Pope Leo XIV addresses the Italian Bishops’ Conference on June 17, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2025 / 15:56 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received on June 17 at the Vatican the bishops of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI, by its Italian acronym), with whom he shared four “coordinates” for being a Church that embodies the Gospel: proclamation of the Gospel, peace, human dignity, and dialogue.

At the beginning of his address, following a welcome from the president of the CEI, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Holy Father thanked the Italian prelates for their prayers while recalling the bond between the Church in Italy and the Vatican, a “common and particular” relationship.

In this context, he focused on the principles of collegiality elaborated by the Second Vatican Council, urging the bishops to live that unity in their ministry and also with the successor of Peter.

Leo XIV then cited the challenges facing the Church in Italy: “secularism, a certain disaffection with the faith, and the demographic crisis.”

Reviving “the special bond between the pope and the Italian bishops,” he highlighted several “pastoral concerns” that require reflection, concrete action, and evangelical witness.

Putting Jesus Christ at the center

First, the pope emphasized the need for “renewed zeal in the proclamation and transmission of the faith.”

“In a time of great fragmentation, it is necessary to return to the foundation of our faith, to the kerygma. This is the first major commitment that motivates all the others: to bring Christ “into the veins” of humanity, renewing and sharing the apostolic mission,” he affirmed.

He therefore encouraged the bishops to discern ways to reach people “with pastoral actions capable of intercepting those who are most distant, and with tools suitable for the renewal of catechesis and the languages of proclamation.”

He specifically mentioned urban peripheries and the need to bring peace to those places, where “a Church capable of reconciliation must make herself visible,” inviting each diocese to promote pathways of education in nonviolence and for each community to become a “house of peace.“

“Peace is not a spiritual utopia: It is a humble path, made up of daily gestures that interweave patience and courage, listening and action, and which demands today, more than ever, our vigilant and generative presence,” the pope noted.

In this regard, Leo XIV cited several factors that are transforming society, such as artificial intelligence and social media. For the pontiff, in this scenario, “human dignity risks becoming diminished or forgotten, substituted by functions, automatism, simulations.”

“But the person is not a system of algorithms: He or she is a creature, relationship, mystery. Allow me, then, to express a wish: that the journey of the Churches in Italy may include, in real symbiosis with the centrality of Jesus, the anthropological vision as an essential tool of pastoral discernment,” the Holy Father said.

Faced with the danger of faith becoming “disembodied,” Pope Leo XIV recommended that bishops “cultivate a culture of dialogue” between different generations, “because only where there is listening can communion be born and only where there is communion does truth become credible.”

“The proclamation of the Gospel, peace, human dignity, dialogue: These are the coordinates through which you can be a Church that incarnates the Gospel and is a sign of the kingdom of God,” the Holy Father emphasized.

At the end of his address, the pope encouraged the prelates to maintain unity while considering the synodal journey. “Synodality becomes a mindset, in the heart, in decision-making processes and in ways of acting,” he indicated.

He also urged them to look to tomorrow with serenity, asking them not to be afraid of making courageous decisions and to “walk with the last, serving the poor.”

“No one can prevent you from proclaiming the Gospel, and it is the Gospel that we are invited to bring, because it is this that everyone, ourselves first, need in order to live well and to be happy,” he affirmed.

Pope Leo also asked the bishops to care for the lay faithful and make them “agents of evangelization” in all areas of life.

“Let us walk together, with joy in our heart and song on our lips. God is greater than our mediocrity: Let us allow ourselves to be drawn to him! Let us trust in his providence,” the Holy Father concluded.

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

The Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission meets in Washington, D.C., on Monday, June 16, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNA

Washington D.C., Jun 17, 2025 / 15:22 pm (CNA).

The White House Religious Liberty Commission held its first hearing in Washington, D.C., on Monday where members received a number of recommendations on how to protect religious freedom in the United States.

Chairman of the commission Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Vice Chairman Ben Carson hosted the meeting with members Ryan Anderson; Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; Carrie Prejean Boller; Allyson Ho; and other figures in the religious liberty movement. 

The June 16 hearing featured guest speakers Josh Blackman, associate law professor at South Texas College of Law; Stephanie Barclay, law professor at Georgetown Law School; and Kristen Waggoner, CEO and president of the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

The three lawyers offered numerous suggestions for the commission to report to President Donald Trump on how to help preserve and strengthen religious liberty in the U.S. 

Pointing to multiple religious freedom court cases over the last few decades, Blackman said: “If you’re giving money to nonreligious groups, you can’t discriminate against religious groups.” Religious groups, he said, should be treated “the same as everything else.” 

Blackman’s other recommendations were for the commission to “bring more cases from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) perspective” to the Supreme Court and “have more amicus briefs” from the Justice Department. 

“If the DOJ was willing to file more amicus briefs and look for good vehicles to overrule a case … to broaden an establishment clause jurisprudence, I think that would be a helpful recommendation from this commission,” Barclay said. 

Waggoner, who works directly with those affected by religious liberty violations at ADF, offered five main recommendations to the committee. 

