Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“People are getting tired of a secular, materialistic world,” said Cardinal Arborelius, who has purchased more than 20 Protestant churches for use as Catholic churches in his diocese. People, he said, have “become more aware of the threats” of modernity and are “more open to God.”

The prelate, who was in Poland to receive an honorary degree on May 18, also discussed the influence that Pope St. John Paul II had upon his life.

“St. John Paul has meant a lot to me,” he said. “He made me a bishop. He gave me that (bishop’s) cross. He came to Sweden,” and “somehow I am the son of his.”

“Our nation is faced with an affordable housing crisis that sees no sign of improvement,” Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, joined by the two presidents, wrote in a May 21 letter to leading members of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. “This crisis is further punctuated by the alarming rise in homelessness.”

The federal housing programs, they continued, “help people build better lives, and any cuts to funding or substantive programmatic changes that undermine the effectiveness of affordable housing programs should be opposed. Further, considering current economic conditions, flat funding for housing and community development programs is effectively a cut to these vital services.”

During a May 22 meeting with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved decrees that advanced six beatification causes.

Micheál Martin, the taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, discussed peace in a May 22 audience with Pope Leo XIV.

“We had an extremely cordial and very honest meeting, which lasted longer than usual,” Dotsova said following the audience. “Pope Leo XIV shared that he expects Bulgaria, as a country located at a crossroad, to be one of the creators of bridges for peace, and he sent his blessing to the entire Bulgarian people.”

The lawmaker invited the Pope to visit the nation, and the Pontiff, in turn, “promised to do everything possible to continue the tradition” of papal visits to Bulgaria, the state-run Bulgarian News Agency reported.

Located in Southeast Europe, Bulgaria, a nation of 6.7 million (map), is 84% Christian (80% Orthodox) and 13% Muslim. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2019.