Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV reflected today on Sacred Scripture as “the Word of God in human words.”

At the conclusion of today’s general audience, Pope Leo XIV appealed for prayer for Ukraine and for the continuation of New START, an arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States that expires tomorrow.

Pope Leo XIV has “decreed that Saint John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church, be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar, and that his Optional Memorial be celebrated by all on 9 October,” according to a curial decree made public on February 3.

“The Solicitor General’s filing in this case signals to the Court just how egregious, illegal, and dangerous Colorado’s discrimination is,” said Nick Reaves, lead attorney for the Catholic preschools and families, said of the impending case.

“The state is labeling a program ‘universal’ and then banning religious families and schools from it because of their faith,” Reaves added. “If that kind of exclusion is allowed to stand, no religious group is safe from being pushed out of public life.”

“We encourage the faithful to consider the lessons of history, honoring our heroes of the past and learning from the mistakes of the past,” said Bishop Daniel Garcia of Austin and Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell of Washington, DC. “Although we may at times encounter people or situations in our country that seek to erase ‘memory’ from our minds and books, it can never be erased from our hearts.”

“Let us be courageous witnesses to truth,” the bishops added. “Let us pray and work to honor the inherent dignity of every person and the sacred stories of every people.”

Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Stanislav Přibyl, CSsR, of Litoměřice, Czech Republic, as the new archbishop of Prague, less than two years after his ordination as a bishop.

Portugal’s president described Pope Leo XIV as “superiorly intelligent” and “very rational” following a 25-minute audience on February 2.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, concluded a three-day visit to Slovakia commemorating the 25th anniversary of the basic agreement, or concordat, between the Holy See and the central European nation.