“The United States right now is the last Western country in the world to provide robust religious freedom and free speech protections,” she said. 

“One of the things that I hope that this commission recommends to the president is that he use the platform he has in the administration … to help Americans understand what the threat is and the goodness of practicing one’s faith.”

It is “critical” for Americans to be educated “on what their rights are,” Waggoner said. 

“For so long, we would see laws that were being passed that were blatant violations of constitutional rights,” but now “we see this vibe shift,” Waggoner said. “I would submit it’s a temporary one. It’s a change of power, not a change of heart. We need a change of heart.”

Waggoner suggested the government should “restore the conscience and religious freedom division at [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] and establish similar divisions within other department’s civil rights offices, and ensure equal access to federal funding is consistent with recent Supreme Court precedent.”

She highlighted that “all federal conscience laws” must be enforced and “recipients that violate those laws” need to be held accountable.

She also said the government should “end the financial targeting of people of faith.”

Authorities need to “ensure the IRS doesn’t discriminate against houses of worship or religious organizations and protect these entities from unjust penalties” and “guarantee that prior weaponization of financial regulations and markets against people of faith never, ever happens again,” she said. 

Waggoner also said the government should “protect people of faith from the regulatory state” by developing “rules that prevent future administrations from labeling as domestic terrorists Americans who simply purchased a religious text or spoke at a school board meeting.”

The U.S. should also “promote religious freedom on the international stage,” she said, working “in collaboration with the ambassador at large for international religious freedom” to “implement President Trump’s 2020 executive order on advancing international religious freedom to ensure that religious freedom remains a central priority of U.S. foreign policy.”

Trump, meanwhile, should “appoint judges with an established record of courage, character, and conviction who will apply the law without fear of public opinion,” Waggoner said. 

The commission was established on May 1 to “vigorously enforce the historic and robust protections for religious liberty,” according to Trump. 

Since its creation, a number of prominent Catholics have been appointed by the president including Barron, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco.

The committee will hold its next hearing on religious liberty in September.

Actor Al Pacino and Italian film producer Andrea Iervolino give Pope Leo XIV a miniature model of a Maserati car during a private audience at the Vatican on June 17, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Andrea Iervolino

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2025 / 13:38 pm (CNA).

In an unexpected visit, Hollywood actor Al Pacino was received by Pope Leo XIV on June 17 at the Vatican, according to photos shared on Instagram by Italian film producer Andrea Iervolino.

Pacino and Iervolino are currently in Italy filming their next movie, which is dedicated to the origins of the iconic Maserati automobile brand. The film, “The Brothers,” which chronicles the vicissitudes of the Maserati brothers, stars the Oscar-winning actor and is produced by Iervolino.

During the private audience with the pontiff, Leo was presented with a miniature model of a Maserati vehicle, a symbol of the Italian design-and-engineering legacy.

The Holy See Press Office has not issued an official statement about the meeting, nor has it confirmed it. Iervolino’s social media post, which is accompanied by a photo of the meeting, shows Pacino and Iervolino smiling next to the pope, who is holding the small replica of the car.

In a press release posted on social media, Iervolino stated: “We are honored to announce that this morning His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in private audience at the Holy See a delegation from the film Maserati.”

He also stated that the meeting “was a moment of profound spiritual and cultural inspiration, centered on the shared values ​​that are at the heart of both the Catholic Church and the film: family unity, love, compassion, and the importance of contributing to the common good.”

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

U.S. Catholic magazine celebrated its 90th anniversary with a celebration at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) on June 6. As well as members of the current editorial team, several past editors attended, along with multiple writers, journalists, and academics who have contributed to the magazine over the years. The history of U.S. Catholic Founded in 1935 […]

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Listen on: Apple | Spotify What does it mean to belong to a church—and a country—that doesn’t always welcome you? In this episode, Colin Martinez Longmore sits down with Yunuen Trujillo for an open conversation about identity, faith, fear, and belonging. Trujillo is an immigration attorney, LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate, and lay minister. As an immigrant and a queer […]

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Renowned exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth. / Credit: Angela Musolesi (CC BY-SA 4.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 11:54 am (CNA).

Father Marcello Lanza of the International Association of Exorcists recently honored Father Gabriele Amorth on the 100th anniversary of Amorth’s birth.

Credit: Quisquilia/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 11:16 am (CNA).

A group of Orthodox churches has joined the Catholic bishops of Washington state in suing the government over its requirement that clergy either violate the seal of confession or face jail time.

The Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and numerous other Orthodox jurisdictions on Monday sued dozens of public officials in the state challenging the constitutionality of its mandatory reporter law.

Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, the law goes into effect July 27 and adds clergy to Washington’s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the “privileged communication” exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists.

Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

In a lawsuit filed last month in federal district court, the Catholic bishops of the state emphasized the Church’s commitment to child protection while defending the inviolability of the confessional seal.

The Orthodox leaders in their lawsuit similarly argued that Orthodox priests “have a strict religious duty to maintain the absolute confidentiality of what is disclosed in the sacrament of confession.”

