Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The trip—the first foreign travel of this pontificate—will be highlighted by an ecumenical celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea. Pope Leo will also attend the celebration of the Divine Liturgy with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I on November 30, the feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the Constantinople archdiocese.

From Turkey the Pope will fly to Lebanon, where he will pray at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion. He will visit several Catholic shrines, as well as the seat of the Maronite Catholic patriarchate, before returning to Rome on December 2.

Continuing his series of talks on hope, the Pope said: “To hope in life means to have a foretaste of the goal.” He continued:

Hope acts as the deep-seated drive that keeps us walking in difficulty, that prevents us from giving up in the fatigue of the journey, that makes us certain that the pilgrimage of existence will lead us home.

Hope also encourages believers to share their lives with others, the Pope said, adding that this sharing reaches a “marvellous crescendo” in marital love.

The new rules—which were promulgated in September, but only now made public—place the administrative affairs of both basilicas under the supervision of the Council for the Economy, in line with the regularization of financial affairs in the Roman Curia.

“There is no justification for forcing thousands of civilians to live in darkness and cold,” Cardinal Parolin said at a memorial Mass for victims of the Holodomor. “We are deeply affected by the news of attacks on electrical systems in civilian structures, which have made life even more difficult for many people.”

“Every action that deprives the civilian population of the possibility of living in dignity is an offense against humanity and an outrage against God, who is light, life, and mercy,” he added. “We cannot remain indifferent to those who suffer from hunger, uncertainty, war, winter cold, imprisonment, and exile.”

“Fifty years ago, Bishop Salas, Father Salem, and Father Chomraeun were right here, just a few meters from us, where our beautiful rice paddies had been transformed into vast forced labor camps,” said Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusle, MEP. “There were no more schools, only scattered families; fear and death reigned.”

The prelate added:

Like the first Christians in Rome, like the hidden Christians in Japan, our bishop and his fellow priests sometimes secretly celebrated God’s Day [Sunday], read a few lines from the Bible, knowing that this was forbidden and could mean instant death if they were discovered ... From the blood of our martyrs and the faith of Christians, the Church was able to rise again, and today she is here to praise God and proclaim her hope. This peace has a very sweet taste, dear brothers and sisters.

“From its foundation, Caritas Internationalis has embodied the Church’s proclamation that ‘Christ’s preference is for the poor, the least, the abandoned and discarded,’” said Pope Leo, citing a 2023 message of Pope Francis. “Indeed, this vision can be seen in the Eucharist itself, where the Lord ‘having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end’” (Jn. 13:1).

“The love we receive from Christ is never a private treasure but always a mission entrusted to our hands,” Pope Leo continued. “Love sends us forth; love makes us servants; love opens our eyes to the wounds of others.”

In an audience with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved the promulgation of six decrees.

In 2015, Pope Francis sought to make the “process more accessible and expeditious, but never at the expense of truth,” Pope Leo said. “Human judgment on the nullity of marriage cannot however be manipulated by false mercy. Any activity contrary to the service of the process of truth must certainly be deemed unjust.”

Pope Leo repeated words from earlier in his pontificate that “marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful.” The Pope also described the “indissoluble marital bond” as “the foundation of the family, which is the domestic Church.”