 August. He shared this message with journalists upon his arrival in Castel Gandolfo on 13 August where he will spend a second period of a summer break until August 19. While greeting the many people gathered to welcome him at the gates of Villa Barberini – his residence during these days – the Pope responded to questions from media reporters about international current events.

When asked what he expects from the upcoming 15 August summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Leo XIV replied: “We must always seek a ceasefire. The violence, the many deaths, must stop. Let’s see how they can come to an agreement. Because after all this time, what is the purpose of war? We must always seek dialogue, diplo-matic efforts, not violence, not weapons.” 

And when asked if he is concerned about the possibility of the population of Gaza being deported, the Pope said: “Very much (con-cerned). The humanitarian crisis must be resolved. We cannot go on like this. We know the violence of terrorism, and we honour the many who have died, as well as the hostages – they must be freed. But we must also think of the many who are dying of hunger.”
Finally, when asked what the Holy See is doing to stop these and other conflicts, the Pope responded: “The Holy See cannot stop them… but we are working, let’s say, on ‘soft diplomacy,’ always inviting, encouraging the pursuit of nonviolence through dialogue and seeking solutions – because these problems cannot be solved by war.”