“Violating this mandatory religious obligation is a canonical crime and a grave sin, with severe consequences for the offending priest, including removal from the priesthood,” the suit says.

The state’s law explicitly allows for numerous other exemptions for those otherwise required to report child abuse. Washington “is now the only state whose mandatory reporter law explicitly overrides the religious clergy-penitent privilege” while allowing the other exemptions, the lawsuit says.

The Orthodox leaders said they “do not object to alerting authorities when they have genuine concerns about children that they learn outside of confession.” Rather, they are demanding that the state “give the clergy-penitent privilege the constitutional protection it is due as a fundamental religious obligation.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims the state’s law violates the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. It asks the court to block the law and declare it unconstitutional. 

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement last month vowed that clergy would not break the seal of confession, even if it meant jail time.

“I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” Daly said in his message to the faithful. “The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”

The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the law on May 6, calling it an “anti-Catholic” measure.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon described it as a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession,” arguing it singles out clergy by denying them privileges afforded to other professionals.

The New Jersey State House. / Credit: Felix Lipov/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 10:37 am (CNA).

The New Jersey government will be allowed to assemble a grand jury to investigate allegations of clergy sexual abuse there, the state Supreme Court said Monday.

In a unanimous ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court said a lower court had erred when it held the state could not empanel the jury, with the high court stating that the government “has the right to proceed with its investigation and present evidence before a special grand jury.”

The lower court had said in part that any findings from the grand jury could be “fundamentally unfair” because any priests accused in it would lack the ability to adequately challenge the allegations.

But the Supreme Court said it was up to judges to decide if any report complied with prevailing legal standards. Courts “cannot and [do] not decide the ultimate question in advance,” the ruling said.

The court’s decision comes just over a month after the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, said it would drop its fight against the state’s efforts to empanel the grand jury.

Camden Bishop Joseph Williams last month said he intended to “do the right thing” for abuse victims. The Camden Diocese had been embroiled in a yearslong fight with the state over the potential grand jury empanelment.

Williams’ abandonment of the fight came just several weeks after he assumed the bishopric there on March 17.

The diocese had previously argued in part that New Jersey “cannot convene a grand jury to return a presentment unless it addresses public affairs or conditions, censures public officials, or calls attention to imminent conditions.” Years-old clergy abuse allegations did not meet these standards, the diocese had said.

In a letter in the Catholic Star Herald last month, Williams said he was “new to being a diocesan bishop and new to the complex legal arguments and proceedings involved” in the ongoing case. Prior to his March 17 appointment, he served as coadjutor bishop of the Camden Diocese.

A grand jury was famously empaneled in Pennsylvania from 2016 to 2018 to investigate abuse allegations in multiple dioceses of that state.

That report, released in August 2018, revealed allegations of abuse against more than 300 priests involving more than 1,000 children in the state.

Remarking on that data, the jurists said in their report: “We believe that the real number — of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward — is in the thousands.”

There’s a story people like to tell about St. Óscar Romero’s media power: that you could walk anywhere in El Salvador on Sundays when he was archbishop without missing his homily, because it would be playing on the radio in every household and small business you passed. Mass communication was such an important part of […]

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The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo is located on the wooded slopes of the Alban Hills, overlooking the blue waters of a small volcanic crater lake. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Jun 17, 2025 / 06:47 am (CNA).

The town of Castel Gandolfo has said Pope Leo XIV will again partake in the centuries-long tradition of spending a summer vacation at the lakeside papal residence in the Alban Hills south of Rome.

A spokeswoman for the small town, Giulia Agostinelli, told CNA on Tuesday morning Leo will arrive sometime during the first week of July. The Vatican confirmed shortly afterward that the pope will spend July 6–20 and Aug. 15–17 in the pontifical villas at Castel Gandolfo.

The Prefecture of the Papal Household also announced that on July 13 and 20, and on Aug. 15, Leo will celebrate Mass at the local parish of Castel Gandolfo before leading the Angelus from Liberty Square in front of the main papal residence. On Aug. 17, the pontiff will also lead the Angelus before returning to the Vatican.

For most of July, the pope will not hold any private or public audiences. The Wednesday general audiences will resume on July 30.

Pope Francis in 2013 broke with the papal practice of escaping the Roman heat in Castel Gandolfo, with its extensive gardens, preferring to remain at his Vatican residence, Santa Marta, even during the summer.

Francis opted to turn the papal summer residence into a museum. It opened to the public in 2016.

The gardens of the papal residence, called the Barberini Gardens, were opened to the public in 2014 as a way to increase revenue for the town, which thrived on tourism brought by visitors who came to see the pope during his stay.

For Benedict XVI, the villa was a favorite summer getaway during his pontificate. It was conceded to the Holy See as one of their extraterritorial possessions under the Lateran Pact of 1929.

The villa served as the papal summer residence since the pontificate of Urban VIII during the 17th century. It has a small farm created by Pope Pius XI, which produces eggs, milk, oil, vegetables, and honey either for local employees or for sale in the Vatican supermarket.

This story was updated on June 17, 2025, at 8:35 a.m. ET with the confirmation of the Vatican.