We must listen to others, and above all, to the voice of God. That was the idea at the centre of Pope Leo XIV’s homily at Mass in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, where he celebrated Mass on 25th May Sunday evening. Before heading to the Cathedral of Rome, the Holy Father stopped at Rome’s Capitoline Hill, the seat of the city’s civic and democratic administration, where he was greeted by the mayor of the city, Roberto Gualtieri. The Pope thanked the mayor and the civil authorities present for their warm welcome and expressed his hope that “Rome will always be distinguished by those values of humanity and civilization that draw their lifeblood from the Gospel.”
At the beginning of his homily at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, after greeting the cardinals, bishops, the “dear priests,” and the beloved faithful, the Pontiff emphasi-zed that “Rome is the heir to a great history, grounded in the witness of Peter, of Paul, and of countless martyrs, and it has a unique mission, perfectly expressed by what is written on the façade of this cathedral: to be Mater ómnium Ecclesiarum, the Mother of all Churches.”
He then quoted Pope Francis, who often “invited us to reflect on the maternal dimension of the Church and on its defining traits: tenderness, readiness for sacrifice, and that capacity for listening which not only makes it possible to help, but often to anticipate needs and expectations before they are even expressed.” “These are qualities we hope will continue to grow within the People of God everywhere – and here as well, in our great diocesan family: among the faithful, among the pastors, and, above all, within myself,” affirmed Pope Leo XIV.

As Pope Leo XIV begins his pontificate with an emphasis on peace, justice and bridge-building, the Vatican has reaffirmed its “unwavering support for the mission of the United Nations” amid conflict and other urgent challenges facing the global community.
The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, addressed U.N. representatives at the entity’s New York headquart-ers during a May 19 reception in honour of Pope Leo’s election. The reception was organized by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations.
The Holy See established diplomatic relations with the U.N. in 1957, representing the Vatican City State as well as the supreme authority of the Catholic Church, including the pope as bishop of Rome and the head of the college of bishops.
Attending the U.N. reception just hours after Leo’s May 18 inauguration Mass at St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Parolin noted that “the election of a new pope is an occasion for renewal, not only for Catholics but for all who seek a world of greater justice, solidarity and peace.”
That message echoed one by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who said in a May 8 statement that the papal election, along with its “profound spiritual significance … comes at a time of great global challenges.” Paro-lin said the pope, “in his first days as the successor of Peter, has expressed his deep commit-ment to building bridges, under-scoring the need to meet, dialogue and negotiate.”
The cardinal described the U.N.’s mission as creating “a forum where states engage in dialogue, bringing forth the voices of their peoples, and where solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges are forged.”

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Msgr. Renzo Pegoraro as the new President of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), who has served as the Academy’s Chancellor since September 2011. Msgr. Pegoraro, a bioethi-cist with a medical degree, succeeds Arch-bishop Vincenzo Paglia, who turned 80 on April 21.
In an Academy-issued statement, Msgr. Pegoraro expressed, “I thank Pope Leo XIV for appointing me as President of the Pontifical Academy for Life.” ”The work done over these years alongside Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, and previously with Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula,” said the Italian-born priest, “has been both fascinating and stimulating, in line with the operational and thematic directions of the late Pope Francis.” Born in the northern Italian city of Padua on June 4, 1959, Msgr. Pegoraro would later be ordained a priest on June 11, 1989. He was incardinated in the Diocese of Padua.
He earned a degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1985 from the University of Padua, and, in 1990, he received a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Bioethics from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.

Catholic Relief Services said May 21 that most of its projects under a federal inter-national food aid program were terminated, leaving hundreds of thousands of children more vulnerable to hunger. The Trump administration said it was seeking to “align” its programs “with the President’s agenda.” More than 780,000 children across 11 countries will be left without their school meal, in many cases their only meal of the day, as a result of the termi-nation of 11 out of CRS’ 13 proje-cts under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program being terminated, CRS said.
The program – named for the late Ambassador and Sen. George McGovern and former Sen. Robert Dole, both advo-cates of ending childhood hunger – purchases agricultural commo-dities grown in the U.S. to support school food programs and mater-nal and early childhood nutrition programs in countries around the world, with the stated purpose of reducing hunger and promoting literacy, preventing children from trying to learn with empty stomachs.
Commodities purchased by the program include flour from Oklahoma, bulgur from Kansas, beans and lentils from North Dakota, and vegetable oil from states including Arkansas, Flori-da, Illinois and Iowa, according to the Agriculture Department’s website.
Politico reported May 20 the program was among the major international food aid grants the Agriculture Department plans to cancel. The White House’s proposed fiscal 2026 spending plan called for entirely eliminating the McGovern-Dole program. The first Trump administration pro-posed a similar plan, but Congress continued to fund the program.

The Mexican bishops’ conference has condemned a massacre of seven young people – including minors – at a parish festival, while urging action on the part of authorities amid rising violence and warning the population to avoid indifference in the face of recurring atrocities.
The conference also expressed outrage at the assassination of two senior officials in the Mexico City government, who were gunned down in a vehicle after they stopped outside a metro station on a busy thoroughfare in the national capital May 20.
The attack on the seven youths occurred around 2:40 a.m. on May 19 in the town square of San Bartolo de Berrios in western Guanajuato state, where gunmen “from a cartel” arrived in trucks and “brazenly opened fire on the people they found there,” according to a statement from the Archdiocese of León, signed by Archbishop Jaime Calderón Calderón.
The Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office confirmed the number of deaths but offered no additional details, The Associated Press reported.
“We are outraged, shocked and we condemn this act,” Calderón continued. “I urge our authorities to find those responsible and seek justice so these incidents never happen again in our society. Uncovering the truth and applying justice is a duty to bring comfort to the families of the victims.”
The Mexican bishops’ conference said in a May 20 statement, “As pastors of the People of God, we cannot remain indifferent to the spiral of violence that is devastating so many communities in our country. … We cannot get used to living with violent death, nor allow impunity to become the norm.”